Art-Making is about Freedom
Art-making and creativity, in general, are about freedom of choice.
From the moment you face the blank page, the handful of clay, the empty vase waiting for flowers, you begin making choices. Which tool? Which colors? What size? How do I change it, expand it, manipulate it? Each step is a choice, an “I want”. Some is very conscious choice, others are based on the masters who came before us. It’s tricky because while we are faced with this great horizon of freedom, art-making is also a high-wire act, a balance between what our intuitive self wants and what others might think, do, demand, or have chosen for us. As artists, whether we are painting, playing music, or arranging flowers in a vase, we are moving in and out of these thoughtful spaces and choices.
“What do I want? What should I do? Is that what I want to do?
Many artists strive for that flow, that place where we seem to know without “thinking”, where we trust our skills, our guts, and the process, creating where we are one with the movement and moment. Writers hear their characters speaking, painters place the colors in just the right spot, and singers hit all the notes. But it doesn’t always feel that free. Some days or seasons in our lives are bumpier, our “shoulds’ grow louder, and our physical energy or health impedes us.
This piece is sold, but I am creating more sheep paintings because of the interest in these silly characters. I’ll have them available in my portfolio soon.I’m currently sketching them.
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We are drawn to the freedom of art-making.
In order to reach these moments “in-the-flow” we have to return again and again to practice. Pick up the paintbrush, the violin, the camera. . Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso described their belief that your muse visits you only if you’re working. Your muse doesn’t enter like some Greek chorus to explain everything to you or inviting you to begin. The creative person has to show up and start making those tiny choices like a batter practicing hitting the ball, a runner sprinting before marathons, a chef chopping vegetables before throwing them into the wok. Each action invites the muse. Each choice, each movement helps us descend into the “thoughtless thought” where the muse lounges waiting for us to show up.
In a fast-paced world of AI, social media posts and branding, the process of creativity is vital.
We learn to connect with each other in art classes, wine and paint parties, choral groups, and craft workshops. We shop for art that is original, that shows our humanness, is full of expression of feeling. We attend experiential exhibits at museums where we can engage and participate. We want to connect with each other, not simply rely on computers or robots and their art-making. Making art helps us be present, to work and listen from the “inside-out” so that we are present not just with our art, but in our intertwined lives. What do you think about art-making and creativity? What do you do that calls upon the muse or gets you in-the-flow? I love hearing your perspectives, so feel free to contact me with your ideas.
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