Every once in a while a great book on the art practice and process of an artist comes along. This book, Empowered, by Eden Maxwell is one such book. "An Artist Empowered is an intriguing book that uses real-life anecdotes, thought-provoking reflections, and humorous insights to explore how to create and lead a life worth living. The powerful and timeless principles make this an evocative page-turner. Read it and reap." -- Sam Horn, author of POP! Stand Out in any Crowd and Tongue Fu!
If you are on the path of being an artist already, or even if you think it is something you might like to be doing, Eden’s book examines the place we need to be in our hearts and minds to hang in there for the long haul.
Eden says, ”This book is for the true artist. Anything less than true won’t do. Halfhearted is exactly what it sounds like. To triumph over rejection you must feel—not think about—that divine fire in the belly, a flame that can only be extinguished by you; no one else has dominion over your work. Did you think otherwise? Remember, failure isn’t when someone rejects your art; failure is when you give up on your own self.”
The book is really about dealing with rejection and how we must be within ourselves in order to do that. Of course, every artist and really all of us in one way or another must learn to deal with rejection.
Something that seems to extend above and beyond mere talent is the need for perseverance. We need it not only to deal with rejection, but also to push through the barriers within ourselves which we come up against during the art-making process.
There is often the temptation to reject our whole art life when the work is not going well. Doubts are only too ready to creep in once we open the door to them. Maxwell’s book contains many strategies for dealing with this. I highly recommend this work for all artists from newbies to advanced.
This Week’s Question: How do you deal with rejection?