Who’s an Artist? Or what is an an Artist? I certainly can’t tell you what Art is in any definitive fashion. Its sorta like saying you know what good food is. There are so many permutations of the subjective label of Art that are culturally dependent, and deeply personal depending on a person’s aesthetic.

I think the heart of artistry lies in Intent. Its kind a of a spiritual thing to me. Spirituality, much like Art, seems to be dependent on the perceiver and their frame of reference, but I guess Intent could be described as the nature of the purpose one assigns to something they are attempting to do. I propose that an artistic intent involves some degree of conscious commitment to “why” you are creating something. The “why” is less important than the intent and the commitment. Intent is alot of other things as well, including the focus on energy, which occurs on levels ranging from the subconscious and “soul” level all the way up to intense concentration.

I used to create in the hopes that it would get me noticed, and in getting noticed I could arrange my life to suit me in some fashion I found more acceptable than whatever the current state was. I was perfecting the “art” of neediness in that process. I guess it was art, because I was very focused and clear on why I was doing it, but it was ultimately self destructive and I walked away from it all.

Then I found my vocation. Not what I do for a living on any given day, but my vocation, in the way Carl Jung describes it. He wrote that your vocation is what your soul is called to do. So it was back to the guitar for me, and telling the stories I felt compelled to tell. The Intent was different though, and it was rooted in making my soul happy. After a few years the Intent expanded. Another spice got added to the mix. I found that when I went out and played live there was often a connection, an exchange, that seemed to be serving both me and the listener. And the further away from needing the approval of anyone to do what I was doing, the cleaner the exchange got.

So I kept doing it. And people started using the word Artist in connection with my name. I thought about all the years that I had associated that term with pretentiousness and narcissism. While there is no shortage of folks running around behaving that way and calling themselves artists, I decided that was a cowardly, cynical approach to the concept of Artist. I began to view the term Artist from the perspective of the name you give someone who is called upon by some unknown mystery to serve. They serve their soul, and then hopefully, others. Because such a gift, to whatever degree of proficiency it may ultimately mature, is one that seems to be requisite with the responsibility of being shared.

So find what your soul is called to do. Forget about whether it can pay the bills or not. Maybe it will, maybe it won’t. But it will pay the debt you owe your soul. And once you start paying down on that go ahead and share the wealth with those around. Live as an Artist. Make lattes, fix cars, paint, write, sing, mow lawns, do whatever your soul is called to do with the Intent that you honor yourself and others in the doing. Its no big mysto- airy-fairy concept. Just find the courage to go do it. Then start…we are all a work in progress…

I have been doing that for a while now and when I am living in that intent I am a truly happy person, no matter what I am doing. Last January an email came out of the blue from a label in Germany called Bear- Family records, who was putting together a Vietnam themed compilation. I have no idea how they found me. On the first of July their compilation project came out and our song “The Ballad of Billy Saigon” was included, along with tracks from the Doors, John and Yoko, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and many more. I got a copy of the disc we were on and as I sat there listening to Springsteen’s voice come through the speakers only to be followed by mine a few tracks later, I said a little thank you to the forces of Spirit for helping me move to a point where Intent could guide my creative life instead of the desperate need for approval.

Go chase a dream today…you might catch it….peace- WES

Link to the Compilation

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