If you’ve been hanging out with me for a while, you know I talk a lot about photography. But, here’s what I really care about: I care about you trusting your vision. I want you to run with it, believe in it, and feel absolutely assured that you’re on the right track.
Your vision belongs to you. It’s your deepest truth. No one else can tell you what you should be doing and how you should be doing it. You don’t have to edit yourself to be “palatable” to others. You are the highest authority when it comes to your own work. The loud voices out there shouting about the “right” way to make art, grading your images with percentage points, making you feel less than, making it clear you’ll never know enough, that you’re an outsider in the “real” art world?
They’re doing it wrong.
It feels like there are an awful lot of voices out there right now telling us to be small. Telling us to quiet down, telling us our truth doesn’t matter. But your heart, soul, mind, and vision? Your art? It’s not about anyone else. And, you aren’t small. You’re amazing, shining, and brilliant. Now is the time to really believe it. I mean NOW now. Like, right now.
The longer we go believing the stories other people tell us about how capable we are, the father we get from our core vision.
Now is the time to recalibrate.
I hear a lot of stories from artists who risk opening up about their challenges, self doubt, and fear. I carry them with me every day, and I put all my energy into reframing them, turning them into tools for empowerment. Because, the cracks are where the light gets in, right?
When I think about all my teaching, you know what my guiding mission is? To help artists become their own teachers. I don’t want you to do things my way. I want to support you, celebrate you, hug you, and cry with you while you find your own beautiful way. I want you to know in your heart that you’re uniquely capable, that you have powerful stories to tell. I want you to trust that when you’re in the zone, intuitively and emotionally responding to the world, making images that bring you alive, for no other reason than that it feels good - THAT’S doing it right.