Creative Spark

Some artists take years to paint a single painting. When I first painted, it took me nearly a year to finish my first painting. In fact, when I went to my first Painting Experience retreat I was in shock at the idea that I would finish even 1 painting much less many of them in a short few days.

When I was working as a full time artist, I began making art and jewelry in production mode. I lost the joy of creating by making many pieces at a time to be able to sell. I lost my sense of wonder at how colors mixed, at the practice of art...every piece felt like it needed to be perfect.

When I teach art classes, I have never felt that perfection was either a viable or positive goal for an artist. Perfection really doesn’t exist. Even Master artists have flaws in their work, for after all, it is made by human hands.

I don’t want to feel pressured to make art, to complete a certain number of pieces and most especially to feel that what I make has to sell.  I just want to find that shear love of creating. I want to be able to enjoy the messiness, the process, and them maybe celebrate when I finish a piece that I love.

A small piece of art, a little bit of time in a day...not an overbearing pressure. This too is the creative process. My soul desires the ability to get back to being my true creative self.  My creative spark doesn’t need to be a raging fire.

(C) 2019 Szing. All rights reserved. No part of this may be used without express written permission. Some photography by Pixabay.

It’s a New Day

Everything is cyclical. Today is the start of fall. It is a new day. It is the gentle rebirthing for me of my art studio Bohemian Art Cafe. I don’t have a “real” art studio anymore. Most of my art supplies are in storage. I have a rolling cart with art journaling supplies, a tool box of fine metal jewelry supplies, another toolbox with my watercolor painting kit, and a box with my calligraphy and illumination supplies.

Can it be enough? After having ten years of tremendous art studio space and more supplies than I probably could have used in my lifetime, I have found myself recently questioning why I have so much stuff and how much simpler life could be if I selected some new, easier to access and far more portable and small hobbies. Glass is heavy. It takes up a lot of space. It does not move easily or well, often ending in broken pieces and it is expensive. Am I an art supply and book hoarder? I fear that I may be. 

We moved again...four months ago and I’ve virtually done no art. That bone dry creative abyss has still been very much alive and well.

But just recently, this past month or so, I’ve felt the budding seed of the artful urge. That creative driving need to express myself has begun to peep out. I don’t really know how it is going to play out, but I needed the healing of my soul and spirit from what was a couple of somewhat brutal life events. Let me repeat that. I needed the time to heal my soul and my spirit. Had I had the place to do it, I probably could have used painting as my therapy, but it felt like there was nowhere to do this. I realize now that probably isn’t true. It’s just an excuse and an avoidance technique.

We cleaned out a storage unit this past weekend and we took a trailer full of stuff to a thrift store. I still could take 4 to 5 more trailers of stuff...but I’m forced by distance and time constraints to let it sit. In my head, a list is stewing, slowly formulating into another list of stuff to let go. I have a good 10 boxes of art supplies I’ll eventually be posting on my Etsy store, Ephemera Bistro.

But, in the meantime, this tickling urge has led me to sign up for two fine silver jewelry crafting classes and a torch fired enameling class. When I take them, I vow that my intent is to 1. Thoroughly enjoy the class and process, 2. Take my time to practice and really create something beautiful, and 3. That I will not bastardize my healing and process by trying to go into production mode and create a bunch of mediocre pieces. In fact, I don’t know that I EVER want to go into production mode again, unless it is to create large scale public artworks. So hello fall...it’s a time for harvest.

(c) 2019 SZing.All Rights Reserved. Photographs courtesy of Pixabay.