Writing the Artist Statement in 2025! Time to Blow UP Some Resolutions
I’ve never been onboard with New Year’s resolutions.
Partly because I know myself well enough to know I’m more a flow-with-the-moment kinda gal than a planner.
Partly because I’ve gotten myself in serious hot water planning more than I can fulfill.
And partly because I just don’t like the word resolutions. It sounds so, well… Resoundingly reserved and… resolved. All tied up in a bow before it’s even manifested!
Not my cup of tea.
So, this New Year 2025, resolutions are out the door.
Instead, here’s a word I can embrace with my whole heart: Intentions, clear-eyed intentions.
Intentions feel promising, yet flexible.
They feel open, yet specific.
They feel embodied, as well as conceptual.
They feel visionary without the judgment.
Five Ways To Move Into 2025: The Year Of Intentions
As you may have figured out by now, I’m all about writing.
As a practice, it not only deepens our connection to everything and anything, but it’s a way to gather fleeting thoughts into a container where you can explore, rearrange, examine, and play around.
It’s also a way to practice setting boundaries for your Inner Critic, and trusting yourself in a safe environment. (BTW, inside the 3rd edition of Writing The Artist Statement, I have a foolproof system for dealing with your Internal Critic. Seriously, the book is worth just this section!)
I’m also all about you, a visual artist who works from your creative core.
I understand the creative pull of visual language; how it offers all of us—creator and viewer—a deep dive into immediacy, a present-tense moment all its own.
And…
Writing The Artist Statement Elevates Your Thinking
For decades I’ve been encouraging artists to write, not just for someone else to read, but for you to feel the power behind finding your unique words that fit your unique work.
When you start writing, it pushes you into uncomfortable territory, especially when you are called to write about yourself and your work.
And this discomfort is critical for breaking new creative ground.
The fascinating thing about creativity is that it is NOT exclusive to one domain over another. Einstein, when he was computing wildly original equations, often stopped to play the violin. “Music helps me when I’m thinking about my physics,” he’s known for saying.
When you are a creative person, you find yourself creating across platforms, mediums, genres, etc. You can’t lock up creativity because it’s dynamic, alive, constantly moving the goalpost for you no matter what!
This is a blessing (you can’t stop it!) and a curse (you have to figure out what to prioritize, when).
For decades I’ve been preaching how writing the artist statement helps artists see their work from another perspective that elevates their entire creative process.
And now, I have company!
As Adam Grant, a psychologist over on Substack writes:
Writing isn’t what you do after you have an idea. It’s how you develop an inkling into an insight. Turning thoughts into words sharpens reasoning. What’s fuzzy in your head becomes clearer on the page. “I’m not a writer” shouldn’t stop you from writing. Writing is a tool for thinking.
When writing the artist statement, consider this: words help shape the sensations glimmering at the edge of every visual piece you create.
Where Does Writing the Artist Statement land?
Artist As Solopreneur Or Cultural Guardian?
Recently, I’ve also realized it’s time to pivot from self-awareness as an isolated tool for self-improvement and extend self-awareness to include our collective humanity.
I’m coming into the realization that, as individuals, we are also (and always) a part of a larger collective.
As such, navel gazing is a limited strategy.
Because the Self is always interconnected to Others, we short change our own growth by not including our impact on those who encounter our work..
The Big Question for Me in 2025:
How do I want to show up for others, even as I am working on showing up for myself?
If It Strikes Your Fancy, Pick Up One or More of These 5 Intentions For 20255
First, here’s a reminder about why writing the artist statement is so vital:
It’s the neurological process of naming something in words that brings that thing into consciousness. When you can’t name a thing, then for you it literally doesn’t exist.
2025 Intention #1:
Honoring what I actually feel so I can seamlessly integrate authenticity into the work I do.
Me: I will pay attention to whatever feeling turns up. I will give it space with 3 deep breaths. Then I will acknowledge my specific feeling: I am feeling xxx. And ask: What does this xxx want me to do next?
The key: Remembering that every feeling, from deepest dark to lightest light, is part of the honor of being alive. We are whole, inclusive Beings, and all of us is acceptable. All. Of. Us.
Your Turn: _____________________________________________________________
2025 Intention #2:
Trusting what I’ve accomplished so far, because it feeds the social impact of what comes next.
Me: 2024 was a serious uphill climb with every win logging hundreds of hours.
- I finally got this custom website designed and running smoothly. Seriously, so much work. Have you checked it out?
- I logged over 39,000 words in long-form blog posts (no AI, folks!). Here’s one you might find valuable: Ten Tips For A Perfect Artist Statement Presentation.
- I kept up with sending weekly emails to my loyal list of visual artists, feeling soooo grateful for their continuing support. (Well, in the spirit of transparence, I did miss a few weeks here and there and might miss a few more in 2025. The difference now? I’m not giving myself as much grief over this as I have in the past.)
- I set up a system so I can start my Curiosity Cocktails podcast (stay tuned!)
- I started my first Substack publication: A Slice of Orange, A Pinch of Sky, as a way to work on a book that’s been tapping me on the shoulder for twenty years!
The key: Shout it from the rooftops. 2025 is no time to play small!
Your Turn: _____________________________________________________________
2025 Intention #3: My Big Questions: Where will my creative truth makes the greatest impact? What creative accomplishments will contribute the most to our collective reality?
Me: Right now, what gives me the juiciest satisfaction is…
1) Supporting artists to bring their visions boldly into an aching world, via this blog, new courses, and a forthcoming podcast.
2) Awakening our collective consciousness to the true value of the Inner Teen as the touchstone for Radical Creativity.
3) Finally pulling back the curtain on my personal writing. What does that look like?
(Stay tuned…)
The key: Lean into your strengths; especially remember the skills that come so easily you forget to believe in them.
Your Turn: _____________________________________________________________
2025 Intention #4: Where do I want to grow so self-trust transitions into social impact?
Me: Where do I shut down and stay small? What elevates my ability to share without reservation? When do I shortchange myself, so I don’t fully give what I can? How can I better recognize perfection when it’s slowing me down?
The key: Self-honesty. Self-care. Self-love.
Your Turn: _____________________________________________________________
2025 Intention #5: Handing over the keys to my CreativeSelf as she springs into cultural relevance.
Me:
- Remembering to allow my CreativeSelf the space and time for organic creation.
- Paying attention to what my emotional, physical, and spiritual self needs to sustain my CreativeSelf: rest, healthy nourishment, time to heal (major surgery coming up!), entertainment.
- Giving my personal writing the time it deserves.
- Finding ways to advance the intentional stewardship my creative projects deserve.
- Serving my small, but mighty, circle of family and friends.
- Loving myself as the imperfect, perfect spirit in human form that I am.
The key: Include all areas of your life.
Your Turn: _____________________________________________________________
Remember, in this journey of being human, you owned words long before you owned any mark on any surface.
Trust your words. Write them down. Keep a journal: an art journal / a life journal / a cooking journal… really, any journal will end up including more than you can now imagine.
Keep your words as alive as you keep your visual creations, and they will serve you well in 2025 and beyond.
P.S. If you want to work with me, here are three places to start.
1. Even in 2025, even with AI on the loose, even with images domination Instagram…an Artist Statement can be used anywhere and everywhere.
2. Besides, in these info-saturated days, it sets you apart. The easiest, fastest route I know is my book with its Ambitious Bundle attached. Check out the only book ever written on artist statements now in its third edition.
When doubts are creeping in. When you hit a creative roadblock. When you’re sure nothing is working, come Meet The Goddess of Inspiration. Your CreativeSelf will thank you!
3. If you want some serious, evergreen, retro, art career material, I have two seasons of The smARTist Telesummit (originally $497) each one available as a one-time podcast for just $97. Inside, there might be the art-career gem you’ve been missing.
