Positive, Purposeful Play

Isn't it confounding how you can read the same

message over and over again but until you are "ready"

for it, you don't really hear it?

I think I just heard this message: time for

some serious play and deep introspection.

Do PLAY and INTROSPECTION go together?  I think so.  Watching my grand babies play I can see the little wheels turning for lessons they don't even know they are learning.  My own brain works best when my hands are preoccupied with something that requires little thought.  And isn't it by play that we usually stumble upon golden nuggets of info that we can apply more seriously elsewhere?

Yes, this is a confessional sort of blog.  Reading Luann Udell's blog on "what do you really want?"  got me to thinking.  I'm not sure I can say what I really want from my art.  All of my earlier "wants" have been met (certain shows, certain sales, specific projects...) What do I want NOW?  If I cannot verbalize it how can I achieve it?  I have started journaling these thoughts and feelings and hopefully by month's end I can re-read and begin to see some specific goals emerge.

Alyson Stanfield is another great read for artists who have any business doing business.  Her recent "How to expedite your breakthrough"  also spoke to me.  So I will copy her suggestions (especially "talk about ideas," "challenge yourself" and "be open...") and intentionally see what bubbles up to the top.  

Play has never been hard for me but I've never intentionally set out to play with no expectations of the results, play for plays sake is quite different.  Google "play and art" and you will find no end of defense for play's role in creativity.

early morning fun turned into work when I felt

self-pressure to "make" these prints into something "useful or sale-able"

almost by accident I discovered I enjoy teaching beginners or non-artists

how to make a painting without the worry of outcome...

and may I say, out loud and for the record, that I do not

enjoy the process of plein air painting regardless of

how much I (or anyone else) think I should?

So indulge me for a bit.  You may feel I have abandoned my pursuit of "serious" art but I have not.  Nor have I forgotten that the reason I began blogging was not self promotion or sale of my work, but to expose friends and readers to the many, many ways art enriches and informs our everyday lives; I wanted to demonstrate how the intentional addition of more art into our personal world can soothe and comfort even the most unlikely appreciator.  I think those motives are still worthy but I need a new why for my 2D work.

I want to explore collaborative work, community work, and find out if threads will work into my paintings.  I'm gonna go all abstract and then really, really tighten up.  I will draw from life and not worry about how many canvases I toss out.  I need to talk to other artists who may have hit this point and see what they did to resurrect their mojo.  I need to finger paint, take chances and not worry about translating sales into approval.  I'm going to build a map by getting lost.  I am going to intentionally play.

This may not be your cup of tea and I will take no offense if you de-subscribe from this blog while I go down the rabbit hole.  But if you are curious as to what may evolve then I invite you along for the journey. Share your ideas, add your suggestions, send me off on a tangent or refer me to a book.  (I regret that my blog platform doesn't let these comments be seen by all of us).  I'll share.  

Meanwhile be ready for some fun and some angst, some vulnerability and some soul searching.  Hopefully when the calendar turns over a new year I'll have some fresh ideas and a path towards a new direction.  Maybe something I play with will inspire you to try a new sandbox.  Who knows?Here we go...

PLANNING TO PLAY,

Cindy

Understanding Art: Possible? Desirable? Elusive?

"The moment you think

you understand a great work of art,

it's dead for you."

Oscar Wilde

I recently read this quote in a blog by Alyson Stanfield of Art Biz and have been thinking about it ever since.  I tried to find a context in which Mr. Wilde said it but came up short.  However, it continues to resonate with me.

People often ask me to "explain this piece" (of another artist) or ask how anyone could call such-and-such, art.  I have also collected a few artists that others just can't stomach.  Why such divergent definitions?

I think art speaks to one's personal criteria. And I believe that the quote above sums up a huge part of the criteria for me personally.  I lean towards art (2D, 3D, movies, books etc.) that offer me a continuing fascination.  They have the capacity to either endlessly make me smile or continually make me think.  When something accomplishes either of these two elusive, personal standards then to me, it is art and I want it around me.

As soon as I uncover and understand everything about a piece (nice vase, spring flowers, blue table) then it is dead, for me. I don't want it or need it. But if I look again and wonder whether the vase is an old heirloom or a new gift, whether the flowers have a hidden message or were gathered for a meaningful occasion, and whether the blue table is really blue etc, well then, there is something new to think about.  When the artist can layer meaning as well as he can color and shape, then I am hooked.  I want unanswered questions, nuance, double entendre, feelings and possibilities.  

This is what I strive for in my work as well as in my collecting.  Have you ever thought about a general criteria that you have (and may not realize) as to what constitutes art that stays alive for you?

Does Oscar Wilde's statement have any meaning for you?

Think about this....and please share your thoughts.

Ever Digging,

Cindy