on time and ideas

 

when i travel i take this small sketchbook and doodle on the plane while listening to music. it lets me get away from the tiny space and close proximity to strangers around me and lets me avoid small talk.... but it also makes me a little self-conscious.  like a student hiding answers on their exam i sometimes try to cover my little sketches, sheltering them from eyes and judgement. they're just scribbles not intended to be seen but serve as a place holder for inspiration to come back to.  and then maybe months later i revisit them and i think i should have let them be out there it is nothing to hide.  time and distance let me see them like someone in the next seat might see them and i am curious about who made them but i am still afraid to strike up a conversation with her. i wouldn't know what to say.  meanwhile the person in the next seat is asleep anyway.

everything is temporary

don't get too hung up on the future or permanence
we make art for the moment, we live with it for as long as we can
sometimes it is ok to know it won't last
just enjoy it right now 'cause that is all we know for sure

now what?

so... after a week away from the studio i have to figure out where i left off and where to begin again...   it is like turning the water back on after leaving a house vacant for a long period of time... it stutters, pipes shake, there are spurts, and the first expelled stuff is kinda icky but then things clear out and you're good to go again.

get lucky

what is luck anyway?
a manifestation of our internal wish?
can we will that good thing to happen?
try it
get lucky

a mystical take on (folk) art

"...everything which reminds us of the times of amateurish handicraft will awaken primordial impulses in our reptilian brain.  This will virtually automatically liberate the magical power in this section of the brain or awaken it in the first place."  -- excerpt from "Practical Sigil Magic" by Frater U.D.

Upon reading this passage i thought about the appeal of my own art and of folk art in general and the energy conveyed by 'outsider' or 'untrained' artists and the response of viewers to such rustic, primitive images.  Is this the reason we are drawn to such work? Is there a link between the unconscious mind and the raw energy of creation? Certainly folk art conveys a directness that other more 'refined' works do not, in my humble opinion.  i wonder if people are even aware this is happening when they view artwork? do they even notice that surge of energy? they must, that is why we love art right? energy!

another excerpt from the same text:
"Place your trust in your feelings (i.e. your intuition) rather than in rules which other(s)... have set up according to their own subjective biases, disaffections and tempers".

heart art aka my precious

the nice thing about not having any current deadlines for shows is having time to experimenting with different media.  these wooden pieces hang from leather cords and measure approx 12x12 inches.  they have a thin wash of acrylic paint, then screen printed images, then enhanced details with sharpie markers and leather 'thread' stitched with holes drilled thru the wood...

so much of the creative process is playing with "what if" scenarios.  what if i do this, what if i use that color, or combine these images..."what if" is the essence of creating.  the lesson i learned most in pursuit of my BFA is that you have to be willing to take risks in the studio.  many artists especially young 'beginners' have a sense of preciousness about their work and a fear of 'messing up' something they like.  but that fear is what will hold you back from a real break through.  playing it safe isn't always the best thing and it is years of risking and fixing that help develop a mature artist and give you faith to trust your skills that if you do make a change you like less than a previous state you can fix it and work your way out of it.  (although this is easier to do with painting than printmaking i would dare to say you can even in printmaking problem solve to correct a bad creative choice.)

the other thing i have learned is to sleep on a project.  if you aren't sure about what to do next with a piece let it rest.  if you finished a piece and don't care for it, don't white wash it right away, give it time.  sometimes time alters your view of a thing and you'll grow to like it or see a new direction to take it in... and sometimes you realize you've outgrown it entirely.  but no matter what, the experience of having made a piece, even a failed piece, is of value.  similar to how you learn something of value from a broken heart.  it all helps shape your future work.