Last weekend, I went to Seattle to take an Urban Sketching workshop, Line to Color. Classes in the craft of art or writing can give us a lot to work on in our art.
As I took notes, some of the lessons in drawing appeared to me as life lessons too. These truisms could be considered in our overall creative process.
Here are five things that my teacher Frank Ching said about drawing that I can easily apply to life and art making:
1. Choose what to focus on.
2. Ask: what’s my bias?
3. Don’t let your mind trick you.
4. Ask: how do you see relationships?
5. Enjoy the process.
What do you think? Do you see these as true for your life as well as your art? Tell us which of these is most resonant for you in a comment below.
Inherent in each of these five things is self-awareness, whether it’s about art or about life. For me, both visual art and writing are paths to greater self-awareness because they force me to pay attention to what I’m seeing and how I’m feeling. Thanks for sharing your experience!
So true, Sue!
I really love Frederick Franck’s books on drawing, and particularly Art As A Way, which shares how art is a practice for developing ourselves as humans.
I should tell more about how humbling this workshop was! Maybe next time. 🙂
looks delicious.
re:bias- do you exploit it or work against it?
Yes, writing puts one right in the moment, a little meditation on something that actually is.
Good question, Julie!
For drawing buildings, my bias is always to draw things at the wrong angle. My bias is to not actually see what I am drawing. So in this case I want to work against it.
I also have a bias to fill the whole page. In this kind of drawing, it’s preferred to have some white space. But my mentor (a designer) always says how he loves the way I fill the page and go to the edge.
I kept asking myself – what am I trying to achieve? Does it matter that I can draw buildings or not? I learned a lot about drawing and myself this weekend and had fun exploring and indulging in chocolate and ice cream!
I love this conversation. Just thinking about the questions you’ve been posing lately and everyone’s answers makes me think, rethink and move forward.
For me it’s about focus. Drilling down from ‘everything is possible’ to ‘make one thing actually happen’.
Also, allowing myself to refocus after I’ve been on something for hours. I need breathing space which is frustrating and sometimes I can’t even do admin stuff.
Bobbi,
Ding, ding, ding!!! I think that’s the main challenge for all of us. Both staying focused to a satisfying completion and also being able to transition out of our focus.
What kind of breathing space activities work for you? For me, it’s getting out of the office/studio and often into the kitchen or off for a walk or bike errand. The stepping away from the project piece is a big one we all need for perspective.
When it works, I use the same ideas as you, whether for client work or my own. I work from home so I’ll either pay bills, do laundry, start dinner, running back and forth. I do something useful if I have the energy. I empty receipts out of my purse! I exercise near the end of the day, usually while dinner’s cooking. I run errands but I like to get out of the house before 3pm,otherwise I can get sucked into the rabbit hole of the computer, mesmerized by some techie thing or ‘web research’. My work in PR focuses my time to where in the country I’m pitching. I’m in Los Angeles and even with this ‘anytime’ culture, you still have to be aware of time zones and reporters’ deadlines.
Sometimes I just have to give myself permission to stop everything, usually after I’ve frustrated myself trying to find something to accomplish.
Hi Cynthia,
I agree with most of what you say (well all..actuallly)
I have found however the few times I have been able to stand back from myself, where self judgement is silent, where I’m totally in the moment, where, I’m playiing and having fun, this is when creativity really strikes. It’s like somebody else has done it…and this is the easiest work to share.
Thanks for your blog over the years and your continued efforts to expose yourself creatively and grow through it all!
It’s been inspirational.
Maybe one day we’ll meet
Cheers & Ciao
Jimu
Thanks for your kind comment and feedback, Jimu! It’s been a pleasure to connect with you online and I do believe someday we’ll meet in person!
I totally agree – it’s the ultimate freedom to be lost in something and not be thinking. That’s why I so enjoy my visual journaling process and why taking art classes puts me into a cognitive state I try to avoid in art. It’s a real issue I’m working on sorting out. But for now I think the solution is to not take any more classes for awhile!
Glad you appreciate my self-exposure for the sake of creative illumination!
I like these as five things to apply to anything, especially with the relationship component there. What else could be missing, and it’s simple. Plus, I’d say it’s not a trick of the mind leading you to try that sumptuous delicacy, but clear sense of purpose! And an eye for excellence!
Sandra,
Oh yes, it was definitely purpose that led me to that cake and ice cream! I’d read about it before I touched down in Seattle and made a point to override any bias toward health. I eat a ton of vegetables and not a lot of sugar during the week so I gave myself this treat.
I like how these elements relate to everything, too. It makes them easier to remember when drawing.
Thanks for commenting!
Hi Cynthia!
I’m enjoying your thoughtful and delight-filled posts about your journaling adventures – Bravo for you and yes to ignoring our harsh gremlins. Fresh and feisty art that’s alive makes the world brighter for all!
Thanks for the scoop on the Urban Sketching workshop – I wasn’t familiar with Frank and Gail’s work. At first, when I glanced at your post title, I was thinking of another urban sketcher,
Gabriel Campanario. He’s the “Seattle Sketcher” and I love his journal entries on life in Seattle.
If you’re not familiar with his art, you can find him here: http://blogs.seattletimes.com/seattlesketcher/author/gcampanario/
Sketching a bit each day brings me such joy. I crave the time to slow down and notice the details in front of me as my pen makes its marks on the page. One of my biggest blocks is actually recording what I see and not what I think I see – my mind tricks me all the time. “Focus Frances, focus!”
Cheers from Port Townsend,
Frances
ps)
I was in Seattle last weekend too hosting a Playshop in Ballard! My journal was tucked into my bag, ready to pull whenever I had a few moments of “fcf” time.