The first theme: plant life. Trees, leaves, flowers, nuts, seeds, roots, growth, pushing upward and downward, cycles of nature, balance of nature, green, shades of green.
Here goes...I'll be posting, at some point this week, an artistic representation of some kind, a photograph of some kind, and a piece of writing related to this theme.
Monday, December 31, 2007
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
The Rules
These are The Rules that I'm going to use to guide my work:
1.) All projects must involve "pre-work"--collecting, note-making, brainstorming, thought. The work will be collected in a journal devoted exclusively to the pre-work. Then I can get started on a final piece. I'm making this rule for myself because I have this tendency to "pray" that my work will turn out okay. I have these misconceptions that great artists always know what they're doing and don't need practice runs. One year from now, I want to rid myself of that habit. I want to stop plunging into a piece and finding the mistakes out as I go along. I want to make it more of a process.
2.) Each theme must be represented publicly on this website, even if I think it's "complete and total worthless crap" or something much worse.
3.) If I miss a week, I have to catch up the following week, thereby doubling my work load. So it is not in my best interests to miss a week. This step helps to keep me accountable.
4.) Everything is open to interpretation.
5.) I can't change the themes I've brainstormed, even if I see the theme and think, "Oh, that sucks." I've already listed the themes in a notebook. I think it will be an exercise in pushing myself and not taking the easy route if I say, "No matter how bad you think this is, or how hard it might be to work on that theme, this is what you're committed to."
I think that those are all the rules. I'll add more later if I think I need them.
1.) All projects must involve "pre-work"--collecting, note-making, brainstorming, thought. The work will be collected in a journal devoted exclusively to the pre-work. Then I can get started on a final piece. I'm making this rule for myself because I have this tendency to "pray" that my work will turn out okay. I have these misconceptions that great artists always know what they're doing and don't need practice runs. One year from now, I want to rid myself of that habit. I want to stop plunging into a piece and finding the mistakes out as I go along. I want to make it more of a process.
2.) Each theme must be represented publicly on this website, even if I think it's "complete and total worthless crap" or something much worse.
3.) If I miss a week, I have to catch up the following week, thereby doubling my work load. So it is not in my best interests to miss a week. This step helps to keep me accountable.
4.) Everything is open to interpretation.
5.) I can't change the themes I've brainstormed, even if I see the theme and think, "Oh, that sucks." I've already listed the themes in a notebook. I think it will be an exercise in pushing myself and not taking the easy route if I say, "No matter how bad you think this is, or how hard it might be to work on that theme, this is what you're committed to."
I think that those are all the rules. I'll add more later if I think I need them.
What I'm Doing and Why I'm Doing It
I'm an artist. I drew from a very young age. When I was older, I wrote. In high school, I went to an arts school and became a musician. I was intensely passionate about music--to the point where, even though my area of technical expertise was with the flute and piano, I also took on the cello, viola, violin, and for a short period, the clarinet. If there's one thing I heard, over and over, as I pursued this path, it was: "Jack of all trades, master of none."
Is there some validity to this? Is it true that when we funnel all of our efforts into one area, we're more likely to become proficient at it?
Sure.
But is that all there is? What if you're passionate about lots of things? What if that's just how you're built? And what if being "the best" at something isn't what you're after, anyway?
Starting January 1, I'm letting go of my steady, safe, benefits-laden teaching job (at least for a few months) and I'm pursuing writing, art, photography, and life coaching. If you want to get more information on the things I've already done with these areas, check out http://www.kateswoboda.com and http://www.healgrowcreate.com
Otherwise, this web space will be my home for exploring three different mediums: art, writing, and photography. I'm intending it as a space where I can, essentially, make lots of "bad art." I've brainstormed a list of themes, completely at random. Some of the themes are highly visual, others are highly open to interpretation. Each week, I will focus on one particular theme, and within that theme I will create three works of art across three mediums: art (painting/sketch/mixed media collage/something visual), photography, and writing.
This place will be a playground of sorts to post the results of that work, this experiment in working across mediums. My hypothesis is that a year from now, I will have stretched myself as a creative person within all of those mediums and that my skills will increase within each medium because of the benefit of exploring a subject through more than one medium.
I hope what I just wrote made sense!
The biggest fear-factor here is that I might not create good art. So, disclaimer. If you visit again, be forewarned that I'm preparing to post some real duds. It's part of giving myself permission to create without censure or worry that what I've done might not be "good enough." It's going to be an exercise in not taking my art (or myself!) so darned seriously. It's an exercise in focusing on process, not product.
Is there some validity to this? Is it true that when we funnel all of our efforts into one area, we're more likely to become proficient at it?
Sure.
But is that all there is? What if you're passionate about lots of things? What if that's just how you're built? And what if being "the best" at something isn't what you're after, anyway?
Starting January 1, I'm letting go of my steady, safe, benefits-laden teaching job (at least for a few months) and I'm pursuing writing, art, photography, and life coaching. If you want to get more information on the things I've already done with these areas, check out http://www.kateswoboda.com and http://www.healgrowcreate.com
Otherwise, this web space will be my home for exploring three different mediums: art, writing, and photography. I'm intending it as a space where I can, essentially, make lots of "bad art." I've brainstormed a list of themes, completely at random. Some of the themes are highly visual, others are highly open to interpretation. Each week, I will focus on one particular theme, and within that theme I will create three works of art across three mediums: art (painting/sketch/mixed media collage/something visual), photography, and writing.
This place will be a playground of sorts to post the results of that work, this experiment in working across mediums. My hypothesis is that a year from now, I will have stretched myself as a creative person within all of those mediums and that my skills will increase within each medium because of the benefit of exploring a subject through more than one medium.
I hope what I just wrote made sense!
The biggest fear-factor here is that I might not create good art. So, disclaimer. If you visit again, be forewarned that I'm preparing to post some real duds. It's part of giving myself permission to create without censure or worry that what I've done might not be "good enough." It's going to be an exercise in not taking my art (or myself!) so darned seriously. It's an exercise in focusing on process, not product.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
