advance of his availability. He is in an enviable position on
a business level, but he finds it increasingly perilous to his
artistic health. When the wheel turns and the project
committed to three years ago must be executed, can he do it
with imagination and his initial cnthusiasm? The honest
answer is often an uncomfortable no, And so, at great
financial cost, he has begun cutting back his future
commitments, investing in the riskier but more rewarding
gain of artistic integrity.
No amount of skillful invention can replace the
essential element of imagination.
EDWARD HOPPERNot all of us, always, can muster such creative courage in
the face of fiscal temptation, but we can try. We can at least
be willing. As artists, we are travelers. Too heavily
encumbered by our worldly dignity, too invested in our
stations and positions, we are unable to yield to our spiritual
leadings. We insist on a straight and narrow when the
Artist’s Way is a spiral path. Invested in the outer trappings
of a career, we can place that investment above our inner
guidance. Deciding to play by the numbers, we lose our
commitment to counting ourselves and our own goals
worthy.
Creativity is not a business, although it may generate