Redefining Art, one convivial word at a time
Last year, The Convivial Woman and my efforts with The Convivial Supper Club centered around the general experience of being a woman- the things we go through, struggles we face. As the year passed, I found myself needing to narrow my focus a bit further, so I sought time alone to do some inner searching.
That inner reflection gave me the courage to switch gears and realize that my purpose here is not only to share my experience and struggles as a woman, but ultimately as an artist, a creator, a dreamer, a doer.
The convivial shift has gone from the feminine to the overall experience of the ever evolving, artistic homosapien. Sounds very Planet of the Apes, but you get my drift.
When you think about the word “art,” what comes to mind?
Someone standing at the easel, ready to paint as Picasso and Dali once did? Someone sitting at the kitchen table ready to write the first draft of a great story as Stephen King still does? Or do you envision the Mona Lisa and all other world masterpieces lined up on the museum walls of Le Louvre in Paris?
Those impressions are pretty common, and it tends to cause people to feel isolated and discouraged from pursuing any creative endeavor simply because they find it hard to view themselves on the same level, in the same light.
Here’s the truth: I’m no different than the Greats and neither are you.
A work of art resides within you, within us all- its simply a matter of time, awareness and effort before an awakening can occur to express the creative genius in you.
Once you see yourself as an artist, a creator in your own right, it is only then that you can pursue it and attract who and what you need to create a life around it.
To bust through any glass ceiling of creative self-limitation, you must consider and question the definitions of art.
Wikipedia says…
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items (often with symbolic significance) in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect…
Britannica Online defines art as…
the use of skill and imagination in the creation of aesthetic objects, environments, or experiences that can be shared with others.
Goethe defined art as…
a second nature.
I want you to consider a more expanded version of what the “A” word means, what that encompasses so much more.
The Convivial Woman’s definition of Art is anything you…
love,
imagine,
create,
desire,
dream,
organize,
play,
manage,
lead,
conduct,
maneuver,
develop,
write,
build,
invent,
mix,
arrange,
calculate,
photograph,
edit,
communicate,
plan,
coordinate,
conceive,
conceptualize,
sew,
polish,
grow,
design,
paint,
dissect,
heal,
sketch,
incorporate,
exhibit,
express,
facilitate,
fine-tune,
carve,
govern,
host,
illustrate,
report,
improve,
initiate,
advise,
interpret,
launch,
learn,
litigate,
promote,
negotiate,
nurture,
oversee,
photograph,
perform,
practice,
pioneer,
produce,
direct,
program,
publish,
recreate,
repair,
research,
revamp,
reveal,
revise,
sell,
spearhead,
decorate,
streamline,
systemize,
teach,
visualize,
think,
want,
and need.
Art is the act of finding yourself. Find yourself anywhere in that list? Come to think of it, that’s one helluva a life list!
I’d love to know how you are committing yourself to the art of convivial living. Drop me a comment on the blog below, Facebook, twitter, or send me a direct message at cheryl@theconvivialwoman.com. While you’re there, share your own definition of art and in what form you best find yourself.
A lways R eturn T o…YOU,
