Ok, before anyone faints at the length of this, I'm only able to be here on occasion, so forgive me if I leave a long post. I've read everything here and it's marvelous; so allow me to give something back. I hope it's interesting to all of you.

Rod showed me this thread: Very exciting, w/ many terrific suggestions. Great to see so many artists thinking about this. I've been a member of RR since 2008, and an artist for almost 70 years, so allow me to give some thoughts on what you've all said...

First, II'm part of the problem 'cause I'm only here on-and-off now (work, health, family, etc) which I regret. But I used to be a regular here (galleries and in the forums), so I know how the site has changed.

First: Art sites (plus music, writing and others) are 'democracies': They're 'open'---anyone can post as long as they follow the rules. The only way to stop that is to screen, to make people apply, meet qualifications, etc; and I sense that arts sites don't want that. A lot of offense in that...And if the site is commercial---as RR is---it's even harder. If you have to fill out a questionaire to walk into a store, you won't go in. So membership is open...

As long as that's the case, you'll get dedicated artists right alongside fame-seekers; and it seems the latter are in greater numbers now than ever before, and I sympathize with all of you that it's turned the site around. But if the site is open, it's bound to happen sometime. People who want to be artists without putting in the effort---they'll join. And---a point some of you have made---being a beginner is something totally different: Beginners bring whole new energies, and are often hungry to learn; and they teach the rest of us too. But the artist whose sole interest is fame? Who takes the easy way out? They're another matter. If RR wants to keep them at bay, it's a matter of isolating them rather then getting rid of them....and I don't know how that's done. Wolf and others have their hands full. The suggestions here are deep.

One way is to share: I'm grateful Rod always tries to make this place better. He's been doing it for years, along with a few others. And yes, I know that Rod's driven Wolf to drink and spend nights in abandoned parking lots; but hey, Wolf may get a tale out of it! I'm serious: Wolf is one of the few artists who could start with an abandoned parking lot, discover some ancient DNA in it, go into 6 millennia of history, span several civilizations, 6 supernovas and a few galactic battles along the way...with a delightful love story thrown in for good measure. And he'll do it in 2 nights! (2 nights!!!) So maybe Rod'll inspire great writing before Wolf files a lawsuit. It could happen... 

But my point is, some will always use art sites as show-off zones. If you can all come up with ways to keep them from turning the site upside down, that would be grewat. I've seen this in all open arts, for years. I'm sorry it happened here. And we've lost so many good artists (many of them my friends)...

But...my thoughts on boosting the inspiration here:

Comments:

First, we have to remember that all artists are not writers. They aren't comfortable writing about art. Some give slight comments because they're much more comfortable creating than writing about art. And some are afraid of sounding clumsy. And that's true of even superlative artists. We just have to remember that they're different from the ones who don't CARE, or who are here strictly for attention.

But, can the first group be drawn in? Yes. Sometimes. Communion. Communion: touching other artists' hearts. Even if it doesn't draw them out, you'll still be touching them, and that's the essence of inspiration. Keep the light lit where you can; If you critique, critique with love. I mean that we all have the same pitfalls, so one person's shortcoming is matched by one of our own. Beethoven the composer worked for eons on a single piece, because he was so unsatisfied with his drafts, he couldn't bear them. If you saw his manuscripts, omg: They looked like a hurricane hit them. Directors remove a third to half of Shakespeare's plays because they're just too long. We all have pitfalls, it's our common heritage. I'm hardly Beethoven, but I've been creating since age 4, and I still have times where, after sharing, I want to change my name and move to the Yukon. I keep expecting, "Mark---don't take this the wrong way, but don't give up your day job!" Like stage fright, it never goes away. So we all should recognize that pitfalls are universal; and only one who's labored over a single color, a single light, a single stroke or single reflection can understand how much we put into a work of art. Actors call it "public solitude"---standing naked in front of the world---and that's what we do. We're exposed, we're seen---and it's glorious because we're sharing our common humanity. So remember that you're in the same boat, even if you're experienced and your recipient isn't. We're privileged to share this very special world. That's how you counteract the fame seekers...create a world they can't. 

The little things...

I studied classical piano for many years, and we had 'masterclasses'. That's where famous artists came by and critiqued us. My first time, I watched a great teacher pour over 4 little notes in a Chopin 'Polonaise', and I thought: Is she kidding??? 30 minutes on 4 notes??? But omg, when she finished: In that 30 minutes, she showed us how 4 tiny notes can express so much joy, so much yearning, so much mystery, and can be so wondrous...we walked out looking at every leaf, listening to every breeze and feeling every stroke of air across our faces as if the whole universe was in them. It's "the universe in a grain of sand..." I'd say, rejoice in those moments! See that we're dealing with heaven in a grain of sand, of how a doodle can be a dance, a single light a galaxy. No exaggeration. That'll be the antidote to fame-seekers...

If some are clumsy sharing these feelings, welcome to the club: There are no manuals on this, it's all from intuition. (God, I studied "Critical Theory" in grad school: the study of criticism. I can guarantee you, there were no answers. None. No field can tell us how to speak from the heart. That's up to us. It's clumsy and messy, but it's glorious. It's heart and soul.) I mentioned Rod: He leaves some of the best comments I get; and, in addition to tackling my crazy prose and wild images, he's way funny. He does little standup routines. But will everyone do that? No---lots of funny people freeze when they have to write it. Wolf on the other hand, leaves smaller comments...but they are so to the point, and so helpful, I walk away glowing. Speak from the heart, that's the key. The fame-seekers don't.

And keep in mind: Critiques in academia can be brutal; so relish in what you get here. (It's equally brutal in the pro world. I made a living in jazz, graphic design and so on...and ay ay ay, some of the reactions you get! One client crashed into the room and shouted: "NO NO NO!" She threw our artwork to the ground. (Nice! Nice one!). Then she yelled: "Make your work like CARROTS!!!!" She lunged forward: "CARROTS---do you UNDERSTAND???" Oh yeah, THAT clears it up! Then she stormed out. Ooooookay.....we thought: "What the _____???" The assignment was NOT about carrots: It was about tools. Wrenches. To the best of my knowledge wrenches do not grow out of the ground...We had no CLUE what she meant. But that's what you get out there, for those of you who've not  had to make a living on your art. Believe me when I say the comments you get here are sooooooo much better...)

One more thing, then I'll stop:

Someone mentioned riff-ing off of other artists: Yes! If you can work with someone else, do it! If you want to pay little homages to an artist, do it!  It doesn't matter if the result is whacked out---'whacked out' is part of being an artist. If an artist inspires an image or a tale, go for it! The fame-seekers wouldn't know how. Break down the barriers between galleries...In many of my dedis, I try to emulate the recipient's work. I often fail miserably, but it's a blast! A connection! And the recipient almost always loves it. That's a connection so much more potent than 30 shots of a waterfall in 10 minutes. Creating is in many ways like being a divine fool, dancing off of clouds...be a fool, a dancer, and revel in the act of flying off of treetops and hugging the sun. The poet Auden wrote: "Follow, poet, follow right, to the bottom of the night, with your unconstraining voice, still persuade us to rejoice, with the farming of a verse, make a vineyard of the curse, sing of human unsuccess In a rapture of distress..." He's saying, stand up and shout the very act of creation. Some of you already work with other artsts (I know Rod does): It's another way of counteracting the fame-seekers. Ie, create where they merely imitate. That's how I made RR a home, years back. And several artists did it with me. No one can topple that. No one.

A final anecdote:

One day (it's told), Beethoven was walking with the famous writer, Goethe. Two royals walked by, and Goethe bowed deeply. Beethoven grabbed him and said: "Don't do that! They should bow to US, not us to THEM!!!" Much of the world hasn't a clue why we do what we do---why we could spend a week on one image that isn't food, it isn't money, it can't start a car or clean a carpet---but we do it obsessively anyway. Outsiders call it 'much ado about nothing'...but nope: It's much ado about everything. So the world should bow to us once in a while! I'll check out the artists in this thread (wonderful stuff), and I'll try to come back to this thread in a day or two. Take care, and keep creating! M.