A Mighty Swing
03/23/2026
I am a lover of poetry. Pablo Neruda and Maya Angelou are two of my faves. Neruda painted with words so deeply contextual that you can taste the brine in the poems written from his Argentinian seaside home. Maya Angelou reflected the collective voice of the Triumphant Other. Her poems justified the need to claim significance and rise above oppression’s message of valuelessness.
Poetry, at its best, is an eloquent distillation of perspectives on our shared human experience. It is in this arena that another fave, Robert Frost, put it best; “Our very life depends on everything’s recurring till we answer from within. The thousandth time may prove the charm.”
That quote came back to me during a recent late February walk along Cannon Beach in Oregon. A dear friend and I were taking in the scene while discussing everything and nothing. What a perfect setting and set up for a touch of perspective pretense. The Frost quote was repurposed, yet again. I didn’t know it at the time, but that mildly pretentious recitation proved to be a needed “thousandth time.”
You see, for over a decade now I’ve been wrestling with something. There has been a slow growing tsunami of uneasiness. Like many issues, this one started a long time ago as a subtle scratch in the back of the mind. For the past several years, there it stayed… until it didn’t.
Maybe it was the sheer vastness of the sea, or the 2,850 miles that separated that moment from the life I had been trying so desperately to live. Whatever the reason, I finally saw what needed to be seen. So, I did as Alexander once did—and cleaved through my own artistic Gidion’s Knot.
The issues in this artistic knot are: the conundrum of earning a living as an artist, the nature of sustainable levels of genuinely unique productivity, appeasing ruthlessly calculating algorithms, the Imposter Syndrome and failing to read the cultural moment. Yeah, that is a lot to unpack. Not a huge surprise then that it took time to find clarity and reach for the metaphorical sword.
We visual artists create through drawing, painting and sculpture. We spent time in academia honing our conceptual, technical and expressive abilities. We sought and earned the consecration of confirmation, only to find that what we have trained in is largely irrelevant. I have come to see that the world has moved on from those arts. The products of expression that are being consumed en masse are rarely tied, in any meaningful way directly to the art forms that are at the center of contemporary academic training. The artists I know have and continue to struggle with this crisis; “Who are we in this moment and why do we do what we do?!?”
Prior to that late February walk along the beach, I viewed each of the issues in my artistic Gidion’s knot as separate and therefore requiring differing approaches and solutions. The matter of earning a sustainable living from my work was one conundrum requiring its own solution, as did the sustainable levels of unique productivity. The ruthlessly calculating algorithms were a whole other nightmare. The Imposter Syndrome is ever present, threatening ambition’s reach. However, it was the issue of not reading the cultural moment where the Blade of Perspective landed, where the knot began to fall apart.
So, I flew back to PA to gather, regroup and launch a new initiative. To be honest, the clarity of what that might look like didn’t exactly greet me upon landing. Something had changed. What exactly that was, was uncertain. I just had to be patient.
The revealing moment didn’t arrive with a thunderclap, nor did the heavens part. It came later and was a subtle shift in understanding from “have to”, to “get to.” For me, art and social media were entirely different, almost diametrically opposed. I do the one out of passion and it rewards with deep, deep fulfillment. The other was the bane of my art, the thing that had to be engaged in to achieve the first goal; ‘earning a living as an artist.’ There has always been a profound bitterness surrounding this. The latter robbed the preciousness of time from the prior.
The shift in outlook revealed that social media is the arena the masses now gather ‘round. There is nothing inherently “Good” nor anything essentially “Bad” about social media. It simply is. This new insight brought transparency to the second issue of that Gidion’s knot, sustaining levels of genuinely unique productivity. ‘If my work is storytelling, and storytelling is the catalyst for engaging with an audience, then how is telling the story of my storytelling through social media any different?’
After all, there was a point when I first picked up a brush or initially laid my hands on clay. Those were both learning processes, so then is this. The advantage to this shift, is that there are three plus decades behind me of artful storytelling. This is simply a new way and a new opportunity to deliver a narrative.
The difference with this ‘art form’ is that it offers several unique characteristics: it is another mirror from which the reflection can carry meaning, it offers the opportunity to build a niche community through instant sharing of experiences, and all middle persons and gatekeepers are eliminated.
This freed up the fear of the calculating algorithms. It used to be that anxiety went hand in hand with producing content. Currently, it is not fully understood how this has freed the process of content creation. Maybe the confidence I have earned from my other endeavors somehow carries over. Or it could be that I have spent the past 18 months preparing for this. Regardless, the results remain the same.
While I was in Portland, OR an undergrad classmate and I reconnected. He is a brilliant artist. That is not a word I throw around with recklessness. It is reserved for truly deserving occasions. We spent two wonderful afternoons catching up and talking art, figurative work, sculpting, mold making and creative influences. Being around another of your ilk is an uplifting and affirming experience. Look for an article on his work and our time together coming soon.
During our discussions, he divulged that he too experiences The Imposter Syndrome. How could this be?!? Just look at this artist’s work. This is the real thing! He is the real deal! His work was accepted at the London Art Biennale, TWICE! Likewise, his work has twice adorned the cover of Fine Art Connoisseur. Erik's website
It is an odd thing to admit out loud, but I had never considered that The Imposter Syndrome doesn’t go away. I had thought that with that level of recognition, the voices would subside. The Imposter Syndrome is something that has plagued me for decades. I know what my artistic strengths are, and I lean heavily into them. I see where my technique can be improved, and I am always working diligently to do so. My work has improved since the earliest, crude expressions, but the echoes of critiques past and the self-doubt that accompanied them still afflict me with every creative endeavor. In a strange way, his confession gives me comfort. Maybe The Imposter Syndrome is the device our artistic vision employs to keep us ever improving.
I love art, in all its forms. I engage in artistic creativity because doing so offers me the opportunity to provide value, whether that is painting, sculpture, writing, the newly embraced content creation, or the simple act of being. I believe creativity is central to who are and how we develop community.
Poetry is poignancy and eloquence in word. Frost’s message continues to ripple throughout my experiences, bringing moments of recurrence and opportunities to “answer from within.”
I’ll end with another quote from Mary Oliver’s poem The Summer Day, “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”
Until next time, be well, be prosperous, and do good.
Thank you for reading,
Earle Rock
Earle Rock Studios
Comments