Writing About Your Art - Beginning

Disclaimer - When thinking about writing this series I knew that people would be coming at various levels of need. I choose to start at the beginning and work our way more deeply. If you are further along this road I hope you will check in as we progress. 

I think one of the hardest things for some of us is having the courage to write the word artist next to our names. If you lack self-confidence (most of us do) proclaiming yourself an artist when you are in process, unnoticed, and un-exhibited may seem presumptuous at best. Pompous is one of the nicer words I have thought about declaring myself to be an artist. 

So if the above describes you, I give you permission. Get a piece of paper and something to write with or an electronic device of your choice. Write your name. Now, go ahead. You can do it. Write the word artist. How did that feel? 

What kind of art do you do? Whether you specialize in watercolors or sculpture, you probably focus on several mediums. Sometimes you can use a category to encompass several types of art. 

For example: 

pottery and woodworking can be categorized as 3D art

knitting and weaving can be categorized as textile art

Personally, I focus on art journaling, collage, and other paper arts. I could choose mixed media artist, paper arts or fiber arts to describe my pieces. They all work. Each of them acts as umbrella terms to encompass a variety of works. Each of them gives me some shared vocabulary, some basis for conversation. 

I’ve created a (non-exhaustive) infographic to help you in identifying which disciplines you can count as part of your repertoire. Do you see any commonalities? Do you see diversity? What conclusions do you come to when you write down all the skills that are in your arsenal? 

As always, let me know in the comments if this is useful or if there is something you would rather discuss about writing about your art. Happy beginnings to you. Hope to have you swing by next week.