“All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson
Over the past year or so I’ve been exploring going bigger in my art. I have been painting and collaging in books since at least 2008, the largest pages of which have been about 11 x 14 inches. Creating single, stand-alone art — as an alternative to a bundle of spreads to be viewed as a multiple-paged whole — is new territory, as is experimenting with new materials.
Being used to a smaller, hard surface, attempting to switch to large canvas has been a new learning curve. Canvas has a lot of give, and it pushes me to use a gentler hand — something that ultimately changes the style of my art, I think, for better or worse.
A few weeks ago, though, I decided to try out wooden panels. They don’t come in as wide a variety of sizes as canvas, but is a good place to start broadening my horizons while working on a surface that retains some of paper’s characteristics. I bought some small panels on sale at Michael’s (their website is currently down) and later ordered larger ones from Amazon.
I’ve had a lot of fun experimenting on these. More experiments will certainly follow.
If you work or have worked on wooden panels before, I’d love to hear: do you gesso or otherwise prep the surface? Do you varnish the piece when you’re finished? Any other tips?
I’ve been reading up on a lot of theories and opinions and suggestions about blogging. Many successful bloggers use an editorial calendar (a planned schedule of posts to publish), ensuring that they have on-topic posts prepared and ready to publish long before they need them. This creates consistency in voice and the blog feed, increases readership, and (they say, or at least suggest) keeps a wave of inspiration flowing.
After reading these articles, I was overwhelmed with inspiration. I decided in the midst of all this to reevaluate the blog, rediscover myself, and make sure that my interests are aligned with my posts. So I delved into Evernote for the first time, came up with more than seventy post ideas, and even planned out an editorial calendar all the way through the next three months. I wrote up and published the first post on that list right on schedule – and haven’t followed through with anything I came up with in that frenzy of creativity since. Even though I had the next post planned out and half written. (Instead, I jumped ahead two weeks and posted an art journal spread that required little writing.)
Inspiration strikes me in bizarre ways. I can be overrun with ideas and motivation – usually at about eleven at night when I have to be up early the next day – and can ride that wave for hours and hours, so long as I stay with it. If I go to sleep, I often wake in the morning with little inspiration left to pursue the big ideas I’d had the night before. If something like work or running an errand interrupts my wild-donkey-riding, I become distracted and that momentum is halted.
As I went through this whole process, and as I attempt to try again, I wonder about the relationship between structure and creativity, right-brain and left-brain thinking, and the spontaneity of creation and the reliability of planning.
I feel like artists are often thought of as impulsive: so much of creation is about the flow of creativity. We talk about writer’s block as an impediment to that flow. Yet when I took a course in oil painting in college, much of the process of creating a painting was spent planning out the composition, doing preliminary sketching, and deciding just the right angle and colors and methods to use.
Structure and creativity have the same parentage. It is structure that enables creativity. […] In the twelve notes of the musical scale, in the twenty six letters of the alphabet, these fantastic structural inventions have unlocked the enormous creativity of literature and music. Without structure, there is nothing for creativity to get leverage upon.
When put that way, the correlation between structure and creativity is obvious. In fact, I am reminded of an article I actually wrote several years ago discussing whether or not originality exists. (I unfortunately no longer have the piece. But my conclusion was that, since every individual is influenced by art, tools, behavior, or ideas others have created, there is no originality – only original thought of how to re-assemble pre-existing pieces.)
Below are five tips on how to use your left hemisphere to jump-start creativity:
Research: Read books or articles that address the creative blocks you are currently facing.
Delegate: Find resources that help you prepare and plan ahead for future creative droughts. (Blogging-wise, use the schedule post tool on your blog to automatically publish to your blog, and check out a publishing tool like Later or Hootsuite as a useful Twitter/Facebook-publishing tool.)
Create a routine: Take out your journal, paintbrushes, or sketchbook even when you aren’t inspired. The act of beginning, of pushing yourself into creation, often inspires inspiration.
Prepare: Get ahead of yourself. Having a list of possible posts, ideas, or ideas to explore will give you a place to jump from, and you will avoid having to start from scratch.
Make notes: In a moment of inspiration, get as much done as you possibly can. If you have to step away from your project, leave a note outlining where your project is headed to help yourself find your way back into it.
I am determined to balance my creative impulsiveness and elusive bouts of inspiration with the structure and self-discipline that are foreign to my creative process and nature. Balance is key, and I think that however frustrating in the meantime will prove valuable in the long run.
This subject something I’m going to keep thinking about, mulling over, and addressing. I’d love to hear your thoughts and opinions on this, and I’d especially love to know about your own habits and ebbs and flows of creativity! Please share in the comments below.
One of the most wonderful things about art journaling – and one of the hardest to become comfortable with – is that there is no wrong way to do it. You can’t screw up. Which means, too, that there are no guidelines for what is “right” or “good”, and it can be difficult to find your way without any boundaries at all.
Additionally, especially while embarking into newness, we set expectations based on the results of individuals who have spent years honing their style and technique. I thought I’d address some of the myths that I have struggled with while on my own art journaling journey, in hopes of helping you to be gentle with yourself while you begin or continue with your artistic journey.
Myth #1: You need a main focus/image.
Sometimes my pages are dominated by a central image, but usually they are not. Often, a color scheme is all I use to tie a spread together. Try creating a page that feels loose and spontaneous and purposefully vast, try creating a page with a main focus, and try creating one that has a balance – and decide for yourself what feels best for you.
Myth #2: You next text — text that is beautiful and wise and poignantly written about growth or struggle.
This is one that I struggled with for a long time. I felt like I was missing some important element of the process of art journaling by not being struck by some magnificent revelation while painting. But I have found that, for me, it is the process that is most important, and I don’t have use a quote to prove (to myself or to others) how art journaling benefits me.
Alternately, if you are looking to use text in your art but don’t know what to write, try a stream-of-consciousness approach: write for a set amount of time without stopping and without thinking too hard about what comes next. (For example: “Now I’m doing stream-of-consciousness but I don’t really know what I’m writing and it’s weird but oh well I’m trying to fill up text and here’s the end of the sentence.”) Most of the text in my art journal is this kind of writing!
Myth #3: You need to paint.
Scared of paint? No worries. Start with what you feel comfortable with, whether it be collage, ballpoint pen, crayon, sharpie, pencil, marker, charcoal, or something else entirely.
Myth #4: You need to draw/paint/sketch figures.
Nope. Creating realistic images takes time, patience, and passion. If you are interested in getting better, go for it! Otherwise, skip what you’re not interested in (or yet not ready to attempt) and experiment with color, texture, and other abstract concepts, or use magazine or catalogue images for figures you want to include.
Myth #5: You need expensive materials.
In art journaling, cheap is possible without sacrificing beauty. Try using items you probably already have at home or can snap up for just a few dollars: a thrifted book, watercolors and brushes from the dollar store, newspaper, crayons, magazines, tissue paper, scrap paper, glue stick, staples, masking tape, ink-jet printed text and images. And, if you want to spring for it, an acrylic paint set under $10. Crayola has some fantastic materials, too, many for under $5.
Using cheaper materials, incidentally, lessens the fear of wasting product and makes it easier to experiment!
Myth #6: Every page has to be “finished” before you start the next one.
One of my greatest inspirations once posted something that forever changed how I approached my art journal. I paraphrase: “If you don’t like what you’ve created, turn the page and start again.” It takes courage to stop, turn to a new page, release whatever frustration you may be feeling, and try something new. But my goodness, loves, is it so exhilarating to give yourself permission to screw up and move on!
Don’t spend all your time and energy wrestling with something that isn’t turning out the way you’ve envisioned. Put it behind you, turn the page, and start again.
Myth #7: The pages have to be done in order.
I skip around in my art journal all the time, inspired by the images that are on the pages of my thrifted books and my whimsy. Follow your instinct! Incidentally, if you are using an altered book, switching between working in the first half and the last half of the book actually helps to keep the spine more even.
Myth #8: You are a serious art journaler only if you do it every day.
This is something I still struggle with: admitting that months sometimes go by between when I pick up my brush. But you know what? Fact is, I paint when the inspiration strikes, and that means that I do not paint regularly. While I know that I love art journaling, and often I fall into a creative streak when I force myself to put color on the pages, it is important for us to be gentle with ourselves, especially when it comes to our passions.
Is there anything that you have struggled with while art journaling? What is holding you back?
The very first page of my new sketchbook, part of the Sketchbook Project.
Begin.
It’s a word much, much easier said than done, especially when it comes to art. Behold the dreaded First Page above! It is white, beautiful, smooth, clean, and unmarked – but it is also ordinary, silent, with nothing to say, waiting for you to transform it into something only your mind can imagine and only your hands can create.
Are you intimidated by the White Page? You are not alone!
Try this: take a deep breath and close your eyes. Reach around you, and use whatever art supply you first find to make a mark on the paper. It can be small and quickly done, though it will make a bigger impact if you push yourself to make a larger mark.
Now open your eyes – and hopefully this mark will break the spell of the First Page and you will be free to explore, play, and experiment!
If you find yourself still stuck for ideas, give one (or more!) of these a go:
Make a list: things you can see, things you can hear, things you can feel.
Splash on some color: use markers, crayons, watercolors, acrylics, pens, colored pencils, or highlighters.
Write one word in large letters across two pages.
Add some texture: glue in images, scrap paper, receipts, tickets, bits of newspaper, and tissue paper.
Drip watered down paint or India ink across the pages.
Cover a whole page with your writing, without stopping.
Do a blind contour drawing: while looking at an object, try to trace its outline without lifting your pen or looking at the page.
With practice, beginning a page becomes easier and easier, and the battle of starting a new journal becomes easier. Promise!
Now go give it a try, and see how brave and proud you feel when the First Page is dripping in color.
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