ART AND POSSIBILITIES

Hello everyone, and welcome to new subscribers!

I have always loved a good question for what it can bring forward. When a question is framed in the right way it leads us to the outcome we’re after, and can bring much needed clarity. Good questions prompt our mind to consider the possibilities and help us to uncover what might be hidden from our awareness. Questions are an invitation to our brain to problem solve, as a question is always needing an answer. So we want to be mindful of the quality of our questions, and how we are using them in our inner dialogue.

When a question is crafted to elicit information that will lead us to the outcome we’re after, we receive so many insights and possibilities to consider. A question like “Why am I always messing things up?” will only invite our brain to find all the evidence for how we mess things up. This type of question keeps us looping in negative thinking patterns and doesn't help us move forward.

In this month’s blog post I share more on the two most valuable questions that can guide our creative process and help us develop our ability to be deeply curious and connected to our work.

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!

THE POWER OF WHAT IS POSSIBLE

In art-making there are two really valuable questions to hold as we engage with the creative process: “What is possible?” and “What does it mean for me?”

The first question, “What is possible?” is the curiosity igniter, the unlocking mechanism, and the invitation to risk and explore in our work. It immediately suspends our judging thoughts and brings us into a space of play and openness. We become more engaged by this question and our mind unhooks from “shoulds” and limiting judgments about our creative instincts. And as artists we rely on those creative instincts to tap into our unique expression – our vision being spoken through our artistic voice and visual language.

As we attempt to answer what is possible in our art-making we may initially bump up against the parts of us that are less about curiosity and discernment and more about our doubt and fears. We may feel the rush of a possibility flow in and then immediately hear a secondary thought that sounds something like, “What are you thinking, that will never work!” Or it might ring with “How am I going to do that? Will it be any good? What if I mess up and lose everything I have so far?”

We have to be aware of the secondary follow-up thoughts that usually accompany our deeper curiosity and adventurous ideas. Those thoughts come from a place that is not in support of art-making, but reveals the internal barriers that we form throughout our lives to conform and perform. The habitual sabotaging that so many of us do to stop ourselves from taking any action that seems risky or that might draw unwanted attention our way is all too common, and too easily indulged.

But sometimes when we want bigger things for ourselves and for our art, we need to begin just where we are. That means allowing ourselves to acknowledge the things that may be getting in our way and working to clear them. “What is possible?” can help us here as well. We can ask ourselves about the quality of our thoughts and if they are serving us or not. We can work with the ones that are not serving us, and reframe them into thoughts that invite in the possibility of change and growth. Our thoughts and predispositions can be changed and “What is possible?” sets the table for us, taps into our growth mindset and begins to retrain our minds toward curiosity leading the way.

I recently read an article about the artist Yuji Agematsu in Hyperallergic and was fascinated by his approach to art-making, which in my opinion, relied heavily on the question “What is possible?” 

INSPIRATION FOR YOUR ARTIST’S MINDSET

IN THE STUDIO: ANTONIA SHOWERING

Painting is language and the more you’re in the studio making your work the more your language expands and clarifies for you. You remember how to speak, how to use the painterly language to convey meaning.

Antonia Showering is a UK artist, living in Somerset. She describes her working process as she builds a body of work for her first solo show in the US, at Timothy Taylor in New York.

Showering’s work in oils is beautifully complex with figures and narratives that speak to remembering and intimacy, all drawn from her life and concern with the human condition.

In describing her process she tells us that she allows the painting to unfold as she layers colour and form, allowing her subconscious to guide her imagery before she begins to intervene. “I don’t know where this painting is heading and I quite like the idea of just reacting off different colours and different marks, feeling confident that it will lead me into a direction. Then I take more control.”

Showering seems to thrive in the possibilities as she works, trusting that the meaning of her work is always arriving through the process of that engagement.

THE WORLD IS COLLAGE TO ME: JACKIE LEISHMAN

From her California studio, collage artist Jackie Leishman embraces the immense possibilities of her working materials and what they can convey. Large scale works on paper, strung up on her studio walls, sing with multi-media approaches. Printed papers, photography, and reverse drawings combine in rich, raw layers to create something new and unexpected. She tells us that change is a constant in her work, reflecting the nature that surrounds her and from which she draws her inspiration.

Leishman describes her work as being about the opposing forces that fascinate her. As she layers, combines, repurposes, destroys and creates from the fragments of older work and found materials, she seeks to find the peace within the chaos – in the wild places.

GLUE: TAKESADA MATSUTANI

Imagine working with a single material for over 60 years as an artist. Takesada Matsutani, a contemporary artist born in Osaka, Japan and with a studio in France, has done just that. He was inspired by the plastic quality of vinyl glue when it became widely available in the early 1960’s and has explored the possibilities of that single material since then.

Matsutani’s work moves between painting and sculpture as he intercedes in the drying process of the vinyl glue with tools and air. Fans, hairdryers, and even his own breath become the brushes that manipulate the glue into organic, tactile forms. His life-long fascination with this material with its potential and limitations, has been the creative fuel for his art practice and forms much of his visual language.

OFFERINGS FOR ARTISTS

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 Vision + Voice Program is a personal and transformative deep dive into who you are as an artist, helping you identify what supports you in expressing yourself fully and authentically. You’ll discover YOU in your art, allowing you to bring your vision forward, and to clearly connect with your unique voice. 

In collaboration with artist and coach Kerry Schroeder, we created a unique and inspired 8-week program that addresses many of the core concerns artists face. Our intention was to inspire and empower our participants to work with passion and conviction while trusting themselves in the process. 

The Vision + Voice Program was first offered in September 2024. We are so pleased with how it unfolded, and the progress the artists made in connecting with, and articulating their vision for their art-making. If you’re interested in joining Kerry and me this September for Vision + Voice 2025, you can join the mailing list HERE.

We love what we do, and can’t wait to share it with you!

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.

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.

Thank you for subscribing!