I thought about my attachment to the piece and what it all meant. I had placed a very high price on it in the off chance that someone would want to buy it. But then I worried...maybe I should have said it was not for sale? What if someone did buy it- was I ok with that?
The attachment is not limited to this particular piece. I usually have a very hard time parting with my art. I still think about a particular piece that sold to someone before I was ready to sell it. I'm grateful that I at least have a picture of it.
One of my favorite books on art and process is "The War of Art" by Steven Pressfield. As much as I enjoyed this book for its motivational qualities, I was surprised when reading it that the author took such an impersonal viewpoint to his work. He separates artists into two distinct categories: the amateur and the professional. One of the qualities he lists as being a professional is this, "We do not overidentify with our jobs. The amateur takes it so seriously it paralyzes him...If we think of ourselves as a corporation, it gives us a healthy distance on ourselves. We're less subjective."
I once had a very professional artist tell me that my problem was that I fall in love with my art. I can completely understand what he was trying to say and can even agree with it. I don't want to be a corporation. I do fall in love with it. I'm an amateur and I would have to say, I wouldn't have it any other way.
