I decided to explore composition in the pages of a journal, adhering vintage book pages, Chinese newspaper, and old phone book pages to the journal pages, then going back and forth with acrylic and rubber stamps (homemade & retail). As I was working on these, I came across this in Ian Robert's book, Creative Authenticity (the following quotes are from this book and a chapter titled "Follow Something Along")
"If we are to say something authentic, we need to stick
to an idea for a while. We need to gnaw at it,
mine it, obsess over it." . . "Most of us
would do well, if we are interested and
serious about an art form, to settle into
that thing and follow it along. And then
find a few core ideas to express in that art form" . .
As I have been searching to find my authentic creative voice with my art, I spend a lot of time looking at others' art. First it was Tumblr and now Pinterest.
Because you can divide art into categories, I discovered that my pinterest board titled,
"symbols, script, numerals" had many more postings than even my board titled, "circles, spheres, dots, spots". As I appreciate and am drawn to so many different art forms, the amount of images I had pinned to "symbols and script", combined with Roberts' suggestion, told me that this was something I should explore.
. . "You can get a lot of mileage out of
an idea that is deeply your own. You
can mine it like a vein of gold. You
can rework it." . .
. . "Working ideas along or in series
also means that you're not starting
from scratch each morning,
wondering what you'll be doing next" . .
. . "The game plan is in place.
The current piece fits into the whole." . .
. . . Eventually the inspiration may run it's course.
But when you do find something that holds you,
that you can obsess over, put your attenion there." . .
. . "In the same way, we can abandon ideas that
aren't calling so loudly." . .
. . "Get your energy flowing where
your interest is most intense." . .
to an idea for a while. We need to gnaw at it,
mine it, obsess over it." . . "Most of us
would do well, if we are interested and
serious about an art form, to settle into
that thing and follow it along. And then
find a few core ideas to express in that art form" . .
As I have been searching to find my authentic creative voice with my art, I spend a lot of time looking at others' art. First it was Tumblr and now Pinterest.
Because you can divide art into categories, I discovered that my pinterest board titled,
"symbols, script, numerals" had many more postings than even my board titled, "circles, spheres, dots, spots". As I appreciate and am drawn to so many different art forms, the amount of images I had pinned to "symbols and script", combined with Roberts' suggestion, told me that this was something I should explore.
. . "You can get a lot of mileage out of
an idea that is deeply your own. You
can mine it like a vein of gold. You
can rework it." . .
. . "Working ideas along or in series
also means that you're not starting
from scratch each morning,
wondering what you'll be doing next" . .
. . "The game plan is in place.
The current piece fits into the whole." . .
. . . Eventually the inspiration may run it's course.
But when you do find something that holds you,
that you can obsess over, put your attenion there." . .
. . "In the same way, we can abandon ideas that
aren't calling so loudly." . .
. . "Get your energy flowing where
your interest is most intense." . .
(two page comp)
My favorite and most recent page . .
more space.
The journal cover . . translation of
"je suis moi" = "I am me"
As I progressed, it became more and more apparent to me, that I also gravitate to a grid composition. So I will continue to just "follow the prompts" of what "wants" to be there. And I find myself becoming braver and braver in putting fewer elements on the page (pinterest board . . art with space).
AND . . I sold the painting in my last post!
