Sunday, November 4, 2012

5x5: Chapter 1

I may be the author of The Pulse of Mixed Media but the true, creative force behind my book is the group of artists who generously shared their secrets and passions and, of course, their art. It was important to me that this book be representative of our entire artistic community, but the total number of contributors I could include was limited by the number of pages in the book. Not wanting to be contained by page numbers, I decided that the Internet was the perfect vehicle to extend the book and be able to include more of the community. With this in mind, the 5x5 Pulse Project was born.


The Pulse of Mixed Media presented the results of a survey in which contributing artists were asked questions that they had to answer with words or provided with prompts that they had to respond to by creating art. These ideas were combined in the 5x5 Pulse Project. I put out an open call for artists to submit artwork created in response to one or more of the following questions that were part of the original book:

1. If your artwork could talk, what would it say?

2. Who has had the most impact on your creative life?

3. What is one thing you have never shared with the creative community?

Submitting artists could chose 1, 2, or all 3 of the questions and respond to each by creating artwork in any medium in the form of a 5" x 5" square. They were asked to include words as a part of their artwork as well. There was a tremendous response to this call and I will be posting each submission every Sunday throughout the months of November and December. 


The 5x5 project is also being featured in a ten-page spread in the November/December 2012 issue of Somerset Studio, now available in stores and online here.

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If your artwork could talk, what would it say?

"I hear it loud and clear. My work lives as thoughts. I have captured and collected these thoughts over the years, categorizing and comparing, taking notes on the notes. The artwork questions me... If you finally manifested the art perfect, exactly What you want, if you EVER you got it perfect, Would you be afraid to try again? I pin the thought-captives down with colorful glass-head pins, spread open on the corkboard in a seized parade, and I notice that some of them still twitch."

"You Gotta Have Heart. I truly put my heart into everything I do - whether literally or just by caring about every detail of every piece."

"You know we're a team - whatever you do is your voice and so that's my voice as well! Will Love You Always! Love YOU! xxoo Love, Your Artwork."

"Division is the process of finding, reduction us the process of changing, Progression."

"The one common thing all artwork has is that it holds an imprint of the artist. No matter where an artist is in their life that energy can be reflected in the art they produce. When I create artworks I hold the energy of love first in a gentle stillness, and from this stillness comes the impulse to make the art. In this energy of love my soul can be reflected, which can then speak to another soul. So if you listen carefully you will see your reflection, you will feel your own divine soul through the energetic imprint of mine."

"My answer is represented in a small metal embellishment - dream. I continually think and sometimes actually dream about what I will create, how it will look and what it means to me. I placed a hand on this piece to signify that I am always reaching and stretching my artistic 'arm'... it reaches for the sky and there is not limit."

"never get so grown up that you forget how to fly... Fly baby fly!"

"Look for art and it will appear. I have always lived by these words. Even before I found them."
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What is one thing you have never shared with the creative community?

"I let unfinished paintings sit for years because I held back the passion & emotion that needed expressed on the canvas."

"Sometimes I feel like a fraud."

"I am afraid of growing old... of not being able to create my art."

"abused girl"


"I do these page meditations everyday in the studio, sometimes instead of being random they seem to bring me important messages from the universe about my work. These 5x5 features a selection of those messages - so my 'secret' is that none of my work is really 'mine' - it floats up out of the cosmic soup/the collective unconscious (whatever you like to call it) and arrives through my hands. The obsessive attention to detail however is all mine."


"fear (not)"
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The next edition of 5x5 will be posted on Sunday, November 11th.

26 comments:

erika husselmann said...

great work - thanks for sharing xx

Brian Kasstle said...

These are fantastic works! Seth thank you for sharing!

donna joy said...

wow. looking forward to all 100+ works-love to see all the interpretations to the theme(s)

Jill Zaheer said...

So glad to be a part of your 5 x 5 project Seth! What a unique and touching group of works. I'm in awe of your ability to inspire so many artists to reveal so much of themselves through their artwork. This is a phenomenal project and you are a phenomenal champion of collaborations!

ArtPropelled said...

The 5X5 project will be a great start to my Sundays. Thanks Seth!

Luthien Thye said...

amazing Seth!! this project is another amazing brainchild of your!

you know, when i received the Pulse in the mail, i quickly looked thru it and saw only 1 of your pieces in there. i was thinking to myself ... hey, it's Seth's book, why didn't he put more of his artwork inside?? it kinda bothered me for a bit and then i had an epiphany whilst talking to the hubs about it ... i know why Seth didn't put more of his artwork inside, becos he didn't have to ... the whole book IS his artwork!!

i'm telling you this becoz i have exactly the same feeling now after looking at 5x5 :)

Maria Avila said...

I love this idea, Seth. Great works!

Sandy said...

What a wonderful gallery to walk through this morning! These are such amazing and diverse creations. Thank you to all the artist for sharing and to you, Seth, for curating this collection!

Sandy said...

What a wonderful gallery to walk through this morning! These are such amazing and diverse creations. Thank you to all the artist for sharing and to you, Seth, for curating this collection!

amy of studio four corners said...

what a whirlwind of creativity...and now even more artists that I will seek out and explore - thank you for bringing it all to light...I look forward to the next two months of Sundays...

Holly Dean Artist said...

Thanks to your generosity of spirit, talent and hard work, Seth, you are nurturing this amazing group of artists. You give us the opportunity to share and grow in a caring environment. I am full of respect and admiration for you and your own artwork. xx

ART*ticulation said...

So interesting and inspiring to ck out all the different mediums and styles. Thanks Seth for all the eye candy!!!!

Unknown said...

Wonderful collection of art work...the PULSE goes on!

Anonymous said...

Fantastic pieces!!! Wow!! Very cool!!!

Ella said...

I love all of these, what an amazing gathering of art n' sentiment!
Thank you for doing this! I am in awe and inspired :D

These all are so wonderful! I can relate to each piece. It like seeing the process of the creative soul, in fragments and the facets are beautiful!

Unknown said...

Amazing works of art, and reading through the artists comments I see my own struggles and joys reflected. Looking forward to seeing the rest!

Leslie said...

Love this, Seth! It's another terrific idea of yours, and checking in here is now on my Sunday "to do" list.

Unknown said...

Seth, you must have just been wiggling in your chair...or fidgeting on the spot...viewing all of the art that came to you. Because it is astonishing to me to see specifically, the artistic response(s) to your specific prompts (questions). It's amazing.
The work itself is amazing. I'm enjoying looking and looking and looking. I must confess that I am jealous of the gorgeous ability to collage and layer like these pieces demonstrate. I cannot, repeat cannot do this. YET. I have faith that I will learn but I'm not a natural at this. I'll work on it. These pieces inspire me greatly. Great work everyone!! Love them. Hugs, Norma, x

Parabolic Muse said...

Seth, this is probably my favorite of all your posts related to The Pulse. Really amazing images and techniques, but also, the intimacy of the works is very moving. Thanks for asking the right questions.

Janine Whitling said...

once again Seth thank you for this wonderfully collaborative work, its so touching being part of this community that you hold with such grace and care.

teri said...

I enjoyed this very much. To me, there is no art if there is no meaning.

Bill said...

All of these works of art express in such beautiful honesty what is inside each artist. These are so wonderful to see.

Kim Mailhot said...

This is such an awesome collection. I think the size and the specific questions each artist was working within allowed for these up close and personal vignettes. Wonderful gathering, Seth! Hurrah for all involved.

Anonymous said...

i am so in love with each and every one of these and am still kicking myself for forgetting to send ours in (finn's and mine -- they are still on my desk). i am going to get this issue of sommerset this week though -- so proud of and inspired by you, as always! xx

Jo Murray said...

All fascinating pieces, for different reasons. It's interesting how artists view themselves.

Darlene K Campbell said...

I've hired a band, ordered champagne, and am looking for my little black dress in the back of the closet (oh, yes, it's in the back of the closet because it doesn't fit anymore). Still I have a baton I can twirl and a whistle I can blow...I am so creatively happy to be a part of this Seth. Such intimacy revealed from the artists. A great way to start the week every Sunday.