Creativity

Learning To Be Free

A few months ago, I purchased two large Newsprint pads. They were on sale at our local art supply store, ArtMart, for only $2 a piece. My inner art-supply-junkie couldn’t resist. They were new, incomplete, and ready for ideas. It didn’t matter that in college I didn’t care for Newsprint. Yes, it had served it’s purpose. We used them for charcoal sketches, figure studies, and preliminary work. They are a wonderful inexpensive tool to work on. But the rough textured paper mixed with the charcoal made my teeth hurt like nails on a chalkboard. I know, it’s weird. I can’t explain it. It’s a sensory thing.

Hey, we all have our quirks, right?

But these newsprint pads, though they said “rough”, felt smooth. Instantly, I wanted to write on them. All of my college student quirks fell away and I was consumed with a desperate need to buy 20 of these Newsprint pads! I ran my hands across their crisp pages; I could hear angels singing their praises! And… THEY WERE ONLY $2 A PIECE! What a deal! But, I settled for 2; basically, reason won and kept the art-supply-junkie happy but under control.

Later that night, I picked up the first one and began filling it. A few months later and I am still working in that same pad, …and I’m glad that I don’t have the pressure of 20 pads of newsprint sitting in the corner begging to be filled. I am quite sure that I would have cracked under the pressure of 20 pads of Newsprint silently judging me.

So what does any of this have to do with, “LEARNING TO BE FREE,” which is the title of this post?

Well, patience dear one. Here it is…

There is a magic that happens when you aren’t worried about what you are creating, why you are creating it, and when the money you spent on supplies isn’t a factor. It’s a magical place of freedom and creation where your imagination can roam.

Trust me when I say, you need this. And an inexpensive pad of Newsprint paper is a wonderful place to start.

I use the newsprint pad and a sharpie marker to do preliminary work, using it like an over-sized sketchbook, working across the entire page or dividing it up into large sections. I love working with a sharpie marker because I can work fast and move over lines multiple times. The sharpie marker keeps me from being precious with it AND that allows me to capture the chaos that’s flooding my mind, getting it all onto the page.

It gives you the freedom to scribble, work big, make grand gestures! ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING YOU WANT. It is for your ideas and explorations. You are an artist setting out to sea and the pages are your ocean. You are your only limitation.

Working with inexpensive materials, allows me to make mistakes and mistakes are what it takes to make something worth while. You need to push around an idea – working it one way and then another until it’s fully formed.

Think of it like kneading bread. You have to knead most breads or they won’t rise. Well, creating is similar. You need to move your ideas around, squish them, work them back and forth in order for them to fully develop into something utterly delicious. Think of the newsprint pad as your counter top and the marker as the rolling pin, both ready for you to work your ideas out on. They don’t have to be perfect. In fact, there is so much beauty found in imperfections. Don’t be scared of them. Just create. Create and be free.

I know. It’s harder than it sounds.

Trust me though, once you begin, you won’t want to go back. Allow your intuition, creative juices, inner genius, or whatever muse inspires you to guide you. Silence your inner critic, that nagging voice that tends to take over in your mind. Let loose. Be free.

And above all, CREATE, CREATE CREATE!

To Be An Artist

Inside, it twists and contorts, fighting its way out, begging for a voice. It requires courage. Endurance. To Be an artist is something that is embedded inside the soul. It’s different than just making art; being an artist is a way of existence and it alters the way you see the world.

Your eyes see what is there but more importantly, what isn’t visible, and often what doesn’t exist at all. Living in a dream, an artist exists in two worlds, reality and everything else. Everything else is where dreams, metaphorical realities, imagination, stories – and the list goes on – all pulsate with life. It’s a joyous broken world, mirroring aspects of our own, yet… different. It speaks truth. It can show things as they truly are, not just how we physically see them. It’s not limited. Or at least it doesn’t have to be.

To be an artist means being courageous enough to release those “things” welling up inside of you. Perfection is not the goal. Beauty is irrelevant. And often those “mistakes”, those little imperfections or ugly bumps along the way are the most interesting part. Perhaps that is a spiritual lesson as well… there is beauty in the imperfections, and since we are ALL imperfect, there is beauty in all of us.

My daughters are all artists. It’s second nature to them. Take away their drawing pencils, etc and it’s as if you are cutting off a limb, or crippling them in some way. They have artist souls. For them, being an artist is just who they are.

Others have to work a little harder. It hasn’t been nurtured, cultured, or understood. But it does exist inside, buried deep. Creativity is human therefore to be human is to be creative. Be free to express that creativity. Be an artist, for good or for bad. Have fun. Release. Tell your story. And be an artist, if you dare.

Creative Truths

I’ve been thinking about the origins of creativity, what it means to be creative, and how it manifests. You will see these questions come up often in my blog and works. I always tend to circle back to them, intrigued by why we create what we create and where it all begins.

Often, I am asked how I come up with ideas? My current projects, “Queen Bees” and “Wild Things” have kept me busy, twisting simplicity into something different, perhaps slightly surreal, and always a little magical, filled with dreams and oddities. My ideas are a constant flow of word and image associations, twisted a little more as I move from one thing to the next. I imagine the elements I incorporate into a drawing or painting like a symphony, working separately yet together to compose one large emotional score. In an age where symbolism can seem outdated or passe, I do it anyway. It’s not to be rebellious or to reinvent symbolism in some new or profound way. I do it because I do. It’s the way I think and the way I create – the way I work a narrative into each piece I do. To some, I’m sure it’s nothing special… and that is fine. But for me, they are visual narratives ,attempting to delight… and right there is where my creative heart pulsates with joy.

Be true to your soul. Learn and grow, yes. Experiment with different mediums, styles, and methods. Develop an understanding of all art forms, even the ones you aren’t particularly fond of. But in the end, create art that expresses your voice and excites you. There is a VERY REAL pressure as an artist to only create things that will make you money. After all, commerce moves our culture, our world. Don’t let it define your art. It is the quickest way to stifle all creativity. I know from experience. Then, trying to move past it can be a challenge. I’m not saying that after creation, you can’t make money with it. If you can, FANTASTIC. But don’t create with that sole purpose.

Draw inspiration from EVERYTHING. I’ll post more on this later, including where I draw inspiration from, which here is a sneak preview – everywhere. You would be surprised what can inspire you if you are willing to open yourself up.

I know authenticity has become a “buzz” word. Even so, the truth of the word remains the same. There is only one you. Allow your authenticity to manifest in your work. Your individual soul expression will shine through.