Blog

Greetings,

Welcome to the Cooper studio, Lipetsk, where I have not been moved to write for quite some time, but that's okay.  Because today I want to write about something.  

We are going to talk about being unique.  Unique, and just across the fine line from unique, which of course, as everyone knows, is the category of certifiable.  Yup.  You get my gist:  crazy.

It all started with the morning run in the park.  May I brag that I have extended to three laps around recently?  Wootwoot!  

At this point in time, I can confess to quite a few mornings worth of laps around Bykhanov Sad.  I nod greetings to the regulars - we all recognize each other, even when one of us puts on his face-hiding sun glasses.

During the last two weeks or so, a new person has joined our ranks.  While there are quite a few morning joggers over (ahem) fifty, this new person is female and so raises the count of morning runners, over (ahem) fifty who are female, to:  TWO.

That's kind of cool though, don't you think?  Two, where there used to be just one of us?

Wait.

This morning, the other female-morning-runner-over-(ahem)-fifty is causing us consternation.  It's a balmy humid 60 degrees here, and she's running in a heavy jacket and long pants.  Ok...aay.  No cause for alarm.  

Yet.  

I rounded a corner, to the sound of a vocal disturbance.

Now granted, I've been working hard at my Russian language studies, and I'm actually catching on to some of it.  But a heated discussion?  Yeah, I'm only good for every third of fourth word.  And her tirade was trucking right along.  Speed hinders the fledging Russian language student from comprehension.

But I caught enough to know things aren't quite right in that one.  She must be a unique character.  The focus of her not-quite-rightness was another woman, sitting on a park bench, trying quietly to mind her own business.  Dios mio.

But dang, in the world of the artist, unique is such a sought after commodity.  We talk style.  Personal artistic style.  Signature style. Recognizable style.  Everybody wants one, few really have one.  

Oh, what the heck.  Let's have a numbered list.  And let's call the list:

Finding Your Artistic Style, And The Pitfalls Thereof

1. We are all told we must have one

2. If we actually get there, you know: to UNIQUENESS of style, by definition no one else is doing it

3. And since no one else is doing it patrons won't accept it because of course no one else is doing it

4. And then we start to wonder if we are just plain crazy. 

5. Because by then we are hooked on doing this thing, this specific way of looking at creating, and we just keep on pursuing it.

What a cheerful, uplifting list!??  Okay then, how about the alternatives?

1.  So you are an over (ahem) fifty morning runner, female, and you argue with random people on park benches.

2.  But you are out there trying to do good things for your health.  You go, honey!

3.  And some of you paint things that are unloved and unnoticed

4.  But it's what your creative-you has evolved to, YOUR artistic style.  You go honey!

5.  Crazy?  Certifiable?  I think NOT.

I think instead, we call it:  another successful day in the studio.  

Thanks for stopping by, and have a lovely day!

Later, Karen