A bit of Meandering...
or Musing may be more accurate.
Well December is upon us, and the weather has definitely changed to say "brrr, it's winter"... hats and scarves and sweaters. My favorite time of year really, the fall for sure... love the changing of the leaves, the rain, the morning frost...
When I put away any thoughts about the day job (and lately they tend to crowd out my creative imagination) and any thoughts about how to survive in our crazy world, I tend to imagine a studio space with large walls and light, and time to paint again.
That is still present in my life, and I recently found myself re-energized by taking a quick hike into NYCity to roam and wonder.
Today I felt a pang of longing for artists; the energy they bring. I thought about how it would be to have a "feeding of soul" venue to once again be part of a thriving artist circle. Long gone are the days of Mills College, critiques and even my colleagues' monthly "get-togethers". We've all gone our way, and those of us that have to have a day job to survive seem to be on the outer perimeter just trying to find time to create. That's where I am.
Social networking also creates a "mock" but real circle of friends, and I began to wonder if there was a concrete way to share work in progress, encouraging and critiquing work for those of us, like myself, that tend to be isolated from a real artist community.
Of course, nothing beats showing up in a coffee shop or a colleague's studio space with work in hand, showing and discussing.
Just thinking aloud about it, thought of a potential critique space, but would anyone participate? Would people share work in progress, share honest opinions about what they felt worked with a piece and what didn't? Be able to talk about their process or about what they were trying to convey? I feel very rusty at this point.
In the digital social environment, I'm sure something like this exists. I'll take a look around. Part of me wants to create a space for this, because it's my need. But I fear it would be my own monologue.
Several of my social networking friends have spaces that can create dialogue, are we too busy to do this? Food for thought I suppose.
I'm needing a jumping off place, a place to be re-energized and once again feel back in the fold of creative group.
Maybe there are others like me, needing collaboration, needing to fuel creative inspiration. Maybe not.
Not that there needs to be another page on facebook or the web, but truly, I'm at a loss right now how to fit it in, in a busy week, and really feel the need. A critique forum, or a way to really share others work, past artists and mentors, or those that inspire us, images, writing, music, all venues that go into creativity.
I think I'd like it to be a collaborative venture and would be open to discussion from all artists; after all, creativity comes in so many ways. Process, unfinished work, coming back to work and being re-ignited to bring new life to it... well.. I'm meandering in my thoughts...
Basically I miss the intellectual stimulation and other sets of eyes on work, and sparking new directions.
Lately I've been getting this from going to museums and seeing work in shows.. all part of the creative venture too.. I think I just want immersement (is this a word?) in my work again and am having trouble setting aside all other worldly things. Seeing I need a sabbatical and a residency of some sort to break this cycle. My NYC trip really gave me insight into the energy I still have to create. And yet, back into the rut of everyday grind, I find myself just trying to escape it (the grind).
Tonight is the first night again, I will pick up the tools and scribble something.
I guess that's all I can do for now.
Well December is upon us, and the weather has definitely changed to say "brrr, it's winter"... hats and scarves and sweaters. My favorite time of year really, the fall for sure... love the changing of the leaves, the rain, the morning frost...
When I put away any thoughts about the day job (and lately they tend to crowd out my creative imagination) and any thoughts about how to survive in our crazy world, I tend to imagine a studio space with large walls and light, and time to paint again.
That is still present in my life, and I recently found myself re-energized by taking a quick hike into NYCity to roam and wonder.
Today I felt a pang of longing for artists; the energy they bring. I thought about how it would be to have a "feeding of soul" venue to once again be part of a thriving artist circle. Long gone are the days of Mills College, critiques and even my colleagues' monthly "get-togethers". We've all gone our way, and those of us that have to have a day job to survive seem to be on the outer perimeter just trying to find time to create. That's where I am.
Social networking also creates a "mock" but real circle of friends, and I began to wonder if there was a concrete way to share work in progress, encouraging and critiquing work for those of us, like myself, that tend to be isolated from a real artist community.
Of course, nothing beats showing up in a coffee shop or a colleague's studio space with work in hand, showing and discussing.
Just thinking aloud about it, thought of a potential critique space, but would anyone participate? Would people share work in progress, share honest opinions about what they felt worked with a piece and what didn't? Be able to talk about their process or about what they were trying to convey? I feel very rusty at this point.
In the digital social environment, I'm sure something like this exists. I'll take a look around. Part of me wants to create a space for this, because it's my need. But I fear it would be my own monologue.
Several of my social networking friends have spaces that can create dialogue, are we too busy to do this? Food for thought I suppose.
I'm needing a jumping off place, a place to be re-energized and once again feel back in the fold of creative group.
Maybe there are others like me, needing collaboration, needing to fuel creative inspiration. Maybe not.
Not that there needs to be another page on facebook or the web, but truly, I'm at a loss right now how to fit it in, in a busy week, and really feel the need. A critique forum, or a way to really share others work, past artists and mentors, or those that inspire us, images, writing, music, all venues that go into creativity.
I think I'd like it to be a collaborative venture and would be open to discussion from all artists; after all, creativity comes in so many ways. Process, unfinished work, coming back to work and being re-ignited to bring new life to it... well.. I'm meandering in my thoughts...
Basically I miss the intellectual stimulation and other sets of eyes on work, and sparking new directions.
Lately I've been getting this from going to museums and seeing work in shows.. all part of the creative venture too.. I think I just want immersement (is this a word?) in my work again and am having trouble setting aside all other worldly things. Seeing I need a sabbatical and a residency of some sort to break this cycle. My NYC trip really gave me insight into the energy I still have to create. And yet, back into the rut of everyday grind, I find myself just trying to escape it (the grind).
Tonight is the first night again, I will pick up the tools and scribble something.
I guess that's all I can do for now.
I agree. I would love to have the experience of coming together and sharing honest critique. I don't see why a fb page wouldn't work. I belong to a couple of groups, but all anyone says is < "how pretty." Which of course doesn't really help much. I'd be happy to help you start something up... ;-)
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