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Hello and welcome! Thank you for being here and for being a part of my Creative Community. I am deeply grateful to you for your subscription to this newsletter, your support of this work I love to do, and for taking the time to nurture and support your Artist’s Mindset. I know that when we give ourselves the opportunity to learn more about how our thoughts, fears, and passions contribute to the work we make, we become more authentic artists and have a solid foundation to make our work from. We are then better equipped and able to stand strongly as we encounter the uncharted territory that art-making takes us to. I also greatly appreciate the feedback I have received on the inclusion of the audio version of my monthly Blog post, allowing you to listen, rather than read. To listen to the recording just click on 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. This month’s offerings are all touching on some key themes that I speak to often in my work as a Creativity Coach – trust in the process and engaging questions as a method to guide you through the paradoxes and conundrums of art-making. I hope that what I share here invites curiosity and begins to open a space in you that recognizes and works with the seemingly conflicting aspects of being an artist and making your most personal work. 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 some links to previous issues of this newsletter – full of additional resources for you!
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If I were to ask you to simultaneously pour every ounce of yourself – your skillful abilities, your emotions, intellectual concepts, your truth as you understand it – into your creative work, while remaining in a state of neutral detachment during the process and uninvested in its success, would you find that difficult? I think most of us would. And yet, it is what is asked of an artist as they make their work, along with embodying many other conflicting states of being. Art-making is filled with paradoxes – seemingly contrary or conflicting actions that often defy reason, but can lead to truthful, unexpected discoveries. It’s when we understand the challenge this presents for us that we can hone a skill set for negotiating these sticky places present in our craft. Without this awareness we overlay exceptions and mythical beliefs about art-making that are simply not true and cause us unnecessary struggle. Learning to accept the paradoxical aspects of art-making prepares us for the deep work of managing the discomfort that inevitably arrives, and helps us to go the distance. With knowledge we are empowered and more able to adapt to what is required of us. So let’s talk about some of these paradoxes and why they are important to embrace in our art-making. Here are a few that I encounter in my own process and with artists I work with: Be all in – fully committed and authentic in your work – but at the same time get out of your own way. Know what part of yourself needs to be in and what part needs to step away.
Move into the unknown without any idea of where you might be headed, but hold an intention for your work at the same time. And if you have a really clear idea for your work, execute that idea while still allowing for chance and intuition to play a role, keeping your work fresh and alive.
While you may begin your creative work with a plan, an idea or intention, you must be willing to let the work have its way and let go of that initial idea if something else arrives. Hold intentions lightly.
Face a multitude of choices and decisions in nearly every moment of the creative process – some that can be hugely consequential to the work you’re making. But don’t let that generate anxiety for you, just make those choices. And don’t feel any pressure around that.
At every stage of your work, you need to be willing to risk greatly. Even if you have invested tons of materials and numerous hours of your time, you have to be willing to sacrifice the whole of your work for its development – to move it towards greatness.
Accept that most of your work won’t be deemed by yourself or others as great – it might be good, or sometimes just okay, and at other times a complete failure. As you pursue the vision for your work – striving for that greatness – you need to accepted that most of your work won’t get there. But don’t let that discourage you, as that is a sure way to never get there.
Be willing to embrace failure even when you feel intense resistance to that idea. In fact, true innovation only occurs when failure is an expected result of the process. Through failure comes discovery and invention. Befriend your resistance to failure and make it a part of your creative process.
Make your work for yourself first and foremost. Create with authority and autonomy, buffering yourself from being swayed by the art buyers or the market, but then share your work with collectors and gallerists and hope they like it enough to purchase or exhibit it.
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INSPIRATION FOR YOUR ARTIST’S MINDSET
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IAN MCKEEVER : MYSTERY TO THE VIEWER This interview from 2014 with painter Ian McKeever offers us some insights into how an artist works with questions as they engage with their art-making. Ian talks about his process of abstraction and what he believes is the relationship between painting and these times. It’s an insightful look, and explanation, of what making art offers us – a unique, primary experience which is now increasingly hard to come by as we continue to embrace the digital age. For McKeever, painting invites questions. He feels that good painting doesn’t give you any answers, but tethers you to a push and pull relationship that continues to develop over time. This is what brings him back to painting over other mediums. As an abstractionist, McKeever tells us the questions that concerns him in his work are rooted in the essential aspects of his chosen medium. He considers, “How to work with painting in such a way that is very specific to painting, that none of the other media can do. So you’re looking for something – the making of something that can’t be made in any other way.”
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LEE HARRIS : YOUR INNER CRITIC IS NOT THE PROBLEM Every artist experiences moments of doubt, uncertainty or, in some cases, uncompromising self-judgement. These are the voices of our inner critic, trying to protect us from experiencing something that might create discomfort for us – keeping us safe and protecting us from risking. In this video Lee Harris shares some wonderful advice on how to work with the inner critic, moving beyond it and taking action. He offers some potent questions to ask yourself and work with – helping you to find clarity and empowerment through the answers that arrive.
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GREEN RENAISSANCE : FEAR IS OUR FREIND When I was introduced to a Green Renaissance film earlier this month, I knew I had to share this resource with you. These beautiful films speak so sensitively to connection, creativity, and change. This one was particularly lovey in the way it approached the topic of fear – exploring the duality of this emotion and how working with our fears can be an invitation for growth.
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TRUST THE PROCESS : AN ARTIST’S GUIDE TO LETTING GO : SHAUN MCNIFF One of the areas that I often encounter with artists, and that needs development, is trust – trusting ourselves enough to whether the ups and downs of art-making, trusting ourselves to make the choices that will move our work along, and to be okay when those choices take us in a different direction than we anticipated. Our ability to self-trust is directly related to our ability to trust the process with our creative work. As we begin to understand the creative process more and more, we may find ourselves strong in some areas and not in others. Often when we check in with ourselves around the areas we don’t feel as strong, we might notice that we lack confidence or are concerned with making a mistake. We might also be feeling lost, unsure of where to go next, and challenged with the process of “the search.” Being deeply entrenched in the unknown requires us to trust – the process and ourselves. This book tells us that there is an intelligence working as we work, and when we understand that we can let go more easily and trust this force of creation. Shaun McNiff states “There is a magic to this process that cannot be controlled by the ego. Somehow it always finds the way to the place where you need to be, and a destination you could never have know in advance. When everything seems hopeless and going nowhere…trust the process.”
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PAST ISSUES OF THIS NEWSLETTER
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For new subscribers – please enjoy these previous issues of my monthly newsletter. Thank you for subscribing! August 2020
July 2020
June 2020
May 2020
April 2020
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.
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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
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