Learning curve

I have decided to take a break from fiddling with the Sony EX-1 camera I am to use tomorrow to shoot the last shots of the documentary to write this post! The camera I was using before today was sent in for a simple repair, and came back completely broken...so Brett, my usual cinematographer and editor has allowed me to borrow this precious treasure. The buttons, and placement of the buttons are completely different than the other camera. It has more functions and more settings than the other camera, and it is much heavier! Subsequently, I have been chasing my poor cat around all evening, using her as my subject as I acclimate myself to this unfamiliar tool.

One of the most challenging aspects of being an artist of many mediums is the constant learning curve. New equipment means new skills to learn. New spaces means new spatial patterns to learn. New scripts mean new words to memorize. Of course, the list goes on. Have you yet learned to rig a harness from the ceiling? Have you learned to sew the hem of a dress, or much less sew an entire costume? Have you learned the next most ingenious way to stuff all of your gig gear into the car? No? Well I haven't either...yet. However, all of these things are on the horizon, and one by one, I will learn to do them all! I invite the challenge of learning something new in a short period of time, as it gives my brain a good jolt. Some people do puzzles. I do art. Solving these problems makes me feel powerful and fearless. Every time I master a new skill, I feel more free to take bigger and bigger risks. Some people may not see it this way, but we artists are thrill seekers of a different sort. An adrenaline rush to us might be painting an entire set over one night, and standing back to admire it in the morning before the show goes up that very evening.

Challenge, to me, is part of the life-blood of being an artist. If there is no challenge to speak of, is there a point to doing art? Challenge helps us to be life-long learners. And it reminds us why we do what we do. Art is HARD. And that's just the way I like it!

~Cara