Beautiful images don’t count

Sometimes when I’m napping or, at the end of sleep, I drift into a lucid theta state and have what I call an EMS moment. Ems is short for Etheric Messenger Service. Statements that form in my head semmingly not coming from my mind in the usual way. It feels like something bigger than me is talking to me, about me. Like my Higher Self for instance. The Big I. This morning I had one that hit me pretty hard, and yet was a wonderful revelation. It was that “Beautiful images don’t count.” I knew immediatly what I was saying to myself. Not that I strive to create ugly images or anything less than my best try, but that beauty in the classical sense, if there is such a thing, is not what I’m going for. So far in my life I’ve developed several art styles that reflect the various aspects of my personality through the years. Each one is distinct to a degree and has it’s own aethetic based on it’s unique area of exploration. In reference to my EMS message I see myself sometimes in the studio with several images I’m finishing together. They may or may not be in the same category, or begun in the same kind of aethetic. One may be very wierd on purpose, while another more ethereal. In finishing them both at the same time I may tend to want them both to appeal to me in the same way. Like make the wierd one more beautiful to match the vibe of the ethereal one. Thus in some sense dumbing it down to a common denominator of “beauty.” This is not what I want! I wish for each one to stand on it’s own kind of isness. The wierd one should be finished in the “wierd” style that I first conceived it in! This notion also frees me to be more daring in the studio and not be swayed towards pleasing a certain type of person on social media for instance. In other words I need to please myself first at the raw creative act of making a piece of art to deliver a specific type of  message. Thus accessing different aspects of my deeper self needing expression. Great, so we’ll have to see where this leads. More on this later as I find it a primary motivation of any artist or designer creating from a fresh space of exploration.