A TICKLE TRUNK OF TECHNIQUES

Remember Mr. Dressup and his Tickle Trunk from which he pulled an array of costumes for his skits? I may be dating myself but it was a show I grew up on, and I've always loved the concept of the Tickle Trunk.

I feel like I have a tickle trunk of my own now, only it contains a bundle of techniques I've learned for my art.

I've taken many workshops over the years in techniques and artistic concepts and am self taught in others, working with traditional and non-traditional materials, giving me not only many approaches I can draw upon but an eye to look on almost anything as a surface on which to create and to embellish. 

Sometimes I feel like I have too many techniques in the collection. It can get confusing after all to decide which to use and has left me feeling at times that I don't have a specific "style" for my fibre art.

But I'm learning that I do have an underlying style, the root of all my work. My artist friends tell me they recognize my work when they see it. The image I'm creating determines the techniques and materials to use as the base, then I draw upon additional modes for embellishment and details. Beading may be used for the frothy image of water on a painted background, painted tissue paper for a sky, embroidery for plants and flowers, painted brown paper bag and lace for a background. Thanks to my sister, who had broken her leg last year, I was able to use two of her fibreglass casts as a 'canvas'. 

While I have mastered my skills for some of the techniques I have learned, I am focusing on improving others, rather than adding more to the trunk. But my main objective is to practice building layers with and combining various techniques to add depth and drama to  my pictures, just like the Mr. Dressup's costumes are embellished with hats, shoes & other props, adding to their playfulness and building the character.

The list of techniques I've learned is long enough that I've actually had to write them all down. My "Tickle Trunk" inventory is posted on my studio wall, so I can refer to it anytime to audition the techniques for putting together a script for my art. 

ARTISTIC FRUSTRATION: VISUAL ART VS OTHER ART FORMS

It's an observation I've often made that was reinforced in the painting class I took last month at the Ottawa School of Art: that visual artists experience frustration if they have to backtrack and re-do parts of an art piece during its creation. 

Each artist in the class at some point didn't like what they had painted. We sometimes got stuck. We didn't always know how to move forward or how to fix what we had painted. We were irked when we liked something, took a step we thought was right, then realized we had wrecked what was good. Visual artists and fibre artists for the most part highly dislike having to "re-do" parts of a picture they thought were done. Oh yes we should be looking at these as learning opportunities, but it's still an exercise in frustration.

Our instructor reminded us throughout the week that painting is a process, it's about playing, adding layers, about the work evolving. She said anything can be fixed if we don't like it or it doesn't work. We just need to step back, re-assess, determine what colours, shapes, etc. are needed, then decide on the next step. Then the step after that. We are not perfect and we only improve with practice. If we change one section, it affects other sections. Keep going. Take a break when needed. Sit with it for a bit. Consider that we may not have had a strong enough vision when starting to create, or that the picture needed to reveal what it wants to be. Not to focus on the end result but to enjoy the process. Don't get discouraged. All great messages.

Yet still frustrating. 

I've seen many painters give up when something isn't working, the frustration of knitters when they realize they've made a wrong stitch and need to go back a row or sometimes more to fix the error, sewers when a piece doesn't fit or the machine is giving them trouble. A weaver friend felt she had ruined an entire piece of fabric she was making on her loom when she discovered an error in the pattern. She could not find a way to salvage it or make something else from the weaving and dreaded having to start over after spending all that time on it. It felt like a waste.

Perhaps we feel the frustration because we are left with something tangible on which we've spent time and money, and because that unfinished piece sits in front of us every day. We can save multiple versions of writing on a computer. We can 'undo' changes to a digital photo. We can move on from a piano practice when we can't see or hear it. But a painted canvas or knitted piece is harder to hide from view, we can't save an earlier version. 

And yet artists of other art forms seem to understand that changes and corrections and edits are part of the process. At least I think they do. Writers go through several edits before they are satisfied. They expect this and seem prepared to work through the changes. Yes, they know their first draft won't be perfect, that it will need a re-write, enhancing, then polishing. That first draft is more like a mind dump, then it can be reorganized, rewritten, polished, words changed up for others, polished some more.

Why can't visual artists think like that, whatever our medium? We may have a vision in mind, but often our vision will evolve. Usually into something better if we keep working at it, but it's hard to see that while we are in the process of creating.

Writing and painting and other art forms require learning of techniques, practice, allowing the creativity to flow, planning, and understanding the principles and elements that go into creation. But somewhere along the creative process, backtracking and re-doing and correcting seem like too much of a burden for us visual artists.

Yet, it's like tuning an instrument. We need to play with the colours, decide on the composition, understand the elements of good design. We may start boldly but as the piece evolves we can get drawn too deeply into details and begin to overthink the work.

There were times in the class I was taking that I didn't think my pieces were going to work out. Take the garden painting, for example. I started with a photo. I wanted to add my own vision by using more colours, interest, adding some mixed media pieces. Part way through I wasn't sure it would have a cohesive look. I'm very glad the instructor was there to give feedback on composition, colour selections, paint layers, tones and contrast, where it needed a pop of colour, etc. I got there, step by step. I haven't been painting much the last few years, focusing instead of fibre art. So practice is what I need, just like a dancer or a musician who will practice for hours before the recital.

It's not perfect, but it has much more colour than the photo, it's vivacious, fun and catches the eye. And that's what I wanted. Some sections have several layers of paint. It was easy to make corrections

Related posts:
Does Practice make Perfect?
Lessons Learned when our Art doesn't turn out
Getting Past the Hump in a Creative Practice

LEARNING TO SEW - ON A SEWING MACHINE!

Although I learned to use a sewing machine when I was young and took sewing in grade 7, the results and the projects I made didn't exactly encourage me to keep trying. 

And although I've had a love of fabrics and a desire to create using fabric and textiles, I rarely used a sewing machine again until a few years ago. Oh, from time to time I'd decide to try and make something simple, but it was usually an exercise in frustration. I didn't take the time to measure properly, the tension always seemed to be off, a needle would break. I had (sort of) learned to sew, but I never learned how to use the sewing machine properly. And so I would put the sewing machine away again until I drummed up the courage to try again. I knew I should be able to do this, I have cousins who are beautiful sewers.  But instead of taking the time to learn the machine, I let a combination of mindset, lack of patience and lack of confidence deter me.

Then about 3 years ago I signed up for a 2-day workshop through my fibre arts group, one where we were learning techniques using a sewing machine. What's that saying?
"when the student is ready....". It was time for me to learn.

Before the workshop, I did familiarize myself with my sewing machine so I could quickly change threads, bobbin, even change a needle if needed. And I had the previous year tried sewing on cardboard and doing other fibre techniques on my machine. The results were okay, but enough that I was interested in learning more.

Through this workshop I learned the limitations of my basic sewing machine, but also discovered it was a workhorse. And, more importantly, I gained confidence in my sewing ability, and learned that it didn't matter if I could sew a straight line, it was the techniques, and the possibilities arising from these techniques, that caught my attention, from couching on ribbons to layering materials, to encasing sequins, all using this machine that had eluded me for years. 

Since then I've used this workhorse more and more, but its limitations prevented me from more experimentation. It was time to trade it in the old model for a new one. I wanted one that would do free motion embroidery, would be able to handle thick materials including cardboard, have an extra wide extension table and, most important, have an embroidery foot, walking foot, cording foot and other useful feet to expand my world even further. 

After researching brands and models, and reading many reviews, I found the one I was looking for. And I realized just how much knowledge I had already gained about tension, needle sizes, thread types and so on.

So now I am playing with the new sewing machine, experimenting, without the frustration I used to get. Well, most of the time - I still need to remember to lower the embroidery foot before I lower the needle so it doesn't jam. And it seems each day I learn something new, like using the walking foot for a piece that is 10 layers of fabric. I can change the presser feet quickly, filling the bobbin is a piece of cake.  I'm playing with the pre-programmed stitches, experimenting with materials, and have actually started to make some of the projects that have been on my list, and which would have taken so much longer had I had to hand-stitch. Now I love hand-stitching, find it calming and meditative, and so will not give that up, but some projects will be faster and I can combine the two.

The piece below is on a blue velvet-like material, onto which I added 3 colours of foil. I then stitched a layer of tulle over top of Angelina fibres, and couched on a blue metallic ribbon. 

This sample is a material slashing technique, made with 5 layers of fabrics stitched together then cut, or slashed, through varying layers. 

This last piece is a variety of fabrics - upholstery, drapery, organza, and old lace, stitched together with free motion straight stitches.

WHY MAKING ART IS THE NEW MEDITATION

When I get stressed I make art.

It's therapeutic. It brings me to a place of calm, a meditative state, just breathing, grounded, improving my focus, better able to handle whatever may come up in my life.

But if I'm in a state of high anxiety, frustration or anger, I need to channel that excess energy before I can move to that meditative place. Doing something physical to work through the anger or frustration is best. We're all aware, of course, of the benefits of exercise in dealing with stress.

And there are many creative activities that are very physical and with the same benefits as exercise. And it's therapeutic even when you're still in that stressed state of mind. Think of standing at an easel, slapping paint onto a large canvas, using large brushes or other mark making tools, bold strokes, strong colours, scraping, adding more paint, scraping again. Or working clay in the hands, shaping, molding, re-shaping,  More vigorous still are dancing and drumming and gardening for releasing emotions.

Once I work through that excess energy and get to a calmer state, then I can access the same benefits we get through meditation: reducing stress, managing anxiety, enhancing emotional health, improved coping skills, slowing down for a short time in this hectic world. I move to a state where I can reflect, listen to my inner self, just breath, be open to ideas, and slow down while I create. 

Sometimes it's difficult to communicate with words what we are feeling. Creating gives us that outlet, working through our feelings and thoughts, through whatever art form we chose, whether it's writing, colouring, painting, gardening, leading us to a better understand of what we are feeling. 

Not everyone finds meditation easy, certainly I don't, and experts promote making art as a great alternative. It's not about the outcome of the work but about the process, although I often find I'm very pleased with my work when I'm in this meditative state of creating. Be with the process. Be curious. Allow creativity to happen. Live in the moment. Breath.  It's good for the soul.

CREATING ART FROM MUSIC

Synaesthesia is defined as:

"a perceptual phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway."  

Some synesthetes see letters and numbers as colours, others may see days of the week as shapes, some taste sounds, yet others see colours or images in music. Many other combinations exist where the senses are cross-linked or merged. And I've become fascinated with this subject.

I am not a synesthete, but I can discern images from some music, like a sixth or kinesthetic sense. It's more than just listening to the music, it's about feeling its vibration and energy, experiencing emotions and sensations. Music may rouse goosebumps or stimulate muscle tension. Breath rate, blood pressure, pulse and skin temperature may change. We may be compelled to move or dance. Pain relief is a possibility. We experience higher energy or a feeling of relaxation. We may see colours or images or movement.

Receptiveness varies from person to person. Images may come based on genre, chords, melody, rhythm, tempo, instruments, vocals, loudness or softness, high and low pitched sounds. 

After coming across several instances of creating art from music, including learning from a friend with synaethesia that she sees each number as a specific colour, I took a class this past spring through Almonte's Mississippi Valley Textile Museum on colour approaches inspired by the senses (other than sight). Later a local pianist shared that she had an artist painting her music while she played at a recital. The abstract pictures, done in gouache, are stunning! 

After deciding to create some pictures based on pieces of music, I discovered that some songs speak to me, others do not. It's all about being tuned to the music, being mindful and turning off all else while listening. And being open to whatever may come up - difficult or positive. The images are not necessarily realistic, but often a level of abstraction.

I then happened upon an ad about an upcoming show at the Atomic Rooster on Bank Street: Tones is an exhibit of art - not just of creating while music plays in the background - but about creating a work of art inspired by the music. And artists are asked to include a YouTube link so the visitor can listen to the music while viewing the work based on that song. 

     Tones (Art Inspired by Music)
     Dates:                November 27 - December 18, 2018
     Opening party:  Tuesday December 4 from 7-10pm. 
     Location:            Atomic Rooster, 303 Bank Street Ottawa

I hope to enter 2 or 3 fibre art pieces in this show. The one piece I have completed so far, the abstract pictured below, is based on Bitter Sweet Symphony by The Verve. 

The colours came to me first, reflecting both harmony and contrast in the music. After painting the background and choosing fabrics to include, shapes began to form in my mind based on the rhythm and repetitions in the music and on the directions in which it was going.  The next layers represented bits of the melody and chords. It was not really a thought process of creating, but rather done at an intuitive level while listening repeatedly to the song. What a great way to get out of our usual grooves of creation. 

I'm looking forward to seeing Tones at the Atomic Rooster and what other artists are creating. Let me know if you'll be putting in a piece or two or visiting the show. 

GUEST POST: GETTING PAST THE HUMP IN A CREATIVE PRACTICE

Guest post by Renée Gendron MA, Business Development consultant, Co-founder and Chief Information Squirrel, Author 



I set a goal to write 1 million draft words of my 1.8 million word series in 2018. That’s 5,000 pages. Although I’ve written other books and short stories, this series is the first that has the potential to be commercially viable. I reached that goal on August 31, 2018, and I’ll work towards my stretch goal of 1.8 million words. I’ve been stumped. I’ve written myself into corners. I’ve had to redesign characters and do some deep thinking on magic systems to ensure that my world was logical and internally consistent. And I continue to have to fix problems with plot, structure, characters, and endings.

I’d like to share with you some components of emotional, psychological, and professional resiliency that you can use in your creative work whether it’s writing, Painting, performing arts, composing, or some other artistic endeavour.


Put your Pride Aside

It’s not easy creating something. What gets typed up on a page, painted onto a canvas, inked into a score, often isn’t what you initially thought it would turn out to be. I wrote a romance scene where the heroine and hero fell into each other’s arms and fell madly in love with one another. A perfect ending to a beautiful story. Romantic, eh? The problem was when my beta-readers reviewed it, they pointed out the glaring flaw that the conflict the heroine and hero had just a chapter ago wasn’t resolved, that it didn’t make sense in context for them to wrap each other up in their loving arms and that the scene was flat. No spark, no desire. Ouch.

I rewrote the scene with their advice, looked at the margins where they scribbled notes and questions, answered them all in the rewrite, and ended up with a better chapter.


Lesson

To create the best product (art) you need to open yourself up to feedback. Open to feedback from people who have more experience in the art than you.
A chapter may not make sense. A composition may lose its rhythm or not synch well with other instruments. A piece of weaving may not achieve the desired pattern. A painting may work best when another technique or perspective is used.

Sometimes you’ll have a creative difference with the person providing the feedback. Other times you’ll have to have a think about how to rework it, how to incorporate the feedback, how to make it fit for what you want to achieve.

It’s not easy, but you’re better off for it. Sure, there might be some creative differences, but you asked them for feedback. You won’t get better unless you take that feedback and rework it into your work.


Stuck

There are days where my brain doesn’t want to cooperate. I have an idea in my head, it’s clear and crisp, but when I go to type it up, it’s garbled and flat. There are days where I can’t get a piece of the story to work, the plot twist that I thought it would turn out to be a gentle slope, uninteresting and predictable.

I think I write goodly 😃, but then it comes out as making no sense. Sometimes it’s because I’m tired, so I take a break. Sometimes, it’s because I’m dehydrated and I can’t think clearly in those situations. Other times, it’s because I need to improve my skill level.

Lesson

Budget your time and money.

I budget time and money for professional development. If you don’t have a lot of money, that’s okay. You need to allocate more time. For example, I read a lot of free articles online, listen to free podcasts, and participate in free forums about my craft.

I also allocate a professional development budget, and I participate in conferences, workshops, and online courses. The better I get, the more tools and tricks I can use to overcome a technical challenge.

Support Systems

It’s nice to have your spouse or sibling ask you about your art. And then you see their eyes glaze over when you become animated and enthusiastic about your work. Your spouse, your children, your siblings, are likely to smile and nod when you show them a new creation, but they often don’t share the same passion for your art as you do. That stings and can discourage you from pursuing it.


Lesson

Find and surround yourself with people who are equally passionate about the type of creative practice you do. I’ve developed an ecosystem of individuals associated with publishing and writing to help me through this project, and I’ve expanded my network in this area. With them, I get technical about writing, engage in deep conversations about the craft, go to conferences with them, share resources, and talk until lose my voice about all things related to writing. But when it comes down to it, I still need to put my fingers to the keyboard and produce.


Motivation

I love writing. I took a fifteen-year break from writing – though I can’t remember why I stopped writing, and when I came back to it, I remembered how much I love it. I find editing difficult and less entertaining. When I don’t feel like doing it, even though I know I have to do it, I break it into smaller chunks, I learn techniques to make it less of a slog, and I keep reminding myself that I need to do this to achieve the end goal: a well-written, polished, book.

What’s your motivation? What drives you to do what you do?


Take that idea, then apply the points of this article from bottom to top.


Renée Gendron MA

I’m the founder of Vitae Dynamics where I help companies and communities improve their economic resiliency. I think Canada needs to create 6 million full-time jobs to ensure prosperity for all. You can like my Vitae Dynamics page on Facebook and/or follow me on twitter under @vitaedynamics.
My website is http://reneegendron.com/index.html

I’m also the co-founder of a clean agricultural company. We offer a range of organic certified whole life cycle products that reduce the need for antibiotics, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, improves air quality in barns, and boost yields for farmers.
If you’d like to follow me for my writing, please do so on twitter @reneegendron I’ve not posted much yet but will do so soon. I will probably post a lot about squirrels because they are awesome.