Own It

Original.

Overrated.

Obstacles in our paths.  That’s what both of these words represent to me.

One is the quest for making your own mark in the world.  The thing that sets you apart.  The idea or vision that every artist truly attempts even if they search for it in the works of the masters of the past.  This can take more than a lifetime.

One is the idea that once we “make it” someone, somewhere, has the ability to completely denounce our hard work and possibly end our career (even before it’s really began).  The art world is brutal and fickle.  It can be maddening to entrench yourself in this arena and even more maddening to find yourself a spectacle instead of a gladiator.

Over it.  That’s how I have to be when these thoughts creep into me.  I have to strive past the idea that true originality is unattainable.  I have to suppress the fear that someone out there, without any control of my own, can “make or break” my career.

Own it.  I own it.  I own my art.  I own my path.  I own my career.