Follow Your Bliss

Follow your bliss. I was watching a behind the scenes documentary recently at The Blue Man Group and the founders were discussing what inspired them to get started. One important concept that empowered them was to “follow your bliss” and today seems to be the essence of their shows. This is something I can relate to.

Ten years ago I stepped out of the corporate structure and followed my bliss and decided to make a living as an artist. The most wonderful thing about doing what you love and living a job of self expression is the journey, not the end result. It is a beautiful concept to give of yourself, communicate and to make a living at it. Everyday is my job and who I am. It takes a tremendous amount of tenacity, will and determination to create yourself as a commodity. You work much harder than you would for another as we have ourselves to satiate. When you are your own commodity you have the power to determine the quality of what you have to offer. In this day and age we are so much more empowered to create the outcome of our artistic future.

There is only a minute percent of the society that is being sold to us as artistic expression and I don’t believe it represents my tastes. The same song drones on the radio, the same formula of action hero garbage is on the theatre screen and there is general lack luster of entertainment in the mainstream. I stopped watching TV, listening to the radio and reading the paper because to me it was all rubbish. I am not a hermit that lives in a cave but I tend to select how I entertain myself a bit differently than what the “market” is selling. I see local bands that are amazing and should most certainly be heard globally. I read articles and stories posted on the internet by “unknown” writers that are very intriguing and informative. I communicate with my community as to what other people have found to capture their interests. I have been immersed in scads more culture by being a part of it instead of just paying my X amount of dollars to see what has been deemed as entertainment. This is an incredible time to express yourself, and make a living at it. With the emergence of the internet, email, social networks and the ever growing distaste of how things have been done, we are in an era that is seeking true creativity. It’s the corporate buzzword and what people are seeking. At one time you had to get through someone’s “people” to have audience with them and now you are as close as a click of a button. A new way of connecting is moving in and it puts the ball in your court. I have been able to be in front of people that I would have never imagined because of the accessibility due to the electronic age. If people can preview who you are and what you do online, then THEY can decide if you have what they want.
I searched my interests, joined social networks and started submitting my stuff anywhere and everywhere and the ball began to roll. You have to be proactive, consistent and determined to showcase your talents in every possible arena. You don’t have to be dead to be appreciated as an artist! You constantly have to put your energy out and IT WILL COME BACK! It seldom comes back the way you expect it but it always comes back.

Here are some of the avenues I have taken:

Google alerts are awesome! You simply key in precise words i.e.: “writer needed” and it will scour all that has been posted on the web and send you alerts in your email. This has proven to be a very valuable tool for me.

After doing Google searches for henna and artists as well as photography, eventually I was asked to submit my work for this issue of The Art Fix.

(pic) I also had an entry accepted for another issue of The Art Fix

By joining a photo sharing network flickr.com, I submitted to JPG magazine and was accepted.

By sending out press releases every time I do a show, eventually someone showed up and did a story on me

Orlando sentinel (located through my website under Press)
http://www.barbeecain.com/main.html

I was asked by a filmmaker at one of my shows to be the subject of a documentary and held a show at The AKA, in Orlando, teamed up with other creative types and created a show to preview the film. I invited the media once again and they came.

(picture) I got a job filming a couple of TV shows from an online ad

I did a film from online casting site mandy.com

I was asked to be a part of Soulclipse the solar eclipse in Turkey via a fellow photographer that I had met on Tribe.net

barbee
www.barbeecain.com