Ever since I decided to start this book project, my mind has been on fire and racing thinking about all of the possibilities. It’s wonderful. I woke up at 4:30am this morning and had to sit down and write. Perhaps it’s because I’m on vacation this week and want something to do, perhaps it’s because I stopped watching TV and need to find another way to relax, all I know is that this is all I want to work on right now and that’s a wonderful feeling.
I’ve been working on the manuscript steadily the last few nights and I’ve been amazed how easily everything is flowing as I write. At this point I’m trying to just throw everything down on paper, without any editing. I don’t think about myself as a writer, and generally speaking I hate writing. (on the other hand most of the time I’m writing grant applications/artist statements which are always painful to work on, so that probably explains my distaste for writing) What makes this type of writing distinctive is that right now I’m writing for myself, about topics that I care passionately about.
I have a working title for the book, as well as a structure and an overall mission statement. For now, I’m calling it “How to be a visual artist, student, and teacher”. The fundamental concept behind the book is that as visual artists, we all inhabit the roles of artist, teacher, and student through our creative process. Even if you’ve never gone to art school, never taught a class, or never shown your artwork professionally, as a visual artist you will inevitably have experiences related to these three roles. The idea is to have three chapters: I. Student, II. Artist, III. Teacher. Each chapter has a list of about 15-20 statements that are explained based on my own personal experiences as a student, artist, and teacher and will be peppered with personal anecdotes.
What do you think of the working title? What suggestions would you make?
Clara Lieu 