Waxed Musings

I love art. I see incredible shapes, colors, statements without words, emotion, and the sigh that takes you somewhere you want to be. The sigh that is inspiration, to be moved, to create and to get into one's own zone all alone. I can't think of anything else that can evoke such response aside from visual mediums and the written word.

I think about Julia Cameron and her teachings about the drawing on the right side of the brain. I was in an art class a couple of years ago and the teacher would not let us get into our art until we first took about 5 minutes using an exercise from Julia's book. The teacher had told us, no way would we even begin to get started because our left brain was in full activation- thinking about the events of work earlier in the day, thinking about the laundry we have to do when we get home. thinking about having to maybe cook a late dinner because no one else did at home, anything really. And you know, she was absolutely right. After doing the exercise 5 minutes later, my right brain was ready for creativity without any interruptions from its left partner. I was free to create!

Make your experience with art meaningful. Take your time. Be happy. Be restless. Be nervous and yes, be afraid. You need to ask yourself if you're creating for you or others. Hopefully for you even if it's a commissioned piece. The art is between you and the mediums you explore, the substrate you use, the colors that come to life and whatever design and element take hold- it's that zone I'm talking about. Let it go.

The times I teach art classes, the mood is light and calm. I instill courage, I look for specific markings, use of color, anything to reinforce what the student does. It is not a critical time. It is a teaching time.

See you soon!