If this is the Northern Pondering Season, as Lynne said, here's an interesting challenge handed to me by Peg, and I urge, (no, beg) you all to join me.
Valerie directed me, ergo us, to this list by painter Kay WalkingStick, as reported by Linda Womack on Serena Fenton's blog. (I hope I got all the acknowledgments right. If not, please let me know.)
What do you ask yourself, about your art practice? What do I ask me, about my art practice?
I have a bunch of questions I ponder from time to time, but believe it or not, I've never collated them into a list, never even thought to do it. (How "listless" of me.) So I was thinking of this yesterday, and mine turned out to be a convoluted, multi-layered, messy job at first mental glance, so I'm trying to simplify it.
The attraction of having a peek at someone else's list is to discover aspects and perspectives I hadn't thought of, and sometimes a different wording makes the question more attractive, or less harsh. And it does give an insight to that artist's outlook/interior landscape, too, a bit.
If you have a "Ask Yourself" list, an art practice check list as it were, and don't mind sharing, please do so, while I ponder about mine.
8 comments:
Hi Meg, I just took up the gauntlet..."our" gauntlet?! Check out my latest post. I'm going out of town till Monday evening so will be away from computers. I look forward to seeing what other responses you get.
Wow, so quickly... I'm still thinking about them. Maybe I don't have to make it a complete list, but just a list I carry in my head.
Has anyone else got a list, so I can cheat a little?
I think the only one I have is from Dr. Seuss:
"If you never did, you should:
These things are fun, and fun is good."
A great statement on the value of trying new things, and the central part of creation: it should (overall, among all the mistakes, frustration, and hard work) be FUN. If it isn't, you're either going stale or doing something that won't interest you in the long run.
Interesting idea. I'm going to have to think about this. Like you, I have something vaguely in mind, but I've never tried to put it all together. Perhaps if I could, it would help me begin to sort out the "who am I" as an artist. Somehow the journey to discovery is so overwhelming that I seldom know whether or not I'm finding my way.
Hello, Tien. I do live the way you live; so much gusto, so much joy. And you're right, if it's not fun, ammm.... it's not fun, is it. This one reflects in many aspects of your life, I think.
Leigh, glad you're in my camp, too. I kind of envy people who can come out straight and say it - it's not that I don't think about it, but I seem to have a question (or two) of the month.
Hi Meg,
I wrote a somewhat longer comment in . It's not precisely a list, though - more a thought that perhaps you're framing the question wrong. I think art is less about lists than about joy. (See blog post for details.)
Tien, I'm going to save reading your post until later - after I finish one more scarf. Meet you there tonight!
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