Looking back, I wonder at the huge expense my parents incurred for me to go to college, to the school of art, and leave with no marketable skills nor techniques for painting!  Everything I know today, I learned on my own and with much trial and error! And the interesting fact is that an artist never stops learning or re-inventing techniques, even when she thinks she “has it down!”

Even the simplest of art workshops nowadays empower the participants with knowledge and skills they did not have before entering! So when we hold a workshop in our studio, I take great pleasure in watching the delight of the students when they leave with a painting in a matter of two hours or less! It is the feeling of “I did it myself” that makes their day! So whether you teach an occasional art class, lesson or regular classes, realize that you have just given the gift of discovery to whoever you are teaching!  And especially with adult classes, you have opened up a future for many of them. A future of an endless opportunity to discover art in a thousand or more ways! And that surely beats sitting in front of the TV or computer!

As a parting thought, this couple has embraced the artist life in retirement and were delighted at what they accomplished! It doesn’t get any better than that!

So join a class,teach a class……when you have students who have paid to be there (including you) you have their full attention, enthusiasm and…doesn’t that make YOU feel good?!

Maybe some people call it a Zen thing. I call it the “Art Zone”. No matter how long you have procrastinated or how many chores still need to be done,  clients  to see, bills to pay, kids’ games to see…….somehow, it all goes away when you are creating.

I suppose you can compare with that quiet time everyone tries to steal for themselves at some point in the day- that perfect cup of coffee, a good book,  an evening glass of wine, a peaceful moment .

All artists have their  Art Zone moments but it is the same universally. Lost in thought, concentration…..whatever you are creating seems to just …..happen.  For a few minutes or hours you can become immersed in another world-one known only to artists who create.  This is the art time that flies, the concerns of the outside world fade, and the immersion is total.

When all is said and done, it’s what makes you tick as an artist. Call it what you will, the Art Zone is  the balm of artistic people.  And for those creative people who don’t pursue this sanctuary in some form, nothing in your life will be complete or total until you make the time to go to the Zone.

So whatever it is you like to create, go do it!  Once you step into the Art Zone, however momentarily,  and experience what it does for you, you’ll make the time to enter it regularly. Not only will it change your life for the good, it will have a positive impact on the lives of those around you.  And really, life doesn’t get much better than that!

The Creative Zone. It’s where all artists want to be. Whether you create your art product for pleasure or create it for profit, the Zone is that artistic level where an artist is in tune with his creative process and everything else is tuned out or down. It’s where the artist is absorbed in the process of creating.

So how does this happen? If you are not an artist, it seems mysterious, almost mystical. All those descriptions of an artist can be intimidating. The artist muse. The artistic temperament. The artist angst. Non-artists are in awe of the Creative Zone. They assume that it must be something that just happens.

Artists, on the other hand, know that the Artist Zone is the same zone experienced by all creative people. Writers, musicians and poets are all touched by the same phenomena when in the midst of the zone.
So is the Creative Zone something that just happens? Or can it be called up at will? Do all artists, musicians and writers sit in their studios and stare blankly at the walls until some mysterious force suddenly springs upon them and thrusts them into the Zone?

Artists who believe that they cannot create until inspiration strikes are in their own zone-that of denial.
These artists rarely reach their potential. They are usually self absorbed in perpetuating the artist myth when in fact, inspiration is a combination of ability, perseverance and attitude.

So if waiting for inspiration to strike is not the answer to reaching the Creative Zone, what is?

Discipline. Discipline is a major factor in the success of any artist’s career. Discipline in creating. Discipline in marketing. Discipline in completing the project. And discipline is the key to calling up the Artist’s Creative Zone at will!
The key to avoiding the trap of waiting for inspiration, is for the artist to simply walk into his studio, and start the art project. No procrastination, no thinking about it, no angst.
Because once the paint is applied to the canvas or the chisel to the stone or the loom put into motion, the Zoning Out comes naturally.

For the working artist, this key is no secret. It is the key to their success. An artist who creates an art product to sell, does not lose the ability to go into the creative zone. In fact the opposite happens. This type of artist understands that the key to living in the Creative Zone is to be there. At the easel. In the studio. The key is to be working on that art project. And that takes discipline! No matter what the challenges of the day, or the difficulties in the project, the ability to simply start and finish the art project is the key to going into the Zone at will.

The ability for the artist to go into the Creative Zone is why the artist creates in the first place. It is a creative high. It is total absorption on an artistic level. And it is achievable at any time to the artist who has the discipline to go into the studio and produce his art.