Stirring the creative cauldron

On creative sparks, following your curiosity, and freshening up your creative practice

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Imagine this…

You’re flipping through an art book, or scrolling your Instagram or Pinterest feed. You come across an image that stops you in your tracks. You take a closer look at it.

Zoom in.

Examine the details.

Look up the artist.

Follow the breadcrumb tail to their website, YouTube, online portfolio.

You’re lost down a rabbit hole, and when you emerge a few moments or hours or days later, you’re pulled straight to your studio to create.

Your first attempt is clumsy, perhaps. But you don’t care — yet — because you’re still immersed in that well of creative inspiration. You’re pulling at a thread, and while your first attempt may not be it, you’re close.

You have an inkling of what you want.

Maybe you can put it to words, maybe not. That’s besides the point. But you have an idea sparking.

You sleep on it, perhaps. Maybe you even dream of it. The next day, you’re back in your studio. You have a better idea of what you want to create. How you want to translate that spark of inspiration into your work.

You start to create.

You get lost in the process.

You’re in the flow, the zone.

And when you emerge from that flow state and look at what you created, you know you’re getting closer. You’ve got it.

Maybe there’s still a bit of blurriness. Haziness. Things aren’t nailed down in your head yet. But you’re there. You can sense it. Your artist antenna is buzzing and crackling.

You walk away. Go about your day.

At the back of your mind, you’re still turning the process, the painting over this way and that.

What does it mean?

Why now?

How does it all tie in?

What more do you want to pull in to it?

How else do you want to push it?

Should you go look at that artist’s work again? See what else they have done? How they’ve worked it?

No.

The initial spark may have come from there. Maybe even a technique or two. But the rest of it, that will be your process.

Your marks.

Your sensibilities.

Your preferences.

It is your work now, after that initial spark has been lit, to go off and find your own way through.

There will be trials and errors.

You may come to a stopping point, decide you want to change tracks. Move back, retrace your steps, go in a different direction.

That’s fine.

But for as long as you’re curious, follow your curiosity. See where it leads you. Even if it’s not an entirely new direction, you may come back with a certain freshness that you infuse into your usual work.

Because you know that contrary to popular culture, time spent flitting from one thing to another is never wasted. It all feeds and informs and nourishes your artist soul. Every rabbit hole you do down, every new thing you experiment with, it all gets stirred into the cauldron of your creativity. It all makes for a richer, deeper, more potent brew.

This was my experience this week. After months of feeling like I needed a fresh spark, not just in my art, but also in my life…a yearning for a deepening into ideas, processes, reading material…a richness.

The technique is a seemingly simple collage, or what I’ve also seen referred to often as paper quilts. A technique I’ve seen before, many times, and though I like it and follow a few artists who primarily work in this way, I’ve never been particularly drawn to it.

Until this week. When I stumbled upon another artist who does paper collages. This week, a spark was lit. Why now? Why with this particular artist? I don’t yet know.

I went back and looked at the other similar artists I follow, and I can see that the basic techniques are essentially similar, though each artist brings their own style and sensibility to the work.

But this week, that image, that artist, sparked something for me. Set my creative fire burning high.

Following my curiosity: some steps in my process

Last evening, I spent a couple of hours at the painty table. Putting together papers and paints and marks and lines. And while the result is interesting and pleasing, I want to dig around a bit more. Experiment further. See how I can use bits of paper and a few marks to convey something deeper.

I have some more ideas buzzing around in my mind. A few more things I want to try.

Is it a new direction?

I’m not sure. I’m not thinking that far ahead yet. For now, I just want to follow the thread of curiosity and see where it will lead.

Maybe I’ll tire of it after a few attempts. Maybe it will add a layer of freshness to the way I paint. Only time will tell.

But after years of listening to and heeding the impulse, I know that following my curiosity always leads to a richer seam of creative gold.

And I’m here for that!

What has been sparking your curiosity recently? Drop me a comment or reply to this e-mail and let’s chat. I love hearing from you!

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