ARTIST DATES

"An artist date is a block of time, perhaps two hours weekly, especially set aside and committed to nurturing your creative consciousness, your inner artist...."

"Yes. Your artist needs to be taken out, pampered, and listened to..."

"Spending time in solitude with your artist child is essential to self-nurturing."

"...we begin to hear solutions. Perhaps equally important, we begin to find the creative reserves we will draw on in fulfilling our artistry."

Julia Cameron, The Artist's Way

If you're familiar with Julia Cameron and her book, The Artist's Way, then you know about artist dates, and how they can benefit us as creatives. The quotes above help define what artist dates are all about. And, yes, it includes not just art events, but nature too. It could be a visit to a gallery, a craft fair, taking an art class, or simply sitting in nature or hiking. Artist dates are meant to be done by oneself, and yet I find going with someone who shares my appreciation can give me a wider perspective. Ideas come up, they may see something I had missed, and vice versa. 

Having spent a few days in nature last month at a provincial park, I realized just how much that time in nature was what I needed. My soul had been seeking out the inspiration, relaxation, and healing powers that nature can provide. We stayed at a local resort, our every need catered to. My creative well was being re-filled. I took loads of photos and we even visited a couple of art galleries in the area. 

Visiting galleries and art shows was something I had gotten away from the last couple of years, but did get to a couple with my BFF several weeks ago. I was so inspired by the innovative work I saw, as well as my trip to the provincial park, that I'm now noticing two things happening:

1. A deep desire to enter more work in shows. My focus has been on teaching the past few years, not on entering work in shows, but I'm now feeling this shift. I actually think this desire started late last year as I joined a group in the area simply so I could enter some art into their shows. This is an area I definitely need to pay more attention to.
   
   
2. Secondly, I'm noticing I'm leaning toward more experimenting with my art. My process is typically planning out what art will look like, often based on a photo, then trying to follow that plan, while shifting as needed as I pay attention to the materials and techniques. Yet I've started noticing my best art isn't planned, but begins with an object, or idea, or technique I wish to use. I'm learning to simply take that object/idea/or/technique and just let it play out. No rushing, letting it unfold naturally. Going with what feels right. Not forcing anything. Asking "what if....".

It's taken me years to learn that. My art has progressed and improved over time, and yet I have felt like I was still missing something. I wasn't reaching the next level. It was no longer about techniques, or composition, or colour mixing. It wasn't about turning one of my photos into art. I know what kind of art I like, and that is helpful, and yet something was still missing. It needed to be deeper than that. I will get there. As long as I keep remembering to just let the art unfold.

Visiting galleries has been part of that process for me. Seeing what artists are coming up with, the innovations, the ideas, yes even colours they chose to put together that I would never have thought of. A different perspective on how they interpret a subject. Their art comes from their soul.

That's what I was missing. And that is my quest.

WHAT DOES BEING CREATIVE MEAN TO YOU?

Many people tell me they don't have a creative bone in their body.  That they can't draw a straight line.

Which leads me to the question: What does creativity mean to you? What does it make you think of?

It seems those who feel this way see creativity as about art-making, about being talented at painting or drawing or writing or singing.

Yet creativity is also about activities such as gardening, decorating for Christmas, setting a beautiful table for a meal. 

Think of your friend or relative who is amazing at organizing. Everything has its place in his or her kitchen or clothes closet. The person who is always finding new tools to help them with a project or their job. Are those not creative activities too? The boss with the superb problem solving skills. The friend who always looks amazing in her coordinated clothing and accessories.

Creativity is inventive. It's about play and experimentation, about seeking out and finding new perspectives, exploring new ways of doing. It's about problem solving, releasing limiting beliefs. And it's good for our health and wellness, as we forget about our stresses, slow down and get into the flow of being creative.

We are all born creative. Children are natural explorers and their creative switch is always on. Somewhere as we grow up, we seem to lose that. We're not always taught to keep that imaginative side, rather we're taught to follow what is known. 

"The simple fact is that we are not taught or encouraged to exercise our creative muscles. In reality, we are encouraged to suppress them. This does not mean that most of us are not creative, only that we have never been trained to work on and value our creativity and imagination. When was the last time you invested time in developing your creativity?" 

                           David Usher, Author of Let the Elephants Run 

Children are not afraid to try something new. But as adults fear can hold us back - if we try drawing and fail at it, then we must not be creative. Many creative activities just take some practice, and learning to "see" so we can learn to "draw" takes practice. Yet we talk ourselves into thinking we are not creative.

A recent student in one of my classes felt her art wasn't as good as the others, she even stated she wasn't creative. We identified that she simply needed a refresher on the colour wheel, so she could mix paint colours without getting "mud". She made wonderful leaps after that, and also when trying to paint on fabric instead of paper. She began to see her creative side emerge. 

This kind of exploration makes my heart sing - she was willing to take chances and see where it would take her. Just a bit of guidance was all it took. And she felt a wonderful sense of accomplishment as a result.

I think being creative is really a mindset. It's up to you if you think you're not creative - or if you are!

"Start looking at creative thinking as a skill set that you can master if you invest the time to learn how".

      David Usher in Let the Elephants Run