Success is a completely individual calculation and rightly so. I define success as the ability to live in financial freedom which provides the ability to live and do what you want and need. That doesn’t necessarily mean I need a 7 room mansion in Beverly Hills. However, for me personally, success in my life would mean financially stability, raising a family, and staying true to my unique voice as a creator. I have learned that most things are very much connected to finances, such as my ability to take days off of work to spend with friends and family, support my family, engage in hobbies or vacations, afford the supplies I need to create my artwork, be able to rent a studio space to create. Although the purpose in my career is not solely for money, that aspect of a career is what allows you to create a life you desire.
Simply put, the joy of creating is what drives me. When I think of painting, I imagine putting together a puzzle without really knowing what the picture on the box looks like. I’m slowly constructing blocks of color and shape, working and re-working until it fits perfectly. The challenge of comprehending color and color relationships is a curiosity that pushes me to paint images that defy my comfort zone in order to gain a bit more understanding. However, no matter how much I could try, I couldn’t escape the reality that color and paint are ingrained in my soul. Instinctually, when I pass a corner with incredible intricate shadows and hues, my brain instantly is obsessed with how that moment could look with brush and paint.
"If you hear a voice within you say 'you cannot paint' then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced." - Vincent Van Gogh
When I was in my last year of college, one of my art advisors at the time reprimanded us students for calling ourselves “artists” during one of our presentations. She instructed us that we should refer to ourselves as “art students” because we are not yet “artists”. In the moment, it didn’t sit well with me, but it wasn’t until later that that comment brought me some frustration. What determines what makes someone an artist? Is it a degree, as she insinuated? What is the difference between an “art student” and an “artist”? At that point in my college career, I was creating works reflecting my personal voice which I had worked hard at understanding and representing on canvas. I felt confident and bold in my visual communication. I was ready to be all that I needed to be to make a life as an “artist”. As I teach students now, I truly believe and instruct that it is you and you alone that determines if you are an artist. Calling yourself an artist is a personal step, a commitment to yourself and your artwork that is something that no one else can asses. I boldly call myself an artist and I in turn, tell my students to embrace that title if you want it. Let it lead you, motivate you, empower you to embody all your creative dreams.
Feeling in a state of "flow" depends greatly on a healthy mind and body in my case. Creativity is an emotional and all-encompassing state for me. I pour so much energy and mind-work into each painting, as well as the manual act of painting, that if I am not taking care of my mind or ignoring my body, I find it difficult to put forth so much of myself when I am distracted. For example, there are times when I skip breakfast in order to get started early in my studio. However, if I ignore my growling stomach for too long, I loose focus and I’m suddenly not 100% invested in my work. In order to be in a state of “flow", I find that it takes discipline to maintain and an awareness of yourself. In addition to my body signals, music is a huge part of my “flow” state and can really contribute to my healthy mindset. The raw, story-telling, emotional elements fill me with the ability to transport away from my little studio in my little yard and into that creative mindset.
Michaela Moffett is a painter and instructor from Fullerton, California
and has been formally pursuing art for almost 19 years. Under the instruction of Cherene Raphael, Michaela graduated from the Art House, an independent studio in Fullerton, CA, after attending a consecutive 10 years. Since then, she has studied drawing and painting as well as a variety of other mediums at California State University, Fullerton. In addition, Michaela had the opportunity to study one year at the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence, Italy where she studied drawing, painting, and etching. Post graduation, Michaela has continued to develop her love of painting through teaching and through her own studio work. Returning slightly to the traditional sense of painting, Michaela is interested in understanding how to bridge the gap between traditional and representational ideas of painting, and the the new modern and abstract ideas of mark-making and color relationships. Her focus is understanding color impeccably and being able to push and pull that color to represent her perception of the environment and individuals around her.
California State University, Fullerton & Academy of Fine Arts, Florence, Italy
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