The consistent “pot-stirring” of hobgoblins begs a look at the “magic” of the landscape in which the hobgoblin moves. Shakespeare’s Puck, a hobgoblin par excellence, is a “knavish sprite” who serves Oberon, the Fairy King. Puck possesses a range of magical skills, from creating mistaken identities to changing Bottom’s head into a donkey’s head.
In many ways the general public views the creation of art, whether visual or written, as an act of similar magic. The paintbrush, the pen, or whatever is the go-to tool becomes the wand that is waved over the blank “canvas.” Because the work of the artist is done away from the public eye, magic becomes the best explanation for how something comes from “nothing.”
This explains in many ways why a “quick draw” is such a popular part of an art event. The “magic” unfolds in front of the eyes of the public. It explains why the artist’s story is so important in helping the public find both a relationship and the relevance of what is created.
However, any working artist knows that creating isn’t done in a day, an hour, or a minute. A body of work accrues through time, revealing the soul and developing expertise of its creator over days, weeks, and years. Every time an artist sits down to write, paint, weave, sculpt, do what they do in the work of creating, they are investing in their body of work.
Here’s the tricky part. The Part I gallery owner urging artists to better understand consistency wants to work with an individual who makes art reflecting a depth and understanding of creative ground. Such an artist welcomes the consistency of the Part II hobgoblin’s creative havoc, because it pushes the artist to stretch and grow.
It isn’t that the product is the same, rather that the artist consistently embraces the process of creating. In consistently doing the work of making art, one creates the body of work from which “the best of the best” can be pulled and shown to that gallery owner. The resulting body of work also reveals to the artist the ground they “own” in addition to clues in how to better tell that story to the public (aka branding).
If there is any magic in this whole process, it lies in the doing. In that space, connections are made, ideas expressed, and order is restored when the work begins…and then continues day after day, through the easy days and the tough days.
[Image courtesy of Michael Blessing, Blessing Fine Art.]
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