But we must hold on to the progress we have already made. (Philippians 3:16 NLT)

 

Possessiveness hinders expression.

Expression takes courage.

Courage enhances progress.

Progress faces obstacles.

Obstacles squeeze creativity out.

(I mean this in the best possible sense.)

Facing an obstacle can lead to creative solutions. Our courage to face the stuck-ness can lead to innovative ways to approach a situation, whether it is in writing or in art making or in living daily life.

Here’s your prompt for today, if you choose to face it:

When I face an obstacle, I . . .

Here’s a resource from Amy Tangerine that gives you little doable exercises to flex your creative muscles. (You can also have the pdf file emailed, click here to get to her website.)

 

 

 

A glad heart makes a happy face;
    a broken heart crushes the spirit. (Proverbs 15:13 NLT)

 

What makes me happy is . . .

Here is a link to some free happiness from Ephemera’s Vintage Garden that is, if other people’s creativity makes you happy 🙂

Also if watching other people create brings you happiness…check out this Jane Davies’ video. (From watching this video, I found out that drying paint between layers may make me a happier painter.) Here’s another video where she plays with mark making.

Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. (Philippians 4:8 NLT)

 

Which comes first feelings or thoughts? It’s kind like the chicken and the egg question. I often separate thinking from feeling, but both play a role in the creative process, and they both inform our perspective.

Sometimes when I choose a prompt, I like to end it with, I think, and then try it again using the phrase, I feel.

Let’s try it today with the prompt below. I would love to hear about your thoughts and feelings about this technique in the comments.

When I practice something over and over and over, I think . . .

When I practice something over and over and over, I feel . . .

If you’d like to read a good memoir on journal keeping, may I recommend:

The Journal Keeper: A Memoir by Phyllis Theroux

Oh, why didn’t I listen to my teachers?
    Why didn’t I pay attention to my instructors? (Proverbs 5:13 NLT)

 

Writing and art making are my instructors. When I listen to the words on the page or contemplate the images, they sometimes lead me to discoveries. The words and the images draw me back time and time again. They instill in me a desire to write and make more.

Words and images generate ideas for me. Sometimes though, I have no idea what to do with all my ideas. I do not know how to move from imagination to creation. My intention to execute the idea falls short of my expectation. Some times such obstacles can defeat me, other times I look for an alternate solution.

I had an idea to trace a side view of a face in a magazine. (I’m always challenging myself to do the thing I fear the most: to draw a face. I watch tutorials, read how-to books, and then I fall short of my expectation.) One technique to overcome my fear of drawing is to trace.

So I planned to trace a face, and then try to draw a face. My first limitation was that I did not have any tracing paper nearby. So I remembered a transfer technique that I read about somewhere. Scribble on the back of  the image you want to trace with a lead pencil or black crayon. Then trace the image onto a piece of paper.

The fourth one is the series, I drew free hand. The other three, I traced.

The day I was trying this, I was also reading a book on drawing. The title intrigued me, and the fact that the author was from St. Louis inspired me. I was hopeful that he would be able to instruct me in the skill of drawing. Drawing is Magic by John Hendrix held a magic word within its pages. Iteration. It even sounds magical, but in reality it is very practical, and even practicable.

Here’s what he says about iteration:

Even lifelong artists can be fooled into believing the myth that the best art is created whole, in a single moment of inspiration. Perhaps some good ideas can come in a flash, but in my experience, most great ideas are surrounded by bad ones–hundreds of bad ones! Bad drawings and bad ideas aren’t worthless; in fact, they are required. Iteration is essential . . . when you iterate drawings over and over, looking for as much variety as you can generate, while you are concentrating on variations and subtleties, you may just forget to worry about making a bad drawing and make a good one by accident.

Yes, iteration is practice. The practice of doing something repetitively in order to gain skill.

So I traced and traced, and even made one drawing free hand. (Mind you I only made a few iterations, but something magical happened later in the day, as I played with my seven layer technique of creating a mixed-media collage. The seventh element that I chose for my collage was focal point. I sat looking at the layers and the idea emerged to paint a face on the background. Before iteration, I would have dismissed the idea.

As I finished my work, I realized that my iteration practice earlier that morning showed up in this latter work. Magical.

 

Here’s your prompt for today:

When I have an idea, I . . .

Satisfy us each morning with your unfailing love . . . (Psalm 90:14 NLT)

 

Expectation (n): a belief that something will happen or is likely to happen; a feeling or belief about how successful, good, etc., someone or something will be

Maybe you’re thinking, how can art tell me who I am or where I’m going? This is crazy talk. Art is for the artists. I’m not an artist. Writing is for the published authors and English majors. I’m not a writer.

I used to think the same thing. I enjoyed craft stores and making scrapbooks to display our family’s photos. I loved my journals and reading books. But I didn’t CALL myself an artist or a writer.

I thought I would become a writer, when I had a published book, and sold several million copies.

My wise sister once challenged me to read the classics and take a creative writing class, and that’s when I started believing I was a writer. When I did the things that a writer does, through those practices I began to understand that a writer writes words. It didn’t matter so much, if the words were in my journals or published in a  blog post or a self-published book ; I was writing, therefore I could call myself a writer.

As I started using art supplies to attempt  mixed-media techniques in my art journal, I didn’t expect to discover that I was an artist.

Now, the qualifiers for what makes a person an artist have always been up for discussion. And I still struggle a bit with calling myself an artist, but not as much anymore, because my definition of an artist fits my purposes.

To me an artist makes art for her own enjoyment.  Others may witness my art, but whether they enjoy it or not, is not the point. For me art is a self-discovery tool. Art is a practice that includes skill, talent and technique, but the act of using art supplies can be satisfying, whether you define yourself as an artist or not.

Making art shows me what I like, and what I don’t like. It reveals inner fears and inner joys. I discover that I am drawn to certain colors more than others.  That doodling and drawing intimidate me. I find that abstract art works for me, because I’m not patient enough to draw or paint realistic portraiture or still life. Art is a way for me to play and to relax.

So whether you call yourself a writer or an artist is not really the point, but writing and playing with art supplies can broaden your perspective. You may just find out neither are for you or you may find out that you want to call yourself a writer and/or an artist. Again, it’s not really the main point.

My real question is,will you give these experiences a chance to reveal a bit of who you are and where you are going?

Here are today’s prompts:

I am . . .

I am not . . .

And if you want to try something artsy, check out this idea:

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