Inspiration Fridays! Who Are Your People?
Who Are Your People?
Artists always go to New York. New York, the center of the art world. Long before Art Basel in Miami or my recent trip to Paris, in my mind the New York art scene reigned supreme. But instead of moving to New York, to tough it out with the rest of the “Bohemians”, I retreated to a small town in southern Oregon, where I have lived ever since.
“Some beautiful paths can’t be discovered without getting lost.” – Erol Ozan
End of story? No! Of course not. Life has a way of bringing things full circle. I’ve worked with a lot of wonderful people, travelled a great deal, (even to New York) and generally had an amazing time. Small towns can be wonderful for community but they just don’t have the numbers and so this has often left me feeling like I was creating my art in a vacuum.
Of course, that’s never true. But what is true is that when I begin creating the Learning to See Course, the direction of my art, my community, and my life, changed radically. All of a sudden, I was working with artists from all over the world. Some were beginners, and others were professionals, but the passion we shared for art was and is, electric.
Gabriel Mark Lipper – Seclusion – Mixed Media on panel – 48”x 48”
The life of an artist can be isolating, especially if you feel surrounded by a community that doesn’t understand what you are trying to say with your work. Through Learning to See, I finally have a community that speaks the same language I do. We have similar goals, similar hang ups. We can all agree on the importance of purple. For us, purple can be a feeling, a memory, or even a shadow…. It’s the Learning to See community that spurs me on and challenges me to go farther and I am grateful to all of you who have supported me along the way.
I’ve never moved to New York, but the global community that I’ve discovered from my studio in Oregon has and continues to, change the way I see. I hope that I have been able to contribute to your journey as well.