Encouraging words. (a little goes a long way)

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The life of an entertainer can be a challenge for many reasons; maintaining steady work, staying current or sought after by clients, balancing life between family and career and the list goes on. At times we may get frustrated and need a boost of morale. This is why I feel it is important to lift one another up just as we try to do for our audience with our talents.

Starting out:

In most any profession we have the apprentice and the mentor or teacher. From the mentor we learn our desired trade; be it an artistic one or something perhaps in the service industry. You work closely with the teacher learning the skill sets and secrets to success in that desired field. Hopefully as well as sharing their knowledge, the instructor is also encouraging with their words to give the student confidence that they can accomplish the task. If you do well in the learning stage, eventually you are set free into the world to seek out your spot among the many others offering similar talents. The first few years we are still going to grow, make mistakes and hopefully learn from them. If we are wise, seeking out further education in our desired field is a great idea. Eventually we should become polished in our skillset for whatever trade we have pursued and be competent in our work. The life of an artist or performer is usually more subject to criticism than that of a common trade. Peoples concept of art, entertainment or how the performer should look is vastly different, therefore making the field of art and entertainment one often judged by opinion not always talent. If one has a plumber fix a leak, most people are satisfied if the job is done correctly and at a reasonable fee. The plumber is not put under the same microscope as that of a performer. Most of us don’t care if the plumber is neatly dressed, that his solder job was beautifully finished, or even if his wrenches were all shiny, we just want the plumbing issue fixed in a timely manor.

Critique or criticism?

We as artists must except a certain amount of input from the outside world, some positive and some not so flattering. One must be able to take the good with the bad, recognizing this input can be useful to improve our talents. However, at a point we may loose faith in ourselves and often unjustly so if the critique is actually more of a criticism. Often the layperson does not really understand how much of our life we pour into our work, they may have never tried any type of artistic hobbies to understand that it is not an easy road. Therefore it may not occur to them that sometimes their opinions are best left to themselves or perhaps conveyed in a more helpful tone. It is far too easy to sit there and be the “armchair quarterback”  criticizing an act or artists work. True, everyone has an opinion, however not always is it necessary for one to share.

Reassurance please:

So where is that mentor to lean on when things get tough, where are the assuring words that made you feel you could take on the world? We humans are emotional creatures and everyone needs to feel their worth from time to time. Sometimes we are lucky enough to keep in touch with our mentors and have the occasional chat, we may even find them suggesting our learning is never really over. One of the best ways to keep growing is to keep learning. My mama clown likened the art of clowning to the old phrase “a rolling stone gathers no moss.” She would conclude with ” and no one likes a clown covered in moss.”  Which is to say, never think you are so good or experienced that you can’t learn something new. Great words by which to live in any circumstance. We don’t want to run back to the teachers or mentors every time we receive a negative comment, but occasionally touching base to receive a helpful word or two is good. The helpful words may even be that we need to polish our skills a bit to get up to where they feel our potential can take us.

Spread the love:

Not everyone has the mentor or teacher to whom they can look for help, this is why I feel it is important to encourage others, especially in the entertainment field. Entertainers can easily loose confidence when you literally are baring your soul for others on a regular basis, so an uplifting word from a fellow artist can make all of the difference. Sadly, I do see other artists sitting back scoffing at the work of another, this is very upsetting to me. This in no way helps the individual improve or makes the world of art and entertainment better. Shouldn’t the desire of all artists be that to improve our culture? Sharing a positive word is free, and takes really no effort. Not to say we have to shower each other with compliments on a daily basis, simply saying “great job” is uplifting. Seeing a fellow artist in need of improvement in an area may warrant some words of instruction. Make sure that you approach the matter as lending helpful advise, not criticizing their work. You may be surprised to find the individual was looking for help but didn’t know where to turn. Also we may find the individual is not interested in our input which is okay too. We don’t need to force or thoughts on anyone, but reassure them we just were wanting to lend a helpful viewpoint and let the matter rest.

Clown Antics cares:

The Clown Antics family is here to support the art of Clowning and the related skills like face painting and magic. This is why we have artists in those fields to share of themselves through the blog posts. We also have contests to help encourage you to get excited about your talents and try new things. The world of art and entertainment is vast and the family entertainer is a good portion of that world. Let’s encourage and lift the spirits of one another as we try to do for our audience.

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