An overview of my approach to teaching artistic skills – with the hope of imparting the thrill I enjoy while creating. Creating is a form of mediation that centers and calms me. I hope to share that.
Because my highest enjoyment is on the process versus the outcome, I do what I can to help keep students from judging their progress too harshly along the way, and simply learn to love creating. Then the outcome is not the goal.
Due to similar questions to this; "Do you think I will make significant progress in a week?"
I thought it might be helpful to note my ideas on creating, and developing artistic skills.
I think all people are capable of learning creative endeavors. Even “non-artistic” people with no practice creating anything, might surprise themselves with what they can create when in a supportive situation.
As with any skill, though you may find quick tips and lots of teaching demos on-line, true mastery takes time and practice, and sometimes 10-20 years of working at something to get really good at it – which can seem daunting in the beginning.
Instead of aiming strictly for a goal, of being great at it, begin creating as a practice. I try to find ways to engage students in the direction they are interested in going, as that helps them be willing to put time and effort in to doing art and continue to evolve in their abilities and skills. From there they can branch out and more comfortably experiment and expand their knowledge and expertise. Art students get better at their skills naturally, by doing it.
Everyone’s expectation of what their own artwork ought to look like is very different, and what looks like progress to a teacher’s keen eye, may not match a students desire to make “good” art based on what they have in mind to master, (typically in very little time.)
Some people are naturally experimental and at ease trying new things and they remain in a relaxed state of mind and others get really rigid and clam up as soon as they start, or imagine beginning. I try to help address whatever can be shifted to produce more enjoyment or fearless creating.
My approach and aim is to find out a students desires, talent, skill level so I know where we are beginning, and what sort of projects and direction might be most appreciated and helpful. Then I aim to simply get a student creating, learning, experimenting and enjoying it.
People who find joy in creating, will practice on their own without prodding. And those who practice an art or skill, naturally improve through trial and error, and continuing even when disappointed. I am available to help guide through any aspect that arises in the process. I welcome inquiries and comments on particular struggles or when a student encounters a feeling of being stumped or stuck on what to do next, battling the desire to quit, or ruin what they are creating... or how to overcome not accomplishing a desired look or feel to a piece of artwork.
When requested, I can offer suggestions for possible areas to adjust, and how to work on it. Yet most of growing into a masterful creator is learning how to love and accept your whole self. And sometimes an adjustment to posture or the mind... is all that is needed to restart a creative flow.
Here is a list of some aspects of creating that help an artist create freely. Feel free to add your own known aspects to this list:
FIND OUT what is possible. Discover Art materials and how to use them well, as they are intended, as well as inventing your own creative uses. Try many different techniques in order to learn what is enjoyable so you have many ways of creating you can tap into at any time. This helps a student make practical decisions about which materials to use to efficiently design and produce particular projects they imagine or want to try, copy or mimic. Even if your main goal is to be inventive and unique in style, content or message; we learn a lot by copying other art (whether we like the image or not).
Breath is important and especially while learning a new challenge. People often collapse or contract their breathing while concentrating. Breathe more and deeper any time you can remind yourself. And pause the process as needed, in order to reset and restore posture to comfort as well as to support full lung expansion. Breating can also help release anxiety, or worry of not doing something well enough. Any attempt in creating is good enough as is. (Breathe).
Before starting an intense concentrated focus on drawing, taking a few moments to breathe deep and shake out arms to release tension before, and often during a drawing session can help release expectations, or fear of failure – in order to be optimally curious and willing to discover. A few minutes of meditation help as well. These are good things to remember to do at least every hour, if not more often or as needed.
Begin a creative endeavor with deep breathing, a short meditation, and a moment of being conscious of your initial intention. You might want to even write it down. Marking a conscious intention can help align energies and shape what you do, and offers a good foundation to return to if your mind or inclinations wander off track. You are also welcome to switch gears and follow a new direction and create something else unexpected... yet it is also good to notice and make conscious decisions about the shifts, as you may want to go back and revisit your initial intention.
Go inward and discover what matters to you that you would like to communicate within a piece of art. When an artist knows clearly what is important, it helps fuel the energy needed to created a powerful image.
Learn how to be gentle on yourself, and not let the inner critic get the better of you. Inner critics are tenacious and persistent, and have a tendency to degrade the energy it takes to create by hurling insulting commentary and unpleasant internal messages. Apparently it is not helpful to battle an inner critic. (they are accustomed to being insensitive bullies, and we are more likely to allow them to shut us down.) Instead, I suggest students offer their inner critic a passenger seat behind them if an inner critic hangs around and wants to go along for the ride, yet best to not grant an inner critic the driver’s seat - that is your seat! It helps to respond to your inner critics comments with no attachment nor charge. Try saying; “Thanks for sharing, now you sit over here.” (Offering your inner critic a side or back seat, yet removing it from your seat.) Say to it, “You are free to watch, yet not welcome to interrupt nor distract while I am working.”
Mostly what helps me create well is getting out of my head and into my body. Letting my hand find its way versus trying too hard to keep my mind in control of what my hand movements are. Often the body wisdom is deeper and more accessible. Trust it. Learn to trust it.
Though pain can often lead people to create, I think that the path of lease resistance is less troublesome, and helps people create more often then true suffering might arise. Though creating can really pull people through hard times, find better more inspiring reasons to create than saving creating as medicine, for when you are in pain, troubled, or struggling to find meaning.
Creating art requires getting out of your own way, and just diving in and doing it. Each student must discover how to best to this.
What is not helpful is passing judgment too soon, or along the way before something is complete as that can invite a flood of mental assessment from the left side of the brain or mind, that can reduce the energy required to finish projects.
Take a break and walk or breathe any time – as needed. Better to note what impresses you about what you have created, “ I love the colors”, “I like the movement in the paint strokes”, and what you want to improve, “I want the tree to stand out more”. Check the feeling or mood it communicates and decide to adjust it or not, “her expression needs to be more contemplative, not just sad”.
Learning and practicing body coordination. It is helpful when creating art, if one has finely tuned motor skills and good manual dexterity. Coordination. Think of other activities as being supportive practices to acquiring art coordination and do them as well. Any movement practice, be it Yoga, Ballet, Aikido, Tennis, Ping-Pong, Dancing, Tai Chi, Chi Gong, Playing musical instruments, mountain bike riding, etc, is helping teach the body, how to attune and follow directions from the what we see, in mind or imagination, from brain to body.
Establishing the willingness to practice, regardless of the results, helps. In other words, having your willingness to practice be independent of turning out desired results. Practicing even when we do not like the results makes it a practice not dependent on the results. Love the process.
Being decisive helps. Make a choice and move forward. It does not need to be the right choice. There are many moments to re-correct, or adjust an image to what makes better sense to your eye.
Just as riding a bike, in the beginning the corrections and over corrections may be quite apparent, and yet once someone gets a good feel for how to steer, they no longer see every minute adjustment in direction as a mistake to lament about. They simply naturally correct, and move on. Practice that while creating.
Lightly shrug and think, “Good news, bad news, who knows?” and get back to the process, which is like getting back on the bike and coasting for a bit until a clear direction presents itself.
Learning how to take good calculated risks in drawing, molding, blending, sketching, and inventing an image takes some trial and error to develop.
Confidence helps artists be decisive. Confidence comes over time as experienced is acquired. Yet, sometimes, accepting all marks and all images as practice does take off some pressure the hope to do things magically perfect from the get go. You do not need to produce masterpieces to be an artist or create something wonderful.
Tending to anything that helps it be fun, such as playing music you like, helps you look forward to practicing, experimenting, and trying things.
To support the tasks and practice challenges, I recommend students acquire a book as reference to opening the mind to seeing and and developing hand-eye coordination of drawing what is seen, as this skill helps build confidence and abilities that allow an artist to do many other aspects well. The book is titled, "Drawing On The Right Side of the Brain" Betty Edwards first published this book in 1979, when I was in junior college, taking my first serious drawing, and design classes. I found it incredibly helpful, as have many people since then. It has been revised a bunch of times, once in 1989, and again in 1999, and a fourth addition came out in 2012. An older used version is fine. It may be possible to get a used addition on amazon or e-bay, or in a used bookstore. It is generally a cherished book by all who have used it.
https://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Right-Side-Brain-Definitive/dp/ 1585429201
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show
/ 627206.The_New_Drawing_on_the_Right_Side_of_the_Brain
These days, many people seek quick solutions and "hacks" to many challenges. People unaccustomed to drawing and painting may think there are tricks to get good at drawing or painting, faster than practicing themselves.
Other than weeks, months and years of practice, I doubt there are any significant short cuts even in quick tutorials on-line. I think it is fine to learn as much as you can where ever you find demos, as every aspect you learn of another’s skill and ability will help you develop your own. Yet, with any discipline, making time to practice leads to learning what works, what helps, and what hinders or impedes the satisfactory completion of any project.
Science and technological oriented people are often the ones who benefit the most from practicing art skills, because it is far more foreign to them, and it kicks a certain area of the brain’s function into gear in a way it may have not have previously engaged, in ways that will help many other areas of life.
However, if they are truly new to Art, is hard for them to grasp what creating is and how to improve, and they often want to hack the process and get there faster than anyone else. They rarely understand developing skills as an artist takes time to learn how to acutely observe, scrutinize, identify what they are looking at, and then how to develop “hand eye coordination” - which is attuning your hand movements to make marks as your eye sees them… as well as developing acute mind to hand skills… in order to create as your mind imagines the expression of the image which may be far from what it looks like in real life to your eye.
Another aspect of my orientation to Art, and Painting, is this perspective: (aside from my developing my skills and abilities, and confidence), my best work is some how associated with divine intervention … and often appears to be helped along by my allowing an energy to flow through me, that does not feel like the art came from me; an implication that the art is not of me, it passes through me from source to the page, all I do is open, receive it and let it manfiest.
More on this concept is clearly identified in Elizabeth Gilbert's
https://www.ted.com/talks/elizabeth_gilbert_on_genius
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86x-u-tz0MA
https://www.ted.com/talks/elizabeth_gilbert_success_failure_and_the_drive_to_keep_creating
The skills to complete art help people create art, but the message or style content, or inclination to create, may originate from elsewhere or from thecosmic soup of another dimension we may not know much about, that is infinitely available to us, for the asking, for the allowing.
You could call that energy the all knowing… or God, or a divine energy that resides in us all. And, you can request source to assist your work when you are creating simply by focusing in your mind, or speaking it out loud.
