Brushstrokes

Issue #6 - Real Gift Boxes

2008-07-01T16:49:00.000-07:00

Giorgio Chirico "The Amusements of a Young Girl"

I recently finished a five-week art program with parents and teens I’d been facilitating at a local city school. The last night, as each participant shared the title and idea behind their piece, I was once again humbled by the insight and imagination with which the projects were constructed.

Let me back up. Like many artists I am a collector of “stuff” but the roots of this habit are from childhood. It may have begun with shells of the family summer pilgrimage to Jones Beach but I also amassed postcards as well as dolls, Little Lulu comic books, and souvenirs.

This collecting changed with age. As a teenager I saved chewing gum wrappers, old candle stick holders and movie ticket stubs. As an adult and a devotee of found art I became less discriminating, haunting garage sales for anything from gaskets to old lamp and coffee pot parts.

Everyone collects something, even if it’s not on purpose. Think of those single earrings you can’t bear to throw out. Sometimes it is a matter of holding on to that spare part, whether coffee pot or vacuum cleaner. Children are natural hoarders… old toys, books, baseball cards, etc.

A project based on this idea seemed like it would fine common ground between middle school teens and their parents. I called the project, “My Stuff in a Box.”

Joseph Cornell "The Hotel Eden"

We visited the Museum of Modern Art to take inspiration from another collector, the former Queens artist, Joseph Cornell. He, too, began collecting when he was young. Although untrained he later became inspired enough by the surrealistic works of Dali and Chirico to create box sculptures uniquely his own. Our group also stopped to take notice of the way in which Robert Rauchenberg created something strangely biographical just by arranging his pillow, sheet and blanket into a frame.

The participants were then invited to go on a scavenger hunt at home, gathering items by theme, color or at random. Together with the collage materials I would provide we would construct and assemble all into an arrangement that would tell something about them. Some families started out working together but eventually everyone made their own box with the idea they could be assembled together when completed.

Robert Rauchenberg "Bed"

Each week everyone returned, dashing in from work, uptown, downtown, meetings and the usual frenzy of family commitments. The room became hushed with focus and a deep level of involvement whatever the age. My role became more of technical assistant as I helped participants find solutions and use tools to answer construction challenges. No one seemed without idea or purpose so I never had a clear picture of anyone’s theme until the final revelation, which I think accounts to some degree, for my awe.

One mother called her box, “The Threads that Play My Heart.” Behind a curtain of hanging ribbon, woven into the top of her basket-box, she had arranged photos of her children.

The Threads That Play My Heart
Children don't define who I am,
they simply warm my soul.
The seam that keeps me together.
– Lydia

Another mother called her box, “Lucy” for the daughter who attended the workshop with her. High in one corner sat crystals within a sphere, a fanciful illustration of “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds!”

Lucy
She is beautiful, Chinese,
Born the Year of the Rat, brings double happiness,
Loves jewelry, the beach
and has a bit of her mom (the snake).
– Cynthia

Lucy, on the other hand, named her box “Wheels” and suspended a toy car from the middle ( and she’d not even heard of Cai Guo-Qiang’s current exhibit at the Guggenheim!)

Wheels
Moveable, fast engine.
Love them.
Fast rotation, tricks.
– Lucy

Jackson, a seventh grader, created a vertical pin-ball machine, posing an almost Zen-like koan with his title, “Where Will It Fall?”

Where Will It Fall?
"This box is about life and you never know what you're going to get."
Jackson

Danielle created a box as a gift to her older sister, due home soon from college. She’d constructed a bedroom complete with the icons of her sister’s sorority. On one wall stood a pedestal with a framed picture of the two sisters, while at the far end, Danielle sought to surprise her with a sand tray garden.

Hearing each story was like the unwrapping of a gift. That is what was truly revealed last the night, the gift of each participant’s uniqueness, each one’s special vision. What is so remarkable to me while our visions change all the time, these were caught in the moment and shared by all privileged to be together.

Visit www.artforselfdiscovery.com for more photos and descriptions.

Issue #5 - Infrastructure 101

2008-05-01T16:32:00.000-07:00

This is about being physically active. Numerous studies have made it clear move the body, stimulate the brain. Who doesn’t need that?

After New Year’s Day I too make promises to eat more wisely, exercise regularly and make healthier choices for myself but for 2008, acting on these resolutions was to prove more pivotal. This past year my world shifted as I lost a parent and a dear friend and mentor who moved to the west coast. What followed was a need to reflect on just how I would take their support and internalize it. For some reason this included a hard look at the most difficult of my life choices, starting my day.

I don’t know how many, like myself, struggle with morning routines. Even back when I had a “regular” job, not the free-lance work I do today, I played a version of “Let’s Make a Deal!” to get myself up and going. “Okay, you can watch the news for 15 minutes, or do three crossword puzzle entries, then into the shower.”

Maybe it was the result of a serious childhood illness but I’ve never perceived myself as physically hardy. I must have been the only girl to get detention in ninth grade gym because I couldn’t do a back bend. Whatever the reasons, exercise has never come easily but I do finally understand how much it is tied to activating the mind. As a maturing adult, I can finally get my head around “where the buck ends” and tell the difference between making a choice and that default position of doing nothing

So I went to the professionals for advice and motivation. I started with Twyla Tharpe’s book, “The Creative Habit” but while her 5 am gym routine was inspiring, let’s face it, she’s not your average person and she already has a rather large advantage, her business is being physical.

Here’s what I found that works for me:

from Brian Tracey,
training & development
author and speaker —

Eat the frog, a time management principal.

One of the biggest benefits of moving to the city has been that I’m forced to walk more. In addition, I’ve been trying to include a long walk at least 3 times week in the morning but all too often I find myself postponing it until later and then of course it never happens. Now I do it first.

from Tony Robinson, self-help and career author and speaker —

Make the hard things you have to do as much of a 10 as possible.

I walk around the Central Park reservoir. Not only do I love being near the water but also the bird life here is active even in the winter.

Really Looking

• Now I’ve taken to noting how the population changes all year round (cormorants, buffleheads) and how they congregate, sometimes looking like a flotilla waiting for action or standing at military attention on the ice.

• It is also an open area and gives me the sky to watch changing cloud formations, the light on the water and the giant silver “birds” as they cross overhead. I still get a thrill that humans can fly.

Really Listening

• I asked for an IPod Shuffler for Christmas. My son filled it with tunes he knew I’d like and some surprises. He’s going to keep creating new mixes for me, and along with what I add myself, keep it fresh and lively.

• No big surprise but the rhythm of the music helps me keep up the pace.

from Prevention Magazine —

Wake yourself up.

• Post a colorful visual near your bed to focus on.
• Re-moisturize when you rise. Drink a glass of water.
• Massage your face.
• Use natural light. Leave the shades up.
• (my addition) Do some floor stretches. Supported by the ground it’s easier for me to start moving my body in preparation for the walk.

from yours truly —

Make it your own.

I recently added swimming to my exercise choices and joined the local high school pool but I was having a hard time adjusting to their set up. The lap pool was only 3 feet deep and six lanes, which meant I almost always had to share a lane. Although I love the water I’m not a particularly strong swimmer and being passed by 80 years olds was demoralizing.

• I decided to use the smaller 10-foot pool. Without lanes and with the increased depth I felt I had more room for my body and better yet, nobody was in it!

• I varied my activity. I divided my thirty minutes between swimming and jogging. Not as hard to sustain.

• Now I Iooked forward to coming. I don’t feel like I have to “keep up.”

from Janice Hoffman, Success Is Sweetest, life coach —

Play of the day for 21 days.

What does this have to do with creativity? Everything. In order to sustain creativity there has to be energy, vitality. That means having systems that work for us, not endlessly draining ourselves in an attempt to take care of life’s drudgery.

I’ve heard brain studies indicate it takes 21 times for a new behavior to become ingrained. That sounds optimistic but I’ve been at it a month and so far it’s working. I think the real challenge will be to continue to keep it interesting. Creativity is the tool of most value here. Variations on the routine, like taking a different path home from the reservoir and changing the music will keep this more of a process and a living entity. Tell me your story!

Issue #4 - Islands in the Stream: Reflections on Loss and Recovery

2008-04-01T16:22:00.000-07:00

My grandson. My touch stone.

You will find my article this month much less a "how to" and more of a "why to." While writing this essay my father of 80 became ill and and passed away by the beginning of the summer. The subject of process seems all the more apropos during this life marking event and a fitting testament to my Dad who used music and words to express himself throughout his lifetime.

Islands in the Stream:

Reflections on Loss and Recovery

One of the high points of my week is getting to the Sunday crossword in the New York Times Magazine. I also always take a look at the end page, which is called, simply, "Lives."

These personal vignettes allow me to meet such interesting people and hear stories I might otherwise miss.

One such essay was "The Shore Dimly Seen" by author and scholar, Tom Chaffin. It really struck a chord.

He describes his recovery following the removal of a benign tumor which left him with temporary expressive aphasia. While his thinking remained clear he could not find the words to make his cogent thoughts known.

During a speech therapy session one day he made a discovery that gave him solace during this frustating period. He found he was able to recall phrases from poems and lyrics long ago committed to memory.

"I can't help thinking of those words and images of my interior life as essential landmarks in finding my way back to the outside world."
— Chaffin

What excited me the most about this description was the concrete example it presented of the potential for healing we carry inside ourselves. (You may know where I'm going with this!)

An Unexpected Resource

From the moment we are born we are gathering material through our senses, visual, auditory, olfactory, vocabulary, if you will. I marvel at the frequency with which a dream can take something from a current movie, interweave it with real events or mythic chatacters right out of fairy tales common all across the world. (Such figures are known in Jungian psychology as archetypes.)

When we meet obstacles in our lives, whether due to illness, mishap or just day to day frustrations, we lose our way. This inner library can provide the "touch stones," the anchors through which we can reach calmer waters.

In my workshops I teach a way of painting that is focused on process and not the end result. In this way we may relax with whatever level is brought to paper. Proficiency in draftsmanship is not the point, being playful is. But perhaps the true gift is to be found is in the ability one gains in facilitating a visual conversation with oneself, now that access to the library is open.

I paint in my journal daily but that is mostly a way of keeping my "imagination" muscles in shape, like doing exercises at the gym. The pages I do then provide anything from meditation to pure play.

However, it is the times when I find myself at a loss to find a way through a situation, whether at work or personally that are most akin to Caffin's aphasic frustrations.

When logic does not serve me and words, written or conversational, fail that is when I turn to the image journal. I allow the brush to wander and in the wandering stumble on forgotten "lyrics" and visual poetry. They may not make sense in the moment but give me something to hold on to, a place to be and the wonder is, I am strangely comforted and renewed.

The answers I am seeking may not surface until the next day nor are they always spelled out in black and white. It may be that the mind is clearer or my energy is back. Usually it is because I am no longer pressing so hard or there has been a return of faith that they actually do exist(!) which now allows them to present themselves to me.

Sometimes, I only know that something somewhere has shifted and I am on solid ground again.

"Those lines that came back to me...provided a geography of hope, like some distant but clearly visible shoreline." — Chaffin

I invite you to share your own reflections, experience and feedback on any of the subject matter discussed in my articles.

Issue #3 - Creating Temenos

2008-03-01T15:53:00.000-08:00

"Temenos" is the Greek idea of sacred space, that is, a magic circle in which special rules apply and within which extraordinary events are free to occur.

When first I came across this concept, the connections were inescapable. The paper is the sacred space! Here there are "no mistakes" and harsh judgments may be suspended. These kind of "rules" allow sponateous play and give us a place where we can just be.

1. Choose A Better Space

Where we do creative play needs to be free from the eyes and interruptions of others. Even family and friends who care about us may offer well-meaning comments that do not support the level of exploration we are seeking. Solitude and quiet are rare gifts to the process of self-discovery. Screen off a corner or convert a closet. The space can be created in time by working when no one is at home or before anyone is up.

2. Create A Routine

Schedule a time you will visit this space regularly. Make it a second home. In the last issue of "Brush Strokes" we discussed the value of adding ritual to routine, lighting a candle or saying a mantra. Creativity, like any discipline, must be practiced. These is no such thing as waiting for inspiration but you can prepare the ground and invite it in.

3. Quiet the Mind

The mind is on an endless mission of errands. To-do lists fill our days with the minutia of life. Pick up the dry cleaning. Get the kids to school. Call so and so. Buddhists call it the "monkey mind" that chatters on and on. Creativity needs space inside as well as out. Here's a way to clear the clutter...

4. Just Breathe

Sitting upright in a chair, begin your studio time with a few cleansing breaths. Close your eyes and take a deep breath, in through the nose reaching down from a relaxed belly. Let it out through the mouth, slow and measured. Do this at least three times. Follow with normal breathing, keeping eyes closed and your mind blank. If thoughts intrude bring your concentration back by counting breaths.

5. Limber Up

Now that you have created some inner space begin with something that allows you to stay loose and unfettered by expectation.Whether your studio time is designated for spontaneous exploration or projects that need results, warming up this way provides support necessary for innovation to occur. While musicians practice scales and dancers work out at the bar, improvisation needs regular exercise as well.

6. Meander

A painting journal is a great warm-up tool. It is in each tiny spontaneous mark that we nurture flexibility and risk-taking. Use an art tool that flows, marker, felt tip pen or better still a brush and ready-to-use paint cakes. Let your brush wander around the paper as if on a mysterious journey. Create imaginary paths, pools and islands without the demands of making anything realistic. Don't "make" anything - just allow for whimsey and flow and even...fun!

Issue #2 - Tips from Twila

2008-02-01T11:26:00.000-08:00

"The Creative Habit"
by choreographer, Twyla Tharp

• First Steps Are Hard
• Minimize Distractions
• Ideas Are Everywhere
• Organization Matters

It wasn't just the bluntly cropped hair that set Twyla Tharp apart nor her compact torso. What made her stand out was her intensity and her new vision for dance form.

Back in 1976 Twyla Tharp's new ballet, "Push Comes to Shove," woke up the audience. Even the title made you stretch your imagination. Add the talent of Baryshnikov, another performer breaking ground and you had something fresh and exciting!

In her latest book, "The Creative Habit: Learn it and Use It For Life" Tharp remains every bit intense. The book is crammed with anecedotes, exercises and wisdom. While I think the book could have benefitted from furthur editing there is lots of food for thought. Here are a few of my favorites ideas.

1. First Steps Are Hard

Tharp's remedy is to build ritual into your life. She gets up every day at 5:30 am, dons her sweats and heads to the gym for a two-hour workout. The ritual? Hailing the cab!

While 5:30 may not light your fire, it might be that first cup of coffee that gets you to the to the keyboard. Perhaps it is the time you take to lay out your paints or the candle you light to begin a yoga routine. Whatever you construct, daily habits keep us from:

Getting distracted.
Procrastinating.
Giving up.
Having to start from scratch.

2. Minimize Distractions

Many people use music or the radio as background or companionship while they work, but how much does it compromise our awareness? Might we miss the song of a bird, the howl of the wind or some other natural phenomena or idea that wells up on its own? Music can energize but it can also take us off track by swaying our emotions.

Think of some of your distractions and try to eliminate or cut them back for a week, It will strengthen your independence because it forces you to rely on your own ability. Twyla's list:

Mirrors.
Clocks.
Newspapers.
Speaking.

3. Ideas Are Everywhere

Twyla calls it "scratching." The worse thing you can do when you get caught between ideas and feel blocked is wait for inspiration to tap you on the shoulder. Scratching can be:

Taking a walk.
Going to a museum.
Gazing out the window.
Changing mediums.
Doodling. (That's my contribution!)

4. Organization Matters

I tend to work on several projects at once. I've always used file folders but tend to leave too many out because I think "out of sight, out of mind!" The end result? Every surface is covered.

Thanks to Twyla I have switched to boxes for my projects. Now I can:

Keep articles, photos, index cards, CD's together.
Lay out all the contents or...
Dig for one specific item.
Use a box that's not too big ( letter size).
Pack it all up at the end of the day.

My file folders are now just a resource for the project boxes. Organization matters. Find your style. Make sure it has enough space for you.

In perhaps Tharp fashion, I scratched my way through her book to find the goodies, not always in order nor under every heading. Approach it this way and you won't be intimidated by the density of the material or her zeal!

Issue #1 - Creative Blocks

2008-01-01T10:17:00.000-08:00

Creativity requires us to journey into the unknown but it’s not a place we find particularly comfortable. Our “thinking” brain resists the uncertainty in all kinds of ways. We go blank. We feel empty. These blocks take us out of the creative flow and often just when we are on the brink of a breakthrough!

7 WAYS TO UNBLOCK

1. Curiosity
Blocks come in all shapes and “guises.” A common response is to clutch or panic. The more we fight against them the tighter their hold.

What if we approach them with curiosity instead of rigidity?
What if we don’t take them on face value?
Then it becomes possible to create a doorway through the block.
The “I wonder why…” response instead of the “Oh, No!” is to leave crisis mode and enter into contemplation. We now have options.

2. Body Language
Sometimes we don’t realize we are tensing a shoulder or have an ache in the neck.

THE HEAD TILT - Take one hand and place it over your ear, and gently move your head over to the opposite shoulder. Stretch both sides 7-10 times, and feel the muscles melt into a more relaxed mode.

Stand with arms loose at your sides.
Slowly scan your body from head to toe.
Locate the sensation. Where blockage exists in the body flow can’t happen.
Take a few moments. Stretch. Breathe. And then…

3. Find an Image
Whether the block is a sensation in your body or a strong emotional feeling, it helps to find an image.

For example, a burning sensation might suggest a fire, a volcano, a glass of orange juice!
In the painting process we paint it. The image or symbol is the “container” into which we put the ache or the pain.
With practice, just holding the image in your mind can have the same affect.

4. Imagination
Why stop there? The more specific we can make the image the more playful it becomes and the looser the block’s grip.

Take the image another step.
What are the visual details?
Where is it?
If it could talk, what would it say?
What would you say back?!

5. Slow Down
Whether we are painting, writing or moving through space, exaggerated slowness can:

Give us time to notice what we might otherwise race by.
Strengthen our connection and deepen the focus.
Create what in painting I call the “wobble” effect. The slight shakiness loosens control causing the paintbrush to squiggle a more expressive line.
Ask “What could it be?”

by Laura Higgins Palmer - The Line of Motion

6. Go Faster
This, too, is about loss of control but now we are trying to go faster than our brain can analyze what we are doing.

The left brain wants to label and categorize.
Worst of all it wants to censor out what it doesn’t like.
Rushing causes surprises to happen.
If we speed things along, the paintbrush slips into a new shape, an idea pops up.

7. Say a Mantra
In moments of doubt we can “talk” ourselves through by repeating a phrase of support.

Like affirmations, speaking positively out loud can interrupt old inner dialogues.
Make it playful.
A student of mine combines word with motion. He takes a deep breath, shrugs his shoulders and chants “Whatever!” before plunging back in.

In Endless Variety
The tip that works one moment may not another. What does work is to keep the mind guessing so it doesn’t know what to expect. Find playful ways to break through automatic responses. This helps us to stay the course into that unknown place, rich with possibility. To be continued...