Here are a few more photos from a Tending to the Pilot Light session focused on victory over the blank page.
How often do you sit down all ready to do some project and suddenly find yourself staring at the baleful, blank, uncompromising expanse of the white piece of paper or canvas, the bolt of fabric, the assorted tools of your craft, the raw materials around you - only to have your intent, your creative juices squeezed right out of you.
Sometimes it happens even before I start... it's as if there is a virtual blank page in my mind.... looming, pristine and unblemished in front of me... just daring me to make my mark, to create something FANTASTIC, something worthy/beautiful/meaningful/compelling/_you fill in your own creative block here. Writer's block, artistic paralysis, loss of inspiration/muse... etc.
The exercises we played with over the last few weeks were in direct response to this phenomenon. And the key word is "play". Breaking down the seriousness, pressure, the dramatic musts, shoulds and aughts around creativity is the only way to get past these roadblocks. Not every piece has to be a MASTERpiece.... the steps we take in the direction of a "finished" piece are just as important as the result. It is in the DOING, the ACTION of creating that we find our direction, our peace, our true selves.
Breaking down the page...
How often do you sit down all ready to do some project and suddenly find yourself staring at the baleful, blank, uncompromising expanse of the white piece of paper or canvas, the bolt of fabric, the assorted tools of your craft, the raw materials around you - only to have your intent, your creative juices squeezed right out of you.
Sometimes it happens even before I start... it's as if there is a virtual blank page in my mind.... looming, pristine and unblemished in front of me... just daring me to make my mark, to create something FANTASTIC, something worthy/beautiful/meaningful/compelling/_you fill in your own creative block here. Writer's block, artistic paralysis, loss of inspiration/muse... etc.
The exercises we played with over the last few weeks were in direct response to this phenomenon. And the key word is "play". Breaking down the seriousness, pressure, the dramatic musts, shoulds and aughts around creativity is the only way to get past these roadblocks. Not every piece has to be a MASTERpiece.... the steps we take in the direction of a "finished" piece are just as important as the result. It is in the DOING, the ACTION of creating that we find our direction, our peace, our true selves.
Breaking down the page...
I am really excited by some of the work I've been doing lately. Using old book pages as a base, I've been painting through punchinella, using lace as a monotype texture, employing texture and pattern stamps and painting through pre-cut stencils.
This work is very rewarding and is not with the intention of creating a finished piece, rather to create richly textured backgrounds that may become part of a greater whole in the future.
Here are a few examples:
(click to enlarge)
Here is a link to my dress-a-day blog where I used these techniques to make a bunch of recent pieces: http://mackomics-studio-dress-a-day.blogspot.com/
In other news:
Next weekend - Art in the Park! Go to South park and enjoy great variety of fine art and creative mixed media! I'll be at the info table during most of the AM hours, so stop by and say hi!
The Lawrence Art Center's summer catalogue is out and online... I'll be teaching a number of classes including teen and adult offerings.
I have a new feature on this blog: Student Resources. I will be populating this site with online and other resources I use for my business or for classes taught here at MacKomics Studio or at the Lawrence Arts Center. Click "Student Resources" up on the right of the blog under "Pages". Scroll to the class you've taken and find all sorts of goodies!
Have a great week. This Thursday, we will be doing some drawing and doodling in Tending to the Pilot Light..... tips and tricks to get that pencil moving on the page!
Liza
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