The information in this post comes from Nicholas Wilton’s Art2Life and Creative Visionary Programs and is published with permission. A significant shift in art-making for me over the last few years is that I now work on a group of paintings, instead of just one at a time. This process—which I picked up from the Creative Visionary Program with Nicholas …
Make Two—At least | Work on Multiple Paintings at a Time Read Blog Post »
I started 2020 on a high. I was convinced that this was the year I was going to have a regular art practice and that I was going to make art that was better than anything I had done before — and then COVID came along and I lost all my momentum. I’m sure that I’m not alone in this. …
When it’s Hard to Make Art | Finding Momentum Read Blog Post »
When students come to an encaustic workshop with a pre-planned project and high expectations that they will be taking home a fabulous and finished work of art, they often don’t give themselves permission to play and embrace the process of art-making. Commit to the process, detach from the outcome!! To help students commit to the process and detach from the outcome, I begin my workshops having students recite the Art-day vow. …
Unlock your Creativity | Start Copying As I explore creativity in my own life, I have been reading Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You about Being Creative by Austin Kleon. In this book, Kleon isn’t suggesting that we plagiarize or break the law, but he does give us permission to look at the work of others for inspiration and education. …
Exploring Creativity | How to Steal Like an Artist without plagiarizing Read Blog Post »
As I drove to day-two of the “Sinking In” workshop with Andrea Bird, I listened to a TED talk of David Kelley (see below) discussing how to build your creative confidence. He told this story: I remember one day my best friend Brian was working on a project. He was making a horse out of the clay that our teacher kept under the …
Journalling scares me. If you have read my previous post, Sinking In: strengthening the conversation with our art and ourselves, you’ll know that I have always shied away from the idea of keeping a journal. I have a fear that someone will read my private thoughts. In my painting Sinking in: “Dear Inner Critic…” I wrote directly on the substrate, hiding my words …
For the past two days, I’ve been “sinking in”, exploring the artistic process with Andrea Bird and five other students. I knew that a workshop at The Hive, Andrea & Dan’s beautiful encaustic studio, would be a great learning experience but I was not at all anticipating a profound art therapy session. The Inner Critic Exercise Sinking in: “Dear Inner Critic…” …
Sinking In: strengthening the conversation with our art and ourselves Read Blog Post »
Play is such an important, yet not often talked about aspect of creativity. It became apparent to me at a crucial point in my artistic career that if there is not an aspect of play during the time that I’m involved in a piece, then it isn’t going anywhere. Play allows for letting go, and loosening the grip on the brush. This is what I aim to do in my encaustic workshops, by creating a place where letting go is encouraged.