Ponderings
“It is a happy talent to know how to play.“
Ralph Waldo Emerson
There are times in every artist’s journey when they struggle with moving their practice to new and more creative levels. I know for myself, over the last year and a half of the world turning upside down, being separated physically from my Artist friends, not having access to former creative spaces, experiencing more worry and anxiety in general, I found it more and more challenging to not only begin new silk projects, but to feel like I was being creative and inspired when I did.
When this happens, how do we get to a place where we can jumpstart our creativity and excitement around the art we are wanting to create? I am proposing that getting back to childhood roots of PLAY is an excellent way to rekindle the creativity we may be struggling to find.
Play, whether by children or adults, involves five characteristics.
It is self-chosen and self directed. Choosing to do something that is meaningful and interesting to you and not prescribed by outside forces
The process is more important than the product. The experience and fascination with whatever materials, medium, or activity being explored outweighs the importance of what the end creation will be. The product is not the important focus.
Any rules that go along with the activity are flexible and can be changed to fit new ideas or directions. For example, you might begin your exploration by saying that there’s no way you can mix two different mediums such as watercolor and crayons, but as you let go of that notion and explore, the opportunity to create something new and exciting just might emerge.
Play is imaginative. Who says the sky can’t be purple, and cats can’t fly? What if Ladybugs weren’t so lady-like? And, who needs brushes? What other kinds of tools could be used to spread color?
Play takes place in a stress free emotional environment. Because play is not a response to external demands, and because the activity takes place in your own world and imagination, and because the ends do not have immediate consequences or expectations, play is relatively free from pressure or stress.
Over the past couple of months, I have been exploring different ways to play with my art that have helped me to feel more excited and interested in getting back to doing artistic activity.
Trying a new medium.
Looking to Explore different mediums outside silk, I took a watercolor online class, a medium that I had not used since grade school. Actually, doing the class over zoom allowed for less stress, more play and exploration without feeling any pressure or expectation outside my own curiosity. I also played around with some digital art!
Creating time to play.
I scheduled creative time on my calendar, where I just pulled out a journal and some colored pencils, took out my watercolors, or sketched what I saw outside my window in my own way. No expectations, no preconceived notions, no rules other than to just have fun and play with the materials. I also scheduled artistic play dates with friends to just get together and experiment with new materials. Which leads me to ….
Playing with friends.
For the last eight or nine months I have been lucky enough to have a weekly gathering with a group of silk artists from all over the world, literally. We are friends who have ended up in various parts of the United States, Africa, and Europe. Every Thursday morning we meet on zoom to share our art, our ideas, and our lives. We have played around with challenges in our group, for example making something with a spiral, or a square, and or create something new out of something old. The creativity, the ideas, the spark of inspiration that we have all received from these conversations has been invaluable. We have no expectations, no set final product, and no judgment. And we don’t have to work on silk! By participating in this group, I have certainly regained my creative spirit.
Everything old is new again.
Looking at old, unfinished, unsatisfactory, and or half forgotten projects and seeing them in a new way definitely helps to spark creativity. For example, cutting up a large piece into smaller pieces, or repurposing a wearable. For me, I have taken silk that has been tucked away in bins, and have begun a whole new project that I am extremely excited about involving quilting, multimedia, and journaling (The journaling is at the suggestion of one of my friends in the Thursday group) to reflect Elements in nature. I am having so much fun playing with the colors, shapes, form and symbolism. I feel my creative spark has been re-kindled.
Those are just a few of the routines that I added into my life in order to feed my creative soul. I’m sure you have lots of ways that you use in your practice as well. When it comes right down to it, I guess it’s important to be kind to yourself, be patient with yourself, and give yourself permission to play. Not only might you find and discover something new, you will probably have a lot of fun along the way.
We’d love to hear from you about ways in which you inject some playfulness into your art. Email us at info@sdsilkguild.org and we’ll share some of your ideas in the next blog.
Oh, and for inspiration, check out this fantastic read! So much wisdom in children’s books!
“You’ll never be bored when you try something new!
There’s really no limit to what you can do.”
dr. Seuss