differently
[ˈdif(ə)rəntlē]
ADVERB
in a way that is not the same as another.
in varied ways; diversely.
What does it mean to live differently?
For me living differently is all about one pursuit. I am constantly pursuing creation. The basis of that drive for me comes from a desire to be an image of my Creator. As a Christian I believe that I was created in the image of a great artist. One who brought out of nothing, everything that is perfect and beautiful. So, due to my belief in God as an artist, I strive to reflect His image through myself and what I create.
On a non-spiritual level, almost everything that I have ever been passionate involves expression or the process of telling my story. I have always loved photography, video making, writing, painting, and music. At the core of every form of art listed previously is expression. This, I believe, has been displayed through most artists, and is a fairly common belief. For instance, it is well known that Picasso expressed his experiences with his lovers through his artwork (as well as many other experiences), and Van Gogh is quoted saying: “I dream my painting, and then I paint my dream.” All this to say, it is the goal of many, if not most artists, to share their own story, testimony, or experience through their artwork.
So, the basis of sharing my experiences and my story through my art is not unique. What is unique about me is my experience and my story. Sometimes the way that I express myself is clear and obvious, like now as I literally explain myself in words. However, it can also seem obscure. When I am painting or sketching, I can choose to focus only on the release of leaving something on paper, or I can choose to paint something that symbolizes my experience. Yet, even if I were able to display this expression to the world, many people, if not all people, would interpret it to mean or stand for something else. So, a conundrum tends to arise because I have accomplished the expression of my experience, but I have not always succeeded in the communication of that expression. This is the reason that I love to create videos.
To me creating a video is a direct opportunity to communicate using text, words, images, or even body language. Videos open the field of expression from being limited, to being open to my creativity and skills. Perhaps the next logical step would be to wonder why I have such a desire to express myself. That involves a lot of my history. I was always right on the line between being introverted and extroverted. When it came to social aspects I was often comfortable and able to communicate well. However, I did not often have the desire to communicate my feelings or my experiences, at least not to other people. As I grew older this became more difficult to maintain. My family had financial struggles, we lost loved ones, and the experience of growing can be taxing all on its own. So, I started to open up to people, and I soon learned that communicating my experiences was difficult, because not many other people had, had experiences similar to mine. Not many people were capable of understanding something that they had never experienced, themselves.
This realization led me to a new belief. That in order to truly understand someone else’s experience, you needed to experience it yourself. This made sense to me on a new level. That not all people have natural empathy, at it is uncommon to have strong natural empathy. Empathy that would allow you to understand someone else’s experiences without any similar ones of your own. So, I wondered if there was a way to allow someone to experience my story in a real enough way that they could understand, without actually going through it themselves. I decided that there was.
I believe that expression through visual and vocal mediums gives people the best opportunity to empathize. This is a concept that I have seen integrated into museums and simulations over the past few years. Creating an environment or experience that simulates what you are trying to convey. This is what I work on today. I interview artists in order to give people a communicated understanding of what it means to be a puppeteer, or a reviewer, or a painter (etc.). Then I record and share my own process of trying out the art form. My goal is to simulate both the process and the experience of being an artist. I think this is one of the best ways to share that experience. Simply because it allows viewers, and those interested, to hear many diverse artists share what their experiences have been, and then to see what the physical and literal experience of actually creating different artforms is like.
This is the main way that I strive to live differently. To share my experience and story through my art in a way that can be best understood by others. Really, it comes down to communication, and finding a voice that will resonate with the most people. How do you strive to break the mold and live differently? Share your story in the comments! Or you can drop a message in the Contact Me section of the webpage, as well as reaching out on social media platforms.