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All
Repetitive
Tasks
Our world is filled with art.
Fashion, entertainment, law, medicine, food, martial arts and personal relationships are major art forms.
The reason I’m writing this is that the public school system can’t teach our kids every different form of art like singing, drama, music, crafts, home economics or drafting and shop. We can remind each other that your interests IS your art
Public schools are reducing extra curricular classes like music and art in favor of core classes like math, science and English.
We don’t need public schools to enlighten us about the art around us.
ALL REPETITIVE TASKS are the simple link to ANY art form. Repetition is practice. The task is something you enjoy doing.
Practice skate board for 2 years and you will be doing all the basic tricks, plus some extra ones, guaranteed! Yes riding a skateboard is an art form.
A great cellist, Yoyo Ma told this story,” A fan once said, I wish I could play cello like you, to which Yoyo replied, No, you wish to play like me without having to practice.”.
So much around is influenced by a major art form.
We are ALL artists in our own way. The key is to identify the thing your most interested in.
The thing you are interested in is your potential art form.
What ever you find yourself doing each a day has potential for being your art.
I do all the household dishes by hand. I noticed a deliberate preference for the way the dishes were stacked, or soaked. The specific kind of dish soap, water temp. The order in which things were washed. It was becoming an art to me. Ever hear of the Custodial Arts?
Just like painting and music, every repetitive task leads to a major art form. They are all connected and just take attention to detail.
Friendships, parenting and exercising are all ways of expressing ourselves. They are all valid art forms.
Yoga, meditation, scrambling eggs or having sex is all linked by the repetitive practice of these tasks.
If you think you are NOT an artist you may be the flip side, equally valid and necessary…a critic.
A critic isn’t a negative term. A critic is critical of what they are interested in. It brings them joy to see something they are interested in done well. It also brings them sadness when something they are interested in is presented poorly.
I don’t make Hollywood movies but other artists do including actors, photographers, costume, set designers and make-up artists. All I can say is that I’ve seen a lot of movies. I’m a critic of movies and books. I’ve never made one but I’m still interested in them enough to be critical.
“That was a good movie!”
How could I say that without a life long history of seeing movies and having the reference to work from?
We are all in some degree an artist and critic. Books are another example. I’m not a writer so how can I judge a book? The answer is that I’ve read a lot of book. With every book I get more and more experience. The books I’m most interested in are the books I’m most critical of.
Writers and the Screen Actors Guild of America are examples of thousands of artists working together. Writers are responsible for everything were hear in movies, TV and music or what we read in books.
Some people just write music. They don’t perform it. They sell there lyrics and demo tracks. They are not on tour, working night after night performing it or spending weeks recording it. Just writing it. They knew what they were good at and what they are interested in.
The Visual arts: Drawing, Painting and Sculpture
I paint and sculpt. I’ve been a working artist over 25 years. My painting and sculpture get better the more I learn to draw. Each skill is related and enhance each other
The same can hold true for a NASCAR fan. They may find there interests extend to driving, mechanics or restoring classic cars. All related activities can enhance each other.
Cooking, or the Culinary Arts
I’ve made myself breakfast so many times that no one would be able to make eggs like mine. They are just the way I like them. I don’t make them for anyone except myself but a culinary artist prepares recipes for other people. I’m an excellent critic of food. I’ve had a interest in eating my whole life and continue to discover new tastes. Food will always be an art to me. I’ll make time for it 3 times every day!
Fashion Design
I get dressed everyday. I know what is in fashion most of the time. I’m a good critic of other peoples fashion too. Have you ever said, “ He’s wearing an ugly shirt!”. I’ve dressed in clothes my whole life. I’ve participated in fashion whether I liked it or not. You are a fashion designer if you’ve every picked out your own clothes.
Medicine and Law are both art forms that are practiced. Do you want an attorney that is fresh out of law school or one who has been in practice 20 years. Lawyers practice law because it is interpretive. The law can be bent like the Matrix. A good lawyer can bend the law by presenting a case that challenges the existing laws. A doctor is an artist for the same reasons. A good doctor is interested in medicine they practice on the patients they treat. It is an art as much as a science.
I also practice guitar. I see the scales I play making shapes that are a lot like the lines I draw when making a picture. I remember realizing,”Music was as easy as drawing!”. I began to see songs writing as drawings and recording songs as paintings or sculptures. They all took the same serious attention to details and a natural interest to fuel it.
That’s the whole idea.
Spread it around.
Jayson Warnock
10-10-2009 |
