Creating Art - Windows and Doors 🎨
Different creative spaces, different ways to the finish
Hi There!
What’s it like there? It’s starting to really be Spring here and that’s feeling lovely. I’ve been painting, painting, painting to bring these creatures out to the world. I did take a break for a design project that made me think about the varying open-endedness of making art and how that fits into the creative process.
Troubles, Troubles
I’ve been working on a series of otherworldly creatures for the upcoming show and they’re in various stages of coming into being because I work on several pieces at one time. This works pretty well because I can move from one to another if I get stuck - until I don’t.
Even though I know better, I got bogged down in this one section of one piece (in the image above) - I must have scrubbed this part off at least 3 times and still didn’t know what to do with it. I’ve since come to a solution but not without a lot of thought!
Moving On
In the midst of stewing over this one bit of painting, I designed a prompt card deck for Creatopia - it’s a creative prompt deck focused on the idea that constraints can foster creativity.
As far as design projects go, it was pretty straightforward but what caught my attention was that I knew when it was DONE. I had met all the requirements, checked the boxes, and it looked and functioned well. Which led me to consider how it was different from creating other art.
How Do You Know?
That’s the big question - how do I know a piece is done if there isn’t a list of requirements or boxes to check? The short answer is I feel my way there…
Which sounds absurd on the face of it but, for a creative art work, it makes perfect sense. I work on a piece until it no longer calls for me to do more. I’ve noticed a sense of slowing in the later stages where a work will have to sit for a while as I look at it and let it settle. Then, I’ll make a change, usually smaller and smaller, let it sit again and repeat until it feels complete.
Seeing this difference in projects and ways of getting to the finish contrasted so well was interesting and helpful. I liken it to looking though a window toward the finish and opening door after door to find the finish. It gives me more insight into my own creative process - which is an ongoing journey!
Listen In
I’ll be posting the audio version of this soon with a little more about the process and my thoughts. Look for a note about that in a few days. If there’s something you’d like to know more about, just drop me a comment or send a reply - I’d love to talk about that!
Cheers!
Monette
PS Here’s the previous audio episode where I confess to an embarrassing bit in a painting.
