Right Regimen 10/01/09

Artistry is possible only for those who acknowledge necessity as a condition of, rather than a limit upon, their freedom to act.

Aaron Ridley
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A good October day to you.
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Many people start talking before they know what they are going to say. I often begin writing this journal before I'm sure what is going to eventually be in it. Painters will begin a painting with a firm idea in mind and the result, when it's finished, may not be what they started out to do.

There is usually always a germinating idea somewhere, but it may lead the speaker or the artist in an unexpected direction. Furthermore, some ideas that seem like very good ones end up providing a mediocre result and thus land on the trash heap, while some other ideas that seem flimsy and of no substance may produce a masterpiece.

I have heard two seemingly conflicting remarks made by actors in the past. One of them is "I don't want any limitations placed on me." And the other is "I've learned what my limitations are." As with the speaker, the writer, the painter, the actor there are inherent limitations in whatever work one does. And as for personal limitations, those are the things that should be exceeded.

In the artists eternal search for beauty and truth, when working on something one learns in which direction one can go and in which one can not go in order to maintain the integrity of expression and meaning. It is alright not to know specifically what result one is going to achieve by working things out. Even the smallest details can alter the work in a positive and more communicative manner if attention is paid to them. There are times when an actor will say that in one performance the role played itself. Writers sometimes have the same feeling about their writings.

Trouble comes when an artist tries to impose the inappropriate on the work or deny it its necessities. A work of art is a living, growing thing and needs it's proper nourishment. The artist is the steward, keeper, parent, providing the care and labor that allows nature to take its course.

DB - The Vagabond
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May you see a joyful thing today.
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