As the world outside my window goes round in circles of chaos, I have been creating circles of connection, a theme which I have taken into my larger works including making a huge world of paper last week in the Imagine Peace Activation.
Activations
Creating a new peaceful world through a community Imagine Peace event becomes a small activation which can contribute to empowering ordinary people to take action. It lifts us up, gives us hope and helps dispel the miasma of overwhelm and hopelessness we can sometimes feel in the face of world catastrophe.
You may say I'm a dreamer...
Big ideas that start with a “what if?” What if we could build a lighthouse that streams the impulse of peace into the world for all to see. What would this look like? Yoko Ono and John Lennon imagined this into reality. They inspired me to bring the spirit of this Imagine Peace to Murwillumbah on Friday 9th October at 6pn ADST in conjunction with my exhibition Fire & Ice about Iceland. This event coincides with the annual lighting of the Imagine Peace Tower on Videy Island, near Reykjavik to commemorate John Lennon’s birthday.
Installing
The publicity is out, the gallery is empty and the exhibition is ready to hang - a wonderful opportunity to show off all your hard work for others to view, appreciate and maybe (hopefully) buy for their own houses. Here’s some of the things to pack…
Resolution vs Revolution
When you make art with a strong message – about issues of injustice or climate change or social breakdown, how do combine the message with aesthetic beauty, without diluting the content? Art can bring revolution and resolution…
Inspirational Exhibitions
What lies beyond the frame of a photograph or painting? Visual artists are also storytellers, they reveal and conceal, hinting at the back story, the why of their creations. As artists it is our job to dig deep within ourselves to find out our why, as this leads us also on the path to self discovery.
Rejection = Redirection
Rejections equals redirection. If you have a Plan Bs this softens the blow. Plan Bs lead you into unchartered waters but they are worth the risk and challenge you to grow.
The reward of patience is…..
How a collection of rocks became a 5 year arts project and a painter found her way to write her family’s immigrant story by exploring the rock, Granite. Sometimes stories and artworks need a long time to ferment before they are ready to emerge into the world.
Inspiration to Exhibition
Even the humble apple can inspire a series of artworks that can then be formatted and exhibited. A bite into a red apple takes you back to your childhood, and suddenly the prints become folded artist books with stories that are ready for exhibition.
Are you ready for success?
When opportunity comes, will you be ready? I never thought that I was good enough to apply for a major international exhibition. I thought I would fail, but then I thought - what if I am successful? Success takes courage and planning.
Stories, storylines and storytelling
The idea that we all can participate in the giving and receiving of stories via cultural rituals, community theatre, festivals and other events, is integral to many cultures. Art is a form of citizenship, to be celebrated and valued through the telling of stories.
Take Heart
As artists and creatives, it is very easy to get dis-couraged.. We need courage to tackle the big (and small) issues which face us daily and the heart to keep going despite the obstacles we encounter.
Room to grow
Creative activation take courage. You need to be able to recognise when it is time expand your horizons. Like repotting a plant. It’s an energetic thing.
The Marigold Antidote
The Marigold Antidote, it’s medicine for the soul when it feels weary and is suffering from general malaise. Finding joy in the day is the active ingredient. Like marigolds in flower, that sunny splash or orange inspires painting and writing. Creative antidotes to pandemic days.
When flowers pick themselves...
Flowers are a big part of my life. Picking them connects me to my matrilineal lineage. There is a story in all my favourite activities. Such creative play like doodling helps unlock the stories buried deep within and form part of a series of powerful exercises I use in my online creativity courses.
Procrastination or Productivity
Procrastination or productivity, who said we can’t have both. Procrastination can lead to unhappiness, unease and finally to change. We put off what we don’t want to tackle until we roll up our sleeves and begin. And then the magic starts to happen. We become more productive and happier.
Tried and Tested
Whether it’s poetry, painting or cooking, the arts need to be cultivated and nourished. One hundred years ago, household guru, Mrs Beeton believed that putting structure in the week would build good household habits. I believe the same can be applied to creativity and building a creative habit.
Seeking my soul purpose
We are all here on planet earth, right now, for a purpose. Today is the solstice and I would have been in Iceland for it. The solstice is a time of powerful cosmological energy and I would have been joining a thousand women listening to my Icelandic coach Sigrun and a panel of international speakers talking about empowering women to rise up and build a business from their soul’s passion.
Keeping Accountable
What can you do to reignite your inspiration? Being accountable to yourself will help pull you through those inevitable flat times when you are uninspired. Showing up to your creative practice, no matter what, is the main thing.
Bearing Witness
This week has been extraordinary in a year of other extraordinary events. As I map myself into events both personal and political, I learn about the everyday occurrences of the endemic and systematic racism which pervades our society at all levels.