I remember on my first day with my art teacher, he said one thing that stayed with me. As we spoke of copying vs. originality, he said “There’s a difference between a painter and an artist. Merely having technical knowledge does not make you an artist. That’s just a painter”. My head first protested because well, painters are those who paint walls, not those who make beautiful designs on canvases. But I did get the point.

And now, mingling closely with artists, I see so much more clearly what he meant. Again, I get my terminology slightly wrong here, because technically artisans are people who work in a skilled trade, making things with their hands. But you’ll get the point, won’t you?

I see so many artists who compartmentalize. And I guess this will be natural for most people without any spiritual background, because art without spirituality is dangerous. The mind is like a tank of water, mud safely settled at the bottom, the upper surface appearing calm and clear, giving the illusion that there is no trash. Art shakes things up, brings the dirt right up to the surface. And without a spiritual foundation, one has no idea how this needs to be handled. So we limit art to the canvas, or to the instrument, dance floor, or to the stage. And this compartmentalization works initially, and then starts to tear the system apart. Is it any wonder then, that India has a history of great artists, none of whom were mentally unstable, eccentric or suicidal, whereas Western artists have always been either or all? I don’t know of any Indian art form that didn’t establish a firm spiritual foundation first, and that is what made the difference.

What is an artist, really?

• Someone who looks at something ordinary, something everyone looks at all the time, and sees something no one’s ever seen before. A fresh perspective, a new direction, a different approach.
• Someone who is fearless in creating- or someone who is capable of setting any fears aside, in order to create.
• Someone who is willing to see the truth as it is, and is willing to bear the brunt of expressing that truth. And more than anything else, someone who can do this in a creative, loving and beautiful way – in a way that the message will be accepted.

Our creative outlets give us this space – a space where we can be free of judgment – especially judgment of ourselves, a space where we can learn to set aside our fears of discovering and expressing the truth. But when it comes to taking this approach to our personal lives, we falter.

Almost all artists I know have trouble really fitting in with the society, because a part of them follows the heart – enough to not feel a sense of belonging in a mostly-zombied-out world. And this is a difficult thing, because it is human to want to belong. The bane of an artist is the fact that they will probably never belong. They try, to belong among other artists, but that doesn’t work out, because they’re all compartmentalizing too, and we all compartmentalize in different ways, which causes conflict and friction. The eventual consequence is a feeling of resentment, indignation and self-righteousness towards others, even more so towards ‘ordinary’ people. If you find yourself becoming cynical and angry (a masculine approach to unsolvable problems) or depressed and dejected (a feminine approach) over time, you know it is because you’re not taking art outside your studio or your stage.

Is there a way out? Yes there is. Every artist will tell you that art is their bliss. But we come back to the question we began with – are you an artist, or an artisan? Are you just learning a technique, are you just capable of creating when you pick up a tool? Or do you let yourself carry your wide-eyed, child-like wonder everywhere you go, and bring your vulnerability to everyone you meet? That’s the secret here.

Let your art take over your life. Allow yourself to listen just as deeply, observe just as wholly, and absorb just as effectively, in every moment, every conversation, every relationship in your life. Allow yourself to be brutally honest with yourself, and allow yourself to show your true self to others – in a beautiful, creative way that is easy to accept, while still being true to the message. More than anything, be open to letting life break you, and have faith that you will learn to rebuild yourself, putting the pieces back together in the completely different way. Sounds difficult? Since when did difficulty ever scare artists? Not only is it possible, it is also worth the effort. If a few hours of your art form can bring you such bliss, have you ever wondered what a lifetime of it can do?