Dedication to Art · 11:43pm Feb 16th, 2014
Okay, I'm about to perform the impossible.
Act serious.
"Whaaat? Narwhal? Serious? BWAHAHA!!! Good one; she'll never be serious!"
Hey, Mr. Voice-Inside-My-Head! Shut up!
Anyway, let's talk about art... or more about you (hopefully) reading this one-sided rant about art.
Art is expression. We all express ourselves. Humans do that. We love to be creative and different. It's something we've all got inside us... but for some, it's harder to find. To me, it's really hard to find something worth doing. To express yourself takes a lot of talent and dedication, and I've got a limited extent of both. Talent is natural; sure, you can practice and practice and practice, but that's just bettering what you began with. It all branches out from the beginning. You have these talents you naturally found inside yourself, but it's what you've got in the end that is your real talent. Something I've found out is that we're all different.
There are people who can take a photograph and make an exact copy in ballpoint pen. And then there are people who can hardly draw a squirrel. I fall somewhere in between that scale. The thing about art, though, is not technique. It's not how well you can draw a face. It's not about drawing circles and connecting them to make a decent pony drawing. It's not playing a song at the right tempo. It's not about writing with a lot of description.
It's about expressing yourself. Your mind, your heart, your personality.
Without that, whatever you do isn't art. It's just a talent, but nothing truly remarkable. Even the best realistic artist in the world isn't equivalent to a normal artist with a lot of vigor and soul. You've got to pour that heart into your creation, or else it's not truly creative at all.
I've been taking piano for a long time. Like, a really long time. At least 7 years, which is basically half my life.
For my first few years of piano, I never really dedicated myself to playing. I had a teacher who was really great and inspirational, and she taught me all my notes and how to read music... but I hardly practiced outside of our weekly classes.
I treated it as a hobby, and didn't realize how important piano would come to be for me. I decided I was only doing it because my brother was, too, and that it therefore wasn't really important.
Okay... don't kill me. I was like 6.
After a few years, my piano teacher moved away, and we didn't find a replacement for about four months. During those four months, I didn't practice. At all.
I lost almost all my experience with expression and fine art. The new piano teacher only stayed for about a few months, though, because apparently, I didn't practice enough.
What a shocker.
So then, I started practicing. Only a bit... Maybe once or twice a week, but it was an improvement. My mom saw that my brother had completely lost interest in piano, and thought that maybe, I was just going to follow my brother.
I didn't. I practiced. I practiced without a teacher for a few months (still fairly lazy and undedicated, mind you), and my mother eventually decided to get me another teacher.
This next teacher is one I've had for about two and a half years. She was very good at teaching me, and encouraged me as much as she could, but it was to no avail. Why teach someone who wasn't even interested?
I wanted to be interested; I really, truly did. But I couldn't bring myself to practice much. Eventually, my mom just gave up. Obviously, I had lost all my interest. So I just quit.
I completely, utterly, absolutely regret that horrible decision I made.
I had a passion! I had something I wanted to do! Why did I give up?!
I had no dedication.
After I lost my third piano teacher, I really started to think. What am I supposed to do now? Sure, I had visual art I could always turn to, but I wanted something I was trained to be good at...
Trained to be good at...
Trained.
I was trained. I wasn't a natural. I wasn't even that good. I just had a few people hold my hands, show me what to do, and hope for the best.
I wasn't talented.
But I wanted that talent. I was desperate for it. I had this strange, peculiar desire to be the best I ever could be. I wanted that spark to blaze through my heart... that poor, desolate spark.
So I relit the flame and carried on. I dedicated myself to piano. I strived for perfection, and trained myself.
I no longer rely on a teacher. I've got my own flame and my own dedication to something I love.
For the past 8 or so months, I've been going solo. And I love it. I like knowing that what I create on those keys is mine. I did it. All by myself. I dedicated myself to doing something, and I did it.
That's true art. Where you can spark your flame, ignite my inner talent, and learn to express myself. Those short staccatos, deep fortes, long legatos, fresh sounds coming from a wooden construction is my creation. I did it with my own passion and own desire. I expressed myself beyond reading what was on a piece of paper.
I'm still not the best, nor am I even close, but I do know that I'm a true musician. I'm a true artist. I'm true to myself.
All I needed was a desire. A passion. A reason to believe.
I have a reason to believe. I have a spark that resides in my heart, and that spark is my self-expression. That is why I believe in myself. That is why I am an artist.
I am an artist.
And you can be one, too.
"You just gotta ignite the light and let it shine."
Oh yeah, and remember to always channel your inner Katy Perry.
YAY!
You aren't always serious, but when you are you're inspirational. You're fired up and filled with talent and spirit and heart.
You're amazing when you're just being cheerful and playful and who you are, but you're something else when you're serious -- like this. I can't put my finger on it. You're the type of friend I want to have.
That's how you earn my respect, and few human beings ever have.
My brother told me a few months ago(after I had been playing guitar for about a year) that when I first expressed interest in learning, he didn't believe in me. Yeah, he really told me that.
But then he also told me of how glad he was that he was wrong in the end, for he said that I had improved so much, that I had even surpassed him. (He's been playing for ten years.)
I don't tell people this often enough, but thanks for this blog.
1842226
Use all the emoticons! Yay!
1842234 I'm quite awesome, as well... but you already knew that
1842238 Aww yeah!
1842307 Don't consider it an achievement I guess. I'm just a guy. My words hold no weight in your life.
But I hope you stick with the things you love. That's all I'm really saying here.
...............
*stands up* *claps slowly, sheds manly tear*
Yeah Narwhal, this was pretty awesome! Very inspirational, really made me wanna get back into piano and violin just like I was planning! Thanks for being awesome. Fine I admit it. Lol