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I’m back at the drawing board setting up and beginning a big olde painting.
I’m loving it so much that it got me thinking “why?”
A couple of years back I investigated the possibilty of re training as an art therapist. ( I decided I liked doing art much more than I wanted to get people talking about what they were drawing, so it came to nothing.
But today I was reminded of some of the thing’s I’d read in a text book; about drawing being so engrossing it will distract you and effectively take your mind off whatever is stressing you and enable you to think more clearly. Also that drawing and painting helps one experience ‘flow’ “ a state of being completely engaged in something to the point of being in a near meditative state”. And that is so true. Today my daughter popped in to ask me something during a stage of tricky drawing and I could hardly formulate a word! It’s that meditation and stress free state that I love so much. That and the joy of creating. Oh and the colour. And the patterning. And so much more…
Disclaimer here if I’m about to misquote or something – I freely admit to being a non specialist! I’d read about Prinzhorn (Dr?) doing research into artists and identifying and describing the expressive urge, the urge to play, the ornamental urge, the ordering tendency, the tendency to imitate and the need for symbols in the art people make.
I can easily see which one/s I am – which are yours?
I’m still trying to get a handle on this crochet malarky!
I love Thursdays! Especially when I don’t have to respond to an alarm clock, the sun shines, and when there are loads of Radio 4 play’s that I haven’t heard yet,
More ‘moodling’ today, this time with a pair of scissors and some painted papers.
Been doing some polski cięcia papieru – Polish paper cutting!
Got really sore fingers now and am having paintbrush withdrawal symptoms! But it was fun.
P.S. Kocham czwartki! = I love Thursday’s as the Poles would say it.
I had a lovely sunny weekend in Norfolk celebrating two special birthday’s with my parents.
Anita Klein “Nigel Learns to cook” 2006.
Whenever we’re there we can’t resist a trip to Holt. Rumour has it that Camilla Parker Bowles shops there when she’s in Norfolk, but I’ve never seen her!
Anita Klein “The Spider” 2006
We were lucky enough to go and see an exhibition of one of my most favourite artists at my most favourite gallery.
Anita Klein “The Salad” 2006
I love Anita’s subject matter – the ordinary events of any ordinary day, captured. It’s like she’s painted instead of photographed a moment. When I look through them I see similar moments that we’ve had as a family (we could have posed for The Spider painting while in Hastings!) but I’ve not been clever enough to document it so beautifully.
Anita Klein “Watching The Sound Of Music” 2005
I’m still contemplating the benefits of ‘moodling’ and trying not to get sucked back into the vortex of overwork now that school term has begun again. This painting is like a visual mantra to keep some moments quiet and still and just ‘be’.
Anita Klein “The Afternoon Play” 2005
I should say that none of these are from the exhibition at Bircham’s Gallery. I can’t take photo’s of those, but go and be inspired in person!! These are from an exhibition brochure dating back to 2006 at the Boundary and Bankside galleries.
Being at home for the holidays with my teenagers has got me to contemplating the changes we make with our play as we get older. Gone are the days when holidays had to be planned with day trips, exciting activities to break up the day or when a bit of good weather prompted the children to peg a blanket in a tree in the garden and drag all manner of toys outside to put in their den. Bit by bit I can see my kids losing their sense of child-like play.
That struck a chord in me because I feel like bit by bit I too have lost my sense of play as an artist. In the routine of keeping myself to painting each week, I have clung to arranging a still life and painting a ‘proper’ picture.
Learning Photoshop has shaken that up a bit and I’m finding myself wanting to play with image and colour much more, especially now that I can do something with it.
So this week I’ve been following the small voice inside me which makes suggestions about doing things just because. And we will see what happens with it and if nothing ever does then it was pleasurable in itself!
By the way ‘moodling’ is … to engage in periods of blissful inactivity, happy dawdling and pottering that leads to creativity and inspiration.
I’ve had this cutting on my inspiration board forever – since August 2007 apparently!
These women are designer/makers who got together and opened a shop to sell their work in, in you guessed it, Hastings, by putting in a portion of rent each and agreeing to man the shop in turns. And it’s been an inspiring thought ever since I’d read about it. So I was delighted to get there in person. It’s a lovely old-fashioned shop styled with a vintage edge. And what an inspiring idea – I wish I could be part of something like that.
Another inspiring lady is Anna from Art Hut. She runs a gallery selling paintings, ceramics and craft items from local makers as well as her own work. We’ve been blogging friends for a little while and it was a pleasure to overcome my shyness and go and drop in and meet her in person. It was very interesting seeing her gallery/workspace set up and hearing a bit about life behind the scenes of running a gallery. Mr L and I dream about doing this at some point in the far off future and so it gave us lots of food for thought.
We are home from our little escape to the seaside. We stayed in this gorgeous cottage, up a very steep hill, which was styled beautifully. First thing I saw when we arrived was this yoyo quilt casually draped across the sofa. I do confess to a fleeting thought of stealing this “surely they wouldn’t miss it?” but good sense and honesty prevailed and I contented myself to a thorough inspection and the promise of making one myself.
However it went onto to become the ‘house of quilts’ and my resolve not to nick things was tested again! ( Don’t think too badly of me! Ever taken the hotel toiletries? Wanted the bath robe?!) When the heating and hot water broke we were given a bag of extra blankets and this little beauty was screwed up inside.
Hastings is full of antique shops, junk shops and even one that proclaimed “quality junk.” I can’t remember when I last saw so much furniture, teacups, eider-down’s etc at such good prices. The charity shops are actually full of great china too, so it was fun to pick over it all. Hastings is also home to Judges bakery which make the biggest meringues that I’ve ever had, like a mini Pavlova to yourself. And I’m afraid that several walks up the steep hill to the house didn’t help balance out the calories! The Victorian fishing huts which are unique to Hastings have been restored and buildings like this old apothecary ( a tea room in Rye) have been kept in their original best. It gives the whole area a sense of being back in time.
But now we are back at home and today that means washing and ironing! See you tomorrow.
I love Easter (more than Christmas) because of the sense of optimism it brings without the commercial hype. New life, spiritual and physical, longer days, sunlight, flowers, everything opening up and becoming more inviting. I start to feel that I could venture out of my centrally heated house and interact with the outside world again.
I enjoy decorating the house for Easter. It’s simple and contained – just an Easter tree and a sideboard of sweet little decorations. And I’ve never shown you before but we even have our own Easter bunny!
I’m signing off the computer for a week now to take an Easter break. Have a Happy Easter – see you soon.
