1/18/10 - For my second article, I was prepared to reveal the single secret that leads any artist (in any genre) to glory, fame, and wealth… but have since decided that you are in desperate need of another personal story, to gain a better understanding of the man behind the blog.

The inspiration for this week’s article came from a couple I met over the weekend at the NE Social.  After they expressed interest in my art, which hangs in the restaurant, the conversation turned toward the creative process in general.  Apparently their teenagers are starting to express a high degree of creative energy, so they were curious about how my creative journey began. 

I’ll share with you one of the many instances of my youth that not only had a profound influence on my creative journey, but also on my personality in general. 

This instance took place on the second day of kindergarten.  I was one day late… and I’ve been playing catch-up ever since. Not only did I miss the first day of school, I arrived late on the second. When my mom and I arrived, the kids were huddled in a semi-circle on the floor, learning about the wonders of the letter “A” (which was prominently displayed in the form of a giant blow-up balloon in the upper-left corner of the room). As we entered, the teacher stopped mid-sentence and all the kids turned to look. I’ll never forget all the strange faces staring directly at me, the whispers (and even a couple of chuckles) emanating from somewhere in the pack. Needless to say, if I hadn’t wet my bed the evening before, I probably would have at that very moment.

I didn’t think it could get any worse, but it did. When recess commenced, all the kids separated into little buddy clusters, which they must have formed the day before. Having not been invited to join any of the buddy clusters, I went to play in the sandbox alone.

Although I did eventually come into my own, socially speaking, this instance marked the first of many similar cases of awkward isolation, branching well into my high school years. While the isolation wreaked havoc on my self-confidence during my formative years, I have come to realize that it actually strengthened my sense of self and personal identity, besides promoting a pursuit of anything creative. I would spend hours at the local park, swinging and daydreaming; exploring the city on my bike; making crappy models of cars; and after being influenced by my family, drawing and painting.

This alone time afforded me space for introspection, and helped me cultivate an ability to critically evaluate my environment (something which can lean toward the extreme at times).  It is from this place that I started to forge my own artistic identity and began to produce art.

As I look at the world today, I can’t help but feel a touch of ennui when I think of the ever-increasing trend toward isolation deprivation. Computers, social networking sites and various wireless technologies have not only made it easier to stay connected with others, but have made it pretty much addicting. “Crackberry,” anyone?

While this connectivity has its place, I can’t help but wonder if we wouldn’t benefit from a little more isolation in our lives - to find a place we can go to be alone in order to escape the barrage of media and information, to lose (yet discover) ourselves in our own thoughts and revelations.

Believing, as I do, that everyone has the capacity to be creative in whatever occupation they choose to occupy (professional artist or not), and in our daily lives in general, the ability to spend quality time with ourselves is invaluable to awaken the pursuit of this artistic expression.

Even though I hope you don’t immerse yourself so deep in your attempt to disconnect that you no longer visit my blog, I do hope that every one of us can find the time in our day or week to be alone with our thoughts. I hope in doing so we can discover new ways to add a bit of spice and creativity to our daily routine.

Cheers!