Category Archives: Art

The slump

Posted on by
1

I’m there. I am there in the place I always arrive at, but choose to forget: the slump. It is a place that is part of the challenge and I am right back in the thick of it. By the the time I get here, it is too late to turn back. Day 12. I am not even half way through. I have made it this far, why stop now? Because now, the challenges outweigh my energy to deal with them. But I can’t stop. I am in too deep. This is the point at which the easy option is to give up, but then I would be right back where I started and that’s not the point of all this. The point is to push on through. The point it to come face to face with the challenges and keep going regardless… keep going even though I have no clue which direction I will take next or where all this is leading me or even why I am even doing it at all. I get here when I have been burning the candle at both ends, getting up too early, staying up too late, trying to squeeze a little something into a tiny window of time and then getting caught up in the flow and not wanting to stop. Those are the moments when I come alive… the moments I feel happiest, the moments when the creativity is just spilling out and I never want to stop. And then life kicks in and reality hits and I need to sleep, but I just want to keep going, and the house is a tip and we have no milk or bread and have work still to do, but it’s time for the school run and I am late again and I feel like a hamster on a wheel and that’s not the point of this.

Stop.

It’s OK.

It’s all part of the process.

I don’t have to change my life in one hit.

Patience.

Look at what I have achieved. This is not about beating myself up about what I haven’t done, or can’t do. This is the moment to step back and evaluate.

This is day 12. Less than 2 weeks in and I am back in flow. I am doing things that make me come alive. This is often the moment before the breakthroughs happen… when you ride the storm and come out the other side; brighter, stronger. This was about finding my direction again and I have already learned so much about letting go and I have already moved two people to re-commit to their creativity. Is that not progress enough? Patience. Time for a little self-care. Time to talk to myself kindly. Time to give myself space. Time to say that it’s OK just to post a little doodle I did whilst listening to a lecture on an artist last night. Time to breathe. Time to re-commit. Time to remind myself that this is worthwhile. Time to tame the voices in my head.

What about the fact that I am feeling like I have no direction?
What about the new pieces of art that are being created… more stuff to find a home for when I am trying to clear the clutter?
What about the fact that I need more work; need to make more money?
What about the fact that I don’t have a defined style and all the artists whose work I admire do?

I don’t even have to answer those questions right now. They are not important. They come ffrom the part of me that puts the brakes on. Acknowledge that they exist and move on through.

This is natural. It’s part of the process. Embrace the unknown. Push. On. Through.

What do you do when you hit the slump? I would love to know what you do when the slump hits you?

A lesson in letting go

Posted on by
3

An arrangement of cut-outs on my table

On Friday, I decided to let go and see where the “I don’t know” would take me.
I let go of the desire to make good art and embraced the fact that, as I picked up my scissors, cut into my painted papers and pasted them onto a pre-coloured background, I had no idea what I was making or where the work was going. The idea was just to play, to create freely without ideas or expectations.
Now, if the truth be told, this idea of total freedom was not entirely true…
The one expectation I had was that the piece I was creating would be of a size that could fit into a particular box frame I had waiting for it, if I deemed it worthy.
The one idea I had was that I would create something inspired by the work of Jonathan McCree, whose works of “almost symmetry” had so inspired me.

What I was not expecting, when I felt I was coming close to just trying the piece in the frame, was that it would not fit. The background paper which I had cut some weeks earlier was not, as I had thought, the size of the frame. It was a little larger and I had been collaging away without realising that what I was creating would be so much larger than the frame that even a careful cropping to the edges of the image would not be enough to squeeze it in.

After careful consideration, I decided that this was a lesson to me. I chose to see this as a happy accident, pushing me out of my comfort zone, reminding me not to be attached to a particular outcome and forcing me to take the work in a direction I had not intended.

Just before the cut

So, feeling less frustrated by little hurdle than I was excited by the possibilities, I moved forward with the piece, carefully cutting round the shapes with a view to reassembling them on a different background to fit the frame. I loved the new shapes that emerged. I was thrilled by the different configurations I was able to make. It may take a little longer for me to figure out how to finish this, but I am happy to wait. The way the individual elements looked once separated from the background gave rise to a whole stream of unforeseen options that would never have arisen had I stuck with my original path.

Another cut-out arrangement on my table

Today, I am grateful for happy accidents.
I am loving my lessons in letting go.
I am looking forward to seeing where the next step takes me.

Do you have any stories of letting go and how doing so has impacted your life or your art? I would love to hear your experiences. Please feel free to share them here.

With love,
Julia x

Letting myself off the hook

Posted on by
5

Letting myself off the hook from Be Creative Daily on Vimeo.

So here I am, enjoying this freedom and feeling a fresh sense of optimism as though things are slowly slotting together and making sense, piece by piece, day by day, when I stumble upon the work of the artist Jonathan McCree.

McCree’s paintings spoke to me in a very immediate way, as art occasionally does, on a level I find it hard to explain, as though there is some sense of familiarity, like a deja vu or ancient knowing… a heartfelt connection that cannot be described.

So I dug a little deeper, found out a little more and discovered a video of the artist talking about his work. It is ten minutes long, but I have had it on watch and rewind, watch and rewind, watch…

And now, I understand exactly why his work spoke to me. I know why this art came up on my radar right now. In the artist’s words:

“Usually when I work on anything, I am trying to devise a strategy for unknowing something. It’s much more interesting for me if I don’t know what I’m going to do, so I tell myself all the way through, “I don’t know, I don’t know” so it’s almost like a mantra. And for me, the strategy of doubt and constant questioning or deferral of what the project is about is usually the best way to end up somewhere and I don’t know at this stage where I will end up.”

This is where I am. This is what I feel. This is what I trust.

When the artists talks about his approach to his work he is speaking about something that can (and indeed should) be applied to almost all aspects of our lives… letting go and allowing things to unfold.

I started on a collage this morning:
symmetry
colour
pattern
nature
It is inspired by Jonathan McCree and I will developing this further.
When I do, I will share it here.

I want to see where the “don’t know” takes me, both in art and in life.

It is an interesting place to be… I feel like I am on the edge of something.

To the heart

Posted on by
2

To the heart from Be Creative Daily on Vimeo.

Day 4 of my month of creating daily and I chose to give some love to the area of my body that I feel needs the most attention at the moment… my shoulders and my heart. I drew around my shoulders, upper arms and torso with pencil on paper and coloured it with wax pastels as you will see in this short film.

Which part of your body could do with a little brightening today?

Make More Art

Posted on by
2

Make More Art

I have been watching a lot of videos lately.

It was just before Christmas (after one too many disagreements with the boys before school) and with the agreement of bigger boy, that I dumped the TV and put his steel pan in its place, to encourage music-making instead of screen watching before school. The exercise was not entirely successful as the battles that used to reign over TV time have just been transferred to computer time, but hey, we muddle on… and the music does get played, almost daily.

Anyway, I digress. I have found myself watching more and more videos (as there are so many inspiring ones out there) online related to creativity and entrepreneurship and the like. The choice, for those of us who are slowly finding our way forward, doing work that we love, is vast indeed, but two of them really struck me recently. The first was filled with words of wisdom from Ira Glass. If you are stuck right now, struggling with the gap between what you create in your mind and what you create on paper, you could not find a better way to spend the next 2 minutes than this. Watch it now and let me know how it makes you feel… for me, it was incredibly liberating.

So, with all of what Ira shared in mind, here I am, putting myself on a deadline, trying to create a volume of work, fighting my way through it.

The second video I want to share with you today is a shortened version of Neil Gaiman’s commencement speech to the University of the Arts class of 2012 in which he stresses that, when times get tough, we must make good art. Now, it might seem a little strange to you that I am sharing these videos together, but I think by the time you have watched this second one, you will understand.

I don’t feel that I am yet at a place of making consistently good art, but for now, I am ready and willing to make more art until I get there.

Are you ready to take action… to make art, make good art or make more art?
Please do let me know what these videos have inspired you to do today.

With my love,
Julia x

Using my hands to heal my heart

Posted on by
Reply

Healing Hands on Heart

Whilst strolling through Hyde Park today, I came upon Speakers’ Corner, a place I had not been to in 20 years. Wandering amongst the crowds, listening to the speakers, observing the interactions, it struck me that I am now in a similar position to where I was some 20 years ago, as a young woman, new to London, delving into her creativity, not sure where it would lead, but enjoying life’s little adventures, exploring the city and the characters within it. This time, I am older, a mother of two young boys, single for the first time in 20 years and committing to my creativity once again.

This realisation gave me a strange feeling which I felt deep in my heart. It was a kind of anxiety… a me on my own in the big, wide world, no partner to share with, and the responsibility of two children who rely upon me kind of a feeling. But it was also a fullness… a feeling that anything is possible, this is just down to me now, and I am free to create whatever I wish for me and my kids.

The reality, of course, is somewhere in between… their Dad remains very active in the boys’ lives, so it is not just me they rely upon. And the dreams…? There is no guarantee I can create all I may wish for the boys and I, but I can do my best to create a wonderful life for us all. And my heart…? I haven’t given up hope… far from it, but it could do with a little healing.

So, in my month of making art, I am seeking to reconnect with myself. I am using my hands to connect with my heart. Today, I created a little something that makes me smile. It is a simple something that warms my heart makes me feel protected.

In being present, and in putting my hands on my heart, I can give myself all the love I need right now… and in making my art, I will hopefully create something that not only heals me, but that may, if I am lucky, speak to the hearts of other people.

Where am I going with this…?

Posted on by
6

Small steps

It is June 1 and I will be honest and say that I have been feeling a little lost. I have not been posting on the blog as often as I would like and this, I believe, is because I feel my blog is having some sort of identity crisis, whereby the name does not match the content.

The blog started as a way of documenting my 30 Day Challenge in May 2012, which was a commitment to doing something creative every day. Since then, I have continued to create, though not daily, and have shared a number of other things, not all art-related, on the blog along the way.

Today, I feel like committing to something. A new month, a fresh start, and I feel like going back to the beginning… to doing something creative every day for the next 30 days, as this is where I am most in flow and get the most enjoyment (though it doesn’t always come easy, it is worth the effort for what I gain).

I want to better serve and engage with my audience (and this is where you come in). I would love to know what you enjoy on the blog, what resonates with you and what you would like to see more of. Do tell… and in return, I will make a commitment to providing more regular content on my blog.

So, as of today, I hereby commit to:
Doing something creative every day for the next 30 days
Sharing on the blog at least once a week
Being open to any direction my creativity may take me
Being open to any outcome
Sharing my feelings, learnings and realisations as I go through the process

If you would like to join me in making a commitment to your own creativity this month, then post below or share your commitment on the Be Creative Daily Facebook page. Share your ideas and your excitement, your challenges and your fears, share your website, your blog… just share… because sharing is how we connect with other people and I would love to connect with you here.

Right, let’s go make some art!
With love,
Julia x

Following my creative heart

Posted on by
Reply

In the month that has passed since I last posted here, I have been exploring a variety of areas in relation to my art and the art of others. I have been following my creative heart, which has led to a month of investigation, experimentation, revelation and celebration.

Vivienne (left) and I in the gallery

On May 1, Vivienne Roberts and I opened our first exhibition of what we hope will become an ongoing creative collaboration of sharing the work of artists often known as Outsiders. The label is a contentious one and for us, the aim is simply to get the art we love and appreciate out into the world and hope that others share the sense of wonder that we feel on encountering these works. I do feel that exploring the works in an exhibition of art that really speaks to you is more of an encounter than a simple viewing. In Face to Face with the Outsiders, our intention was to bring together a combination of Outsider Art and related creations on a theme of portraits and faces. The reaction was good. It was apparent to us, even before we started hanging the show, that certain works were speaking to each other, opening up a dialogue before they had even reached the walls, works of art, face to face for the first time, finding common ground. It was a powerful experience and one we intend to recreate in many forms over coming months and years.

Lady in the woods

In my personal creative work, several things have happened… firstly, I have discovered that I gain enormous pleasure from making temporary works of art out in nature. I delight in walking in the woods, in the finding of the raw materials with which to start, discovering a spot in which to lay them out, making it mine and letting ideas evolve directly from the materials, their shapes and textures, creating freely, playing and exploring as sticks suggest shapes and stones take on new meanings. I also love the fact that someone may stumble across the things I make in any state from just-finished to almost eradicated as nature does her thing, dissolving all that once was.

My studio in the garden

I had been eager to paint on canvas again after a long break, so a sunny weekend afforded me the luxury of setting up a temporary studio in the garden and painting over and old, half-finished work in what, for me at least, was a very new way of working. I squeezed paint directly onto canvas, dragged it with scraps of cardboard, experimenting and exploring with fingers, free from any fixed idea of outcome. How liberating that was!

Canvas copy

A few days later, I tried painting on canvas again. I felt stuck, blocked, came to a stand-still. The difference this time, was that I was using an existing artwork as the starting point, trying to translate the feel of a collaged piece I particularly liked onto canvas. This was the sticking point. I had a fixed idea and could not get into the free-flowing play-state necessary for uninhibited creation.

Making Your Creative Mark

What a relief the following day, when I embarked upon reading Eric Maisel‘s new book Making Your Creative Mark and found words that spoke directly to me about my current challenge. As I turned the pages, I was repeatedly faced with ideas and exercises that shifted my perspective and propelled me forward in my thinking in relation to my creative practice. Dr. Eric Maisel is a creativity coach and author of over 40 books, but whilst I have been aware of his work for some while, this was the first of his books I have read on the subject of creativity. What impressed me most was the variety of practical tools to overcome a wide range of blocks, not only those I am already faced with, but others I have yet to encounter, or have encountered, but not really admitted to being obstacles to my full creative expression. In the book, Maisel presents nine keys that show artists how to unlock their challenges and work through their blocks. From helping creative people “mind their minds” to the importance of a morning creativity practice, Maisels offers practical advice and solutions. His real life examples illustrate both the dilemmas and the solutions from a personal point of view in a way that is easy to relate to. Making Your Creative Mark has already become my handbook on days when I feel stuck and need a little helping hand and I know it is a book I will be recommending to all of my artist friends.

So, after a month away from the blog, I return with a renewed sense of excitement and adventure, knowing that I must move forward from a place of creative freedom, taking risks and not trying to emulate something that has gone before. I feel stronger, armed with the tools to work through my challenges, knowing I am not alone. And on a different level, I feel honoured to have been able to share the incredible talents of artists I admire with an enthusiastic and receptive audience and look forward to doing more such sharing soon.

I would love to hear your stories of how you overcome your personal creative challenges and what led you to follow your creative heart. Please share your experiences in the comments below.

With love,
Julia x

If you go down to the woods today…

Posted on by
11

Today, I was grateful for the blue sky and sunshine, calling me outside, encouraging me to do all of those things I have been wanting to do these chilly weeks gone by.

This morning I planted bulbs… a little late, admittedly, but I have faith that they will soon push through the soil and bring colour to my Spring garden, if a little behind schedule.

Oh, nature! How I love you…
I love the things that you do and the things that you leave behind and I love the noises you make and the big full up feeling I get in my heart when I spend time with you.

This afternoon, I needed to let the boys run, climb, explore.

Too much of the Easter break had been spent indoors and we were all itching to roam, so the afternoon passed happily, out in the park, exploring the woods, playing and making art.

There is a particular spot in Trent Park that we all like to return to. For the boys, it is about building bridges, making dams. For me, it is about gathering sticks and stones and bark and making art. And so, we each did our own thing, immersed in our chosen activities, our paths crossing from time to time, the boys giving me bits of bark as they hacked away at fallen trees with branches as weapons and me giving a helping hand from when a wellington boot needed emptying of water or needed to be forced back on to a soggy foot.

And safely home, boys bathed and in bed, clothes washing, me early into pyjamas, I embarked on the task of turning photos into video. So here, for your eyes only (Password: Art), is what I did today when I chose to play in my own way.

 

Nature Art from Be Creative Daily on Vimeo.