Accidental Art
This morning, I took Oakley out for a walk in the neighbourhood where I grew up, here in Calgary. Immediately, I felt relaxed and at home when walking down the street…. One would assume those feelings would return after being back in the same environment where I have so many happy childhood memories…. But what stood out the most to me when I really thought about it was the “quiet”. My parents live in a cul-de-sac, tucked away in an older, well developed neighborhood close to a beautiful large provincial park. Whereas, I live with my little family- inner city, in a neighborhood that has been under construction since we moved here, 10 years ago. We are also next to some major roads and very busy streets. I recognized this same feeling of quiet and filtering out the noise when I paint. My artist “why”, or at least, part of it… I suppose that is the reason I started writing words, such as “quiet”, on my art poetry paintings. Sometime we need to slow down and really listen and turn off and tune out the noise in our busy world. I need reminders to do certain things and I use words on my art as these visual reminders….
I find it hard to quiet my mind and body, unless I am engaged in honest creativity and painting… by honest, I mean, painting for myself for the process and joy of it, and not for any other reason.
When we can truly let go and find freedom and quiet in our process, we can tap into some pretty incredible discoveries. When I am able to paint this way, I stumble on “happy accidents” such as these gorgeous botanical collage pieces in the photos above. If I tried to replicate the art and actions that I considered successful- it doesn’t happen. It isn’t honest and the universe reminds me of this. That is a big reason (well, one of the many reasons) that I don’t do commissions. That would be a good chat for another blog….
Wherever you are and whatever you are creating, I wish for you to create for yourself, and find your own sense of “quiet” and let go in a way that can lead to those happy accidents…. the rewards are incredible.
I carved out some time to play today with my gelli plate and some flowers that were overdue. Intitially, I was trying to replicate a process that I had discovered a few seasons ago… But after some frustration and more “letting go”, I starting stamping the flowers onto my gelli plate as an ink pad of sorts. All of a sudden, the botanical prints of my dreams came to life, and I can’t wait to share some of my future collage work shortly…. Having zero expectations of myself as an artist has led to my best work…. That’s all for now. Thanks for being here.
