What Makes An Artist

Photo: Jetta Marie
Poetry: Jetta Marie
Gratitude Of The Day: My friend, coworker, and mentor Carrie Howlett. Truly an inspired artist, an amazing person, and someone to whom I am so grateful that she gives me opportunities to learn and grow myself as an artist. She provides me critique when I ask, without overwhelming me with how much I have to learn. Watching her critical eye in her own work, and her dedication to the art she loves has inspired me to aim for greatness too, and to never accept the notion that a photograph with visible errors "is close, so its good enough." Thank you Carrie. For those of you who have never seen her amazing work, you should check it out! One of her websites is down at the moment, but you can check out some of the great pieces she has at  http://www.modelmayhem.com/carriehowlett. 

What Makes An Artist

A true painter will never settle

For a piece with little heart;

For a work with little of themselves

Kept within its colors.

A true Poet will never accept

Less than their very selves in written pose,

Or less than exceptional in every sentence 

Which they thread together,

With the ink of their pens.

A sculpture worth the granite he carves,

Would never chip in timeless stone,

Something that was merely a passing grade,

Something that he could not boast of

For the centuries yet to come.

Nor would someone granted talents in an art

That captures moments of time

In a photograph forever

Take lightly the task set before them.

No artist was ever made great

With excuses for their mistakes,

Nor has any master 

accepted in their work

 the despicable phrase of ignorance,

"That is good enough."

To a true artist, 

It is never good enough;

For there is always something to learn

And there is always room

To improve ones self and muse.

And to make their contributions better.

This is the standard to which we are held

Not by the world,

But by our own quests of passion.

This is what separates us

From those who casually doodle 

And earn a place on a refrigerator,

To those who chose to dream and master

To earn a place in the great halls 

of the "Musee' du Louvre"

Once I uttered the words of ignorance,

And in them I found doubt.

But A true artist gave me a reminder

Of the hard work and passion

That makes us what we are.

As I gaze at her work;

As she takes an ordinary person

And molds them into a new being

To capture them in a photograph,

In a moment unrepeatable in time;

I remember my roots,

And what makes me different.

I remember who and what I am,

And my ignorant slumber has now ceased.

I am an artist,

And "good enough"

Is not in my vocabulary.