The Secret Life of Selena Mitty

I had a thoroughly pleasant and gratifying encounter with Amazon.com this week. The end result is that though I had to return some things I ended up with The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and The Goonies in my #AmazonInstantVideoLibrary for less than the price of one of their HD rentals.

I am not trying to offer Amazon up for slaughter by masses of individuals trying to get something free. I had a very legitimate reason this transaction between they and I took place and they were great about it. And the other parties involved were also taken care of.

I only wanted to draw attention to Amazon and this situation because they provided incredible customer service. And it got me thinking about our service to others, the very idea of customer service and how rare it is.

We as artists, though I believe at some point in our lives enter our artistic or cultural industries/studies/disciplines wanting to produce 'art for art's sake', realize along the way that we can't really do that. We have 'customers': audience, patrons, participants, viewers, movie-goers, aficionados, enthusiasts, fans, super fans, collectors, connoisseurs, devotees, fanatics, followers, supporters, backers, votaries, habitues', lovers, 'card-carrying' members, appreciators, aesthetes, arbiters, junkies, groupies, admirers, zealots, even disciples that we are bound to create for.

We owe it to more than ourselves and our egos to produce the creative articles that the muse inspires us with. Now along the way we won't please every one of those 'types' of customer. #Mapplethorpe didn't have every 'customer' in mind when he produced in particular, his underground bondage and BDSM photos. #Cerny was not looking to please the occupants of #Prague Castle when he installed, in the middle of the #VltavaRiver, his giant purple hand with the middle finger pointed directly at the Castle; nor did #ROH likely have the sensibilities of every 'customer' in mind when they opened the graphic, rape-filled #GuillaumeTell this year.

As creators there is likely a time in the evolution of our creative lives when we are confronted with the muse that inspires us to push the boundaries of what our 'customers' finds acceptable, palatable ne worthy of their consideration. Even children's theatre doesn't please every parent.

But while we take those risks and need no reason to explain why we create what we do, I think there is value in building a dialogue as best we can that addresses what spurred our interest in the subject matter that might be met with disdain. I am not necessarily talking about education, I am just talking about basic 'customer service'.

Have you ever gone into an office and been met with a receptionist on the other side of the desk who didn't bother to look up or acknowledge your existence? Annoying isn't it? I believe we have an obligation to, at the very least, provide good customer service: to say hello, to welcome people into our work and to be willing to answer those questions, those disagreements, those outright refusals of our work, with a courteous smile and whatever information we can that will inform their understanding more.

No matter what there will always be those who dislike what we produce and some will go even further to try and have it banned and binned but we often dislike what we aren't willing to understand, even the receptionist on the other side of the desk who has not acknowledged us. But I think a very important way for those of us that create to continue to move forward in our disciplines is to be willing to engage those that don't agree with what we have produced. We won't please everyone but if we can be a bit like #Amazon customer service (no the hashtags are not part of some deal I cut with Amazon!), then we will be able to move forward with ever more confidence in our creative endeavors. All we need is one to ask....

What's next???

Selena

The Muse

Muse: a woman, or a force personified as a woman, who is the source of inspiration for a creative artist; (in Roman and Greek mythology) one of nine goddesses, daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, who preside over the arts and sciences.

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My grandmother Irene Anguiano....my muse, a saint, the bravest woman I know. The Rose Kennedy of our Anguiano clan. She has known more heartache in her 77 years then I will ever know in my life. My small hurts and disappointments and failures are nothing to those of hers-the loss of both parents at the same time, her two eldest sons-my father and uncle, two husbands-my grandfather, her husband of 39 years and her second husband, an equally good man, of only 6, two brothers and a father-in-law she helped nurse for the last 15 years or so of his life.

As artists, creators, discoverers, archivists of the human condition, we all have a muse whether we acknowledge it or not. Someone or some thing that spurs us on with quiet, unspoken grace, humility, wisdom, courage and love among other things. The muse encourages our best efforts to chronicle how we connect to one another; whether through solace, comfort, friendship, love, even pain, anger, frustration and sorrow.

My muse will possibly undergo open heart surgery on September 9, the birthday of her second son. 'Possibly' because the practice of medicine leaves many unanswered questions that will hopefully be resolved that day. She will first undergo a procedure to determine that there are no other clogged arteries elsewhere in her body and if there are she will be rescheduled for bypass surgery first. The possibility of a pacemaker lurks in the shadow, as do small percentages too painful to think about.

Though unwittingly I followed the muse's calling back to Dallas almost three years ago, I have never felt quite at home the way I do other places in the US or the world. (Granted I haven't been everywhere in the world or in the US but I'm confident in my level of comfort with the places I have come to love and consider for setting down for at least as much time as I have spent in Dallas.)

But the universe, the higher power many of us recognize as God and unseen forces have kept me here for longer than I might really want. And after learning about my muse today and the next challenge she will know, I understand why I am here. Its my turn to be a muse...to really inspire others to think those brave thoughts, to be the artists and creators they truly want to be and help them in a most tangible way to create, to express and to share their art.

What I love about my brand of muse is that even though I am here for the moment, I can still help others that want it, wherever they are in the world. That is what my muse has done for me my whole life...been the source of inspiration whether I was in DC or Dubai, California or Cyprus, Italy or Illinois.

I hope that as you determine who your muse is, think about what they or it brings to your creativity and embrace it. And if you haven't the exact know-how to make it happen, this muse is enthusiastically waiting to help you. All that's left to ask is....

What's next???

Selena

Resolve'd →

I missed last week's post....sometimes that happens. It is what it is. C'est la vie!

I had a conversation with an individual the other day about my work experience and this person expressed awe and appreciation for the career I have had, the places I have gone, the work I have successfully completed and the opportunities that lie ahead. More than that, they expressed amazement, not having been in a position involving creative people for long, at the lengths we will go to have this life: to produce creative things, to inspire others through our creativity, to encourage others through our work to interact with one another in exciting, innovative and more expressive ways then the general ways we do each day.

I told this person there is an X-Factor that guides are lives; that we creative catalysts can't really explain it, but that we cannot do without our creativity and that is what motivates us to do whatever it takes...that we are RESOLVED.

I keep using that word because I wanted to direct people's attention to DaVinci Resolve and the new lite version that is offered as a free download. #DavinciResolve is a non-linear editing and color correcting software. And to give a software like this away to folks is seriously saying something about the company's dedication to their creativity and inspiring the creativity of others. (Its also excellent marketing;)

I have friends that use this software as part of their own creative endeavors and I am motivated by what they produce to learn more about this product and overall to learn about every area of the arts and creative industries that I develop and represent. I am resolve'd! Are you??? If so...

What's next???

Selena