Artists come in all sizes, shapes, colors, and age groups. They’re creative people who produce art: photographers, potters, painters, actors, chefs, fashion designers, writers, singers, illustrators, sculptors, musicians, and the list goes on…
Last year when I applied for a writer’s residency, I was asked for my artist statement. What?! I’d never given it a moment’s thought. They wanted to know the why behind my writing. So I got busy and crafted one:
Artist Statement — Laurie Buchanan
Writing to me, is what an empty box is to a child—a key that unlocks the imagination, transforming empty space into a race car or stage coach, fort or castle, spaceship or submarine. For me a blank page is transportation to a world of my own, one where anything is possible.
Early on, the process of painting word pictures struck me as magical. Over the years that spellbinding practice led me from writing lyrics, to magazine articles, blogging, short stories, and finally to writing books.
A vehicle for transforming inner vision to outer reality, writing fills me with a sense of completion. Though I work quite deliberately, consciously employing my muse—brevity, concision—my unconscious is the one who holds the reins.
Never without a notebook or laptop, the concrete nature of writing—pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard—frees my imagination and provides opportunity for serendipity and grace to influence the finished product.
I didn’t set out to become a writing alchemist—an author whose words affect positive change—but as my portfolio developed and my reading audience grew, that description emerged.
One of the most wondrous aspects of writing is that each reader enjoys a different takeaway from the same word picture—therein lies the magic.
Have you had to craft an artist statement, mission statement, or perhaps a life statement?
Tuesdays with Laurie 