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The Art of Dragging One's Heels

Natural Balance in the Computer Age

Not everyone is experiencing financial difficulties right now.  But everyone is in some way or another being affected by the economy, artists chief among them.  In the last several years we have seen a steady change in the art market and the marketing of art.  The internet has transformed just about everything having to do with art; how it is presented, found, discovered, purchased and enjoyed. Galleries had to adapt to this new Main Street, right along with artists. What a ride we have been on! Oh, the stores we have built!

I personally think that living as far as possible from the demands and craziness of the necessity of the computer would be a very good thing for me. My artist's soul is taxed by my computer time because it represents time away from my easel, my paints, my gifts, my art, my truest creative expression. If I were to draw you a picture of how I feel about some of this, for example, it would be a picture of me being dragged to the world of social media with my heels dug in, resisting every inch.  I love and appreciate my collectors, my friends, my fellow artists and I know we respect and need each other very much. You are all wonderful people and ironically, that is one of the things that makes me resist. Person to person interaction without a computer seems to be getting pushed sadly out of the way and I miss that. 

So I ask myself, who am I letting myself become as a marketing artist in this computer age and how do I best operate?  Does the internet control so much of business life that I am jumping on the bandwagon or swimming upstream whether I want to or not?  Is Facebook becoming a type of Wall Street on the computer? If you aren't "trading" there, are you missing out on a major investment? Well, there is a quiet and strong rebellion that has been going on in my artist's soul and the rebellion is there as a safeguard that I do not dare override.  But like you, I, too, spend many hours making investments on the trading platform of the internet through websites, email, etc. I often feel more like a secretary than an artist. It is time spent wisely in this day and age, but also time that for me has a deep inner resistance. Do we even remember what is was like before the computer took over our lives?

I remember as a child that my creative activities were largely determined by the time of day and the weather. A sunny warm day begged me outdoors and I happily went - a cold evening held me inside to find things to do.  Creative activity was born of my freedom to choose to respond to my environment in ways that particularly suited me, without the constant pull of electronics.  As an adult, so much of life is focused on the computer, and by nature of its mysteries and capablilites, invites me everyday to live and create in an environment not determined by sun, moon, warm or cold.  It offers its mechanical world to me 24/7. And more and more, I sense its beguiling cobra-like enchantment that says it is the only way I will really survive as an artist in this day and age.

We are all facing incredible, unprecedented changes in our world, our economy, and in the marketing of our art.  As an artist, I will continue to embrace that inner rebellion that seems to continue to be the safeguard of my soul, the preserver of my creative spirit. And I will engage the computer as a friend, not the determiner of my journey. I will work at mastering the art of dragging my heels to maintain my inner balance amid the outer whirlwind of the computer age.

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