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

Combinatory Play = Big Magic

So there I was in a coffee shop with my day planner, my goals list,

my computer, my year's evaluations, my hopes and my dreads...

to plan a new year.  And a best bud to help make sense of the

questions...something had to give to make room for...?

It's a process I usually enjoy.  For years I have gotten a certain satisfaction in reviewing the year past and setting goals and routines, however flexible, for the new one.  Blank calendars hold such promise.  But lately I have been adding and adding and adding....and, well, something's gotta give.

In frustration I laid down my pen and sighed, "Guess I just have to give up chasing shiny objects."

(Call it dabbling, call it distraction, call it crafty fun but I have a well earned reputation for going off on tangents.....)

...which doesn't even count the days spent felting, fermenting, canning, or trying pottery.

My very wise friend looked at me over her glasses and replied calmly, "But, my dear, THAT is who you are."  

BIG MAGIC to the rescue.  The book that is.

Not having solved my scheduling problems, I picked up my copy of Elizabeth Gilbert's book and randomly turned to page 253 where she references "combinatory play."  (You know the adage that you get certain info when you really need it?  Well, obviously I had read this before but now I really needed it.)  Combinatory play is the act of combining two seemingly unrelated things often resulting in the creation of another.  Or, as Gilbert puts it, "opening up one mental channel by dabbling in another."  Dabbling.

Einstein used to play the violin while his subconscious worked out heavy formulas on mass and energy.   I know you've read the story about Steve Jobs and his calligraphy class, but here is a review.

There is even a corporate adviser, Think Inside the Box, that professes the value of play.  And if you remain unconvinced give a gander at this white paper, To Think Without Thinking.  I'm getting the picture here.

If my goal for 2017 is to find new ways to express my art, develop more reliable methods of painting, and to offer up better paintings in a constant effort to improve the quality and quantity.....then I better not stop playing.

Cross pollination can be valuable, distraction can be relaxing, dabbling can occupy the hands while the hamsters run the treadmills problem solving.  A day spent digging potatoes and gathering flowers eventually birthed this

a piece I love for the sheer memory of that wonderful day on a friend's farm.

So now that we are convinced that "play" is not only scientific but necessary to the development of creativity, how do you plan to play in 2017?  I know that I certainly intend to continue chasing shiny objects....but time on the calendar?  hmmm, I think it is obvious that cooking and cleaning be eliminated to make way for creative break throughs.  You?

In Combinatory Color,

Cindy

p.s. don't miss periodic updates from the studio, go here and "like" my FB page

What I Learned in Play

 "Everything I Need to Know...I Learned in Kindergarten" was a tongue in cheek book but loaded with wisdom.  I decided in that same spirit to make a list of everything I am learning by painting with an abstract surface that evolves from "play."  I was surprised at the list, here is a share:

LOOSEN UP BABY!  a dear friend made the astute observation that in recent years one of my personal goals was to be more flexible and spontaneous with my schedule.  Ouch...the pain of practice but oh, the joy of the results.  She pointed out that this exercise was no different.  Either way I was giving up control (perceived or imagined) and letting the flow carry me along.

UGLY CAN BE MADE BEAUTIFUL!  This is not a quick process, while the beginning play doesn't seem to take much time, making the silk purse certainly does.  Sometimes I think the play part is so ugly I want to trash it.  But.  Still.  Stick with it, problem solve, define the possible options and pursue one carefully.

OBSERVATION IS CRITICAL TO SUCCESS! Ever gotten somewhere and realized you did not see half the things your traveling partner did?  A keen, observing eye is important when translating the play into a recognizable thing.  Since much is painted out of your head (from memory) you have no backup other than your brain on how a root hits the ground or a road turns a corner.  Making mental notes is a prerequisite if you are to paint believably.  Observe and observe and observe.

FREEDOM IS A WONDERFUL THING!  Painters are often slaves to the photograph, terrified to move a tree or change its size.  But photos don't always offer great compositions.  I have a blank slate here, nothing to refer to means I can build a barn or insert a river where ever Mother Cindy decides.  Wowee Zowee......

SLOW DOWN, SMELL SOME ROSES!  Another reason this style of painting takes a while is that many, many decisions have to be made and the fewer strokes of the brush you use to make them the more interesting the final product becomes.  I want to leave some of this delightful "play" for the viewer to experience, but how I do that takes time and effort.  Never a bad thing to slow down, think, muse, contemplate alternatives.  It's not a race; it is a process albeit a sloooow process.

LEARN (COLOR) CHEMISTRY!  Unless I take copious notes in my prep/play time (and that would spoil the play no?) I now have to go back and reproduce the colors and hues I used to start the piece.  While this takes patience it also takes a learning eye for color mixing.  Like when bakers know the cake needs more baking powder or less flour, I have to be able to look at a color and know not only what it was made from but how much of each...or at least a way to get there.  Eighty percent of the time is spent in color mixing...even for a "little dab."  The better my eye gets the faster it will be....the yummiest colors are never those that just pop out of the tube (sorry Mr.s Winsor and Newton).

It's not a bad list...for painting or for life.  In fact, the list drives home to me how much I can gain from this process regardless of the art I choose to do.  I'll be sticking with it for a bit...maybe morphing it into my own brand of beginning and seeing where it takes me.  I don't know what path you are pursuing right now but if it is a struggle try making a list of how far you have come already, it really helps you see the progress.

Enjoy your weekend, slow down and observe something new!

LOOSELY YOURS,

Cindy

Experiment, Expire, Exhale, Repeat

OR: Do you still let your inner child out to play?

It was a week of experimentation...sometimes to the point of exhaustion, expiring late at night, remembering to exhale; only to rise and repeat it all.  Growth is hard work, it is not always pretty and it is full of highs and lows.  That is the risk we take when we choose to leave our zone of comfort and learn something new.

a play day with clay to warm up the child inside

Then off to class:

Andy Braitman at work, stretching our boundaries

 Work in progress

Stay tuned for resolution ... or not!

I'm thinking I may stop here and sign this one

 pink mountains, purple trees?  ok, now

I'm loose as a goose...

 Starting to make sense of this-
trying to bring  just a little order to the
pink chaos




The four tubes below are all I can use,
color chemistry: please don't fail me now!

Rapt attention while the master leads a critique

meanwhile, back in the studio....

Have you let your inner child out to play this week?  Let him wander around somewhere not worried about getting clothing dirty or spilling the milk?  Have you encouraged that child to take the risk of failing....and having others see that "failure"?

Did you label that flub-up a disaster or a stepping stone?

Here's to a weekend of getting your hands dirty while you still can, of doing something that may not turn out "right" and of totally enjoying the process  - try squirting that whipped cream directly from the can

into a wide open mouth while grinning from ear to ear. Learning and playing are hard work.

Now I understand why children need their naps!

PLAY fully yours,

Cindy

Caught!

You caught me!  This blog is late by about 24 hours and there is a very good reason why: I'm having a little too much summer fun.  My painting has mostly been on my saint series so my out-of-the-studio activities have ranged from jaunts to NYC and DC to mountain hiking.  I've been making colorful little pot holders, mosaic stepping stones, and lamps (yes, wiring lamps!). So I'm like a kid out of school and have no profound tidbits from the art world to pass along.....

However......
I did want to share this cute reminder of what summer is all about.  I was foraging in a friend's studio recently and she had this laying on her desk ready to color in and fill out:

(click HERE to see how to get your own copy, its from pen & paint blog
my thanks to Cheri at artsymatilda)

It reminded me that if I don't write down a few of the fun goals I had for the summer (rent a canoe on Price Lake, swim in Elk River, hike part of the mtn to sea trail...) they wouldn't get done.
So I am sharing this with you in case you need to color in your own summer bucket list and get started checking them off.  After all, school is out and it is time to kick back and play a little...or a lot!

Cindy

Play is Good

I know I am feeling a little guilty lately for not posting more serious art...but play is good!  PLAY is when you let your spirit run wild without a lot of regard for the outcome.  Many of us start painting that way and love it...and then we get serious and while we still love it, well, we tend to worry a lot about the outcome.  And artists of all genres must refuel...enter: the need to play, playmates and play dates!!

Here's my friend Cheri (blog here) who kindly indulged me many hours of summer play.  Cheri has perfected a way to make beautiful tile stepping stones (which sell as fast as she finishes them) and agreed to let me watch her technique...only she insisted on hands-on for my lesson!  It was definitely fun for me and a big education as it took me days to finish one piece of something she manages to produce many of.

Cheri suggested a coloring-book style drawing of something simple to start with.  Here's my daisy.

 This is slow work for a beginner and of course we had to discuss all the world's problems (which we quickly solved in a matter of minutes), stop for tea and lemonade, pause to admire our work and so on...part of play is slowing down, going with the flow not a deadline.



Grouting was sorta like frosting a cake, sorta like fingerpainting and a lot like a mess!  And yes, I am well aware of what my tee-shirt reads...I just have to remember to mix the grout til it looks like pudding, or was it oatmeal or...?

And here, many afternoons later is my final piece all sealed and ready for the garden.  Of course now I can only visualize it as part of a walkway of flowers all leading to a secret garden of yard art.  At the rate I managed this one I should have that dream come true in about 20 years...or maybe Cheri will take on a mega-commission?  That's another reason artists should play in each others' sandboxes: you learn to appreciate and respect what it takes to create beauty in another media.  Paint me "very respectful."

So now I can return to the "serious" part of my art in prep for a street festival in November...the easel finds me refreshed and ready to pick up some of my old familiar tools and go back to work with new eyes.  Thank you Cheri for the playdates and lessons!!

Two Medicine Creek

Remember to play this year.

I read a recent Richard McKinley article about starting a painting with a hard pastel sketch and then

covering it all with clear gesso which might cause it to smear a bit.

He then suggested going in with watercolors and splashing some color (and drips) around.

That was the play part!

Down to business was going back in with pastels and filling in some of the gaps.

This is Two Medicine Creek, a gorgeous little spot near Running Eagle Falls in Glacier

National Park.  It was nearing sunset and I remember

everything being pinky and orangish.

This is 16 x 20, mostly pastel on masonite....not framed (may never be)...this

one was for fun.

Have a wonderful, playful new year.

Artfully yours,

Cindy