Creative Block?

I hear people talking about creative blocks all the time. I imagine it is unbearable as I don't have this problem. I am much more like a Golden Retriever on a walk with a ball. It all starts out fine, but then SQUIRREL! I chase each idea with abandon. At the end of the day I am exhausted and have no ball and no squirrel and am a bit disappointed. Why does this occur? For me it is lack of focus. I have to force myself to focus. I have not been as disciplined as I need to be and tell myself I am going to change that. Change requires habits. Habits after all are rituals, and I like rituals. So, for at least the next few days I will be preforming the 15 minute ritual. This consists of me entering the studio, sitting down and working in a sketch book for 15 minutes.   How I work in that sketch book doesn't matter. Marks, puddles of colour, collage, or an ink drawing. It only matters that for 15 minutes I am putting media to paper and then turn the page.

 

A Workshop in Sedona

This past weekend I attened a workshop. I did it despite the time contrains and committments I already had. I signed up for it despite the fact that I had to juggle funds to do it. I signed up for it despite the fact that the subject was still lifes and I don't ever paint still lifes. I signed up for it because I admired the work of the instructor and I needed my cage rattled.

I am now officially rattled.

The first observation I made was that I do not draw enough. The second was that I rely on intuition and memory far too much. The third, and in my opinion the most important, is I had become quite complacent in looking.

I do not believe it can ever be overstressed that when you are learning to draw, you are actually being taught to see. Yes, there is an amount of hand eye coordination that is involved, but the looking and seeing the edges and the shapes, the values and how they contrast, that is the trick. And, like all good things the trick takes hours, and hours of rigorously looking to train yourself to see.

I have said it before and I will say it again, if you love something enough you will struggle and strive to get better, and you will love the struggle. Maybe not every minute of it, but most of it.

The timing of this workshop was very bad for me, because now I do not have the luxury of going into my studio and drawing for extended periods of time that require critically looking. I can only hope that in three weeks the dust has not settled too much.

Thank you Scott Conary for kicking the pegs out from under my cage and raising some dust.

September Workshop

  On Saturday, September 24th, I will be having a workshop on Creativity and making the most of time you spend creating.

I will be introducing strategies and exercises that will enable you to clear creative blocks out of you way.  While this class is geared towards visual artist it will help anyone struggling with creative endeavors.

The workshop will be held in my Flagstaff studio from 10:00 to 12:30 and will include all materials, although participants may want to bring a few of their own things. Space is limited so if you are interested please email me at ctannerjensen@gmail.com

Hope to see you!
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Fortunate

Untitled

Mixed Media on Paper

30" x 22"

NFS

I am fortunate. I grew up with two parents that wanted me to be happy. Not Kool Aid and Potato Chip happy, but deeply satisfied and content happy. This means that it was always okay that I wanted to be an artist.

My friends have understood me. That I am a painter, I am prone to fits of despair, I am prone to fits of elation, I get lost in thought and conversation. That I will spend enormous sums of money on paint while fretting about how to pay the electric bill.

My friends and family believe in me. Maybe not that I am a great talent, but in me. That my pursuit of happiness is valuable, if only to me.

While it hasn't been easy and there are times that I wish I could go and get a 9 to 5 job, I am happy.

I am grateful for the support I receive in a myriad of ways, from clients and patrons buying my work to someone saying "This is beautiful", to a fellow artist discussing media and techniques. I am fortunate that I realize it and I am grateful for every bit of it.

Thank you.