"Don't Tell Yourself No"
A Chat with Ara Hagopian
Thursday evening, February 28, 2008
at 7 p.m.
in the McCarthy Meeting Room

Ara will be displaying his artwork in the Library's meeting room during the month of February. Click here for more information on his exhibit.

Are you an aspiring artist, writer or photographer? Join Ara Hagopian as he shares insights and some of the things he has learned on his way to becoming a working artist and writer. Ara explains, "The "Don't tell yourself no" talk is geared to those of us, young and old, who have a talent and have yet to share it with the world. So typically, we're talking about artists, writers, photographers, but also, cooks and even comedians. Most people aren't aware that only a very small percentage of artists ever show their work publicly; the reasons are many-- I'm not good enough, don't have the time, I'm not a real "fill in the blank", I don't have an education, I don't know how to go about it, etc. "Don't tell yourself no" will tackle this issue and each one of those self-binding "no's".

Imagine if you loved cooking and baking, and you hosted a party but never shared your wonderful tray of cookies with all your gathered guests. Wouldn't that be a shame? A waste? This is the crux of the matter, because not only do you owe it to your guests to offer your creations, but you may find that they really like them, maybe enough to ask for the recipe or to cater another party. Maybe your baking will inspire a person to try something new for him or herself. Chances are if you love doing it, it is going to have some value for someone else.

From 1982 to 2004 I told myself no. I finally broke out because I heard, and believed, the following magic words: "If you have a talent, you don't have the right to hold it back from the world." Now, we can define "world" in many different ways. We don't need to take over the world. Maybe we just need to bring our gift forward, to one little audience at a time. Let's start with the party in our living room, and see what happens next!"