Experiments in Creativity #9 - Do Something You've Never Done Before.

So, this Experiment in Creativity may seem like an easy, breezy one, but it has been a difficult one for me to stick to. All I ask is that you visit a museum, gallery, art cafe, art bar, art fair, art event, art happening, play, concert, whatever art related endeavor, that you have never been to before.  I have lived in the Bay Area for about 7 years now and a large list of unvisited art happenings, bars, events, museums, etc. still exists for me to check off. So, inspire me folks! Go somewhere artsy you have never been and send me some pictures and reactions to the visit. Have fun!

The Jewish Contemporary Museum is first on my list!  I meant to go last week, but found myself in San Francisco on a day when the museum doors were locked.  So, I will venture there sometime this week to check out what the inside looks like!

 

photo courtesy of http://www.thecjm.org/

quintessential quotes-Amedeo Modigliani

"What I am seeking is not the real and not the unreal but rather the unconscious, the mystery of the instinctive in the human race."

Amedeo Modigliani

So, honestly, this creative assignment of creating art inspired by dreams was a bear! I couldn't follow the steps, so I just didn't. I was certainly dreaming, mostly in fragments. I was aware that I was dreaming, but would lose the dream right when I woke up. So, there weren't very many notes being taken during the night or in the morning. That is until yesterday afternoon. As I was waiting for the BART to take me home I opened my notebook and jotted down a few words and a sketch. I consciously recalled a bit of my dream from the nights before. Here is what I drew.

 

So, when I look at those notes now I realize that most of my dreams lately have been about mistakes being made, feeling inadequate, things not flowing smoothly, feelings of that nature. It seems to be getting easier to recall my dream emotions as I write this post. Interesting. I went with the sketch that popped in my head for the final piece of dream inspired art.

When I looked at it the next morning the words together, apart, photograph, and circular came to mind. Other words like bright, light, black and white, cycle popped in my head as I walked passed it during the day.

So, something really kind of disappointing and perfect happened when I went to scan the image in for this post. It tore apart. Didn't work out as I planned. I thought that was just about perfect.

What's nice for me about these creative exercises is that I have less of an emotional attachment to the work. I could take it or leave it. I make it much faster than my other art and don't concern myself with the outcome. And, I don't pass judgment about it. I know that is one of the major reasons Lisa and I came up with this new project, but it's nice to actually have it occur!

What having you all been dreaming about lately?

I am an Artist: Kirsty Hall:purveyor of mad obsessive projects

I am prone to obsessive art projects that take years. My family likes to say that I’m never happy unless I’m doing something until my fingers fall off. This has never actually happened but when I was tying thousands of knots in string During 2011, I’m also doing a year-long project called 365 Jars, where I release an art jar into the wild every day. It’s basically a cunning excuse to get myself out for a daily walk. I’m sneaky like that. Resolutions, pah – art projects are the way to get things done~ Kirsty Hall

Here is Art is Moving's- I am Artist interview with Kirsty Hall. Lauren and I are so fascinated with her process and her product. It is extraordinary that she is creating art everyday and then releasing into the unknown! I also really enjoy her wit.
If you found one of these ART jars on the street would you take it? I think I just might.

 How did you come up with the idea for you "365 Jars" Project?
In 2007 I did a daily project called The Diary Project (http://diary-project.blogspot.com/) and by the end of 2010, I was itching to do another year-long project.
I wanted to do a project where a daily walk was an integral part of the art. I knew that if I made walking into a New Year’s Resolution, I would give up the first time it rained heavily but if I made it into an art project, I would do it regardless. So basically this whole project is just a cunningly disguised excuse for me to exercise every day.
Originally I was thinking of making little sculptures and placing them outside but I realised that placing the art in the jars would allow me to label it more clearly AND allow me to use a wider range of materials because the glass protects the art.
Amusingly, the day after I came up with the idea of using jars, I saw a similar idea in Keri Smith’s book, The Guerilla Artist, which I’d just bought. I hadn’t read the book when I came up with the idea, so it was pure synchronicity. I had a moment of ‘oh bother, I can’t do it now’ before realising that even if other people had occasionally placed jars of art outside, probably no one else would be prepared to do it every day for a year.

Are the jars already made, or do you make one a week? How do you come up with the "insides" of the jars?
Most days I start from scratch but I’m trying to build up a surplus of jars, so that I’ve got back-up jars for the days when I’m busy or not feeling so well. I’m also working on a couple of jars that need longer to prepare.
A lot of the jar contents are objects or drawings that I’ve had lying around the studio but I’m also making new art and collecting interesting objects while I’m out on my walks. I’m doing a lot of creative recycling with this project. In fact, I’m starting to think of it as a year-long retrospective of the last decade of my art. It’s a great way to revisit some of those ideas and clear out my material stash. I feel that I’m making space for new ideas to come through in the future.

How do you decide where to leave a jar?
Often I’ll have an idea of which direction I want to take, then I just meander around until I find somewhere that feels right. It’s quite an instinctive process. So far they’ve all been within a mile or so of my house but as I get fitter, they’ll spread further. I’m also planning to do some travelling this year, so hopefully there will be some international jars.
Jars have to be in a public place where they can be found. I usually place them on walls, occasionally window ledges or benches but I’m on the lookout for a really good tree hollow. Sometimes they’re in plain view but I like hiding them in little nooks and crannies or slightly camouflaged by bushes. It’s a fine balance between making it far too obvious and making it too difficult for people. So far they’ve all been outside but I am considering putting a few in museums and art galleries.
I try not to be invasive with them, so I would never place them in driveways or people’s gardens: that would be rude. I’m careful not to put them anywhere that children are likely to knock them over, so I avoid school walls and playgrounds. I’m also mindful of animals, so I usually don’t put them too close to the ground. I am very aware of public safety because they are glass and I’d feel terrible if one broke and caused an injury.

Why put the jars outside and not show them all together?
I want other people to find them, the interactive part of the project is very important to me. I like the ‘secret gift’ and ‘treasure-hunting’ aspects of the project.
I’ve always been interested in the idea of art that is outside the gallery experience. Many people don’t visit galleries and I love the idea of involving people who might not think of themselves as art fans. I’ve already got one guy who’s actively hunting them daily as a hobby, which I think is brilliant. Another man found a jar, kept it for a few days to admire and then re-released it into the wild. I love the playfulness that people are bringing to the project: they’re really entering into the spirit of it.
It’s also about encouraging myself to let go of control. You can’t be too precious about your art when you’re releasing it into the wild where anything could happen to it. I must admit, I get a bit sad when a jar goes missing and isn’t registered by its finder. I fret about them a bit but I’m coming to terms with the fact that I might never know what happens to some of them.

You mention "obsession" "ritual" and "every day objects" when you talk about your work. What draws you in to come up with and complete these types of projects?
I don’t know why I’m drawn to the sort of work I make but it’s probably inherent in my nature. As a child, I used to obsessively collect and organise things like rocks, buttons and beads. I also used to draw the same things over and over again or do things like making a huge ball of plaited wool so that I could play Rapunzel. Other kids would probably have just pretended to be Rapunzel but I spent weeks plaiting wool first. To be honest, playing Rapunzel was pretty much an afterthought: I was just really obsessed with plaiting.
When I’m compelled to make a piece of work, it’s usually because I’m trying to work something out. I always say that I make work to find out what I’m thinking and feeling. The other piece of art I’m working on at the moment is an apron entirely covered in sequins, which is very much about motherhood and the fact that my teenage son will probably be leaving home in the next year or two. It’s not art therapy but it does come from a personal place.
As for completing projects, I’m just really stubborn. I also only start them if I’m completely sure that I want to because once I’ve committed to a project like this, giving up isn’t really an option for me.
I work out rules before I start, which takes a lot of the angst out of it for me because then I know exactly what the boundaries are. I also give myself ‘get out clauses’ when I’m writing the rules. If you look at the rules for 365 Jars you’ll see that jars don’t have to be made on the day they’re placed, that gives me a lot more freedom. I also don’t have to blog the jar on the same day, although so far I always have. That kind of ‘wiggle room’ is vital in a project like this because during the space of a year it’s inevitable that there will be days when life intervenes.

Do you feel your art is purely personal or does it transcend into the universal?
I always start from my own experience of the work, so I make things that please, interest and delight me. That’s the core of the work. But I do a lot of research, so I’m very aware of the cultural meanings of the objects I use and that gives me an idea of how people might respond. I certainly always hope to transcend beyond the personal into the universal and make something that other people can relate to.
I do find that when I show my art, people bring their own experiences and wisdom. That’s my favourite part of exhibiting actually - the work is whole and complete in itself but audiences brings insights and meanings to the work that I would never have imagined because their memories and experiences are so different from mine. I feel very blessed and humbled when people share those thoughts with me.
Of course, not everyone likes what I do but I’ve had some amazing experiences with sceptical members of the public who suddenly ‘get it’. I once talked to a model maker who started out being very dismissive of my 3 Score & 10 sculpture but by the end of our conversation he was enthusiastically relating it to how he slowly assembles his models. We had a brilliant conversation about time and hobbies and he went from being suspicious of ‘this modern art rubbish’ to completely getting it. I adore those sort of moments.

What is your long term vision for this project?
Right now my focus is on getting everything up and running properly. I’ll be adding a gallery of jar images to the website in the next few days and I’m also working on an ‘Adopt A Jar’ scheme to help fund the project. I started the year with a nasty dose of the flu so I still don’t feel totally on top of things and I haven’t focused on the long term yet.
Obviously I want to successfully complete the year and I’d like huge numbers of people all around the world to follow along with the project. Someone on Twitter suggested that it would make a good book, which I hadn’t even considered but hey, who knows what could happen? I do think it has a lot of potential: it’s been very popular with blog visitors so far and my numbers are pretty good considering that I haven’t been promoting it much yet.

What does Art mean to you?
It’s where I live. I can’t not make art. It’s like a constant itch that I have to scratch. If I’m not making art, I get cranky and my family starts to worry that I’m about to embark on a mad decorating or gardening project! It’s just safer all round if I make art.

Kirsty Hall

Artist and purveyor of mad obsessive projects

Website: http://kirstyhall.co.uk/blog/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/kirstymhall

Perfect timing E. Marie.

Wow, I love how random and lovely life can be sometimes.  I just somberly came into my office from my studio where I was deeply unsuccessful at getting myself to make art.  I have struggled with this same circumstance for about the last 4 months.  It is starting to get irritating, but reading Marie's post lightened me up a bit.

It's not as though I haven't been creating things. Lisa and I launched ART in your POCKET in November, I have created a wonderful collection of upcycled items, I'm starting to sew clothes, and Lisa and I are working on another project for later this year. ALL of these actions are art. I do believe that. But, they are not the art I made in graduate school and they are not what I think of when I think of being an artist.

What Marie has brought to light once again for me (I forget this quite often) is that my concept as an artist is based on everything being art and everyone being an artist. As Lisa and I have discussed several times, I am, unfortunately, letting my inner critic get the best of me.

Why does it matter what I make, shouldn't it just matter that I am making something?

Thanks for the post Marie.

Guest Blogger Series

Artist in Society
by E. Marie Robertson

“The idea of changing or improving the world is alien to me and seems ludicrous. 

Society functions, and always has, without the artist. 

No artist has ever changed anything for better or worse.”

                                                                                        --Georg Baselitz

“Creating a work of art is not a harmless thing.

It always is a powerful medium. 

Art is extraordinarily powerful and important. It challenges people’s lives. ”

                                                                          Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche

The first class I took when I began work on my MFA was “The Artist in Society.” It was a terrific class and I enjoyed it immensely, and I came out of it more convinced than ever that artists do, in fact, have an important societal role to play. My own orientation at that time was of an activist nature, and I fully believed that if you were not trying to effect social change on some level through your art, you did not in fact have an artistic practice but instead were pursuing a very expensive hobby. My viewpoint has broadened significantly since that time, but I do believe that the quest for true meaning is what differentiates the artist from the hobbyist, and the relationship between our work and our society is an integral part of that quest.

Baselitz’ assertion that society functions “without artists” is simply ludicrous, since artists are, like all people everywhere, part of society. We may occupy its fringe or be deeply involved in rejecting it, we may believe we don’t pay attention or respond to it, but even in those instances we are still formed by it. We are necessarily defined by the culture and time in which we live, whether we embrace it or not. Our choice is how we work with these influences and how our work speaks to, with or against the values and actions of our culture. Thus the important question becomes not “Does the artist have a role in society?” or even “What is the artist’s role in society?” but more actively and consciously “What societal role am I, as an artist, currently playing?”

Like so many things in art, our work may make this decision for us. Our styles, media, subjects, and methods of working may naturally predispose us toward one form or another. There are many potential ways of making that connection; consider whether the art you make or is guided by one or more of the following approaches:

The Artist as Activist. For these artists, activism is the artwork. Their work highlights issues of concern and attempts to engage and mobilize the public in seeking solutions. Guerilla Girls, Women in Black, Annie Sprinkle

The Artist as Witness. These artists mirror back to us the conditions of the world as they see them, often offering us a new way of seeing, or a new experience of the world around us.  Sebastiao Salgado, Edward Burtynsky

The Artist as Iconoclast. These artists choose to fly in the face of convention and challenge existing norms, attitudes, and values. Edouard Manet, Keith Haring, Banksy.

The Artist as Problem-Solver. These artists pursue work that actually addresses problems or issues in communities or the larger society. Susan Leibovitz Steinman, Betsy Damon, Vik Muniz (Wasteland).

The Artist as Celebrant: These artists don’t just observe the world around them, they celebrate it and infuse their work with a tangible appreciation. Ansel Adams, Mierle Ladderman Ukeles, 

These examples are only that: examples. In reality, no artist fits neatly into a single category, and there are as many different approaches as there are artists. The point is that we are not widget-makers; artists and our creations are influenced by societal factors in a way that is distinct from any other profession. And our creativity further feeds society as we attempt to influence it, rebuke it, embrace it, document it.

The effect is that of a mosaic, with pieces of many different colors and shapes making up the whole.  Like the tiles of the mosaic, the various paths artists may choose to follow are not inherently right or wrong, no one path is more important than another, and all are necessary to complete the larger picture. Also, no path is set in stone and that artists may change paths, merge paths, or follow more than one path at a time, branched by the issues and circumstances that rise to prominence as we move through our lives as growing, changing, evolving human beings.

Guerilla Girls http://www.guerrillagirls.com/

Women in Black http://www.womeninblack.org/en/vigil

Annie Sprinkle http://anniesprinkle.org/

Sebastiao Salgado http://tinyurl.com/6eqxmk8

Edward Burtynsky http://www.edwardburtynsky.com/

Edouard Manet http://www.impressionniste.net/manet_edouard.htm

Keith Haring http://www.haring.com/

Banksy http://www.banksy.co.uk/

Susan Leibovitz Steinman http://www.steinmanstudio.com/

Betsy Damon http://www.greenmuseum.org/content/artist_index/artist_id-62.html

Vik Muniz http://www.wastelandmovie.com/vik-muniz.html, http://www.wastelandmovie.com/

Ansel Adams http://www.anseladams.com/

Mierle Ladderman Ukeles http://www.feldmangallery.com/pages/artistsrffa/artuke01.html

E. Marie Robertson is an artist trapped in the body of a person with a mortgage. Her work includes photography, video, video-installation and mixed reality using the 3D virtual worlds Second Life and InWorldz. She maintains a studio web site at http://www.art-in-progress.org and writes a regular blog, Art Life Now (http://artlifenow.blogspot.com). She also hosts an occasional Internet Radio Show called Social Studies on Blogtalk Radio.

 

Experiment in Creativity #8 Awakened Dreamer

”Yet it is in our idleness, in our dreams, 
that the submerged truth sometimes comes to the top.”

                                                       Virginia Woolf

Odilon Redon, Dream Noir

I love dreams! and I love Dream Art. Some of the great artists that delved into dream work throughout art history were Andre Breton, Wiliam Blake, Odilon Redon, Salvador Dali, and Remedios Varo.

Personally in my earlier figurative work I had always painted from my dreams. Through this creative process I discovered that as I worked with my dreams, they took upon new dimensions when I put them them on canvas.  And when I would reflect on these paintings I gained layers of "aha's" and a new understanding about myself. Every time I have a very strong dream I usually write it down and create art around it. These days the work that comes out is a little more abstract, but still serves as a tool of transformation.

Here is one example, I created this painting from a very strange dream that I had about Stonehenge.

Through out history many creative and scientific minded people have been able to tap into the unconscious minds potential finding answers to theorems, figuring out mathematical equations, writing song melodies, and developing characters for novels – all from their dreams. Real Meaning of Dreams 

Salvador Dali, Elephants

Through Lauren and my crits on Scipe every first Wednesday of the month, she has mentioned that she wants to do some art on an intuitve level. I thought dream art just might solitate that.

The Experiment in Creativity number is eight will be Dream Art.

Here are the Steps

• Record a dream that you had that was either really weird or powerful, or both
• From the dream take one image, or scene and create some Art around it. This can be literal or abstract
• After the work is completed Stare at your Art work for eight minutes. Write down whatever comes up for you
• In the evening place you art work next to your bed with your journal. When you wake up in the morning stare at the work and write down what ever comes up for eight minutes.The Surrealist Salvador Dali did this as practice with all his art. 
• Make some coffee and take another eight minutes and write about what did you dream about last night? How are you feeling? How is your creative fire doing?
• Move you art to your kitchen and during the course of your day stare at your ART for only eight seconds and write the first word that comes up down.
• Then reread your weird/powerful dream narrative.  Did you learn anything about the dream? What did your Art say?
• Please document in the post your writings and pics of what your art and practice looked like.

Happy Dreaming! I cannot wait to see what transpires.
~lisa

quintessential quotes-Paul Klee

“A line is a dot that went for a walk. ” 

Paul Klee

Answer Experiments in Creativity #7 -A Marriage of the Internal and External.

The seventh Experiment in Creativity that Lauren has assigned, I feel is really playful and fun.It is kind of like Sesame Street for Creatives or those who want to activate their creative Bliss. I personally had so much fun with this experiment that I could not edit my records down to five paired images. Hence the six images. 

What I did discover in this process is that my internal world and  my eternal world really match up and vice versa. I think one of the reasons I love to photograph is I can capture how I see the world. I think as an Artist walking in this subjective world I always see things in terms of color, shape, light and shadows. Unless I become uberly neurotic in the rat race called humanity then I see the world as Fellini film. :)

Or maybe I always see the world as  Fellini Film! Here are the results from my Experiment in Creativity.

1a. Outside my front door at 10:15 a.m.

1b. A photo from a photo of one of paintings in the light in my Studio.

1a. External

1b. Internal

2a. An amazing Hummingbird in Palisades Park, Santa Monica.

2b. The only ornament that I hung on our X-mas tree a Hummingbird. In our courtyard garden their lives this amazing Hummingbird that often comes up to our window. I felt this was paying homage to the beautiful creature. 

2a. Eternal

2b. Internal

3a. I was baby sitting my neighbors(who is a ghost writer) dog Darshan. As I was walking Darshan, I saw this new shiny red car parked on the street 

and had to capture my portrait with the glow.

3b. In my home I decided to take a reflection of my self in our mirror. 

3a. External

3b. Internal

4a. Is a close up of  a Totem that is in the Palisades Park.

4b. A close up my kitty Griffen's eye

4a. External

4b.  Internal

 

5a. External

5a. The LaBrea tars pits, LA. I find them so fascinating. Bloop, bloop. What is hidden in there.

5b. Trying to clean my cast iron skillet full of water and stuff.

5b. Internal

6a. Flowers growing outside my door,

6b. Cut flowers that I adore inside my abode. 

6a. External

6b. Internal

 Thanks Lauren! This was a really fun experiment.

quintessential quotes-Alice Rich

"The challenge for the artist is to persevere whether or not recognition is forthcoming." Alice Rich

Experiments in Creativity #7 - Outside/Inside

I am a big ol' hermit, especially in the winter time.  In an effort to get my butt outdoors even during the cold (relatively speaking) months in my town I thought up this little exercise in stretching one's art muscles.

So, grab yourself a means of recording what you see, maybe a pencil and paper, watercolor set, pastels, markers, camera, whatever. 

After that, wander around outside and record those colors, shapes, shadows, lights, and combinations of those things.  Collect FIVE records.

Now, go back home and the next day walk around your house to find a "match" for each of your FIVE records.  Maybe you will find the exact shape, maybe the same angle of light or maybe the exact opposite.  Who knows.  Just explore your living space the way you explored your outside space.

Match them up, post them, and tell me what you think!

Have fun!
Lauren

P.S. If you would like to share the outcome of your experiment in creativity, just email us at artismoving (at!) gmail.com

Happy New Year-From Art is Moving!!!

Lauren and I at Art is Moving want to wish all a Happy New Year!!

"Picture of picture" from Lauren and mys Art is Moving meeting on Mondays through Scipe!

The last decade has been pretty amazing and we feel it can only get better. ART is moving in all directions!

The month of January for us has become our planning month~So bear with us, it might become a little slow. 

We will share little tid bits here and there of what is going on with us, as we are trying to conquer the World through the practice of random acts of Art everywhere :) Below is are beginning process.

Art is Moving Scipe Meeting

Step one reflect

Step two dream

Step three plan!!

Art is Moving Scipe Meeting

We are looking forward to see what transpires and manifests through our solid art business planning.

Always remember create, create is the mantra of the universe!

Namaste, Lisa

quintessential quotes-Vicente Van Gogh

Happiness... it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort.

Vincent Van Gogh