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Mona Lisa - Scarcity mindset
Your weekly art takeaway
Mona L
October 20, 2024
Oct 20 | Issue 13 🐈⬛
ML - Welcome to Mona Lisa. A weekly newsletter for artists with timeless quotes, ideas and light bites for curious & wandering minds.
Greatness isn't easy to achieve. It requires a lot of time, a lot of sacrifices. It requires a lot of tough choices. […] There's a fine balance between obsessing about your craft and being there for your family. It's akin to walking a tightrope. Your legs are shaky, and you're trying to find your center. Whenever you lean too far in one direction, you correct your course and end up over leaning in the other direction. So you correct by leaning the other way again. That's the dance. You can't achieve greatness by walking a straight line. 🏀
Lite bites
🖼️ The difference between ‘modern’ and ‘contemporary’ art.
💭 “The greatest sign of an ill-regulated mind is to believe things because you wish them to be so.” — Louis Pasteur
Mona’s notes
With the studio move coming up, I made an online enquiry for a removal van. After plugging in all my info (itemised goods, timings, addresses, property details etc), I received back a pretty decent quote and a scary note.. “I checked and we still have one slot available so let me know if you want me to hold it for you!” 😑 So I did what I usually do when I have to make a quick decision or risk losing the good thing…I put it off by doing something else entirely unrelated (I sometimes function contrary to logic 🤷♀️)
— dangling that carrot…🥕
Scarcity shapes how I act, what I desire and why. The less of it that exists, the more I kinda want it 😈 This principle drives the rising price of gold & trainers to the thrill felt when chasing limited-editions or concert tickets. Scarcity is foundational to how we work, because desires are infinite, but resources finite, and this tension forces us to make choices. I’ve certainly felt this when I lack the space, or the cash, to create in certain materials or at scale… 💸 And it doesn’t just apply to material objects, but to time, opportunities and ideas. Every decision could be regarded as negotiation with scarcity, whether I realise it or not.
It’s why at certain times we may hoard resources, both physical and psychological, to gain an edge, reacting as if in survival mode - but it also drives us to think creatively to override this. And creative thinking is itself a highly valued and scarce resource - and the world tends to reward what’s rare. 💎 (diamonds are not rare btw..)
“In the scarcity of time, ideas, or materials, art is born. The struggle against lack often drives the greatest creativity.” 🎈
Navigating scarcity is something I’ve been more attuned to recently - in the hunt for a new studio, with deadlines, applying for funding, and even when positioning myself in the art world. It’s powerful in how engenders creativity in ‘unicorn thinking’ 🦄, and recognising its influence is helping me to make better decisions - because crucially my time is a finite resource.
I’ve been asking myself: Is my choice driven by real value, or is it just the illusion of scarcity at work? Understanding this may help align my choices with what truly matters, rather than chasing something because it seems limited… 🚐💨
With love
Mona x
“No such thing as a life that’s better than yours.” — J.Cole, “Love Yourz”
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