Tell All: Chapter 5

 

Welcome to the 5th edition of The Pulse -- The State of the Art -- a survey in words and pictures of the online artist community. The Pulse is a collaborative project that aims to introduce you to new artists, help you get to know familiar faces even more, and allow you access into the creative hearts and minds of a very talented crew of individuals. More than 130 artists have answered a series of questions which make up The Pulse. Their responses will be presented in a series of online posts which will run every Sunday.

Style File, Techniques & Tools, Master Class, It's Still Life, and Playing Favorites were the first five projects posted and links to all these posts can be found on the sidebar of my blog. The final project from The Pulse #5, Tell All, continues now...

Participants were asked: what is the one thing that you know now that you would have liked to have known when you first started to create art? 

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To listen deeply to my own voice. Creativity involves moving beyond our fears, excuses, road blocks, people (the naysayers), etc. It involves going deep inside - to see what is really there. And to remember to do that! It's about following your vision. It's about all the effort it takes to get it out there, because you must. It's about passion. Wen Redmond

When I first started to create art, I would have liked to have known myself better. That's one of the greatest strengths that I now have to draw from as an artist. It's provided me with confidence to take risks in my art, experiment, and have a greater ability to process and synthesize what I'm feeling with how best to communicate it. Jill Zaheer

Don't create to please others. Create only for yourself, stay true to your own thoughts and feelings and don't be afraid that it 'isn't good enough'. When you create from the heart, when your art is honest, then it always is 'good enough'. Ummm... somehow I DID know this when I first started to create art, but I couldn't live to do it back then. I was too much of a pleaser when I was younger. Marit Barentsen

I struggled in the beginning with learning to let go and trust the instincts that I felt when looking at a composition enough to actually commit to putting glue on it and making it permanent. Because I work with all original ephemera, what if I ruined something precious? I finally came to the realization that whatever precious scrap was in my possession was there for a reason. I would literally have to give myself a pep talk to build up the courage to glue these items together - playing with Nike's slogan and coming up with my own - "Just Glue it!". Crystal Neubauer

I think perceptions of what makes art "good" change over time. For example, as a kid I thought realistic = good. In college, it seemed that every artwork had to have a deep meaning. Now I think a work of art doesn't necessarily need to have a deep meaning in order to be inspiring to look at. One thing I try to teach my elementary students is that not everything you make needs to be a masterpiece. Every work of art helps you learn a little bit more. Marcia Beckett

In retrospect, looking back at 18-21 year old me, I struggled through art school trying like the devil to please others. I should have just followed my inner need that wanted scratching rather than worrying about my grades. I nearly gave up painting all together after graduation, but I never stopped. There were shapes and colors that were mine to explore, and it took time to unlearn everything that I was taught, and learned to go with the flow. A worthwhile journey, but maybe I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing now if I didn't go through the early frustration. Laura J. Wellner

To trust myself, that I CAN DO IT. That confidence that comes with doing, and receiving positive feedback fro what I have done. I think it's why I enter art competitions/shows. I seem to need to be told something is good. And remember I only really started to seriously create in July 2007. Lynn Cohen

Sometimes you have to walk away from a piece...and come back to it later. Or even just start over. I agonized over pieces that just weren't working until the frustration was at a peak. It's okay to scrap it all and start over - or just let it be (sometimes for months and even years) before you come back to it. Forcing creativity doesn't work! Amy Duncan

The vulnerability it takes to Create Art. The need to break down walls and completely unravel in order to really tap into the part of my Self that my work comes from. The risks I must take if I want to keep growing and getting better. Then again if I had known these things, maybe I wouldn't have begun this journey. Loryn Spangler-Jones

As a young artist, I tended to be that person who could be intimidated by a large, white sheet of drawing paper or a blank canvas. Later on, using a sketchbook, daily, quickly got me beyond such artistic difficulties and made me realize that the artist that doesn't take chances, and sometimes make mistakes, is playing it far to safe, and is unlikely to grow very much in terms of creativity and technical skills. Robert Stockton 

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Next Tell All will be posted on Sunday, February 10th