Last month’s theme made me very aware of how much I naturally gravitate towards a dream-like state of mind.
Being aware of that, inevitably makes you aware of what is being ignored; the real world. 🙂 As always, a balance is needed in order to maintain ones mental health. What I’ve found is that I don’t do well with negativity in the real world. I prefer to process the dark, the bad, the vile in my sleep. My dreams, my semi-conscious drawing or painting moments. But in the bright light of day, it all seems like too much.
It begs the question, from an artistic point of view; what do I want to see when I’m awake? What remains when I strip the outside world of the things I don’t handle well; the loud, rushing, moving, destroying, changing, fast-paced, unpredictable elements. Creating art can be a way to filter the world; instead of having it come at you all at once, you process it more slowly and deliberately through creation. You make your mind focus; on a single element, on a color, on a shape or line. Or just the sense of your pencil pressing, the viscosity of paint or the sound of charcoal on a surface.
As easy as that focus comes in the safe space of my studio, how hard it is in the outside world. And so, it begs to be explored because what’s the point of feeling lost if I can’t kick it in the ass every now and then?
What are objects that anchor themselves to time and place while everything else moves? And what happens when I draw them? Perhaps those are the questions I’d like to touch on this month.
The image in the header is by Vladislav Nikonov
This month’s schedule, livestream and Zoom links
Here’s this month schedule with the links to all the livestreams and my Zoom room below. If you’d like last minute reminders when these start, make sure to join my Instagram channel. I always post there half an hour before we start.
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