There is an apt saying, a quote even, attributed to Leonardo da Vinci that says, “Art is never finished, only abandoned.” It’s a catchy quote that most people will rephrase in multiple ways but never actually express what it means to them. What does it mean to never finish a piece of art? And, how exactly does one abandon it?
To our detriment, often the artist or the writer is their own worst critic. They edit or grammatically fix this, or change the scene here, or even add a brushstroke more where they already darkened the contrast in shadow. Art is hard to leave perfect. It’s near impossible. In my opinion, as a poet and essayist, the only time I can truly share my writing is when I have completely abandoned all hope for the piece to be any more than what I am willing to afford the time on. Some poems and essays I work on for weeks, months, even years sometimes. I always find the art of lyric essay and poetry is in the editing and improving of the raw content, that first rough draft becomes four or five edits, then ten to twenty, and onwards and upwards.
Art cannot be perfect. Because, we are not perfect. But that’s what makes the art beautiful: in its abandoned state, someone finds it and then finds the art within it when we, the artist, may have never felt it because of the work.
Therefore, you could work on an oil painting for weeks and brush over and correct and fashion it to near completeness even, but you will never work on another piece again because you can’t have perfection. Art is an extension of our imaginations and feelings, beliefs and cultures, and even, as a writer, stories and histories. Art can only be abandoned and once it has been, others are responsible to either abandon it too or find it beautiful.
The reason I bring this quote up is we are actively in a call for submissions. We at Red Clay Journal want you to submit your art, but rather than simply abandon it, we ask that you abandon your fears of rejection and feelings of worthiness or unworthiness and send us something you think is special. Some artistic, photographic, or fictional piece that you loved creating and are proud of. In the publication world, we are a start-up. We want to actively give people a chance to be heard or seen who have never submitted or even considered they are an artist. Everyone is creative. We want to share that with the broader city, state, and country.
There’s no need to write a cover letter to us at this moment in time There’s no indignation, however, if you do. We are slowly gaining traction and hope to, just like you, grow and be more creative. Feel free to send us your best photography, art (painting, sculpture, you name it – simply take a picture of it and send it as a JPEG), and your writing (poetry, nonfiction and fiction). Send it to us at our email: redclayjournalsvl@gmail.com. Our deadline is September 18th for the upcoming Fall issue. We are eager to share your excitement and art with a broader community. If you don’t know if what you have is acceptable or even fits in those categories, send us a query letter and explain. We want to hear from you and read, see, and feel your work from abandoned to experienced.
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