ART AND EVOLUTION

Hello everyone and welcome to new subscribers!

There is an inherent energy that drives all things to change and evolve – that is the one true constant in life, and in art-making. As artists we have the desire to develop our work further, allowing our work to be a reflection of who we are, and what interests us. We have callings, nudges, ideas, and undeniable passions that we want to bring into our art-making. This is part of what keeps us deeply engaged and very curious to pursue what else is possible for us.

In this month’s blog post I’m sharing some thoughts on what supports our evolution as artists, and what we need to notice in order to fully embody our path as creatives. The feeling of wanting to move elsewhere in our work can feel unsettling at times…I hope what I have shared in this post offers you some real tools to help you along the way.

I’m also sharing more this month about my collaborative offering with Kerry Schroeder, coming to you this fall. Vision + Voice is a truly unique program that speaks to the very core
of art-making – the vision we hold for our work, and how to express that through our unique voice. Scroll down to find more details on this powerful and reflective learning opportunity that will become an anchor for your creative practice. We’d love to work with you in September 2024!

And just a reminder that my monthly blog post is also offered as an audio recording, allowing you to listen rather than read. To listen to the recording just click on the READ MORE OR LISTEN button in the ‘FROM THE BLOG’ section of this newsletter and you’ll find the MP3 file on my website at the bottom of my written post.

If you have any feedback for me, I always love hearing from you. Thank you for reading and sharing this newsletter…it truly is appreciated.

PS: For those of you that are new subscribers I have included a link to find previous issues of my newsletter – full of additional resources for you!

DRIVERS AND LIMITERS

Artists are often navigating the paradoxical aspects of art-making. It’s one of the many inherent characteristics of the creative process that keeps us engaged and challenged, sometimes in equal measure. 

For instance, we know the benefits of making a cohesive and consistent body of work, as well as working with a set of intentions to help guide us in that process. And we can simultaneously feel the impetus to move somewhere else with our work. We may be compelled to expand into new territory, take bigger risks, and follow a path that may be leading us away from where we have been. These are the drivers that propel our work forward, and we need to pay attention to them, even as they unsettle us.

At times when we feel ready to evolve in our work – taking that step into the unknown once more – the question we need to hold is, how can we allow ourselves to expand into new territory while staying connected to our voice as an artist? 

There is also an important distinction to understand about this process of evolution in art-making. It is invaluable to build consistency in our artistic practice through coming to know who we are as an artist, and to make meaningful work. In order to do this we have to stay the course, even when it is uncomfortable, to develop our creative language, learn to work with intentions, and build a strong body of work that reflects our voice and offers us a solid working structure. We need to commit, focus, and recognize the inherent value of this approach to our creative work.

What I mean by this is, when you have been focused on your development for a period of time – perhaps you’ve even had some measure of success for yourself – you may still feel restless and compelled to move elsewhere in your work. This restlessness can occur despite the fact that others recognize your work, you’ve made sales, had opportunities to show, and have a following. 

This can be a highly unsettling time for artists. If we’re not prepared to meet it well, as we need to do with all the paradoxical aspects of the creative process, we’ll find ourselves in a great deal of confusion and struggle. 

At these times we need to be Jedi Masters of the mind,  separating out what is a “driver” in our art practice and what is a “limiter.”

INSPIRATION FOR YOUR ARTIST’S MINDSET

TO ABSTRACT : AMY SILLMAN

American artist Amy Sillman has had a decades-long career in the arts, exploring many mediums and defying categorization. She is known for her process-based paintings that move between the figurative and abstraction.

It seems that it is the edges of things, and where they meet, that intrigues her. Sillman moves between working intuitively and formally, materially and conceptually. She does not let rules or limitations define who she is as an artist and that makes her, and her work, incredibly interesting.

Sillman tells us, ”You’re editing with your body, you’re making these decisions to like spill something out, cut it off, put it over there, move it around. And the next thing depends on the thing before it”

MAKING THINGS : KATHERINE BRADFORD

Figurative painter Katherine Bradford always wanted to be free and happy, and art-making became the surprising vehicle that she landed upon that offered her that.

In this candid interview, Katherine speaks her mind about how she feels about making art and the art world in general, but it is the interviewer that seems to draw her back to the essence of what she is connecting with in her work – that freedom she was always after.

Even at the age of 82, she questions why she may have chosen the life of a painter. But the process of exploring the question leads her back to the answer.

STORMS AND CALM WATERS: BOBBIE BURGERS

Vancouver based artist, Bobbie Burgers is featured in this short film that offers us an insight into how big changes in our lives can change how we see and experience the world. Her 2022 body of work reflects what she calls “changing tides.” The film and Burger’s candid sharing gives us an insight into how an artist interprets these life experiences into her visual language.

Burger’s work is immediate, and in many ways unforgiving. She says, “…working with raw canvas you have to make your movements quick and assured, and then you have to wait and see what it does, how it absorbs, how the drips overlay, and how the washes overlay. And then you have to make another quick movement, because there is no turning back. It’s like working with paper…there is no erasing and there is no layering up…” She sees this way of working as a metaphor for life.

OFFERINGS FOR ARTISTS

Artists long to create work that feels meaningful and authentic, work that reflects their truth and communicates their unique vision and voice.

I’m getting truly inspired by the content that artist and coach Kerry Schroeder and I are creating for our fall offering of Vision + Voice.

This 8-week online program addresses many of the core concerns artists face around making their work, and will guide artists through a process that will help them clarify their vision for their art-making and how to articulate that through their unique voice.

Together we’ll explore and unpack areas of the creative process that are not typically a part of art learning curriculum: working with intuition and intention, accessing your visual language, understanding the self in relationship to art-making, the nature of the creative process and how to meet that with awareness and mindfulness, and much more.

Vision + Voice will be offered in September 2024.

You can find more information HERE, including a beautiful video that really captures the essence of what we are creating for you!

As an Insight Creative subscriber you’ll get all the details and first opportunity to consider our invitation. We’d love to work with you this fall and help you to find YOU in your art.

–THE 30 DAY SKETCHBOOK CHALLENGE COURSE–

Looking for a boost for your art-practice?

Have you been wanting a sketchbook practice that supports your art-making and creative process, but you don’t know how to begin?

The 30 Day Sketchbook Challenge Course is an affordable, content rich, self-guided course that can be started at any time, and is always available for purchase on my website.

Once purchased, you’ll have lifetime access to the course and can repeat the Challenge at any time in the future, giving your art-making the boost it might need.

This course also touches on many of the essential aspects of the Artist’s mindset – the ways we can think about and approach our creative work to move past fear and limitations, opening to what is possible for us.

You can find out more about The 30 Day Sketchbook Challenge Course HERE.

You can also email me at info@insightcreative.ca with your questions or for more info.

THE GIFT OF SHARING

For new subscribers – please enjoy these previous issues of my monthly newsletter.
Links to additional back issues can be found on the right sidebar of my blog HERE.

Thank you for subscribing!

If you know of any artists that could benefit from these monthly newsletters, blog posts, or any of my Course Offerings, please share this email with them and invite them to have a look. They’ll receive my free PDF download on ‘How to Make a Creativity Journal’ when they subscribe.

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