(Comparison photos of the Master vs the Novice)
Here's hoping we can create a bit of thought-provoking discussion...
The projects I submitted were simplistic in nature.
These were not wow projects.
This was intentional. I didn't run out of time or ideas.
I actually spent many hours in plotting and testing.
You see, I am on a mission. A mission that allows everyone--
EVERYONE
the chance to play, to create, to explore, to discover.
To discover the freedom in creativity.
Please allow me to explain what has fired me up this year.
In this Facebook post by Becky Higgins LLC I read dozens of comments to her post and wanted to cry, to cheer, and assist in my own small way. The post mirrored some of my own thoughts and emotions regarding scrapbooking, crafting, and the arts in general.
Take a moment to skim her post and a few comments.
I'll wait here while you do. Then we'll continue...
What does this post on scrapbooking have to do with my photo of the Versailles ceiling and my mixed-media canvas?
And why did I throw in my simple projects?
First a statement from our blogger:
"Lighten Up People"!!
Our crafty projects, our mixed-media art, our graphic illustrations, and our fine art, oil-painted canvases had better be founded in play.
My 1st free-spirited mixed-media canvas, My Crush, was not intended to be a masterpiece. It was a lesson in play for me. Using only what was already at hand, on my worktable.
My Crush is not a Versailles ceiling. This gorgeously rendered ceiling that Marie-Antoinette, Queen of France, might have walked under. Craftsmanship that she might have glanced at or ignored as just an adornment to her station in life. Just think of the years of study and practice to become that proficient.
Does my humble artwork deserve to sit next to such magnificence?
Of course it does.
Not as an example of perfect attainment, but as an expression of who I am, who I was at that moment. My Crush has been appreciated by many admirers and finally found a home with one of my favorite people.
It has value. My play had value.
Now think of your favorite creative, artist, crafter, and/or artisan.
Focus on a particular work that you cannot get out of your mind.
Consider all of the attention, the accolades, the awards given them.
Does that make you jealous? Good.
Years ago I read, studied, discarded, and rediscovered
Julia Cameron's "The Artist's Way".
I love this quote:
"Jealousy is always a mask for fear: fear that we aren't able to get what we want; frustration that somebody else seems to be getting what is rightfully ours even if we are too frightened to reach for it."
-Julia Cameron The Artist's Way
I took this quote as permission to be envious;
yet I was to examine why I may be jealous of what another has accomplished. How can I recreate what they did?
Don't worry about copying. Repeat after me:
"There is nothing new under the sun!"
We are able to give our own perspective, our own slant, but truly there is nothing undiscovered in the land of creativity.
Just new ways of applying, of rendering, of presenting.
This is an impetus for exploration and growth for me.
In my art, in my writing, in my play. That's right, my play.
Let's recap.
I am learning, exploring, playing in my creative endeavors.
You have permission to do the same.
Make mistakes, get messy, play.
You do NOT have to create a wow!
Use what you have.
Just start...right now.
Hang the critics--especially the ones in your head.
Now share with others; perpetuate the cycle of play.
Ciao for now,
-Trish Alger
These were not wow projects.
This was intentional. I didn't run out of time or ideas.
I actually spent many hours in plotting and testing.
You see, I am on a mission. A mission that allows everyone--
EVERYONE
the chance to play, to create, to explore, to discover.
To discover the freedom in creativity.
Please allow me to explain what has fired me up this year.
In this Facebook post by Becky Higgins LLC I read dozens of comments to her post and wanted to cry, to cheer, and assist in my own small way. The post mirrored some of my own thoughts and emotions regarding scrapbooking, crafting, and the arts in general.
Take a moment to skim her post and a few comments.
I'll wait here while you do. Then we'll continue...
What does this post on scrapbooking have to do with my photo of the Versailles ceiling and my mixed-media canvas?
And why did I throw in my simple projects?
First a statement from our blogger:
"Lighten Up People"!!
Our crafty projects, our mixed-media art, our graphic illustrations, and our fine art, oil-painted canvases had better be founded in play.
My 1st free-spirited mixed-media canvas, My Crush, was not intended to be a masterpiece. It was a lesson in play for me. Using only what was already at hand, on my worktable.
My Crush is not a Versailles ceiling. This gorgeously rendered ceiling that Marie-Antoinette, Queen of France, might have walked under. Craftsmanship that she might have glanced at or ignored as just an adornment to her station in life. Just think of the years of study and practice to become that proficient.
Does my humble artwork deserve to sit next to such magnificence?
Of course it does.
Not as an example of perfect attainment, but as an expression of who I am, who I was at that moment. My Crush has been appreciated by many admirers and finally found a home with one of my favorite people.
It has value. My play had value.
Now think of your favorite creative, artist, crafter, and/or artisan.
Focus on a particular work that you cannot get out of your mind.
Consider all of the attention, the accolades, the awards given them.
Does that make you jealous? Good.
Years ago I read, studied, discarded, and rediscovered
Julia Cameron's "The Artist's Way".
I love this quote:
"Jealousy is always a mask for fear: fear that we aren't able to get what we want; frustration that somebody else seems to be getting what is rightfully ours even if we are too frightened to reach for it."
-Julia Cameron The Artist's Way
I took this quote as permission to be envious;
yet I was to examine why I may be jealous of what another has accomplished. How can I recreate what they did?
Don't worry about copying. Repeat after me:
"There is nothing new under the sun!"
We are able to give our own perspective, our own slant, but truly there is nothing undiscovered in the land of creativity.
Just new ways of applying, of rendering, of presenting.
This is an impetus for exploration and growth for me.
In my art, in my writing, in my play. That's right, my play.
Let's recap.
I am learning, exploring, playing in my creative endeavors.
You have permission to do the same.
Make mistakes, get messy, play.
You do NOT have to create a wow!
Use what you have.
Just start...right now.
Hang the critics--especially the ones in your head.
Now share with others; perpetuate the cycle of play.
Ciao for now,
-Trish Alger
2 comments:
Thank you so much, your post made me feel much better about being free to try different things and have the confidence to experiment more. I sometimes put off doing things as I question can I do it. So am going to try harder to have a go at new things and hopefully blog a little more about them too :)
Thank you Heather for reading and responding. Please do blog your endeavors! It will inspire someone else and the cycle will perpetuate. Make mistakes, be messy, have fun!!
-Trish
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