First, let’s look at Shangri-La by Andrea Hupke de Palacio:

used with permission from Andrea Hupke de Palacio

Now take a long look at this painting or go to Andrea’s blog to view it larger.  I mean really get into it.  Think about the face…look at those eyes and stare deeply into them, consider the head covering, too.  I don’t know about you, but I can get lost in there.  The colors she has chosen to use are magnificent.  I want to swim in the colors.  Can you imagine what it took to just paint the colors in the right place?  I can imagine she was lost in her own place while doing this.  When I really look at this piece, I seem to be able to feel the grit of the dirt beneath my feet, the crunch of the dry grasses and a cold winter wind.  It takes me back to a more simple time in my own mind.  The countryside is cold and I am looking forward to a warm stew and roaring fire when I bring the goats back to the village for the night.  I look forward to the taste of wine and tangy taste of goat cheese.  I can feel all of these things and more.  Goodness knows, I am not thinking this is what Andrea was thinking when she painted this piece, but it is where it transported me.  She started me thinking with the painting and few, well chosen words.  I was easily transported from there.  The thing is you have to spend time to get yourself into the place of your imagination.  The key, by the way, is the title of this piece – Shangri-La. Where does it take you?

Unfurling

You have seen this one from me before.  I call it Unfurling.  I would like for you to try again with something very different to really spend time with this piece.  Allow it to consume you just like with Andrea’s painting.  When I created it, I felt one thing, but now I sometimes feel something different when I see it.  With paintings like this you often hear things like…”I like it” or “I could have done that” or “My five year old has done something very similar.”  I have answers for all of those kinds of questions, but what I ultimately know is that the viewer is not allowing themselves the opportunity to feel this painting.  I know there are a lot of feelings in there, because I put them there.  Artists do that!  What someone else feels is not what I probably felt as they have their own life experiences to draw on.

The point is that it seems viewers want to be told what a painting means to them, if they even take the time to stop and have a longer look.  Is it fair to the artist who probably just wants to have an opportunity to bring a bit more humanity to the viewer?  They probably just want to help them touch their own shangri-la, right?  Clothier suggests an hour meditation sitting in front of a painting to try to get to know it and to understand what it means to you, the viewer.  The artists is done with it, now it is the viewers turn to have it touch their heart, speak to them, to bring their own humanity to the surface.  If you have ever had a painting move you to tears, you know just what I mean.  This can happen with many paintings.  Once you learn the technique, you can slip into the world of that particular painting with ease.

Please, share your experiences of really taking the time to look at paintings.  I wonder if after the first time you might view them in a different way?

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image belonging to Peter Clothier

This is a series of essays Dr. Clothier wrote over a 30 year period for himself.  I, for one, am so glad he found a way to bring them all together for publication as I can’t seem to get enough of his words.  Before I found this book, I was consumed with the thoughts of what has gone wrong in our society that causes things like hideous amounts of oil to gush into our waters, the abuse of one’s profession to the point of causing economic collapses and the kind of thinking which make parents think it is a good thing to begin the higher education process with children before kindergarten.  What are we doing wrong and why do we keep doing it?  Now, I am no genius, but it seems to me we have forgotten the importance of the process of living.  In today’s world, we are so focused on the product, we forget the process.  Heck, so many even begin with the product and then consider how to get there only to keep focused on the product no matter what gets hurt in the process.

Consider this recent article in the New York Times which talks about teaching 5 year old children engineering so they will have a better chance of getting a job when they are 23!  Probably, by that time, the world is going to be so saturated with engineers they are not going to get a job anyway.  Why is it we can’t see that allowing children to become what they are meant to be will help the world balance out?  Who are we to push children in one professional direction or another?  It seems to me this is just teaching them to ignore their own instincts rather than encouraging them to be the best “person” they can be!  Now this brings me back to Peter Clothier who describes himself as a “recovering academic”.

So much of what Peter talks about in this book resonates with me, so this is only a part of what you will probably hearing about him in the future.  In his essay, “The Bandaged Place”, Peter says, “…it’s in our anger, in our pain, and in our grief – and our joy – that we find common ground.  So I aim to write the most intimate, personal words I can, in which everyone can find a piece of him- or herself.” This is what artists do.  We open up ourselves for all the world to see, we give a little part of ourselves each time we create, we often wear our heart and soul on the outside, leave a piece of it in each creation and hope something we have done will touch that place in someone else.  This is a part of the creative process.  Yes, it is slow, but we quickly learn that fast isn’t better.  Yes, it makes us utilize a lot of “inspiration” to get to the place of maybe a single sketch (reading, writing, travel, blogging, etc.), but we also learn from each and every mark because each time we give.  We come to understand keeping it for ourselves has no value.  Just like love has no value unless you give it away.  Maybe this emotion isn’t the same the creator had when they were laying bare their soul, but if it resonates in any way with the viewer or the reader, then it is successful.  Now, consider how different the world might be if educators, parents, politicians, engineers, bankers and other business types all did this?  What if they, even ever so slightly, stepped away from their industrial model (step one, step two, step three, etc. and don’t make a mis-step) and considered the importance of the process over the product?  I wonder if that spill in the Gulf of Mexico would have happened or if those in the financial sector would have been partying with the retirement savings of others or if we would be trying to make 5 year old children be 30 year old adults?  I wonder if our world would be a better, more thoughtful, more kind place?  I wonder if we would consider more and push less?  I wonder if we would be a happier society?  Well, there is little limit in what I wonder.

So now you know where my head has been lately.  I contribute this contemplation to giving myself permission to enjoy the process of living and creating, rather than pushing for the product.  Do you think this makes a difference for you – in your life and in your work?  If it makes a difference for the individual, do you think it would make a difference in the world if more individuals would be process rather than product oriented?  I am eager to hear your thoughts.

Have a Beautiful Day in your part of the world.

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I recently had another beautiful email from my glass artist friend, Lesley McIver, in Golden Bay, New Zealand. We were talking about our work and how grateful we were each day we step into our studios when she wondered if I was still doing my intuitive art.  The truth is, I can’t stop doing intuitive work.  It is a part of me and a part of my wholeness.  Lesley was just confirming I was still on my personal path.  We have been following the work of the other for many, many years now.  She knows I need this work for me, but she also knows I need growth in my work for me, too.  Good friends are like that aren’t they?  No matter what, we encourage each other to take a hard look at the place from where we have come as well as the place we are headed while keeping the focus on the present.  They allow you to fall only to be there to pick you up again.  They are true gifts.

So with Lesley (and other good friends, too) in mind, I am sharing one of the pieces I have worked on recently in the studio.  This is small for me, 18″ x 12″ on hardboard done with acrylics (mainly inks).  It is funny with some of this intuitive work.  I sometimes find it difficult to share here on the blog.  It is as though I am opening myself up to the world – showing you the part of myself I hold so private.  From an intellectual standpoint I know you don’t see the same things I see or feel, but emotionally I want to protect that part of me.  Maybe this is also why it is a challenge to title this work, but eventually I am able to get to that aspect.  Do you feel this way about any parts of your work?

I would love to hear from you on this or any other art subject.  Have a wonderful weekend.

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I continue to sketch away at these doors, and they continue to look like Alice found them down the rabbit hole.  The thing is I am working with color a bit and I find as hard as I try, my brain will not allow me to color them as they appear in the photographs!  It seems my imagination takes over and I go along wondering what in the world this would be like when you consider the door as a metaphor for something else.  Does this happen to you?  Color seems to be the cross-over element for me.  Do you have an element of art which carries you further…where you really take artistic liberties?

I had never considered how a particular element or principal of art might be a catalyst for something else, but for now this seems to be true.  It is an interesting observation for me.  When I take out the color, the work becomes a exercise in line drawing.  When the color comes into play, everything changes. This should not surprise me because color has always been what I love to work with.  I always want to get to the smallest detail of color.  Like this painting…

Stay tuned, because I am adding color to some of these doors now!

I hope everyone has had a lovely Mother’s Day!

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Monet House and Gardens, Giverny, Normandy, France

Just a short train ride from the center of Paris is the home of artist, Claude Monet.  On a beautiful day, Elizabeth and I went to Giverny in Normandy France to visit these gardens which inspired Monet.  Indeed they are inspirational and every way you turn, there is an exceptional photograph to be taken.

boats surrounded by bamboo and water

You may recognize these little boats from some of Monet’s paintings.  I am sure they are not the same ones, however the idea is there.  This setting is incredibly inspirational and if I were an impressionistic painter, I would be spending my time in this spot painting all day long.

I was inspired in a different way with this trip, however.  I was looking for something when I was in Paris.  When I went, I wasn’t sure what it was, but I intended to find out.  The colors are interesting as it is a rather gray city where other colors truly “pop”, and the buildings are  not too tall (there are a lot of tunnels under Paris).  The people are wonderful and friendly and that is always nice to find when you travel.  There was something else, though.  I knew my art was turning a corner  (I learned that when I was traveling back and forth between the US southwest and the US east coast over the last year), and I intended to find out in Paris!

One day when I was walking around the city with Elizabeth, Andrea and a new friend Sabrina, it hit me!  I am looking for doors!  Yes, you heard me, I am looking for doors – as in architectural features.  Paris has some amazing doors and amazing doors open to reveal new things.  I am looking for new horizons behind doors and a new way to merge all of these delightful expressions I have hiding inside of me.  Wow!  Who would have known?  So I sat down and had myself a good long talk with Andrea about this realization.  She talked me through some things, pointed out some things she thought warranted consideration and viola, I here by dub Kim and Andrea The Door Queens!  I will be exploring the metaphors for the door and how that all plays into the work I hope to move forward with now.  This feels so right, do you know that feeling when it is so right to proceed?

One of the things I realized is that architectural features are comfortable for me, so the door makes sense (I also love windows, but hey, you can’t do everything all the time)!  With Andrea’s encouragement I have also began allowing myself some sketching time without drafting tools!  This is the hardest part for me to allow myself to quickly, freely sketch something which resembles something else and not draft it!  So here you go…

Along the Rue Royale

These doors are really a beautiful red, however this sketch is done on paper board which does not take wet media very well.  I haven’t taken the time to use colored pencil or marker on it, so here you have it as an ink sketch done with a nib pen.  You just might see these doors again, as I seem to be making other sketches of them!

Now you know doors are my current obsession.  I am still highly drawn to my abstract work, but realized how important it is for me to explore these things in every detail.  I also need art I can practice when I am not able to get into my studio.  This gives me greater opportunity to explore a lot of ideas and still do the abstract work I so adore!

Tell me about the times when something hit you over the head as you were just going along minding your own business.

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Do you know about the work of Dan Pink?  I first read his book, A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future.  In this book he talks about how creative types have something computers cannot duplicate and how that is what the future is going to need in order to survive and to keep economies going in a positive direction.  He has now written another book called, Drive where he talks about what does and does not drive humans to do their best.

As many wise, popular writers and thinkers have been doing lately, Dan has given a talk on TED and I hope you will take the time to watch it here.  Dan is funny and passionate.  He talks about the division between what science knows and what business is doing.

How does this made a difference for artists? Dan talks about the need for AUTONOMY, MASTERY and PURPOSE in one’s work.  Think about it, isn’t that the way artist’s like to work (in general)?  Actually, as Dan talks if you think about it in relationship to artists, I think you will recognize the model he talks about. He gives good examples and his research actually upholds a lot of what we do and how we live.

So do you think artists and creative types can change the world?  It sounds as though science is on our side…can you believe it?

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the beginning of the fall

This morning we have the beginnings of the first snow of the season.  While it will not last long, it is lovely to have so early.

I tried to upload this video however it was not going to happen.  Use this link to watch.  I highly recommend it!

Elizabeth Gilbert on Nurturing Creativity on TED

Earlier this year, Elizabeth Gilbert author of Eat, Pray, Love, gave a talk on Ted.com which touched me in a profound way.  I have mentioned this talk before.  I revisit her talk with some regularity however, because it serves as a reminder of the importance of living up to my own expectations rather than the expectations of others.  When I first shared this video, it touched so many people and the email conversations went on about it for weeks and months. People found Elizabeth’s talk inspiring and a good reminder of what it means truly to live a creative life. I hope it spurs the same kind of conversation here.

As you may know, Miranda’s comment in the last post reminded me of this talk and I thought it was a good follow up to what we were talking about as far as maintaining our creativity.  Elizabeth talks about how much strength it takes just to show up for creative work and how society really puts pressure on creative people to constantly perform at peak performance.  It hasn’t been like this forever and she contemplates if this kind of pressure is what gives creative people the reputations of being a little off in the head with those who choose not to live a creative life. You have to be fearless to be an artist.  The stories she shares sound so familiar to me.  I wonder if you find some idea of resonance in them?

If you have not seen this talk before, I think you are in for a real treat.  If you have seen it, I encourage you to watch it again (I hear new thoughts and ideas each time I watch it).  Do her thoughts help you see your work in a different way?  Are you turning your art around in your head and viewing it from different perspectives? Did you hear some ideas here which may help you manage all that happens in your creative life?  I am eager to hear what you have to share.

Have a Beautiful Weekend!

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Unfolding (working title) 36 x 24 inches acrylic on canvas

This is the final product of the WIP in the previous post.  While it is not the main series I am working on at the present, it clearly informs that work and allows me the opportunity to keep questioning as I move the main series forward.  Do you work on multiple challenges in parallel?

I wanted to share this article with you from the Wall Street Journal. Terry Teachout talks about how many artists go through periods when their creativity wanes.  Of course, we are all familiar with the term “writer’s block”, and I dare say many of us have experienced it.  I am not talking about not having the time to be creative but about not having the inclination to be creative.  In this article, however, Mr. Teachout does say visual artist do not experience this as much as other creative types.  He attributes it to being encouraged to work in series until a particular subject is exhausted (which might be years or a lifetime).

The thing is, I also found this quote from Maya Angelou: “You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.”  As you probably know, Ms. Angelou is a writer, so there is a conflict of opinion between her and Mr. Teachout on this subject.

This all has me thinking here.  If working in a series works well for the person who is visually creative why would it not work for someone who is creative in another way?  I know the more I journal, the more I am able to write blog posts.  Are visual artists the only ones who create in a variety of ways in order to influence their ongoing work shown to the public?  I doubt that!

For me, the challenge is not finding the creativity but finding the time to create along side all of the other influences in my life!  I suppose I could be wrong – it has happened before, you know – however it seems as though I will never run out of inspiration to create.  I do know, though, if I don’t use all of the opportunities which present themselves to me as I move through each day then my creativity will not be as informed as it should be.

It seems to me we all have so much to learn from each other and one of the things we might learn here is life is what informs our art.  If we do not utilize other methods of creativity, then we are not going to inform our art and truly the creativity might dry up.  If we only work on a single series and only paint, then I think the creativity block will probably happen from sheer burnout.  If the writer doesn’t do other things to inform the words, then those words very well may dry up.

What do you think?  Have you ever experienced a creativity block? What do you do to avoid them?  You can find some of my techniques for avoiding creativity loss in the Pages Section of this blog.

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a study piece

It has been a while since I wrote about Slow Art.  You can read that posting here.  This subject is never far from my mind and you can find some slow blogs and web sites in the list on the right column of this page. Recently, I have been thinking about the relationship of taking time to make art and taking time to view art.  Does it make a difference in one’s life?  One thing viewing art slowly does is give you time to fine the subtleties of the work, the depth of the layers and the richness created over time.  These are things that a quick glance cannot accomplish.

What does it take to create art slowly?  Slow is different if you are working with watercolors than it is if you are working with oils, it is different if you are working with clay than it is if you are working with bronze.  The materials obviously make a difference, but I am talking about something more.  Mark Rothko apparently was once asked how long it took him to create one of his color field paintings.  His quick response was, “57 years!” which was his age at the time!  He used work and life experiences to reach his goals of a single painting.  I think this was the right response.  I know I pull from a lot of experiences to create and to live.  It takes a great deal of work to “unearth” these lessons and experiences, too.  I find, reflecting is often the best way, although it takes a lot of tools to bring those reflections to the surface.

In my last post, Suki reminded me of the importance of contemplation and not to worry about if anyone else thought you were working or not, because you know the truth.  I knew she was right and was grateful for her wise words.   It takes a great deal to get to our personal truths, create a piece of art and then to expose those truths to a public who may or may not understand the meaning or take the time to slowly view what you have so laboriously created over the expanse of your life.  It seems to me, though, that with the slowness of creation the artist probably also recognizes many people cannot or are unwilling to really see.

In the presentation about Mark Rothko done by Simon Schama, I learned Rothko was also asked how far away someone should stand from one of his color field paintings and in a single breath, Rothko said, “18 inches”!  If you have ever experienced one of these paintings and stood in front of them at that distance, you will understand why he did not hesitate!  Last weekend I had the opportunity to do just that and was completely overwhelmed by the experience.  Truly, it makes all the difference and drives home the truth that it took him 57 years to paint it!

Creating Slow Art and Viewing Art Slowly seem to go hand in hand to me.  As many of you know, it takes me a long time to bring a canvas into its fullness as it has an incredible number of layers.  Some of the reason for this is because I think I gain so much in this act!  I wonder if these paintings cause people to slow down and really see any better?  Do you life your life slowly when you can?

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A Work in Progress

I think about this art mirror a lot and wonder about the struggles people have not only when they create art, but also when they view art.  It has occurred to me how abstract work is possibly sometimes difficult for people because they struggle with what they see there.  It is easier to say things like, “my dog could have painted that” or “what a mess” or “what the hell is that?” when they don’t wish to take the time to figure out what it means to them.  Sometimes that is too painful and sometimes it may be down right impossible.  I spent many years creating drawings which were technically correct (literally drafted to the mm) for the dreams of other people.  Once I gave myself permission to do this for myself, I gained a greater respect for the part of themselves artists put into each of their works.  Maybe it is because of these artists who truly put themselves out there for all to see, I have the courage and the strength it takes to continue meeting myself in the studio.  I am not sure of the reasons I can do this without needing something else to boost me up.  It seems the greatest challenge comes when we have to hear the opinions (and face it everyone is a critic – especially those who do not practice art) of others and bolster our inner strength when their own fear makes it difficult to view something new.  I have always been someone who is who I am and cannot be who someone else wants me to be, so maybe that is it.  Then again, maybe it is my lifelong experiences of living inside my head which helps me along with this.  No matter what the reason, I can say without a doubt I am very grateful for these artists who have put themselves out there in front of the public eye and continued painting no matter what was said about them.  Every single day the knowledge of what they went through gives me the power to smile when someone just doesn’t get it! I hope you can smile through it, too.

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