The Meltdown

 I got this comment in my May Survey, and I feel compelled to address it:

For me, it's about playing and have fun; hanging out with my intuition. In the only workshop I've taken with you you, I clearly remember you saying fun and play are NOT what making art is about and went so far as to say we should EXPECT to have a meltdown during the course of the workshop. Unfortunately, I listened to you, had my meltdown, worked seriously, with great industry and felt the joy leak right out of me. I've wondered how you sustain your art life doing it this way; it seems painful.

In my in-person workshops I do address the issue of The Meltdown. The Meltdown is when you are frustrated with your work; you look around, and eveybody else in the workshop seems to 'get it', they are just chugging along and their work all looks great. Yours looks terrible. You start to feel that you've wasted your time and your money being here, you are out of place, who do you think you are trying to be an artist? You are ready to throw your brushes, or whatever down and  exit.

When the Meltdown shows up, eat a chocolate chip cookie.

My advice, such as it is, is to notice the meltdown, notice that your feel frustrated, and let it be. Give it a time limit. OK, I agree to feel like sh!t for an hour. After an hour, I get to pack up and leave if I want to. Fine. I don't have any advice on avoiding the meltdown. In my experience, just noticing it, giving the meltdown its space, has a way of making it dissipate.

I have also noticed that students in my workshops have fewer meltdowns when they know about it ahead of time. They might have mini meltdowns, but expecting some moments of frustration has a way of making them less important. And they have fun.

It admit that I cringe a bit when someone arrives at my workshop saying "I just want to have fun".  I hear that as "I'm not here to push myself" or "I expect this to be all fun and easy". Learning new things, being challenged IS fun with the right attitude. But most of us have moments of frustration and uncertainty in a workshop environment, and I just want people to set their expectations appropriately.

Making art IS about play and it IS fun, but that is not all it is, usually. If you are always playing and having fun, with no angst or frustration, and you are also generating images that really speak to you, that you find compelling, then that is just GREAT! Congratulations. Most of us also have moments of frustration and occasional meltdowns or at least self-doubt. Learning how to navigate these skillfully is part of the process.

One more thought: art is a LOT more fun when you have facility with your materials and techniques, and you have a fluency in composition. I don't mean you "know the rules", but that you are able to SEE the visual content of your own work. So in teaching and learning skills, I hope that affords us all more fun in making art! 

Thanks to the anonymous contributor to my May Survey. I am sure there are others who have the same questions.

 

 

Workshop Preferences - April Survey Results

 Abstract Composition and Mixed Media Techniques were the stars of the April survey. No surprise there. Composition is the #1 topic people ask me about. But 'mixed media' was a bit of a surprise. I guess I mix my media, but I call myself a painter. To me it's all painting, whatever the techniques are.

The next question was about composition workshops:

Here, the "composition boot camp" won out. I can do that. I have done that. And it is hard, not all that fun, and you do learn a lot. 

Once you have a handle on abstract composition, then what? What else do you want from your work? Take my May Survey to let me know what else is important in your art practice.

Scraps

 I seem to be obsessed with scraps these days. They call to mind the debris from explosions (think Ukraine), fragments of lives washed up on a beach from a plane crash or shipwreck. But also the piecing together of worn out scraps to make something useful or beautiful (think quilts in the traditional sense).

This and the next two images are the 'parts' that I'm making, which are then cut up and reassembled.

These consist of painted papers, gel prints, found papers, and repurposed 'pieces'.

Though these have a random look, I do pay attention to varying the scale of the pieces, and the scale of the patterns, textures, and marks on the little bits.

This work in process combines one of the 'collage quilts' (cut edited) with another work in process. 20"x20" on wood panel.

Similar in process to the above piece. Both are works in process.

Collage quilts combined and edited over a painting, 20"x20"

This one is finished. Ta DA!! 24"x24" on wood panel.

4"x6" window mat. Trying to see some possibilities of up-close tiny collages in this and the next two images.

4"x4"

4"x4"

Another option I'm considering is 'floating' these reassembled scraps as 'maps' or continents, with lots of space around them.

Same as above.

This process was inspired by my workshop, The Visual Sentence, which I taught in January in Tucson (hosted by MISA) and also at Hudson River Valley Art Workshops last June. The student work was amazing. 

Here is some student work from January (click the Facebook icon to see the post):

 

And this is from Last June:

 

Creative Blocks - the March Survey Questions

The March survey asked you about creative blocks: how often you get them and whether you have rituals or practices that get you out of them. The majority of respondents (over 53%) reported experiencing creative blocks more than once per year. I am definitely in that group. Many reported having them about once a year, and less, and some (around 10%) reported never.

It was interesting to see the answers to the next question, in which respondents share their rituals or practices (if any) for getting out of a creative slump.

Here are the results of the survey.  See if you can find any correlation between the first question (how often you have creative blocks) and the second (what you do about them). 

Here are a few of the answers to the second question, though you can see all of them here. 

• Schedule time that I MUST show up in my art studio, put on my apron. then set a timer. 
• Like practicing piano scales, I work on color mixing… try to match paint chips from the store fast.  
• I work in another discipline. I move back and forth between wring poetry and flash fiction to working in mixed media..sometimes textile figures. I open up my space to others and watch their joy creating. 
• Take a break, take a walk
  
• Clean up and organize the studio
• A lot of you suggest doing SOMETHING, every day, or frequently, with no expectations.
• Drawing with my non-dominant hand Reading books about my favorite artist's process Painting over old canvases so there's less risk
  

Here is a quote that some of you might relate to (I do): "I make paintings that I think are worthy of showing but they don't sell very often. That's when the meltdowns happen -- when I think why am I spending my precious time on something that isn't making any money?" This speaks to what can trigger a meltdown, and I totally get it. 

Many of you report that taking a workshop or exploring a new technique or new material, which entails putting yourself in the beginner's seat.

Seems like the key for many is to do something creative with low stakes. Doodle, make marks in a journal, try something new (where you can feel like a legitimate beginner), paint or print collage papers. Even cleaning the studio is a creative act. For others the key is taking a break, whether it's a walk in nature to get inspired, or a break from even thinking about art. 

I hope you find this helpful to either your art practice or your feeling of connection. Most of us have creative blocks and meltdowns at some point, and I find it comforting to know I am not alone in that. For me it is part of the process, albeit and unpleasant part. I'm among those who push through it by engaging in some kind of low-stakes creative activity - I show up in the studio and do something. Below I've embedded a Facebook post about my response to a recent meltdown, if you haven't seen it already.

  

THANKS for showing up to my blog. 

You can find April Survey Questions here, in which I ask you about workshop topics. Would love to hear what you want to learn.

What Do You Want in a Workshop?

Describe your art practice and tell me what you most want in workshops, videos, books, and other content. I have created a survey with twelve questions and optional comments where you can let me know about yourself as an artist, and how I might address your most pressing issues.

Take the survey here.

There is a little Thank You gift at the end of the survey, which you can download and print.

Thanks for making me laugh!

You can tell I love teaching by the heart on my shirt, if not by the look on my face.

I would love to get your ideas for a caption on this one.

Hudson River Valley Art Workshops, 2017

Fabulous group in Arizona a couple years back.

Thanks in advance for taking my survey. I hope it helps you clarify your own art goals or art practice as much as it helps me decide which new workshops to develop.

2019! Happy New Year

As the days begin to get longer here in the northern hemisphere, many of us take the time to consider what we might like to accomplish in the new year. Do you have plans or goals for your art practice?

Thanks to all of you who have taken my workshops, read my books, and shown up to my blog posts, videos, or newsletters, I feel an overwhelming sense of support for my own work.

Here are a few things on my list for 2019:

1. Spend some time with oil and cold wax. I keep "dabbling" in oil media, but haven't spent concentrated time on it. Here is a post about pigment sticks and oil media. Here are some of the pieces that came out of that exploration; they are 10x10":

2. This is always on my list: work larger. By the end of 2019 I would love to have some idea of what it is like to work on a piece that is 6'x8' (72"x 96"), or somewhere on that scale. I don't aim to finish a piece that size, (if I make that a goal, it will not happen), but to work on pieces of that magnitude.

Here is a mock-up I did a few years ago that allows me to imagine myself working at a much larger scale. Thanks to Photoshop.

3. I want to do a project I'm calling "Art on a Roll": painting/drawing on a continuous roll of paper or canvas. This is inspired by Mayako Nakamuro. Check out her Emaki Study here.

This is a gallery shot of one of Nakamuro's continuous scrolls.

If you have tried this, let me know. It seems as if it would lend itself to a communal project, but I'm not quite sure how that would work. Any ideas?

4. Anther thought that has been kicking around awhile is: incorporating referential (representational) imagery into my abstract paintings. I don't know how I will approach this, but I've been dancing around the idea for a while and it's time to plunge in. Maybe I'll take a workshop, or work from photographs, or make cartoon doodles of chickens or trees or bicycle tires. I just have no idea where this idea would/could lead. Any suggestions are welcome!

In my teaching practice I have a few plans too:
I plan to offer more small mentoring workshops in my schedule. I love painting with people, and also love talking to people about their work, outside of any assignments or content that I might "teach". At the other end of the spectrum, I am adding some beginner workshops and resources to my offerings. THANK YOU for all the feedback and suggestions you gave me in this post about workshop suggestions.

I would love to hear from you, either in a comment on this post or in an e-mail, about your plans for 2019 in terms of your art practice. What is new for you in 2019?

Art For Fun

I read this article from the New York Times the other day, and shared it on Facebook because it raised interesting questions for me as a teacher. The article states that fewer people have "hobbies" these days because we have devalued the practice of leisure activities, things we do just for fun and relaxation with no pressure to be good at them.

I will admit to bristling just a little bit when someone comes to a workshop saying "I just want to have fun", and treating it like a vacation. Huh? I ask myself.  

Why shouldn't someone come to a workshop for fun? What is MY problem with this? 

I guess I think that implicit in "just for fun" is the idea that it's easy, and anyone who practices art knows that it is anything but easy. But it IS FUN TOO, or we wouldn't do it.

 Do I feel that "just for fun" somehow diminishes a practice that I take seriously? 

One thing about making art (or singing, or making jewelry, or acting, or cooking - creative endeavors in general) is that you CAN do it for fun. You CAN achieve a skill level that will allow you to enjoy it and get some satisfaction out of your creations. And that engaged enjoyment of a creative activity is valuable in itself. 

If I were to teach a workshop, or maybe "offer a session" is a better way to put it, that was really focused on "art for fun", what would that look like? Easy techniques with which you can make beautiful things? Art Without Agony? ... and then my mind jumps to the slightly cynical "quick and easy ways to make real art".  

Can I just relax with the idea of encouraging art practice for pleasure?

Students making art and having fun at Madeline Island School of the Arts.

Having fun and making art in Green Valley, AZ

Having fun and making art (and goofing around with my ukulele and alligator puppet) at Hudson River Valley Art Workshops

I would love to hear your thoughts on this.

Suggestions for New Workshops?

What are your biggest challenges in your art practice?
When looking for a workshop to take, what are your highest priorities?
What are the main things you want to get out of a workshop?

I am always thinking about possibilities for new workshop topics or formats, and your input would be super helpful. Are there particular topics you would like me to address in an online workshop?  As downloadable content? Or in a live workshop?

How about a live workshop preceded by an online forum? That is, about a month before a scheduled in-person workshop, everyone who is signed up gets together in an online forum to share work, meet and greet, and do some preliminary "assignments" or projects to prepare for the live workshop.

Let me know your thoughts and suggestions. What have you been doing in your studio lately?

North Country Studio Workshops 2018

In January 2018, North Country will offer thirteen simultaneous workshops. All workshops take place in the Visual and Performing Arts building (VAPA) on the campus of Bennington College. Faculty members have been recruited from around the United States, and each of them has won recognition both for artistic achievement and for teaching excellence.

 I am SO much looking forward to taking the printmaking workshop this winter, going back to being a student after teaching at the last session in 2016 (workshops happen every two years). It is an experience full of inspiration and connecting with artists in a wide variety of disciplines. There is concentrated studio time, terrific meals, housing right on campus. Yes, it is January in Vermont, but it's a great time to be indoors working and learning.

There are a few spots available in the Metal Jewelry workshop, with Tim Lazure, and a few in the Sculptural Woodworking with Sylvie Rosenthal.  I would love to see you there as a fellow student.

Tim Lazure

Sylvie Rosenthal

Workshop Openings

I am offering 100 Drawings on Cheap Paper again this fall, beginning on October 4.  This is a ten-week online workshop that focuses on working in quantity.  It is not about working quickly, but about investigating an idea over the course of ten small paintings or studies each week.  I am limiting the enrollment to a smaller class size than previously.

100 Drawings on Cheap Paper Online

One feature of this class is that you are asked to make observations about the work that you post, to really look at it as it stands on its own.  This is surprisingly challenging, because when viewing our own work, our default seems to be to describe how we made it.  You will develop a vocabulary for identifying visual content, apart from technical process.

My workshop at Hudson River Valley Art Workshops this spring has a few openings available.  "Visual Improvisation" is about taking a more inventive and playful approach to composition.  The web site describes the dates as May 7 - 13; that is is if you arrive on the Sunday prior to the workshop and depart the Saturday afterwards.  The workshop days are May 8 - 12, a Monday through Friday, full days.

Visual Improvisation in the Hudson Valley

For other 2017 workshop see my full Workshops Schedule here.

Helen Day Art Center

I just discovered that Helen Day Art Center has an image of my work on their website home page!  THANK YOU Helen Day.

Here is the piece, in its entirety.  Train Wreck #3, 25.5"x19.5", acrylic and collage on paper.

I am teaching two workshops at Helen Day in 2017.  The first is coming up soon:

April 18 -21, Abstract Painting and Composition for Textile Artists. 

The next one will be held in the fall:

October 20 - 22, Big Fat Art

Scroll down on the Adult Education page to see full descriptions and to sign up.

Student work from Art and Soul in Portland

I wanted to share with you some of the awesome work my students did at Art and Soul in Portland earlier this month.  Next year's Portland event will be in early April; I will be teaching three classes, of which I have not decide the exact topics yet.  Thinking of something with the gelli arts gel plate, something in composition (each two days), and a one-day class on something else.  Requests and suggestions are welcome.

These are from the Dynamic Composition  class and Layering and Excavating: