Deuteronomy 1:21
Behold the Lord thy God hath set the land before thee: go up and possess it, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath said unto thee; fear not, neither be discouraged.
Possess | (c)M.M.Hewitt 2015 Downloading this image for any use without written permission is strictly prohibited.
I read this verse in a moment where I was feeling particularly discouraged. I felt I was failing at everything: being a mother, a wife, and most particularly an artist. I feel it's easier to gauge my success as a mother and wife (happy kids and husband means I must be doing something right and I have them right in front of me to support it), but gauging my artistic success is different.
I had been posting and sharing my creations but was receiving no responses to them. My online following was decreasing and, I felt, my exposure along with it. I don't have an active group in front of me to see first hand how I was doing. How was I to achieve my goals if my art was falling dead in the water?
And then I read this scripture "...the land has been set before thee: go up and possess it...fear not, neither be discouraged." The world is full of opportunity. And I say that knowing full well the measure of its cliche-ness. But I believe whole-heartedly that it's true. I can sit at my computer and wait for the "likes" and "+1" and "retweets" and all other manner of unimportant digital affirmations of affection or I can go out and find my opportunities for exposure and find those who enjoy my art.
I follow Brooke Shaden and her work on her blog Promoting Passion and she talks often about creating art that you love and there will be those who will love your work. Sometimes it sounds like those who love your work will find you. But what she often doesn't talk about in conjunction with that is the fact that you still have to work hard at it if there are certain things that you want out of your artwork (for me it's getting a gallery show and making my work accessible to people who want to display it in their home). These aren't opportunities that are just going to fall in my lap. While the opportunities are out there I still have to go and possess them, I have to go out and work for them. Often times I forget that. I get too caught up in gauging my success by how many likes I get on Facebook or how popular my image has become on 500px (a photo sharing platform that I think is algorithmically flawed, but that's a discussion for another day). And I have to remember, in accordance to the goals I have set before myself, looking to these factors for success isn't an accurate representation and I shouldn't let it get me down. And I shouldn't let it keep me from going out and seeking those opportunities, like Moses Lake's exhibit "Selfie." It's hard work, but if I want it I have to go and do a little rock climbing.