There are many who love to copy, some who despise cliches and a very few who give birth to something so unique that you just can't help but admire and notice. Straight up, this article is for the artist or should I say the creatively inclined. A person who doesn't just accept the way things are or how they have also been done, but is striving to completely change and improve. Be it through a practical use or just an entire new way of seeing things. From everyday observation of others and mostly myself whenever I would delve into a new skill I would see a reoccurring pattern emerge. It's probably been stated before in some artist textbook somewhere but to be honest I don't mind not being the first one to call it out or not. We all got our own spin on things. Here's what I came up with...
Order - Knowing and assimilating with the fundamental rules - "In the box"
Chaos - Bending the rules to completely going beyond them - "Outside the box"
Harmony - Combining the old ways with the new - "Your style"
Now let me be clear on one thing before I delve into each one. By no means is reaching stage three the end all be all. Think of this as a cycle. A circle that continues to rotate from top to bottom reaching the highest point to the lowest then back again. The great geniuses of this world have gone through this many times. Each step improving on what was last done.
Order - Being The Student
Do you remember first picking up the camera? Or the first stroke of the paint brush on the rough canvas? Singing into that microphone and feeling like a spark has been lit inside? When we first learn something new the possibilities are endless. A whole new world is opened and the curtains raise from our eyes. At first we are filled with passion. Our natural talents call our soul into full out expression. But like I stated in my previous article "Talent is Not Enough - Master your Craft" we soon come to a road block. The patterns of how we express begin to become redundant. The garden becomes quite boring. Now your ready to study the "rules".
As a young learner it's important to accept the fact that there have been others before you. Masters who have learned the craft and repeated the cycle many times over. The first stage to your development as an artist is knowing those fundamental rules. Get in touch with the techniques, study all the poses, the history, and the genres. If something started 1000 years ago is still prevalent then it's obvious there's a truth to it that can't be denied.
But in this stage all that doesn't really matter. You memorize, repeat and internalize. You might not know why at the moment but once you reach the other stages the circle will make sense to you. This stage is all about structure. We all need to build a solid foundation in order to reach the higher levels in understanding. Every art, every skill demands you learn its basic techniques. Some stay here all their lives. They copy what has done before and never elevate. Once internalized and willing to go further, it's time for the second stage.
Chaos - Thinking Your The Master
Once we've learned all there is to learn from others. We've reached a point where we feel we can stand out. All the techniques come and go so effortlessly it's easy to be fooled by our mastery of the basics. But this stage sets the tone to your voice. Is it a strong and upright one? Or sad and melancholic? Only one way to find out, by experimentation. In this stage the "rules" begin to take a back seat to your creativity. Anything and everything starts to go. You add a whole lot of sugar, mix it up with some spices, and why not some oil and garlic too! What you come up with is delicious to you but to most is utterly disgusting. Now most people who receive the criticism fold and go back to the garden with all it's rules. But the brave ones continue forward. Receiving failure as a stepping stone to growth.
As an experienced learner our personality starts to show its face in the mirror of our experiments. The ego begins to take shape. Standing its ground and shocking the naysayers. But the humble attitude of the student begins to fade away. Because everything "goes" the contrasting distinction between whats good or not is blurred. We venture so far into the forest and are lost in the trees of our own self indulgence.
The many who do reach this point either stay and are marginalized by society or simply become delusional in their own grandeur. But this stage is made for the learner to find a gift. All the experimenting, the pains and criticisms are meant to find the diamond within yourself. Once found you'll be humbled by the fact that we all have so much to learn. Your voice is now loud and clear. But what will you do with your new found discovery? It's time to show the world what has been found as it's perfectly imperfect self.
Harmony - Witnessing Your Inner Master
Not many get here. Some are to afraid to shine its light. Others simply never leave the forest. But those who do, make sure you shut up and listen. The box has been played within and gone without. But in truth from my own experience, that box is what creates genius. The very thing I thought was holding me back in reality was giving me the greatest power all this time. Limitations create context. Without it, how will meaning be passed on for others to receive and grow? Effort is no longer seen here. At least to those outside of us. The ones who make it look so easy but in reality the amount of practice and discipline required was tremendous.
Jazz musician Miles Davis set the tone and the style for a new look to the genre. Creating classic takes the harmony of yourself among other fellow masters. But for Miles, this was only the beginning. After his blue period, Miles craved for a new style. And so his electric phase began...
