Serena’s Reflections Upon the Work of a Laurel. Prelude: Find Your Art

Serena’s Reflections Upon the Work of a Laurel

This series will focus on MY opinion of the job that you agree to take on when you accept the accolade of The Laurelate. Being a Laurel is not just an award, regalia, or a title which is bestowed upon you. It’s a job. A good candidate will already be doing the job before they are elevated. 

Disclaimer: I am not, in any way, pointing fingers and saying “You are a bad Laurel” to anyone. At some times, I feel like I am being a bad Laurel by not being able to fulfill my own expectations. That’s just life, and I’m okay with it. You should try and be, too. 

Prelude: Find Your Art

Most artisans are interested in a variety of different arts (or sciences. For convenience sake I’m using “arts” to describe both arts AND sciences). Or, at least, multiple art forms that are closely related. Take my personal interest as an example. I love raising silkworms, but I also love processing the silk (up to a point; there is one step in the cocoon to usable thread process that I loathe). They are different arts, and different skill sets, but are related. 

I have found many people who like something that they are very good at, but it’s not really their passion. They seem to get the idea that if they make this type of art or do that kind of art they will be noticed for their artistic prowess. That may be true, but there is a difference between being good at an art form and having a passion for it. 

I can always tell when a person is talking about their art. They may excel in, let’s say, embroidery, but when talking to them, I can see a sparkle in their eyes when they start to talk about, for example, children’s hats. When asked more about it, they get animated and could go on for hours and hours about it. Then I ask them why they don’t make children’s hats? They seem to think nobody else will care about THAT, but everyone likes pretty embroidery. 

My advice to everyone is to always follow your passion. No matter what anyone else thinks about your art, an artist’s passion for that art is obvious in the work that they do on the art. Many people find silkworms hard to even look at, much less touch or work with. However, that’s what I wanted to do. I found my art. I did my art, and I loved it. 

So first, find your art. Then DO your art, with reckless abandon and exuberant joy. Work hard on your art, and then share your wonders with everyone. With hard work and dedication, mastery should result. And if for some reason mastery doesn’t follow, at least you’ve filled yourself with joy in the process. 

Next up: Chapter One: Be a Scholar

:: Questions? Comments? Feel free to comment here, comment on the link (if you got here from Facebook), or email me at directly at serenasbugs@gmail.com. Thanks for reading!