A WARM WELCOME TO YOU

Hello everyone and welcome new subscribers…I’m so glad you’re here!

I know many of you have recently discovered me through my 30 Day Sketchbook Challenge. Thank you for joining me. I couldn’t be more pleased with the response and that so many decided to make the commitment to a daily art practice in their sketchbook. I’ve shared more about my own relationship to working in a sketchbook in this month’s blog post, along with some inspiration content to get you thinking about the possiblities. 

I hope that what I offer you through this monthly newsletter will inspire you, inviting you into a deeper relationship with your own creative process. The mindset that all Artists need to cultivate to work strongly in their art can be greatly enhanced through an awareness of how art functions for us and why we make it. 

As I write this newsletter I am just finishing up the first week of the Sketchbook Challenge. It has been an interesting process and I’m already experiencing its gifts. It’s not too late to join in if you’re interested. You’ll find all the details below.

I wrote this quote in my sketchbook earlier this week and shared in my posts. It feels so appropriate for these times. Embrace your doubt and let your art-making guide you.

We work in the dark,
We do what we can,
We give what we have,
Our doubt is our passion 
And our passion is our task.
The rest is the madness of art.
– Henry James

Enjoy this month’s offering and if you have any feedback for me, I always love to hear it. Thank you for reading and sharing…it truly is appreciated.

PS: For those of you that are new subscribers I have included some links to previous issues of this newsletter – full of additional resources for you!

FROM THE BLOG

ART AS A PRACTICE

It’s often said that art-making is a practice, something that we do consistently and with a sense of dedication, perhaps even reverence. For most artists this connection to practice is what helps them get closer to that long-held vision they hold for their work. But for many artists there are times when consistent practice just isn’t possible, at least not in the way they would like. I’m often bumping up against this myself as I navigate between coaching, facilitating online programs, and art-making – oh, yes, and enjoying my full and wonderful life. 

After winding up my 12-week online Group Coaching Program – with an incredible group of inspiring and courageous artists – it was time to reacquaint myself with my art practice. I know this cycle well by now and have learned to prepare myself for the reentry, laying down solid ground to work from. This preparation really helps me to find a path into my work without the heaps of discomfort that usually insists on arriving. Experiencing more peace in the creative process is always a good thing. It’s not always easy making our art.

Working in a sketchbook, however, has always been a place of peace and discovery for me. There is such a spacious and personal feeling to those pages – they welcome me every time I arrive, much like returning to a warm home. My sketchbook is my companion, my witness, and my secret-keeper. I can express and create anything on its pages. My only rule: there are no rules. I accept and indulge my compulsions, ideas and every effort to show up on the page. 

This engagement with my sketchbook sets me up beautifully to access my studio work again after a break. Not only does it help me to warm up, but I also tap into my reservoir of creative energy – the backlog of ideas and connections that will inform my future work. After all, in the time that has passed I have changed, assimilated new information, sensibilities and imagery. This is now waiting to be brought into the work, but it’s not yet realized and needs some outworking. The sketchbook is the place to connect into this. But what makes a sketchbook practice work for us and why is it so helpful to our development as artists?

INSPIRATION FOR YOUR ARTIST’S MINDSET

THE BURDENED JOURNAL : ORLY AVINERI

Art Journaling is deeply personal work. It can take many forms, these journals becoming as unique as the artists that made them. One artist, Orly Avineri, has inspired me with her process of engagement, using the elements of time and the actions of nature to bring these art journals into the realm of Book Arts.

There is a type of alchemy at work here as pages, washed by the sea and dried, become something else – materials for new works in an endless cycle of creating. Inspired and formed by the landscape, Avineri’s work will have you thinking about sketchbooks, and their purpose in an artist’s life, in a whole new way.

“It’s okay to change. It’s okay to retreat, then join back in. It’s okay to leave and never come back. It’s okay to leave and come back differently.” – Orly Avineri

ONE ARTIST JOURNAL : 14 ARTISTS JOURNALS

These two books by Artist Orly Avineri are visually rich and truly inspiring. Each page feels like an intimate look into the ways that Orly and other impassioned artists engage with the practice of Art Journaling. Whether you’re wanting to create a dedicated sketchbook practice or if you’re ready for a deeper dive into a connected experience of art and bookmaking, these two books will flood you with ideas for enhancing your own creativity.

In ‘One Artist Journal’ Orly writes, “There is life on my shelves. They are loaded with stories. And the things on my shelves, if they could talk, they would tell you plenty about themselves. Yes, they would probably tell you where they came from, how they found themselves on my shelves, that kind of thing. Most of all they will tell you what they don’t like. That they do not like to be ignored, or not seen, or to be given a one-word name. They would also claim that they are not Still Life, they are not inanimate subjects. At what time in our lives do we start naming objects to avoid the work of seeing?”

Art-making is so much about connecting the dots, asking great questions, and the playful exploration of untethered ideas. When we give ourselves a vast and safe space to indulge these essential parts of our creative lives, our art is more personal and likely more truthful.

BEER WITH A PAINTER : JUDY PFAFF

I’ve been enjoying these informal and interesting artist interviews from Hyperallergic. This month’s “Beer With…” interview was with Judy Pfaff, who’s work has always captured my attention.

“Her installations might combine massive tree roots, fluorescent lights, glass drops, and paper – but they nevertheless communicate an overarching mood or emotion: from exuberant to elegiac.”

I think it’s the emotional invitation that I feel when I look at her work that draws me into this contemporary language of installation and sculpture. Inspiring.

I’ve recently become a supporting member for this art publication. Like so many segments of the arts, recent global events, shuts downs, and cancellations have threatened their ability to remain viable. If you're interested in becoming a member, you can find out more here.

30 DAY SKETCHBOOK CHALLENGE

Although this Sketchbook Challenge has already begun, you’re most welcome to join in now and add the days you missed to the end, or just complete the days remaining – it’s up to you. If you think you’d like to see how an art practice like this can open you up to new discoveries and connection with your art-making, then here is all you’ll need to know. It’s pretty informal and a lot of fun to share with others.

The Basic Information:

Make something – anything, using any medium – in your sketchbook each day for 30 days.

If you miss a day or two, don’t beat yourself up about that and stop, just recommit and start again. We may falter along the way, but meeting that with compassion and recommitment are the actions that move us forward and help us grow. 

Sharing what you’re doing is optional, and not required to be a part of this Sketchbook Challenge, but if you do share you’re welcome to add the hashtag #insightcreative30daychallenge to your post so we’ll be able to easily find them. 

I’m sharing my progress each day on my Insight Creative Facebook page and my Instagram account. I’ll also be offering encouragement and some prompts along the way. This will keep me accountable and also offer something to those of you joining me – with gratitude.

I hope you’ll join us!

PAST ISSUES OF THIS NEWSLETTER

For new subscribers – please enjoy these previous issues of my monthly newsletter. Thank you for subscribing!

April 2020
March 2020
February 2020
January 2020
December 2019

If you know of any Artists that could benefit from these monthly newsletters, please share and invite them to subscribe. They’ll receive my free PDF download on ‘How to Make a Creativity Journal’ when they do.

STRONGER TOGETHER

Art-making is such a personal experience, always calling us forth and asking us to be more of ourselves, to trust more deeply and to show up for the work.

When we develop a healthy and resilient attitude towards the struggles we may be facing, we feel more balanced and set ourselves up for success.

I hope this newsletter gives you some tools to help guide yourself towards more trust and awareness around your creative process.

Thanks for being here…wishing you abundant creativity today and every day!
Warmly,
Cheryl Taves
info@insightcreative.ca
h: 250.360.1453
c: 250.818.3239