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I just have to say my great day in the studio today was brought to me by Rodney Thompson. I received the IEA newletter in my email this morning which I read while having my morning coffee. Rodney had contributed an editorial on “The Practice of Excellence”.
I’d been feeling slightly out of sorts lately while working on my husbands photography. He’s in 4 exhibits during Atlanta Celebrates Photography the month of October and I’ve been busy managing his website, ordering prints, making labels and doing the framing. I thought the change of pace would be helpful but it just got me into this kind of funk. So thanks Rodney for pulling me out of this funk! I had an excellent day today!
Here’s an except:
The Practice of Excellence
Guest Editorial by Rodney Thompson

In its earliest appearance, “excellence” was a notion bound up with the
concept of fulfillment of purpose or function, the act of living up to
one’s full potential. As artists the concept of excellence is vital to
understand. Ours is more a path of process than an accomplishment of
completion and our attitude and state of mind determines the quality of
that experience. Certainly the act of making art results in art objects
that can be admired, shown, (hopefully) sold, and possessed. But
these objects that remain as a result of our actions are not the primary
motivation of our behavior. Rather, it is the experience, the
moments of our lives spent in the making of art that truly
matters. There is no amount of finished art that would ever
satisfy the undeniable desire to plunge back in and
make more. The art itself can be satisfying, occasionally
thrilling, yet often somehow disappointing, not quite living up to the vague wonders conjured by our
imagination.But the time spent creating is where the potential for excellence always resides.