[-quick tip, practice-]

A Quick Creative Practice
~simple habits can have profound impacts~

“The smell and taste of things remain poised a long time, like souls, ready to remind us…..” Marcel Proust, French writer.

Whether you’re on a high energy creative roll or in a loggy slump, paying attention to your senses always makes good sense.

The kind of creativity you’re engaged in will tend to dictate the sense organ that you primarily use—though sight wins hands down. Music - hearing, Photography - sight, Cooking - taste, Pottery/Sculpting - touch and what about that OTHER one? Ah, yes, smell!

Since that’s the sense that tends to be used least, try going on a smell adventure for a way to inspire, to perk up your creative juices. As I have detailed recently, cooking that is done with intention, can be a great creative catalyst for this very reason.

Cook something that has smells you really love—or hate! Even if you don’t, cook you can make lemonade, cocoa, peppermint tea. Or just bite into and eat one perfect peach, making sure that you are aware of the smell as you do it. There are smells all around us all the time, right? Paying attention to them is the key.

Smells can be a switch, a direct neurological link to a memory, a feeling, a moment in time. It’s simple and effective. Researchers believe that this feeling of directness to a smell or taste induced memory has to do with the fact that these senses are our only chemical ones.

Sense memories are most often associated with the art of acting, but they are also intimately tied with writing, music and art as well. We create out of who we are, so what could be better than to use this primitive, chemical-sense to heighten our abilities in order to create our own truth?

After exposing yourself to the smells of your choice, try doing a ten-minute writing exercise or quick sketches. Use the mental stimulation to create something just from the sense of smell. Have fun!

Here’s an excellent article on the science behind the sense of smell and memory.

[-painting, process, interview-]

Interview with artist, Donna Marsh
by Nancy Waldman

what I’m reading; oil on canvas, 8 x 16; © 07 donna marsh all rights res.

Donna is an internet friend whose juicy paintings have inspired me to begin painting again after a long time away from it. I knew that she had stopped painting for years and has returned to it fairly recently, so I asked her questions that are pertinent to this process of picking up a “lost art” and also ones that her paintings made me wonder about. I share my questions and Donna’s answers with you in the expectation that there are others out there who have gotten away from a creative activity that they love; those who need a push to get back to it.

Whether or not you’re in that situation, I know you’ll enjoy reading Donna’s story, her thoughts about painting and of course, seeing a few of Donna’s more recent paintings. If you are thinking about picking up a lost art, here is your nudge in the right direction.

green room with mirror; oil on canvas, 14 x 18; © 2007 donna marsh all rights reserved

What got you back into painting after a long time away from it?

I was working as a cashier at a grocery store. An old painter who has a name around here started talking art to me whenever I tallied his oranges. He gave me a book of his paintings. I also accepted an invitation to go see some of them. This was really exciting for me because I hadn’t thought about painting in a long time. After two years in a college fine arts program life moved on the way it does and I just forgot about it. I never really decided to stop. I just forgot I did it. When Mr. Nemeth found out I had bothered to study he wanted to see my paintings. I didn’t have any. He said, “But you don’t stop. You never stop. You can take a rest sometimes but you don’t stop.” Then he never stopped asking for that painting until I produced it. He had an answer for everything too. When I told him I didn’t have any paint he picked a day to go downtown and buy some. He gave me brushes. Later on he advised me to quit my job because I wasn’t painting enough.

I told him I needed the money. His answer, “The world looks after artists.” What a wonderful way to think. I thought it was a bit nuts but he was born in 1919. He had to know a thing or two.

It was like coming back to life to paint again.

houses, Dorval; oil on canvas, 20 x 20, © 2007 donna marsh all rights reserved

What’s been most difficult about getting back into it?

There was a lot of fear in the beginning. People see paintings. They’re hard to hide. Maybe I didn’t know how anymore and people would see that. I had to get over that “doing things right” anxiety because to get it back and then go forward, I had to be willing to let things go wrong. Also, painting is messy and takes up a lot of physical space. I had to learn how to take that space and defend that space because it was important. The same applied to the time. Defending the time has probably been the most difficult part of getting back into it. In school I was studying so nobody ever questioned it. It was hard to teach others and myself that “I’m home painting” does not equal “I’m doing nothing please interrupt me.”

balconies and fire escapes; oil on canvas, 30 x 36; © 2007 donna marsh, all rights reserved

Do you have any tips for other painters in the same situation?

People actually have opinions about what painters should paint. This can be a shock at first. But if they’re really dying for a certain image to come into being they can go paint it themselves. Paint what you want and don’t worry about it making sense or fitting in with what’s going on at the other easels or even fitting in with what you most admire. Sometimes these things don’t work out to be the same. I can sit for hours in front of large minimalist works that appear to be one grey, taking in the sweep of the brushstrokes and subtle gradations of light on the work. Though it wouldn’t excite me to paint that myself, I’m glad it excited Charles Gagnon enough to paint it. It’s taken me a few years to know what I want to paint. I find if it excites me I’m on the right track. Execution becomes a fascinating challenge.

let’s get lost; oil on canvas, 24 x 36 inches; © 2007 donna marsh, all rights reserved

Do you paint from photos? what’s in front of you? memory? imagination?

I paint from photos and from what’s in front of me. I’m interested in painting more from memory. I think there’s always imagination in a painting. I admit I’ve been working out some guilt over the use of photos. I wasn’t trained that way. It wasn’t allowed. But I like to have something to look at as a starting point and I found the terrain too limited for what I wanted to do if I only painted “in situ”. I still enjoy getting out for some plein air work or I’ll drag the outdoor easel over to something in the house that interests me. There’s a different feeling to translating space that’s all around me and in front of me. I like to stay in touch with that.

a hotel window; oil on canvas, 20 x 24; © 2007 donna marsh, all rights reserved

In what ways has your painting changed over the years?

The big difference between now and then (when I stopped) is that my colours are brighter and I’m less inhibited. I like to feel the paint and really muck around in it. Impasto is no longer a stranger to me. In the years since I’ve restarted, I find my understanding of what I want to paint has become much clearer and the paintings make more sense to me as a group. Also as I gain more control over the paint I get looser.

drive-thru service; oil on canvas, 22 x 28; © 2007 donna marsh, all rights reserved

And now, my turn—why Donna’s work is so inviting and appealing to me.

Part of it is what Donna talks about when she mentions Charles Gagnon. Often what we like is something that we would never choose to paint ourselves. I am drawn to Donna’s urban and suburban landscapes because I wouldn’t think to paint them but I like seeing them. Her use of thick paint and bright colours for these seemingly drab subjects makes me want to re-think them. It makes me believe that I haven’t really seen what’s there.

I am also drawn in by the energy in these paintings. The brush strokes, the lines drawn into them, the runny paint, all impart the bodily energy that Donna uses when she paints. The paint may have dried and hardened but the energy is still there as I look at them.

I also notice space, or lack of it, in Donna’s work. In ‘houses, dorval’ we get a long wide open view. The paint is applied going away from us, stretching out in response to the scene. In ‘balconies and fire escapes’ the lack of space is part of what makes it all so effective. The representation of over-lapping structures makes me feel the crowdedness of a city.

Being representational scenes, there is also light to consider. With Donna’s paintings, the light is conveyed through colour. I don’t get the feeling that there is any separation as she paints, between the objects and the atmosphere and quality of light that is with them. This gives the a glow to the work that seems to radiate from within.

Energy, colour, looseness, inner light. It’s not ’safe’ painting and, for me, that’s why they work.

Thanks, Donna for sharing your work and your thoughts with us. You can see more of Donna’s paintings at her flickr site. Donna lives with her family in Quebec, Canada where she just manages to carve out time and space to paint.

[-quick tip, practice-]

A Quick Creative Practice
~simple habits can have profound impacts~

Keep a tablet and a pen or pencil on your bedside table at all times!

DREAMS
If you wake with a dream still in reach, jot it down immediately. If you want to fall back to sleep, don’t worry about transcribing the full dream. If you write the most important words and images you’re likely to remember the connecting links later.

SOLUTIONS
Those transitional times just before falling asleep or waking—especially from a nap—are rich times for problem-solving and inspirational ideas. Having paper and pencil nearby will allow you to capture these gems that might otherwise disappear from your mind as the world crowds in.

SKETCHES
The tablet isn’t just for words. If you’re like me, you’ll sometimes *see* images that need to be painted or drawn. Make quick sketches before they too are lost to time.

[-writing, exercise-]

Writing takes activity. You have to write the words down on the page. Everyone knows that. But what’s going on inside as you make that effort to put a story together? Think about the issue of control and how it does or doesn’t work for you. We tend to think of energy, activity, the doing part of it as the most important. But consider another viewpoint. Here’s what Brenda Ueland says about it:

Willing is doing something you know already, something you have been told by somebody else; there is no new imaginative understanding in it. And presently your soul gets frightfully sterile and dry because you are so quick, snappy and efficient about doing one thing after another that you have not time for your own ideas to come in and develop and gently shine.

In this spirit, here’s a daydreaming exercise to foster the idea of letting go so that you can dream something up rather than just jotting something down.

Sit in front of your computer. Look at the keyboard for a few moments. Put your fingers on the keys and type a sentence. Type ANYTHING.
For example:

your thoughts:
• I am typing a sentence.
• This is a stupid exercise.
• I hate this.
• What am I doing this for?

whatever comes into your head, no matter how weird:

• Dogs with feathers would create nests in their sleep.
• Wallpaper hides cracks and peels when it’s old.
• My teeth might crumble before I die.

the most random nonsense you can come up with:
• Jumbled crossover blinks always allay floods.
• Accessing liverwurst can be the answer to pink socks.
• Everyone jousts because the ghostly phone didn’t ring.

Now here’s the hard part. As soon as you’ve put the period on your sentence, delete it.

As fast as you can, type something else.

Delete that.

Keep doing it for at least ten minutes, more if you can tolerate it.

Now begin your writing for the day.

This exercise does three important things:

1. It loosens your mind by making flighty associations and spurring imaginative juxtapositions on the page
2. It clears the mind of the top layer of dry, tired dirt so that the underlying fertile soil is available to you
3. It provides practice in letting go of words.
   This is a valuable lesson for a writer because we all tend to love what comes out of us. Our words are our babies and we don’t like to make them disappear once they are on the paper. But we have to know how as well as when to delete. This will help.

[process, inspiration]

Book box

Originally uploaded by cramzy.

A Good Sunday Morning in May to you all!

The photo to the right is one from The Practically Creative Group on flickr. It’s posted by ‘cramzy,’ a wonderful fibre artist whose work has impressed me continually.

Cramzy, also known as Emmy Schoonbeek, does all kinds of fanciful, beautiful and colourful stitchery, constructions and embellishments. This one caught my eye because of its cross-pollination effect. It’s so many things and includes so many things all at once.

It’s fibre art. It’s collage. It’s construction. It’s functional. It’s art. It’s a box. It’s a book. It’s got words, music, textile, paper, beads and probably lots more that we can’t see. Do click the image to see it in larger form.

I believe that this process of cross-pollination is one of the best ways to be freshly inspired and motivated.

It’s easy to utilize various skills and interests in our work when we’re already FEELING inspired and creative. That’s part of what makes it fun when one good idea or impulse bounces off another to create something new and unique. But it also can work for us when we can’t find that FEELING.

If you are in the doldrums with painting, try writing in your journal. Brainstorm. Do calligraphy until it turns into something else. Play with letters until they are abstract shapes.

If you can’t get started writing, do a quick symbolic collage of your main character. Or put on music that you love but don’t often listen to.

Another trick is to use these alternate parts of ourselves to be creative while taking a break from whatever has depleted our motivation. For example, when I’ve written myself into a corner, I find cooking to be a wonderful activity to immerse myself in. It’s creative and involves the senses but it doesn’t require a lot of mental concentration. This flow of activity allows my mind time to wander in a relaxed way. Without forcing it, I often find a way out of that corner and come back to the writing inspired and motivated—with a good meal under my belt!

Thanks, Emmy, for your inspiration this morning. Be sure to visit cramzy on flickr and at her blog.

[-essay-]

by Nancy S.M. Waldman

I have a close friend who has compared herself unfavorably to me in terms of creativity ever since we were girls. According to her, I’m creative and she isn’t.

But I never bought it.

She’s a elementary school teacher and I’ve seen the way she tackles a challenging situation in her classroom. She goes at that challenge with a buoyancy, inspiration and mental ingenuity that can only be described as creative.

Human beings are, by nature, creative. But there’s an odd dichotomy in evidence that people who are inclined toward the arts are labelled “creative” and those who aren’t are said—often by themselves—to be “non-creative.” This harmful labelling ignores other kinds of creativity.

My friend’s is a practical kind of creativity.

On the other hand, there are throngs of people who are clearly creative in the realm of the arts who have trouble getting started, staying on track, producing, finishing, keeping their confidence up. And, having been one of these people from time-to-time in my life, I can tell you that it’s not a situation that can easily be ignored. This kind of non-productive creativity is frustrating and painful.

I think of it as being impractically creative.

The Practically Creative Quarter is a zine for both ends of this extreme, as well as for those who are in the middle. Here, we explore ways in which the practical and the creative within each of us can learn to co-exist in peace and flourish in whichever direction we need to go.

If you are a compulsive type who can be creative but is overly focussed on the end product, delve into our process articles and see if you can’t experience the mind-healing, freeing flow of simply being involved in a creative experience that has no intended product.

If you are one of those people who starts many things but finishes nothing, take in some of our more practical tips and graphic reminders to discipline yourself to focus a little more on the outcome.

If you are like my friend (used to be) but you desperately want more hands-on kinds of creativity in your life, try some of our tutorials. Being creative is about taking the steps to learn how, to allow yourself to be a beginner, and not to get discouraged if one kind of creativity doesn’t turn out to be ‘your thing.’

And everyone needs an occasional dose of inspiration, creative cross-pollination or a light-hearted reminder about not expecting perfection.

Being Practically Creative isn’t about what you create. It’s about harnessing a creativity that works for you. Whether your kind of creativity needs more focus on practical discipline -or- on having a freer flow of creativity, you are capable of unifying these two aspects of yourself. The more fully we can integrate the practical and the creative parts within us, the less likely we are to be that other kind of practically (meaning: all but, nearly, almost) creative!

Make peace between the practical and the creative within yourself and enjoy the experience as well as the results.

[-art, photography, poetry-]

NightSchool

Originally uploaded by MontanaRaven.

Today’s image comes from Maureen Shaughnessy, the talented photographer and artist who has been a frequent contributor to The PCQ. She continually explores deeper and deeper into the possibilities of photographic/drawn art alterations.

I asked Maureen about this image and she said that she took a painting of a “normal, boring fish” and digitally altered it giving the appearance of perspective and swimming in different positions…” Maureen was working with the idea of “taking a flat…almost cut-paper or 2-dimensional tapestry gradually…transforming into a 3-dimensional dream image as you go right.”

I love not only the image she came up with, but the visual, design and metaphorical exploration behind it.

To accompany her image, she includes the following:

Linking literary works to art - whether they are your own words or someone else’s - can add a further dimensionality that enhances both.

thanks, Maureen for an inspiring alteration.

This image is part of Maureen’s Alterations and Digital Collages set
Here’s a link to Maureen’s blog, Raven’s Nest
All Maureen’s articles on The PCQ.
Here’s a PCQ science article on Dimensions

Originally published in the original Practically Creative blog, March 2006

[-digital art, animation-]

LiteBuds Pulsatin Apex Animation

Originally uploaded by Zonal1.

Click on this work. It’s a mesmerizing animation. Zonal1 - who posts his work to the flickr group - does abstract digital art, most of it working with fractals. This one - even though the colors and shapes are out of this world - has a real body-feel to it. It reminds me of a beating heart and breathing lungs. This is reminiscent of the Heart and Mind blog entry where we actually saw inner-life–but it wasn’t moving!

Since I don’t know too much about fractals I did a bit of minor research. According to the Wikipedia - page: Fractals:

This information led me to the page on Benoît Mandlebrot:

Much of the fractal art we see is based on the Mandelbrot mathematical principle called the Mandelbrot set.

The Mandelbrot set is a fractal that has become popular outside of mathematics both for its aesthetic appeal and a complicated structure arising from a simple definition.

For non-mathematicians, the interesting fact is that this *simple* definition lends itself easily to the production of digital art.

Here’s a piece of art based on the Mandelbrot set:

‘budding turbines’

While out of my league in terms of mathematics, I find the information and its illustrations inspire me. How beautifully the universe is designed. Art and music are in and out of every part of it and us. No wonder (yes! wonder!) we are creative beings.

Thanks, Zonal 1, for your inspiration this morning.

Originally published in the original Practically Creative blog, May 2006; edited for re-publication

[-alterations, art-]

Jack

Originally uploaded by wireguy.

I love this construction from wireguy. Dare we call it PopArt?

He says of his “Jack” creation:

With all the waste in the office, this became the (obvious?) first prototype. It’s amazing what you can do with plastic junk. Drink up and enjoy.

Indeed!
I hope some of our readers will take us up on the Alterations Challenge. And once you have, show your work! to us, to everyone.

I’ve become slightly obsessed — okay, I’ll admit it - there’s no such thing as ’slightly obsessed’ — with thinking of household items that I can transform into art and vice versa. So far, I’ve made artistic items from dried up gelpens and useful items of old photos but that’s only the beginning. I’m thinking lamps (though I haven’t quite settled on what to use), clocks (a glimmering of an idea that came from a clock I bought that looks as if it’s made from a cookie tin), fans (women of a certain age will understand my obsession with this) made from my paintings that are sitting in drawers, photograph boxes made from photos, windchimes, suncatchers….. can you catch the fever?

What I’m enjoying is the twist of mind that this challenge has given me. It brings on a new way of thinking about e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. I don’t regard a heretofore tossable bottle cap or cork or dried up gelpen as trash… I think of it as a possibility. What can I use if for?

On the other hand, I look at treasures of mine, things I never wanted to part with but had no immediate use for such as little bits of embroidery, or beads, or silk thread, or paintings I did years ago, or photos I took of museums or scenery from somewhere I can’t remember, or ones that are out of focus, or broken china or mirrors. What am I saving them for?

I guess I saved them for now. I’m not only happy to have some raw materials around to use for this challenge, I’m also thrilled to be using stuff up - whether it’s a stash of beads, or pens that don’t work or - like wireguy - plastic bottles.

Let’s turn the trash into treasures and the treasures into more treasured masterpieces that work for us instead of just taking up space in our drawers and on our shelves! Join me in my obsession. I guarantee that you’ll enjoy the creative buzz!

thanks, wireguy, for your Jack and your inspiration.

Originally posted in the original Practically Creative blog, March 2006

[-photography, digital art-]

Rain Day

Originally uploaded by Elinesca.

Today’s image is all about water.

Water is so magical to look at, photograph, be in, experiment with because it can do so many things to and with our senses. It not only reflects, but is, at the same time, transparent! We see *on* and *in* it simultaneously. It catches light and color. It distorts size and position of what is seen through it. It is powerful enough to etch through stone but can be as gentle as a foggy mist.

© 05-07 nancy waldman

Remember this as you create.
• Before painting, soak your paper in water.
• Take a photograph of an object through a glass of water.
• Find out what happens to a photograph that is soaked in water.
• Click here for more outrageously watery suggestions.
• And finally, don’t ever underestimate the power of a shower for providing an atmosphere conducive to inspiration!

Thanks, Elinesca for today’s inspiration.

Originally posted to the original Practically Creative blog in February 2006; edited slightly for re-publication