We are all Artists

Although many people have a fear of spiders, there’s so much we can learn and appreciate about what they can teach us. Spiders are extremely artistic and creative in the way they spin their webs. Different spiders will spin different types of webs. They can spin these amazingly beautiful webs which are undoubtedly a work of art. They're teeming with creative energy. Spider energy is an astonishing display of awe-inspiring genius and artistically creative engineering.

Spiders have eight legs and eight is the number of abundance. The number eight turned on its side forms the symbol of infinity. This symbolizes infinite abundance and creativity. Spiders teach us that connecting with our creativity is connecting us with the energy of life and into a deep well of abundance. Spider creativity can remind us to look for creative solutions to problems.

Spiders have great patience. They spin their webs in a complex design that takes a long time. They are very strategic and deliberate in their work. They’re not impatient, rushing, hurried or frantic. The spider’s work is not completed after spinning its web. She sits there and waits patiently until something comes into the web.

The lesson here for creative people is that our artworks take time to develop. A drawing or painting is similar to a spider’s web. It’s composed of many strands, lines of a pencil or strokes of a paint brush that’s been put together in a deliberate way to form an image that has meaning for the observer of the artwork. The more detailed and intricate the artwork, the more it takes time to create.

Weave Your Creative Web

It takes time for others to realize and appreciate the value of our creative work. This doesn’t necessarily mean that our artworks aren’t good enough. This is important for us to understand if our creative efforts are unreceived and have gone unnoticed. As creative entrepreneurs or “ARTrepreneurs,” we have a desire in growing our brand, connections and in spreading the web of our influence.

It takes time to build our brand and for people to get to know who we are and what our work stands for. And so because it takes time, another lesson that spider teach us is persistence. Spider webs are one of the strongest substances, but they’re also thin and easily damaged. The spider will often have to re-spin its web again and again, over and over. Similarly it’ll take persistent efforts on our part to grow our brand and market our work.

Another feature of spiders that go along with their eight legs is their eight eyes. This demonstrates their intuition and all-encompassing holistic vision. They’re able to see what might not be so obvious, and the ability to see the big picture and how things fit into the whole. When the spider starts working on her web there’s nothing there, but within her is the pattern of the web she desires to create. The spider has a vision in her mind of what her web is going to look like and then she sets out to very deliberately begin to build it.

Strand by strand she takes the actions necessary to create that beautiful outcome. We can think of this as our goals and dreams. This is the meaningful and purposeful life that we desire to weave. Once the spider has her web up, she sits quietly in the center of her web and patiently waits. Spiders are very sensitive. When the spider sits quietly and waits in her web she’s highly sensitive to even the slightest movement. She trusts and has faith that the web she has carefully created will eventually bring in what she desires.

Spiders can be scary. They symbolize darkness and the fear of the unknown. Spiders teach us that the web that we desire to weave, meaning the things we want to create may seem impossible. It can feel daunting, overwhelming and crazy to put our faith in this tiny spider thread of hope or tiny little thread of a new beginning.

It’s good to keep in mind that many successful ventures didn’t start out big. They had small humble beginnings. Even though it may seem as if all we have is a thin thread of hope, but every mindful choice we make in the present moment is weaving a strand into the tapestry of our future.

"Every human being is an artist, a freedom being, called to participate in transforming and reshaping the conditions, thinking and structures that shape and inform our lives." -Joseph Beuys, German artist

Whether or not you identify yourself as an artist, even if you have never sketched, drawn or painted anything ever in your life, you are still an artist. An artist in the broadest meaning of the word is a creator, someone with the inherent ability to mold and shape the clay of their life, like a sculptor. Only we're both the potter and the pot.

As artists, we're also both the painter and the paint. And every day we're in the process of painting our ourselves into a work of art on the canvas of life. As conscious creators, the more we make those conscious choices towards creating the things we want to achieve in our life, the more we're reinforcing and strengthening that strand of our spider web into the kind of life we desire to create. We’re always a work in progress.

It’s important to be persistent, to keep working at it and trust the process, focusing on the love of what we’re doing and the joy we’re experiencing in the moment instead of thinking about having it all done. Try to avoid thinking about the amount of time and effort it’s going to take to weave the web of the life we desire. Instead focus in on the present moment on whatever we’re working on right now, doing it with the passion we have for our cherished craft and appreciating the beauty of it.

As art-repreneurs, even if we’re not where we desire to be as far as our career and financial goals, and still have a ways to go on our art journey before we get there, but every time we’re weaving a strand of our web, every time we’re creating an artwork and sharing it with others, we are in that moment already living our dream. We’re experiencing the satisfaction and fulfillment of doing what we love.

Just like the very patient and persistent spider, keep weaving your creative web and knitting the tapestry of your life one strand at a time in order to actualize your goals and dreams, and experience the fulfillment of your life purpose as an artist.

Human-Made Art (noAI)