I am going to be using the word Artist a lot during this post…

Definition: Artist is a subjective term which describes a person creative in, innovative in, or adept at, their endeavors.

I am an artist… just like the kid that wrote his/her name on the sand and watched the sea wash it away. I don’t want to talk to you about what (i think) I am good at, nor about the things people credit me for doing well… I want to talk about what give happiness to an artist.

Every artist deep down wants to be appreciated for his/her work. It would be awesome if they could win a prize or two, maybe even a little recognition but that is not even closest to what his/her deepest desire(wrt to the art) is…

I have thought about it long and hard… And came to understand that what an artist wants from his/her work is based on levels…

When an artist starts off (s)he is hoping to probably try something new, to see if they are any good at something. Sometimes it comes from inside… the cry to create something from nothing. When they do get down to do it and if it feels like pure ecstasy, that high is enough to keep them running for years. These artists just create for the feel of it.

Then if the artist is lucky there is an snicker of appreciation here and there. Family and friends are first… There is a simple way to measure your creation past the cover of their love… What every they say tone it down about 2 levels. What are the levels:

God Like
Unbelievably good
Awesome
Brilliant
Great
Good
Nice
Average
Ok
You need more practice
You have just started its ok
bad
very bad
stop right now
Ok that was painful!

Now there are exceptions, some artists are just purely talented… they will get comments from the top 3 levels in probably their first few tries and then the relative/friend was probably honest. It works with the last 3 as well :P

Now there are some artists that dont give up. They keep trying (like me and acting :P ) and if they try hard and long enough they might actually do something good :)

Now to the good artists part… They receive appreciation from critics and veterans from the field and they move forward. They move on towards awards and greater glory… People will soon queue up in front to become their apprentices.

But is that the greatest gift to an artist… the highest recognition they can ever achieve.

There is one gift and recognition that beats it all… this post is about that feeling. I will try my best to explain it but its a little tough.

Every artist creates his/her art by first creating it in his/her head, sometimes its an idea or an concept that can be so far away from the art that it might seem impossible to merge the two… but they are made to merge. What is created might seem like another piece of art of the same genre but hidden in its core is the idea… the thought that made it possible… The artist then sees everyone appreciate his work, compare it with his earlier work and the work of other artists… All the while deep down (s)he is waiting patiently for the one with the eye to recognize the core and see the work of art in its naked form….

Some artists go thru their entire lives hoping for one such moment… some lose hope and begin to believe it will never be discovered… some are truly blessed they receive Vindication…