Art is a blessing, or your money back

Weekly art practice 63 | The Outsider Artist known as SLART.

NEW HERE? WHAT'S THIS WEEKLY ART PRACTICE ALL ABOUT?

Every Saturday, I share my weekly art practice journey. I'm captivated by the process – not just the finished pieces but everything from influences to materials. It's like getting a behind-the-scenes peek at an artist's world.

[If this masterpiece is too long for email, you can read Cream of the Crop in Substack. Or download the Substack app.]

I am a turtle with ADHD 🐢

I’ve never been diagnosed, but the writing is on the wall, all over the floor and on my face. I can’t remember what my point was now, and I’m not even trying to be funny…

So, this week…

I don’t want to moan about this too much, as I’ve actually grown from the experience. But in my day job, I had my annual review this week and received an ‘underachieving’ score, which means no bonus. I can live without a bonus, it’s a bonus after all, and it’s never wise to mentally spend money before you have it. But hearing that I’m underachieving, especially when this is the first time I’ve been told so, was a shock.

To cut a long story short, I was very pissed off at first. I wanted to quit, I wanted to speak my mind to my colleagues, but I decided to sit with it. Eventually, I realised that some of the feedback was valid. I tend to be a lone wolf, to keep myself to myself, and sometimes I forget to work in the way the company requires. Without boring you, that means informing certain teams about what I’m working on, communicating with my team, etc. I now see that I’ve been quite insular and I accept that.

The ‘underachieving’ label still stings a bit, especially as I generated over 100 times my annual salary for the company, regardless of how I worked. But from a business perspective, I suppose they had to cut costs, and not everyone was going to get a bonus. Those who did only received 50% of it anyway.

Zooming out even further, none of it really matters because I am an artist at heart, and that’s where my passion truly lies! and, I have a job.

What else, oh yes, a prominent coach blacklisted me from using their programmes because I requested a refund.

Wow, thanks for not holding me to that. So kind.

“Loving us all, except when you ask for a refund”

I’m sure you’ll agree that the tone of the guarantee Vs the passive-aggressive tone of the email did not match.

So I replied to that email with…

It’s true, I wanted a transformative experience through conversation, not a collection of questions that’s supposed to lead to transformation. It was mainly watching him go through the process with a guy who said ‘fuck’ a lot, which really fucked me off haha! I’ve been impressed by this coach’s videos and content online, I really thought it would transform my life. However, I tend to have high expectations of being transformed by someone else. When I say transform my life, I genuinely thought I would come away with clarity, a new perspective on myself, my art and how I face the world. These coaches are experts at selling, and I’m not doubting that he doesn’t get results with their clients, but I’m not or cannot pay £100k for a year’s coaching or whatever it costs.

Note to self: being an artist is about listening to your own voice.

Regarding the global Zine collaboration, I want to say a huge thanks to

Tess McCarthy

and

Kevin Chung

for holding the fort while I take some headspace. It's important that the project continues to progress while I sort a few other things out. I feel like the pressure I’m under is entirely mental, and even just passing the baton to others has lifted a weight off my mind.

Matthew Lieber

has been absolutely amazing despite my poor communication! Thank you.

To blurt this out of my head onto paper, the three main things occupying my thoughts right now are:

• Memento Vivere exhibition is my number one priority.

• Art BRUT, my outsider art exhibition in Swindon, which is also a stepping stone leading up to Memento Vivere.

• Global Zine Project, which I had to push to the side mentally to focus on the other two, for a bit.

With Memento Vivere, the invites were sent out on Tuesday, so they have most likely been received by now. I posted about it on Instagram Stories for promotion, but I am putting it aside for a week so I can focus on Art BRUT.

It is funny, isn’t it? How our minds organise and arrange information, create pressure, avoid things, procrastinate, and justify. The mind is the centre of our experience.

Anyway, on to Art BRUT. The open call is launching next week and will be displayed on the Swindon Arts Fringe website. I contacted the Swindon Museum and Art Gallery to ask about using some space there, and it looks like a strong possibility, which is great for a few reasons. It links my name to the town’s official art gallery, I can add to my CV that I curated an exhibition there, the gallery benefits from promoting an outsider art event, and I will not need to staff the exhibition since it will be within their space and opening hours.

I have been procrastinating on calling the woman who handles this at Swindon MAG, so I will do it now and report back.

Update: I called, but there was no answer. I sent a text and an email asking for a good time to talk. I will update you next week on that.

Update 2: We chatted and are going to meet later today to view the space. Exciting stuff!

That is all for now, take care everyone.

Memento Vivere: Remember to live.

Have a great Saturday.

Best wishes,

SLART.

P.S. One more thing, could you please leave a 4 or 5-star (Hopefully not 1,2 or 3) review on my SLART Google page? I'm looking to enhance my online presence as an artist, and this small, straightforward, and swift action would be immensely beneficial. Cheers!