Ana's Thought: "Artist, your greatest success will come through your greatest difficulties."
This past week, I was delighted to unveil the latest branch of my growing Love & Peace Campaign: a mobile app designed to connect people with art - and with each other - in a brand new way.
The Love & Peace app encourages art lovers in locations around the world to exchange their experiences, united by their personal interactions with these vibrant flower sculptures. They may discover a Love & Peace poppy blooming in London, Prague, Venice, Singapore, or New York, catching their eye as they go about their day. Those who stop to take a picture, send a message to their loved ones, or jot down their thoughts are the ones who are truly writing the story of Love & Peace. I feel as though I have given the world a book with a thousand blank pages, and each Love & Peace Campaign participant is an author of its beautiful history.
In creating the flowers for Love & Peace, I have been richly blessed with many lessons about life as an artist in the modern age. In sharing three of these pearls of insight, I hope to offer strength and inspiration to those who aspire to create.
• The wise artist faces challenges with confidence and adapts.
Do not let yourself grow complacent, for great challenges are what keep your mind sharp and your heart eager to move. The artist is born to bring wonders into the world, and timidity will only serve to stifle your unique voice. Mistakes are part of your journey, and you will be a greater artist for overcoming them. Never surrender to fear when success beckons you on!
• The harshest words of a critic pale against even the smallest compliment.
Let every kind word stoke the embers of your motivation. As you create - and especially when you are struggling to find the will to create - focus on the joy your work will bring to friends and strangers alike. Those who try to stop you with their words fail to realize the purity of your effort. You are a force of good in a world thirsting for your gift.
• The creator may fade, but her ideas are eternal.
Innovation can strike in any moment, at any age: you must always be vigilant for the flash of inspiration, or it will pass you by. Make the choice to live as though each moment holds your chance to shine - when the world takes notice, you will not be unprepared. Remember that each creation you offer is part of your legacy, a gift that will live for all time to delight the unborn generations.