Artfully Meandering: The artistic journey of developing skills to match my level of taste

My creative juices have been flowing again and I'm so happy to have them back! I've been totally off my game for the last few years between health and moving around a lot. Next move - Jacksonville, Florida next month! 

So, I need to get into the practice of blogging again. I miss the everyday adventure of when I lived in Hong Kong. There was so much to write about! But, there is much to write about in any creative adventure and my goal is to develop a regular practice of being creative (writing and art). Today's post is a push in that direction. While this isn't going to be a perfect post - I'm pushing myself out of my uncreative funk and "just writing."

The Gap between Taste and Skill

Today's randomness was sparked by reading an interesting quote from Ira Glass on Julie Hamilton's blog. The quote was about the gap between our taste and our skill. It crystallized a line of thought I've had for a while about my own art and whether it was "good enough" to be put on display, and more critically, "good enough" to sell. 

I wouldn't say I have killer taste. I have a defined taste, but it's not as refined and killer as one of my artist friends. (She did an amazing job on a brochure created for one of my jewelry collections. It made me jump with excitement when I saw it. It's the second brochure down on this page.) She sent pictures of her home remodel and her home is a representation of her killer taste.

Southwest Style

Southwest style epitomizes my personal aesthetic. Elements that I love about Southwest style are rustic, handmade, arches, washes of color, texture, minimalism, and patina. I love the eclecticism permitted by southwest style. And I love seeing the imprints and evidence of the "hands" (i.e. an adobe house) that made the object. Those elements are found across the world in styles such as western, country, French country, Tuscan, Moroccan, Spanish, and Mexican.

A Retrospective of My Artistic Journey

Some of the jewelry pieces I've made after five years of making jewelry and glass beads finally were approaching the embodiment of that aesthetic. But it took five years of experimentation and work to get there.

Don't get me wrong. I go back and look at my early work and there is much to love there, too. It's part of the journey. Some of that early work became semi-signature style and got a lot of attention. I still have a lot of my pieces in my personal collection and my sister has been the recipient of a steady stream of my work. I recently went through her collection with fresh eyes and thought, "Hey! That's pretty good! I should keep doing some of that." As my skill progressed, I looked at some of her pieces and realize how I can make things with better quality and longevity (all in all, everything I've given her has held up pretty well). All good things if I'm going to make this into a business.

I definitely had failures in there. I have some beads that I bought at my first bead show that have been in at least 4 necklaces. I just can't seem to make the right necklace for those beads. 

A Stop Along the Way - Country Style

I've been making lots of art for the upcoming issue of Kanna Inspire™. The dragonfly in today's post is an outtake that isn't making the cut, but it contains ideas of the collection that will be produced. I like the idea of it and will probably use the sketch in a future collection or to launch an idea for a future collection. 

I finished up a grouping of patterns and prints and my mom's comment was that "it looked country." And it's true. It did. While "country" is not my core taste, it definitely has elements that I am drawn to. It's a step in my artistic journey as I develop skill in drawing, manipulating Illustrator, and creating end products such as textiles and jewelry. I only make what I like and what I would use, wear, and display in my own home.  

Even these middle efforts still produce aesthetically pleasing results that are a representation of my artists journey to my core taste. 

Your Turn

Where are you in your artistic journey? Does your skill match your taste yet? If so, how long was your journey to matching skills and taste? If you're not there yet, what are you doing to get there? What are you making that you still love even though it's not at your taste level?

P.S. - A Shout Out to Artists with Killer Taste AND Skill

By the way, two of my favorite artists are found in Artful Blogging http://buff.ly/1iXyuJy in this issue! Julie Hamilton http://artisticallyafflicted.com and The Noisy Plume http://www.thenoisyplume.com/blog/. Congratulations Julie and Jillian!

Studio Time: Creative Rabbit Holes and Distractions

I love a rabbit hole. I take that back. I dislike rabbit holes when it comes to business meetings. Creatively? I love falling down a rabbit hole into a warren of possibilities. Playing leads to so many interesting results.

• When i get to my disorganized desk and assess the materials laying there, my mind speeds off in an interesting and unexpected direction

• Unexpected materials or colors land next to each and I must play

• My experience doesn’t match my expectations and the resulting play session ends up disappointing

• Halfway through the process I end up really loving the results of right where I’m at, even if it still isn’t getting me to where I intended to go

I start out with a an idea in my head and rush to the workstation to start trying it out. But many different situations can send me down a rabbit hole where I get lost end up in a very different place than I intended:

The following photos were from falling down a rabbit hole and just following it. This was a combination of "speeding off in a different direction" and getting "halfway through the process.” Both of these are off track of the next theme for Kanna Inspire, but there are some really interesting possibilities for the future. These are not high quality polymer work, but rather prototypes. They’ll get put into an idea bin for future design possibilities.

I starting making canes for some Folk Houses that I wanted to make, but got all distracted and entranced with the prettiness of the canes themselves. I love the millefiore look of the polymer.

This is another example of “halfway through”a process. I was mixing scraps together. The really cool thing with polymer is mixing a whole bunch of crazy colors together and running them through your pasta machine. The partially blended results are really stunning. (The beads were poorly made, but I wanted to make them quickly to capture the idea for use at a later time.) These two experiments will go into my ideas box.

Your turn: How do you fall down the creative rabbit hole? Where have your adventures led you that made you very pleased? 

P.S. - here is a link to some truly gorgeous polymer clay finished product on Polymer Clay Daily. A gorgeous necklace posted back in September 2012.

Artfully Meandering: Resident Adventure Outtakes

The next issue of the Kanna Inspire™ is in progress! The theme has been chosen and designs and product experiments are in progress. In the meantime, I'll share some of the photos that ended up on the cutting room floor. 

Show your outtakes

Lately, I’ve been reading Austin Kleon’s, Show Your Work. This is a pithy book full of nuggets of wisdom about sharing your art with the world. Essentially it’s about marketing your art - but in a way that doesn’t feel like marketing. One lesson that motivated this particular post: share your outtakes. 

Why this resonates with me: you might have work you like. Work that is pretty good. But, you know it’s not your best. For one reason or another, it still leaves you feeling “meh.” But, it’s valuable to do it because a daily regimen of creating work eventually produces your best work. It’s valuable to share it for the feedback you get from your audience. 

Sharing your outtakes is not for everyone

I don’t have a problem with sharing my outtakes. In fact, I don’t even mind sharing my early, ugly work. I have also found my blog to be a useful documentary of my artistic journey. 

This series of photos were my “outtakes” for two reasons:

• My black and white photography still needs work
• I couldn’t find a cohesive theme in the photos

Black and white photography and the value of editing

My earlier photos in black and white (using film) were huge disappointments. They were just experiments, but one of the key lessons that stood out is that the simpler the scene, the better the photo. I tend to be a seduced by color. Shooting in black and white teaches you to simplify and edit. And as I travel along the road in my art journey, I’m learning editing is an essential skill.

Theme wasn’t cohesive

Another reason this set of photos were “outtakes” from the session were that I didn’t see a common theme emerging. Although these were my favorite photos from the downtown, the lack of simplicity in the photos affected how I perceived a theme. I think a black and white issue will happen in the future, but not yet.

Your turn: do you have any outtakes you feel brave enough to share? Or do you prefer to keep your mediocre work squirreled away?

Artfully Meandering: Leaning back

We all experience ebb and flow in our life. Our lives are a constant cycle of rhythms - our circadian rhythms, our weekly activities, our cadences in work, family, health, etc. In the last six months, I experienced a more significant ebb in health that created this blog silence. As my life started to flow back into a natural rhythm, I also experienced a rejuvenation in my creativity. Nothing like a trip to Ireland to wake up hibernating creativity!

Cliffs of Moher

As I started writing about my favorite day in Ireland at the Cliffs of Moher, what I experienced that day really became a metaphor for the last six months of my life and the theme of this post: leaning back.

Ireland

While I came back with nearly 500 photos of this lovely vacation, I don't have very many photos of my favorite day. And it's because I don't have those photos that it became my favorite day. I was able to snap a few pics to remind me of the day before I ran out of power.

At first I was tremendously disappointed because the day was nothing short of spectacular. However, I leaned back. I accepted the fact that my camera was out of juice and put it away. I simply embraced the opportunity to be at the Cliffs of Moher.

In the long run, it was a relief. I wasn't trying to plan the future by mentally framing every gorgeous view. I wasn't trying to preserve the experience in multiple digital shots.

I was simply there. 

I looked. I sat. I walked. I dreamed. I was silent and meditative. I played with words. I captured the images in metaphors:

a casual and messy game of Jinga

a Master Artist 

slathering large slabs of granite in thick layers

wind-blasting and water-blasting

blond-green tufts of grass constantly and heavily slicked down

sugar clouds spun up into frothy meringue

sifting fine silver

pale amber jewels of the Aran Islands

For me, those words evoke that day more fully than the pictures. Writing this post is bringing all of the sensations back with a pleasant sense of peace and calm that was caused by slowing down and savoring the moment.

County Wicklow

Marinating My Creative Stew

While I was going through the ebb of health, my creativity turned into a desert. I didn't knit, crochet, draw, play with clay, or even dream about glass. I leaned back. I let myself heal. I didn't intentionally neglect creativity (and therefore this blog). I just embraced where I was at that point.

What I am finding now, is that the creative storm is returning. Interestingly, the past seven years of my artistic journey have been marinating. Even more interestingly, my organized, business-y, project manager self got into the stew and is simmering with the art.

I am beginning to emerge from blog silence with an outline of a business and art strategy. My mind has knitted together my many and varied interests, my organization skills, and my entire art journey together into a cohesive, whole approach. I look forward to sharing what I have been working on in the upcoming weeks!

Your turn. Have you experienced creative ebbs in your life? Do you lean in or lean back? Have you taken both approaches at different times depending on the circumstances?

Kanna Inspire: The New Name

Congratulations, Amy Cavaness for suggesting the name that led me to choosing Kanna Inspire! Amy suggested Kanna Be Inspired, which I mulled over and shortened to Kanna Inspire. I like it from multiple angles. Amy, thank you so much for your ideas!

Also, I compiled a list of all of the suggestions. Blue Lapis and Gaga4Graphix suggested the 31st and 24th ideas. Your prizes are as follows:

• A print copy of Inspiration Adventures
• The e-book version of Brandi Hussey's new color e-book, Understanding Color: Color Theory Made Easy
• The e-book version of Beverly Ash Gilbert's new e-book, Artful Color for Creative Projects

Please email me to claim your prizes!