345. The Artist's Awareness

Every artwork we encounter offers us an experience that can broaden our awareness of ourselves and the world around us. The artist is able to give us this gift because they are already aware enough to be capable of sharing their awareness.

The artist’s awareness grows because they are paying attention. They are watching everything that is happening in and around them, as well as exploring the creations of other artists. They must observe and absorb everything, as they cannot know in advance what will be most important to their own art.

Awareness expands with each and every moment of sincere attention. And it is awareness that brings the intuitions that motivate the artist towards new forms of expression. Not only do they become more cognizant of the possibilities of their medium, they also become better capable of communicating their experiences through it.

Attention is thus the single most important factor in becoming a more expressive and capable artist. But the artist must be careful not to confuse attention with controlled focus. Whereas controlled focus limits perception to specific objects, awareness expands when the attention is open and free. This means that it must be permitted to wander, without being restricted from looking at anything, including the parts of the self that are most embarrassing and the parts of the world that are most terrifying.

Openness of attention enables the artist to see beauty that has previously escaped notice. And when the experience of these unappreciated aspects of reality becomes salient, the artist’s intuitions push them towards the creation of bold new artworks.

The only choice the artist must make for their awareness to expand is to release their attention from attachment to particular intentions. Once freed, their attention will naturally gravitate towards what has not yet been fully seen, and it is these discoveries that will form the heart of the artist’s most powerful works.