Friday, April 9, 2010
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About Me
- Julie Blackman
- Portland, Oregon, United States
- For me, making art is many things, but mostly it is an emotional journey. Each painting I make evolves from its original inspiration – a particular place that I found so exquisite or inspiring that I felt compelled to interpret its reality in my own way. In “Naked Chronicle” I share this intimate journey so that you may take away some understanding of what happens during this process we call making art. It can be a dark struggle and is often not pretty, but the rewards are many. “Naked Chronicle” sprang from an earlier blog of mine called “Naked Metamorphosis” which was a raw unedited journal of my transition from teaching full-time, to caregiver for my mother-in-law with dementia, who had moved in with us at the time I retired. A few months later she was moved to foster and my blog dried up for lack of material. Writing the blog had been both therapeutic and enjoyable. So was born “Naked Chronicle” – a bare story of making art in all its exposed magnificence. Whether you are a fellow artist, scientist, dog groomer or postal worker, you can travel with me on this expedition into the creative process.
Julie, I do have some thoughts about what helps me- it might help you, too. First, the writing: my writing gets more interesting to others the more specific I am with my word choices. Exactly what are the words I need to describe my letdown after finishing the twin paintings? Precisely what was energizing about working on them? Specifically how did I feel inspired while working effectively? Was it intellectual, tactile, spiritual, emotional? Dig into the experience, then dig some more.
ReplyDeleteAbout art: my best ideas flow in the night or early morning when I'm still in bed. I write them down. Also, when I'm walking- I carry a notebook and pen for drawing, and I leave myself messages from my cell phone on my home answering machine to write down when I return to the house.
Hi Julie, isn't that such a challenging question...and a difficult one to find our way through, often. I'm reminded of a quote I read many years ago (which I can't recall word for word, or to whom to credit it...) which went along the lines of: A tree knows when it's time to bloom in all it's magnificence, and when it's time to drop it's leaves and be silent. I think we are a bit like that - sometimes, we need to let ourselves have some fallow time - to renew our spark. I find it sometimes helps to get stuck into a different (for you) task - cook a cake, plant a garden, take some pictures...and let the art rest for a little while.
ReplyDeleteHi Julie
ReplyDeleteI think this is one of the greatest challenges we face as creative people. Different things work for different people - I wrote a blog post on this very subject not long ago - here is the link if you would like to check it out - there might be some ideas there that you havent considered before. http://bit.ly/boaXqX
Hope this helps....
Hi Julie,
ReplyDeleteI agree with Tracey. It seems all my artists friends are experiencing a down time in their art at the moment. Maybe it's Spring ... a time of renewal and we need to take a breather and let the seeds of new ideas spring up when they are ready. I was going to write about the same thing yesterday. I've closed the door on my studio for a little while and having fun being creative in my home with lots of new projects to make my space more interesting and homey. I feel like I've been on vacation and this blogging course is also a great retreat for me to think about my art and life in a new way. Enjoy this time. Your creative spirit is clearing out the cobwebs of the past and is being renewed.
I realised that sometimes just sitting back and enjoying the world around brings with it a lot of inspiration... :)
ReplyDeleteHi Julie,
ReplyDeleteMany of us know the strange emptiness that can accompany finishing work. When I can't seem to get started, I just paint or draw anything, usually on cheaper paper or canvas board so that there is no pressure that it be any good. If you do this a few times, a good idea may spring from it and you will have built up a little energy too.
You will get back to work-I know it. Especially with all your classmates checking out your blog :)
Oh, it is so frustrating when you get stuck! Perhaps you could try a variation on the piece you just completed... different season, different type of trees, different time of day.
ReplyDeleteWhen I am struggling, I love to go take pictures for inspiration or go to the beach and listen to the waves. A few years ago when I was really stuck I read The Artist's Way and got a lot of help from doing the morning pages that the author recommends.
I hope you find inspiration soon!
I sure know that stuck feeling. I had the worst time finding joy in painting after one of my horses died. I could "work", complete commissions, but nothing in between. It was quiet a few months, then I saw a photo a friend took of her horses. I asked if I could paint it, from there everything began to flow. If I ever have those stuck times, I go out and hug a horse. I consider that a chiro adjustment for my Spirit!
ReplyDeleteThese are all such great comments I would just add my voice as an echo...everything works and nothing works when we fall into the space you describe so well.
ReplyDeleteI love Tracey's cook a cake, plant a garden...and walk. walk. walk.
They really are such wonderful comments Julie. I'll chime in my 2 cents...What I tend to do is to just doodle and play with paper and pencil. Sometimes it takes me a while until I look at a drawing I did and get so excited about it that I want to paint it. Other times the process is shorter. I take walks with my camera and something might pop up that looks interesting to paint. Or...like Tracy said...cook a cake. :)
ReplyDelete