Acceptance and Rejection by: Sandy Carlson
Sandy Carlson is a blogger friend that often visits my site. I have admired her work as well as her artistic abilities in writing, poetry, graffiti, photography, and making slides. You may visit her site here. She is not only a gifted individual but she also has a very gentle and kind spirit. I appreciate her very much and I wanted to post this essay she wrote. Well done, Sandy!
If you hear a voice within you say ‘you cannot paint,’ then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced. (Vincent Van Gogh)
Acceptance and rejection are two sides of a coin that must be invested and reinvested in the creative process. They are insights, holes in the walls that isolate us from the world around us and let in the light of understanding.
It can take time to assimilate both acceptance and rejection and avoid the pitfall of becoming complacent in response to the former and inactive in response to the latter. This can be difficult because artists are vulnerable at every turn in the creative process. They have expressed whatever is true and real in themselves in the truest, most real way possible, and they await a response. Will you stop and look? Give it a thought? Do you get it? Do you care?
On Sunday, I attended a forum on acceptance and rejection at Wisdom House. There, a panel of five artists–sculptor Joy Brown, poet Davyne Verstandig, visual artist and writer Florin Firimita, actress Cady McClain, and music director Tim Stella discussed the place of acceptance and rejection in their lives. Two reflections struck a chord with me.
One came from Florin Firimita. He talked about an experience about 18 years ago, shortly after he had emigrated from Romania to the US via Italy. He had been sitting for five hours with a gallery owner who had seen his work. At the end of the conversation, the gallery owner told him he wouldn’t show Firimita’s work–flowers and landscapes–because it was, he said, wall paper. He told the young artist he didn’t believe his body of work reflected who he was. Firimita spent a year thinking about what this provocative statement could mean. Ultimately, he discovered the gallery owner was right, and he changed his direction as an artist. His florals and landscapes gave way to psychological landscapes that explore the universal themes of identity, love, death, loss, reality, dreams and memories.
The other came from sculptor Joy Brown. She talked about her time in Japan as an apprentice sculptor. She had thrown countless sake cups, but not a one pleased her teacher. So off they went to the dump. The student had more to offer, and the teacher was not willing to settle before she realized it for herself. Accepting that meant accepting a broader horizon full of possibilities. She discovered later, though, that the man who had managed the dump had rescued her little cups from the rubbish and displayed them around his hut. They pleased him; he found them beautiful. These cups were works of art for him though they were merely a step in a broader creative process for Brown.
I’ve known acceptance and rejection. They feel the same to me. I prefer that moment when I am creating and nobody is around and the voice inside says “yes.” I don’t always here it, and it doesn’t last long; it doesn’t have to. The “yes” is the air in the cushion that protects me from the pain of rejection and even the painful challenge of acceptance. The “yes” tells me what I have done is true and good right now. And it asks, “Will you come with me, please?”
Thanks for featuring this, Viola. I hope the words f the artists will speak to others as well. God bless.
Comment by SandyCarlson — May 4, 2008 @ 9:20 pm
This is such a nice and needed message. Sandy has a lovely site and it seems that you two were meant to cross each others path.
Viola, I treasure your site here. I find comfort and peace when I read your messages. Thank you, dear friend!
Comment by Liz — May 4, 2008 @ 10:46 pm
My wife and I have, over the years, acquired some Western art. We used to attend a Western art show and auction in Spokane, WA. yearly. The artists would have their art displayed in booths for two days before the auction. As we wandered around looking at all the wonderful oils, watercolors, goaches, carvings, and bronzes I was always amazed by amount of incredible talent on display.
Our hosts while we were in Spokane were an old high school classmate and his wife. His wife, who has now passed on, was very talented as a painter and jewelry maker. She could have easily displayed her work at the show. However, she was terrified that her work would be rejected by the public. Most of her work she gave away or sold for low prices to friends or acquaintances. We are very happy to have some of her work to remember her by.
Her fear of rejection showed me just how centered and composed an artist has to be. (This post certainly shows that.) It is your “baby” and you are putting it out there to be accepted (you hope) and acclaimed (oh bliss) or………..rejected. It taught me that we cannot always expect everyone to accept us or our offerings, whether they be works of art, books, ideas, or even gifts.
We all have talents and abilities – art, music, athletics, mathematics, writing, mechanics, etc. What we must do is discover those talents and abilities then develop them as best we can. Doing this will not always be accepted by others. That should not deter us. If we pursue our talents and abilities we will then have reached at least some of our potential.
Comment by Jimmy J. — May 5, 2008 @ 2:16 am
Jimmy, you are so right about this. I also find that finding your gift or talent has more to do with finding yourself than being accepted by the public. Sure it is nice when one receives acceptance…but ultimately, connecting with who you really are is a most precious gift. Creativity expresses the deeper parts of us. I find this to be very true with my writing. I might only get a couple of comments but the liberty and release I find in writing is priceless for me. If someone receives a blessing through it than it is all the more wonderful.
Comment by Viola Jaynes — May 5, 2008 @ 2:58 am
Thanks for featuring this Viola. Excellent article with such an important message.
Comment by Rose — May 6, 2008 @ 10:35 pm