“I want to stay as close to
the edge as I can without going over.
Out on the edge you see all kinds of things you can’t see from the
center.” Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
This was a great week. A lot more time, thought, and effort went
into the painting, and it was satisfying.
Week four was dedicated to
bravery. When faced with fear you have a
choice of running away or facing it dead on.
Facing fear is a chance for growth in real life and in art. Walk forward into the mystery of the
unknown. When you open yourself to the
unknown, you open yourself up to all possibilities. This, according to the instructor, is where
the magic happens.
When faced with uncertainly
and frustration, this is an opportunity to try something new. The artist, at this point, has nothing to
lose. Why not do something wild,
unpredictable, and totally out of your comfort zone. Lean into your vulnerability, be brave and
step out of your own way. As the
instructor says, “it’s quite possible that a great breakthrough is waiting patiently
for you just beyond your fear”.
Definitely I was at a point where
I thought that my piece was a disaster and I was ready to give up. I was working on the face and couldn’t seem
to get it to work out. After a few hours
on the face I finally moved onto something else when frustration overtook
me. This seemed to work as I was able to
see it with new eyes when I went to attack it for the second time, and it just
seemed to work.
When beginning to work this
week, the instructor suggested spiraling out to see what was working and “work
with what is working”. It could be one
specific area of the canvas, color combinations, or using your fingers to
paint, or stamping, etc. For example if
you like the stripes that you created on your canvas, make more stripes, if you
like blue, use more blue. You can add
in new elements and let go of others. Expanding
upon what is working will help to keep the momentum and help you avoid getting
stuck.
If
you don’t believe anything is working then it’s time to add new colors, create
new outlines, create new marks, simplify areas, etc.
This is the 'before' picture. As you can see by comparing this picture to the picture up top, I did keep some things, simplified areas, and added new images.
And I was with you in
weakness and in fear and much trembling.
1 Corinthians 2:30
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