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"From Here to Here."
I have looking into my own creative process as I create images. What I have been doing is cranking my energy up before I begin to work in the studio. Creativity requires a great deal of energy and as we all know it is not an easy thing to be creative. It takes a great deal of courage, love, and discipline. The quote I love is, "The most coveted thing in the artword is not talent, it is discipline." With coffee and loud music, and some body movement to get the blood going I raise my energy up and out. I am like a triangle moving upwards. The work I usually do then is the childs play. I splatter paint, scrap and dig, turn pieces upside down, and grabbing leaves and newspaper for textures. I am talking about painting here but digital work is relatively the same. All this without having any idea of where I am going. I work quickly to cover the board I am working on and after a session or two, images and stories appear. This is good, fun, and eventually leads to great work.
Recently I have sensed that my working habits are somewhat scattered. I feel a slight sense that I get a little lost and in the end am not as satisfied as I want to feel and the work doesn't seem connected to me on a deeper level.
My new exersise to myself and I invite you to join me is to first stop... before I begin. Then think and feel what I want to paint about...instead of just working on the next thing that shows up. I pull out a sketchbook and write, draw, and ask myself, "What do I really want to paint about now?" I put down key words, do stetches, and even research. Now I begin. So instead of jumping in and getting lost and scattered immediately, I start out knowing where I want to go and then let go of how I get there. So when I get lost or feel scattered I can return to my original concept. This way instead of my energy going up and out I stay centered and allow the energy to go down and out. I am then like a triangle moving downwards...Incarnation.
The sense I have is that I have been creating many individual pieces of art over the years and now I am ready to begin to connect them, to string them together for what do artists do best but unravel the great mystery of themselves, others, and the world.
"Transcendence has never been an issue for me, it is being present and grounded that is my medicine."