Experimentation is about taking risks. Pursuing a train of thought and organising the steps to get there gives you a better chance of success, even allowing for some ‘failures’ along the way. My blueprint for success is to plan, execute then let go of any expectations. It ‘s how I can adapt and improvise when at an artist residency.
Reconnaissance is a way to ‘hit the ground running’ when you are about to embark on an artist residency. I’ve been taking preliminary photos of the Moonah trees at Point Nepean National Park to see what the pictures suggest. This has led me to consider gridding up an image of the trees dancing together which I can then draw and print over as cyanotypes.
When is it time to wave your own white flag, to surrender to circumstances beyond your control? I’ve been sick all week which has meant a surrendering of sorts, learning from the lessons of letting go and prioritising what is essential. It had me thinking about red flags and white. When and what to fight for and/or when to surrender.
Hanging onto ideas of how to draw can keep you in a strait jacket. It’s often the way we are judged as a child; if you can draw then you’ll make a good artist. If not, forget it. Leaning to scribble and muck around is a constant challenge. That’s where a drawing group can help you dare to draw. This has a flow on effect in your ability to embrace imperfection.
How do you archive your creative oeuvre? I’ve been writing weekly blogposts since 2019 and have decided to create a series of books for each of the last 6 years. It seemed like a really daunting task but once I got started the momentum kicked in. It’s about making a start and committing to the project.
Long held beliefs about your own problem solving abilities can hold you back from experimenting and moving forward. I’ve discovered that instead of meeting the problem ‘head on’, it’s easier to go around the edges of things, whittling away until a solution presents itself. Like cutting with scissors to create silhouette shapes for collage.
I’ve been calming my turbulent thoughts with colour experiments to create a series of paste papers. The colours reminded me of the earth, of the bark of trees and how trees form communities the same as humans do. All hues, shapes and colours depending on where we grow, how we put down our roots, how we are all connected by the blessing of this earth.
Art activism is my way of maintaining optimism in the face of adversity. So many calamities are happening in the world I often feel overwhelmed and powerless. That’s where small grass roots projects like The Postcard Project – Finding Hope’ is a way I can add my artistic voice to keep hope alive.
Art has a way of revealing larger truths. I’ve been using a technique of conceal and reveal on some new artworks which has led me to think about how this reflects the state of world matters; political, environmental and humanitarian. I’ve become an excavator, discovering what stands out amongst the busy-ness of visual stimulation.
Where to begin and how will your creative story progress? I’ve found it easier to start new artworks from the ‘seed activators’ of works you have already made and liked. It’s similar to following a story structure, the ‘once upon a time’ that ushers in a magical engagement with the imagination.
Artist books sit outside conventional artwork definitions. They can be 3D or 2D artworks, they can have a traditional book structure or look like a strange sculpture made from a variety of materials including melting ice. One thing they have in common is that they are acts of resistance.
How do you birth the future you want to see? For me it started with painting goats. Not any old goats, but my British Alpine goats we had in Victoria. They were my ticket to change my world from where I was then to where I am now. Becoming an architect of your world starts with a vision and builds from there.
What to do when you are feeling overwhelmed? When your art (and life) are feeling stalled by the chaos of the world and you can’t find your way into creating joyfully. It’s times like this that I reach into my store of visual memories, like the image of bunting strung between the houses in a Mexican village. Colour and movement can provide the spark to keep hope alive.
Beginning a new project can feel daunting. Where to start? For me it’s what I call creative chaos time, where ideas tumble around until I can find a single thread to follow. It’s a time of experimentation, trying out materials and methods until the project begins to fall into some kind of cohesive state.
When you are part of a movement for social change it feels like you are in a large family tribe, all working towards a common goal. Art can be a powerful way to open people’s hearts and expand their thinking. Tribes grow as entities while growing their members. Art + activism = change.
I often get stuck when I’m trying to title my artworks. Sometimes you have to wait for the title to present itself, with often surprising results. Marking Time is a mini artist book which needed to take its own time to reveal its title and what it really is about.
How do we respond to accelerated change?. Everywhere we look the world is in a state of flux. This can bring on great anxiety or it can be seen as a time for new possibilities to emerge. As artists we can search for the seeds of renewal within the chaos all around. What we think is fixed and immobile is often only one state of being. Even the stones on mountains and the trees themselves move.
Creating art can be a tumultuous activity. Often things don’t turn out the way you hoped, or you can get stuck on an idea that doesn’t work. What to do to whether those rough creative seas? Collage is my go-to activity when ‘in-between’ projects.
Perseverance is not necessarily a quality you would think you need when it comes to being creative. Yet finding little creative ‘hacks’ can help keep your enthusiasm buoyant and your art alive through all the messy ups and downs of the creative process.
What does it take to change public opinion? To change a government policy and advocate for protection rather than destruction. Drawing a visual representation of the hearts, hands and bodies of passionate advocates for change helps keep my hope alive. I take heart from the 1970s protest movements to stop the whaling industry. Whale watching rather than killing, forest bathing rather than old growth forest clear-felling. Change is possible.
