Around The Studio

"When intuition stops moving, there is always a controlling thought behind it. It is important to find the root judgment the one that closed the door to your inspiration."  Point Zero, M.  Cassou

It's quite a statement from Michele Cassou, and when dealing with my recent extended creative block, I found it to be true.  I had personal work to do to clear the sludge that had blocked the way into my creative process and I am making progress. Yeah!

Completed works are accumulating in the loft these days in preparation for the art fairs I plan to participate in this summer.  The nooks and crannies are filling up!

A few studio shots of things completed or resting, some are boxed or tucked away in the portfolios. Not to mention the larger stash leaning against a wall covered with a drop cloth.  I'm trying to keep them well away from where I paint, things get pretty messing when I'm working.

And a little creative inspiration for a commissioned piece that I'm currently working on.  Shells and driftwood that I or my sisters have gathered for me on their travels and adventures.  Love having sisters who look out for me!

Back to painting!

Finally Finished

Finally finished, finally a 'me' painting!

"Veil of Tears" Completed

Creative Quest

I like to take photos of my work as they progress, it gives me a sharper perspective and often either confirms what I suspected needed work or shows me what isn't working. There's lots of refining work to do with this one.  Then, sometimes you just have to give it time before you are certain of what needs to happen next.  I seem to be doing a lot of that these days, waiting.  I've been blasting away at a creative block that has me struggling to enter freely into the process which is what it's all about for me, the process.     "The quest into creativity is a journey into the heart and soul..." M. Cassou 

Maybe it's because I work in abstract, I have no reference to look at and guide me into a piece, though I expect creative blocks challenge those who work in realism in taking what they see before them and finding a way to interpret in their own style.

I've received so much great advice and words of encouragement as I am struggling with this creative block. I show up each day and keep hacking away at it, not just with paint, but in doing the inner work of processing what life throws at us.  Things can become stagnant too darn quickly if we don't keep pressing in and doing the work, interior and exterior.

 My art journal is the place I go to work out colour combos, ideas and techniques for pieces I want to create on canvas.  I wind up with a journal full of backgrounds and random stencil clean ups that I then try to use to write out or further explore my inner world.  The right hand page is where I determined the colours I would use for the above unfinished piece.

This is my youngest Granddaughter, Lyvia's journal.  She keeps it here so Nanny can clean her brushes and used stencils in her pages giving her something fun and different for her to then add images and captions.  She has always been fascinated with my journals and would take several of them home with her if Nanny were ready to part with them :-)  I love to encourage my girls to explore and discover their unique voice, I tell Lyvia she is a 'Colour Layerist' a term she loves to mull over and think about how it applies to her creative bent.

"The quest into creativity is a journey into the heart and soul...When you step into the Creative Quest, you enter the unlived ground of your life, the wilderness of your soul."  Point Zero by Michele Cassou

Creative Blocks

From my previous post you know I've been doing some of the marketing challenges, Leslie Saeta is suggesting in her 30 Marketing Ideas in 30 Days.  Some of them I've been doing others I'm developing, a fancy word for I'm trying!  On day 9 she challenged us to take more progression photos of our work, so this is my efforts to develop this one painting. It's one of those times I wish I had just left it alone!

Well, as you also know if you follow my blog, I've found myself dealing with some head and heart issues that have cut me off from my ability to enter into my own creative process.  I'm working hard to get to that place again, doing the inner work and then coming to the studio and attempting to paint.

Blocks are funny things, and because I've not been painting for long, my experience with them are minimal.  There's the usual January hump that I've found myself in these last few years, but I know they exist because my body (and the fibromyalgia) shuts down after the demands of the holidays and I simply need to rest, rebuild, and the flow returns.  But blocks that come from emotional pain and heartache, well that's new to me and the complete inability to even enjoy picking up a brush is, well, shocking!  Not that there has not been heartbreak and difficulties in the past, there have been, but I was able to use my art to express my pain and reach for the healing I found in the expression.

I guess in life one can never assume anything, nor should we expect that what got us past one hurdle will work exactly the same with the next.  We are wonderfully complex beings, and I can only hope at the end of this journey into greater venerability it will lead to a deeper expression with my art and life.  Many of you have left wonderfully encouraging words, they let me know that we are never alone and always there is a common bond that makes us human and part of a greater community.  Thank You...

"The Dragon of Control...The lack of inspiration is a cover-up; actually, you are full of feelings dying to express themselves. But they are not what you expect them to be and may shock you. The feelings that need to be felt are outside your familiar way of sensing yourself."  Michele Cassou

Marketing Ideas Challenge With Leslie Saeta

Life has a way...of catching you off guard, leaving you floundering to manage.  Having one of those life moments and I'm afraid my art has taken a hit.  I can only trust the urge and ability to enter into the process of painting will return to me when I'm in a better head and heart space.

In the meantime, here's a piece that was a redo, I like it's long slender length and off course teal and golden crackle (it is golden not the orange showing here) always appeals to me.  It has a name now, 'Celestial'.

Have you heard about Leslie Saeta's 30 Marketing Ideas in 30 Days? If not you can check it out, there are a lot of us attempting to work on the marketing end of things. Thanks Leslie!

"Trusting the process is based on a belief that something valuable will emerge when we step into the unknown. There are elements of surrender and letting go...

The humblest expressions can be sources of insight and wonder...negative and fearful experiences can really test our capacity for positive reflection."  Shaun McNiff