Embrace stillness as a breeding ground for ideas.
I would say that this is where all of my ideas come from. There are certain things I find myself doing when I come up with some of my favorite ideas. I may not be physically sitting still, but these are times when my mind feels relatively still. When I'm not thinking about the million things on my to-do list, I often find myself inspired with new ideas while running and listening to music, on a long walk (these both have to be outside), doing a mundane task at work, or sitting in a class where I am not particularly engaged. I always carry my little sketchbook with me to jot down these ideas. The ideas coming from these periods of stillness throughout my life have made the stillness very valuable. Boredom with what you're doing fosters new, big ideas. And it has taught me to be thankful for this time. Even for a job or two that I particularly did not like, I am now incredibly thankful for. These times in my life taught me a lot. Sitting at work on a computer doing something that I had relatively no interest in, I found my mind wandering constantly to art projects and big ideas. It was at the end of that summer that I realized - I am an artist, and not meant to sit at a computer all day. I am very thankful for that experience.
Conceive of what is not
This is a capacity that I gather many different meanings from. This idea could be applied through use of materials, use of ideas, process, etc. I think that in some ways, I am conceiving of what is not. I love creating whimsical, imaginative, dream-like work. However, I am not usually conceiving big conceptual what is not ideas. I think that by spending more time thinking about what-is-not I could make my work much more meaningful and exciting! This capacity does not have to be applied to such a grand idea as what the sixth and seventh senses would be... but could be applied to ideas that would fall into my own style of artwork, like what would your house look like if you lived on the moon? I think that by asking myself such questions and doing creativity exercises, I would push my work a lot further and develop deeper, more engaging meaning.
I would say that this is where all of my ideas come from. There are certain things I find myself doing when I come up with some of my favorite ideas. I may not be physically sitting still, but these are times when my mind feels relatively still. When I'm not thinking about the million things on my to-do list, I often find myself inspired with new ideas while running and listening to music, on a long walk (these both have to be outside), doing a mundane task at work, or sitting in a class where I am not particularly engaged. I always carry my little sketchbook with me to jot down these ideas. The ideas coming from these periods of stillness throughout my life have made the stillness very valuable. Boredom with what you're doing fosters new, big ideas. And it has taught me to be thankful for this time. Even for a job or two that I particularly did not like, I am now incredibly thankful for. These times in my life taught me a lot. Sitting at work on a computer doing something that I had relatively no interest in, I found my mind wandering constantly to art projects and big ideas. It was at the end of that summer that I realized - I am an artist, and not meant to sit at a computer all day. I am very thankful for that experience.
Conceive of what is not
This is a capacity that I gather many different meanings from. This idea could be applied through use of materials, use of ideas, process, etc. I think that in some ways, I am conceiving of what is not. I love creating whimsical, imaginative, dream-like work. However, I am not usually conceiving big conceptual what is not ideas. I think that by spending more time thinking about what-is-not I could make my work much more meaningful and exciting! This capacity does not have to be applied to such a grand idea as what the sixth and seventh senses would be... but could be applied to ideas that would fall into my own style of artwork, like what would your house look like if you lived on the moon? I think that by asking myself such questions and doing creativity exercises, I would push my work a lot further and develop deeper, more engaging meaning.
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ReplyDeleteI need to do that too Kate! I am inspired by your work and I agree that as an artist and a teacher, I need to do what I expect my students to do and push myself out of my comfort zone!
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