“I believe in an unconscious. So, it’s possible to say that something causes something and you’re not aware of it. You just do what you do.” Jasper Johns
Our art life is a journey of discovery. We don’t always know where we are going but it is important that we get involved in the process of creating. We take classes to learn about: color theory, principles of design, perspective, and technique for using various mediums. We learn about realistic expressions, abstract impressions, and non-objective perceptions. We learn about different ways of approaching how we work. But, the bottom line is, no one size fits all, and rules, can be broken.
The most important part of the creative process is for us to be present in what we are doing, and be ourselves, not someone else. It is a journey into the unknown to see what we can create. Playing around and experimenting with your medium can lead to interesting discoveries.
I was introduced to a very though provoking, artist and writer this week, by a Blog reader. The artist/writer is Ann Hamilton
“One doesn’t arrive — in words or in art — by necessarily knowing where one is going. In every work of art something appears that does not previously exist, and so, by default, you work from what you know to what you don’t know.” Ann Hamilton
Dreams of Surf
We can take all kinds of classes, and learn all the rules, but the “Aha” moments, usually come to us when we least expect them. When we are in that state of “flow”, or playing around to see what happens if…
In Blog 35, I wrote about the “Power of Play”, and how important it was to our development as artists. “It is how we grow, and learn how far we can push the medium we use. Playing can lead us in a wonderful new direction, or can enhance what we have been doing.”
In the words of my favorite poet: “The artist is no other than he who unlearns what he has learned, in order to know.” EE Cummings
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