With these two hands.

As a maker of fine arts, I sometimes, have to stop and take a step back to look at a project I'm working on. Not to check measurements or assure things are aligned and well, but to take in the magic I have created with my two hands. This isn't an attempt to boast or express my awareness of my talent, You see, as artists (of any medium) we are sensitive creatures, equipped with egos no more delicate than a piece of 200 year old fine china, and as such, I feel we often are our own worste critiques. Be honest, what is the percentage of time you spend elated about the progress of a piece you are working on, compared to the percentage of time you spend exhausting your "internal Websters dictionary of curse words", towards every aspect of your work, how often have you felt like giving up? How often have you decided "I hate it!"? How often have you sat at your desk while writing or sketching only to find you are shooting more three pointers of crumbled up " could have been" paper basket balls into your workspace trash can, than you have hairs on your head!? But this is the point I want to touch on, we spend all this time and effort loosing focus. That's all it is really. We lose focus of our original goal of creation. We break it down, micromanage, critique and the ever so common in today's society, " only 5 likes!?" On our social media pages. We lose our natural, organic creation. Think of what could have become of some of those unfinished paintings I started years ago, that have only collected dust and self storage receipts, or the short stories that had a short life, or all of the jewelry we half way melted at the tail end of finishing, only to end up in our scrap pile. So I take a step back and breathe and realize, ugly, uneven, not what I hoped for, or completely missed the mark, I still made this with nothing more but these two hands. The universal message, radiating life energy through me, through these two hands, to create something beautiful from nothing, deserves so much more than the scrap pile. Love your self, take a step back for a moment when your having "one of those days" and think to yourself, " I made that, with these two hands."

- Cody Rutland

Buffalo Rutland Co.