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Posts tagged ‘art’

Nov 13

8 Comments

Anita: Gallery Demands

Hi everyone, you may remember me from the recent Breakfast interview. Miranda kindly invited me to be a contributor here and I was most excited to accept. The response to my interview was such a warm and flattering one (Thank you!) and a couple of the responses stirred some emotions in me that I felt would make an interesting subject for my first post here.

Juliet wrote: ‘I love your artwork, especially the wonderful pen and ink, watercolor drawings. They have such charm. In a society where recognition is still largely in the hands of galleries who continue to insist that one’s work be “limited to one or two styles” (quote from a recent gallery rejection), it is especially pleasing to see such a great variety of styles displayed in your work – all so well done and so pleasing to look at. Congratulations, and thank you!’

Juliet’s experience got me all fired up…
I paint with my heart and, as I do, I drift away into my very own piece of Heaven here on Earth. Style, rules, and gallery’s requirements don’t even enter my head. I paint with my changing moods, sketch through my changing days and refuse point blank to be told how to express this by anyone. If that means I remain forever a ‘poor artist’ so be it. In my opinion it would be far poorer for me to sacrifice the one area in my life where I can fly and be totally free from what the rest of the world demands of me. Sometimes we have to keep a little something just for ourselves, for me that something is art and it’s far too precious to me to be compromised by categorisation, cash or someone who believes they have the right to restrict my emotions and dreams. I guess it’s a matter of deciding what your art means to you, it’s such a personal thing.

Miranda wrote:
‘It’s a very interesting question…in the art world, an artist is expected to have a “voice” in the same way that a fiction writer should, correct? Although a writer’s voice can change dramatically from work to work. Hmmm – I need to mull this over some more.’

Miranda is so right, it is an interesting question and I mulled it over too…
My own voice changes, as I grow, as I breathe. My opinions alter as I learn. My approach differs as I discover. My emotions display themselves in a rainbow of colours. I am ever changing, learning, exploring…

A thought then:

If you held the same ‘voice’ through your entire life, would that make you colourful or stagnant…clever or ignorant?

Art, for me, is a personal adventure where I can take risks, pour my heart out, become part of a fantasy and drift. It’s the messy cupboard under the stairs in a world of order, a tardis of magic in a world of restrictions, a mirror where I appear clearer to myself each and every day and to me…
…That’s priceless!

May 4

1 Comment

Online Inspiration: Creative Every Day

Periodically, we post reviews of online sources of inspiration: websites and blogs that encourage creativity and connect creative souls. If you’d like to suggest a favorite site for a future profile, please e-mail your pick to creativereality@live.com.

Creative Every DaySome of you may have noticed the Creative Every Day icon in our sidebar. This site was created by Leah Piken Kolidas, an artist and blogger. Part of the site is dedicated to the Creative Every Day 2008 challenge, which encourages daily creativity regardless of media or creative outlet.  Leah writes:

“Here are the basics first! Creative Every Day 2008 is a new challenge I’ve started to help infuse my life and lives of others with daily creativity….Creativity is meant in the broadest sense, so it doesn’t have to be something art related. Your creative acts could be in cooking, taking pictures, knitting, doodling, writing, dancing, decorating, or making art in the form of collage, paint, or clay or whatever!”

Every time I visit this site, I am impressed by the wealth of what others are creating. I like Leah’s broad application of creativity, because it helps me to be more mindful of what creativity really means. All of those “other” creative outlets serve to bolster my “real” art, if I let the edges blur together. For me, blending creativity into the mundane parts of domesticity that I can’t escape (cooking, cleaning, driving, etc.) make me feel less like a drone and more like a creative person who lives in the moment, taking in the beauty even if it’s just lying quietly in a bowl of perfect tangerines.

Mar 3

5 Comments

Miranda: Show and tell

Light Through the LeavesSome weeks ago, when I mentioned that I dabble in painting as a foil to writing, Bethany (too kind) asked to see some of my work. I’ve posted a few pieces at my Flickr site, just for fun.

It’s easy for me to share my painting, because I am a total amateur and have very little invested in the outcome. It’s much harder for me to share my writing, although over the years I have come to understand that feedback is an essential part of bringing a peice of writing to its fullest potential–at least for me. Sometimes the picture in my head hasn’t made it onto the written page, and it takes a fresh pair of eyes and a new perspective to show me where those rough spots are, and/or if the whole thing just falls flat. (And while exposing the creative self feels horribly vulnerable, it gets easier the more that I do it.)

All this makes me wonder: what processes do you all have for soliciting feedback on your work? Do you have a trusted group that you like to share with? Share things only with your spouse? Do you like to send things out for review in the early stages, or wait until a piece is fully polished? Would it ever be of value to have a way to post content for responses on this blog, specifying the type of feedback you’re looking for?

I hope everyone has a good week, though the politicos among us may well be distracted by watching/reading/listening to the primary news!

Feb 24

4 Comments

Kerry: working on art

So happy! Babygirl slept for like a whole hour in her playpen and I actually spent that time working on art. It wasn’t so bad. I’m experimenting with pastels on paper, and haven’t quite found what I’m looking for, but at least it’s a start. While I was digging out the pastels, I came across some watercolors I was once working on. Now, watercolor is not really my thing, I like oils, but when I was expecting Babygirl, I had to find another medium because the oils and associated thinners are extremely toxic and can be absorbed through the skin. So I checked out a book from the library and started playing around in watercolor. Mostly I made a mess, but I wonder if I can remember anything. It might be fun to try that again.

Mostly, I can’t seem to get my mind away from finding a bigger house. Maybe I’m doing that nesting thing, and with new baby coming soon, and no place to put him, I can’t help but dream of more bedrooms. So, I’m being positive and looking online at larger houses, although really we don’t have enough time to move before new baby comes, and I don’t think I could, being as pregnant as I am. Who wants that hassle on top of the backaches and heartburn? I can still dream.

And maybe tomorrow there will be time for art again, but I’ve decided that I have to stop feeling guilty about not dedicating more time to my creativity. I am a mother first, and there will be time again. It is what I love, so I have to believe that. Right now, it might be enough to rest when I can and dote on Babygirl before her little brother arrives. My children are, after all, my biggest and best creations.

Feb 16

1 Comment

Lisa D: Creativity as a Means of Communication

My most recent post on my own blog deals with the topic of creativity.  I am curious to hear others’ thoughts on the topic, and I invite you to join in the discussion, particularly since it was some the posts on this site that inspired my latest line of thought.  I also linked back to Creative Construction in my post.

Feb 11

4 Comments

Kerry: Excuses

Wow, isn’t it great being so pregnant…not really. The good thing, it’s almost over and I can meet my baby boy and get my body back. I can’t wait to bend over again. Picking up baby girl’s toys has become quite a chore.

I had a moment yesterday where I actually dug out my big sketch book and took out the oil pastels and stared at the colors…they smelled so good, and then I put them away… in a more convenient place of course. I told myself that baby girl would wake up any moment and I would barely get started, and the mess would not be worth the limited time, and I didn’t know what I wanted to do anyway. She slept in her playpen for about two and a half hours. Wasted time.

I spend so much time making excuses for not doing what I love, the biggest of which is no time and no space. But really, if I truly wanted to, couldn’t I make the time and the space? I battle myself over this constantly. I’m afraid I can’t get it back, that “flow,” that losing oneself in the art. The last time I tried to paint, there was nothing, just a sense of how much can I finish before baby girl wakes up? And I don’t like the painting. I was going through the motions. More excuses.

I think I need that studio space: a place to get messy and leave it all out if I have to. I suggested hiring someone to finish the basement room, and ironically, my husband spent a whole weekend day working on it. And then it stopped. Maybe he needs another nudge. Secondly, I need some dedicated time. My husband works evenings and is home most mornings, unless he can get overtime. We have discussed the option of him watching the baby so I can have some time. And he does, occasionally. I usually use that time for showers and cleaning, but I think my priorities must change if I want to preserve my sanity. I’m running out of time before baby number two arrives and I’ll look back on these days as filled with free moments (well, maybe).

Maybe I need to stop making excuses and do whatever I can to create. Use the kitchen table to paint on if I have to. Maybe it’s time to explore some new techniques…go really abstract…fast and furious, anything to get something new done. It might be worth a try. I might find inspiration there.

Feb 11

2 Comments

Kerry: New Voice

Hello all. I am an artist, writer, mom, wife, and creative person hoping to contribute something meaningful (i.e. my personal stories and hurdles) about living a life of creativity while being a wife and mom to four kids. At this point I have two teenage daughters and one thirteen month old baby girl, and am pregnant (31 weeks) with my first little boy. It is an exciting and tiring time, and any moments I can find to paint or be creative are little miracles. I have lost my studio space…the spare room became the nursery, but I have hope that the unfinished room in our basement will magically finish itself. Before one of the older girls lays claim to it, I hope to deposit my volumes of scattered art supplies into this treasured empty space, with the intention of getting serious about creating art again. We’ll see how that works out. Anyway, I’m glad to be here, contributing…another voice in the artistic and creative world. I refuse to give up that part of me and will continue to fight (or to pine away) for the time I need to express myself.

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