AS I have mentioned earlier, I hit a creative block this past winter. I was hooked on the idea of serious art and the preciousness of its materials. After being out of art school for just over 2 1/2 years (and after a nice and border-line mandatory hiatus from art), I felt that it was finally time to be creative again. But where to start? And, even more importantly, how to start? How on earth do I become (dare I say it) an artist? Gasp!
*cold shudder*
I have also ranted previously about how I tend to get stuck on the preciousness factor. I’ll buy beautiful paper, gorgeous inks, slick and clean brushes….and then I start to shake with the inked brush in hand, just staring at that blank field of white paper in front of me. And then I get overwhelmed; so many options (!!!). There is nothing so terrifying, and yes so exciting, as the blank page. (Have you noticed that I tend to over think things?) But moving on!
Even before I started the ridiculous paper castles project, I started a sketchbook. The paper its self was of recycled brown material, with a gritty and almost dirty nature. PERFECT. This eased my conscience immediately and took away my perfection complex. I started the sketchbook, and the one that followed it, with the whole mindset that, hey, art is fun! woooo hoo. I made stupid doodles. I pasted doilies. I stuck stickers. I colored with crayons. Yes!
Recently, I came across the Sketchbook Project spearheaded by the Art House Coop, based out of Brooklyn. Just as the banner above states, this project is just like a music tour, only instead of bands bouncing from town to town, it is a gargantuan collection of sketchbooks. After the breakthroughs I experienced over the winter and spring with my own sketches and doo dahs, this instantly resonated with me. For my birthday, I asked my mum to sign me up for this. She not only did that, but she ALSO decided to participate herself. And then she told other people to do it. And then she started a blog DEDICATED to sketchbooks out of our home town of Gloucester, MA. Holy whoa. The blog is Something Sketchy. Check-it-out.
There is an array of creative themes to choose from when selecting a sketchbook. I chose Adhere to Me, with the intentions to cut and past like I did with my other sketchbooks. I’ve had a habit in the past to tear out images that I didn’t like in my old notebooks, and in the end, I’d have a wimpy and cannibalized notebook of only 15 “good” sketches. Also, since this project has an added pressure of being publicly displayed, I was afraid that I’d do the same thing: let the sketchbook become the victim of my own artists-perfectionist cannibalism. At least with Adhere to Me, I can play with the concept of adhering items and images to the page that I feel confident in. I like the idea of this being an additive and layered project.
And naturally, I am now staring at a field blank pages! Again! So-many-options! Last night I arranged many old clippings and images that I have been holding on to for years. It’s embarrassing, but I feel like I can only move forward with this project if I do a little planning first…big surprise, I know….
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| Left: old sketchbooks from this winter Right: organizing, planning, panicking. |
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| so many blank pages…… |
Good Morning Gloucester 
You go girl ~ How I wish I had been able to go to Art School ~ Your words so resonated with me ~ it is not easy to face the blank page ~ trust yourself ~ it is all within you ~ thanks for sharing ~ it helps me to continue now that I have the time and make a lot of not so good paintings, creations until i get that exciting good one ~ We are hardest on ourselves ~ check out my blog on Share the Creative Journey at http://artmusedog.blogspot.com ~ namaste, Carol
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Hey there Carol, you’re too sweet!
Art school was a funny place…..when I really think about it, its not where you go but what you make of your experience anywhere that really determines success; if I could do it over, I’m not sure if I would go to the school I chose. I found it very hypocritical as the institution I chose ended up being financially ridiculous; the term ‘starving artist’ has its grass roots in overpriced education.
And anyways, my best teachers there really were my fellow students. I think the best thing an artist can do for them selves is to really surround them selves with other creative minds. Oh, and taking a drawing class.
I think drawing classes teach everything anyone could possibly need to know about art.
But I digress and I’m ranting. I most certainly will check out site out. Onward!
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