Creativity Withdrawal

At long last! First Semester is finally over! I completed my last exam on Friday and have reached the sweet winter holidays.

Without a doubt, it has been a stressful work and emotion frenzied semester, now for a brief reprieve before the intensive work begins again. I have to admit, I think after all the new skills learnt and applied this year in class, I think going back to some art basics will be really good for me. If you're wondering what I'm talking about, I mean some good old drawing... And maybe painting too if I'm feeling adventurous.

In other words dear readers, I have been suffering from creativity withdrawal and monochromitis (a fictional disease of the mind created when only black and white is used for an extended period of time) whilst I have been doing an art degree. So seeing as I have an overly active imagination at the moment...

HOW TO TREAT (AND CURE) CREATIVITY WITHDRAWAL

1. Doodle! I know it seems like an odd suggestion, but just scribbling away something without thinking is a good way to get yourself into more creative mindset.
2. Get a new art supply (or two... or a lot). Even if you just try out a new pencil or try painting with coffee, try something different to get you excited about making stuff again.
3. Try something different! If you have always been a person to work with pencils, try working with paint to get you out of your comfort zone.
4. Clean up your space! This one may only apply to a couple of people but I think that a clean space is like a clean canvas, just waiting to be used!
5. Look at your old work. I was feel reinvigorated to work when I see my old drawings and paintings, it feels like there's so much potential in the next piece.
6. Help someone else do something creative! It doesn't have to be a masterpiece, it can just be something simple like helping them make something new.
7. ACTUALLY  MAKE SOMETHING!!

So dear readers, I am off to cure my creativity withdrawl. If you haven't noticed it yet, I've added a neg page to this blog dubbed "Art & Other Creative Items", this is where I shall keep all my images of my artwork updated , I would really appreciate it if you took a look every now and again.

Until we meet again

Talia

Tomorrowland

My friends in my art classes introduced me to the concept of an "Existential Crisis". I had never heard of such a thing until I got to university, nor had I experienced much of it in my life. In a nutshell, this is how Urban Dictionaries defines an existential crisis:

Existential Crisis

A deep, obsessive concern with unanswered questions about the meaning of life and existence, resulting in the disruption of one's daily life and characterised by long or short-lasting bouts of apathy and depression.

"Dude, what's up with Steve?" 
"He's been reading a lot of Nietzsche and watching How the Universe Works on the Discovery Channel, now he's having an existential crisis."

Well, that sums it up quite well. For me I have existential crisis' based on time... or more specifically, the lack of it. I remember reading a quote once that went something along the lines of "In every moment we are living we are also dying"... Yes it can sound quite depressing, but honestly, shouldn't it also be good motivation to try and make every day a good day? Most people on the planet nowadays are born and bred procrastinators. We live in a world where tomorrow is always a given to us... But there are only so many tomorrows left, if any exist in the first place. 

I know it seems like an odd thing to think about, but books remind me of time passing. Every time I walk into a library or a book store, I think to myself how many books I would love to read... And in the same train of thought I realise that there will never be enough time to read all of them... I could spend my entire lifetime reading and I would never be able to get through enough books. The funny thing about life is that almost everything is like that. Art. Books. Films. Love. People. 

But not all is lost.

All you have to do is decide what to do with the time that is given to you.

You can spend your whole life sulking about all the things you can't do, or you can just jump straight into the deep end and start doing things. The choice is yours.

Until we meet again dear readers

Talia

P.S I finished watching all of the Lord of the Rings movies this week, so unreferenced quotes are here duly given credit to! 

LIGHTS, CAMERA... (INAPPROPRIATE GIGGLES)...ACTION!

Don't you just love it when you get a chance to watch a movie you've been wanting to see for ages? You get good seats, great snacks and most importantly great company... but then...

THE IDIOTS* IN THE SEATS NEXT TO YOU DON'T SHUT UP. FOR. THE. ENTIRE. FILM...

THE AIR-CONDITIONING HAS BEEN SWITCHED OFF EVEN THOUGH THE CINEMA IS FULL...

AND PEOPLE LAUGH AT THE MOST. INAPPROPRIATE. MOMENTS.

Okay, I'm done ranting now, and if you're wondering, today's post shall be on something completely unrelated to art, but related to the shocking lack of manners in society nowadays...

MOVIE ETIQUETTE 101

1. The most obvious because we're so frequently reminded: "Please put your [damn] cellphone on silent"... Nothing on Instagram can be that important whilst watching a movie.

2.  If you have an attention span of 5 minutes, please do everyone in the cinema a favour and  don't bother going. Cinemas don't have pause buttons. Go home.

3. You shall not put your feet on the seat in front of you if there is someone sitting in it! You shall not kick the seat either...

4. There is  nothing wrong with talking in the movies... If you're whispering. Really people, it's not that hard to whisper, just talk softly.

5. And finally, don't spoil the movie by reacting like an idiot*. Laugh when it's appropriate, not during the heart wrenching scene of someone dying.

That's my share of movie etiquette... for now. Enjoy your movies and popcorn.

Until we meet again

Talia

*sorry, that was harsh. Shall we call them severely mentally incapacitated individuals?

A Print For Your Thoughts?

Dear Readers, I apologise for my sudden AWOL, I have had exams and crazy deadlines for the last few weeks and as a result I haven't had much time to dedicate to a set blog post. But I have returned now... And I actually have some new work to share!

So, at the University of Witwatersrand (In Johannesburg, South Africa, for those of you abroad), I am currently doing a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts as a second year student. For the practical elements of the course (where you should hypothetically make stuff), we have two "classes". The first one is FINE ARTS and the second one is DESIGN AND DRAWING.  So for the second half of this semester, we did Printmaking and Sculpture,,, Let's just say it was a messy and time consuming... And exhausting...

But now at the end of it I have new skills and new work to share... So enjoy dear readers!

PRINTMAKING

INTAGLIO ETCHING

So this was the first technique we learnt: Drypoint etching
In a nutshell, you use a sharp metal instrument, like a nail, to scratch lines into a metal sheet like copper or zinc, you then put ink on the plate so it goes into all the lines you've carved into the metal, and you wipe off the rest of the ink. You print the plate and voila! 

Hardground Etching
So this is a technique I preferred to drypoint. So basically, you put a layer of this stuff called Hardground onto your metal plate. It is acid-resistant and water-proof. Using a sharp metal implement, you draw your image into the plate. The areas where you scratch the hardground reveal the metal underneath. Once you're done drawing, you submerge the plate into a bath of acid, which etches (or digs) into the metal plate. You take off the hardground layer, clean your plate and ink up.

Aquatint 
This was by far my favourite technique and is quite like painting in its final effect. You put a light layer of aquatint, which is made up of either rosin particles (or spray-paint for us art students) onto your metal plate. This layer resists the acid for an amount of time and allows you to work in layers. Using what is called stop-out, you cover up areas of tone on your plate, one tone at a time. For example, all the areas you want to stay white will be covered first. Then you etch the plate. Then you put another layer of stop-out, then you etch again... building up the tones with each layer. 

Combination Print: Aquatint and hardground
By far the most successful print, this was completed mostly in aquatint with some refined detail added in hardground.

So dear readers, those were the outcomes of my printmaking course. I will share my sculpture work soon, I just need to sort out all of the imagery.

Until we meet again

Talia

A Little Guide to Art School

How Not To Make Art 101

During the last few weeks of varsity, I've learnt a lot about how not to make art, and how not to be an artist. It's surprisingly easy to fall into this trap in Art School, so I thought I'd share a little bit of naive wisdom that I've figured out.

Apparently no lecturer can tell you "how to make art", but there are a lot of unwritten laws about things you shouldn't do when you're making art: Here is the technically-unwritten-but-typed list of things you shouldn't do.... Unless you're an avant-garde artist who's already made a name for themselves. 

1. Compose your image or work centrally. Seriously, apparently its "too perfect".
2. Use anything cliched... so butterflies, wolves, arrows, the globe, watches, hourglasses, dogs, cats, dream catchers, skeletons, naked people.... the list goes on
3. Leave a lot of empty spaces... Unless you are really good at understanding negative spaces.
4. Paint from photographs... draw from photographs... referencing photographs unless you're doing photography
5. Only use grey tones or mid tones. This one I do agree with, having a deep dark tone and an almost white tone is a good way to create depth and contrast in an image. 
6. Forget about preparatory work... This one varies from artist to artist, because people see planning in different ways. For me, writing and thumbnail sketches in ink are a perfect means of organising an image, for other people full scale perfect sketches work for them. It all depends on what works for you.
7. Comparing your work to other artists work, This is a sure fire way to stop feeling inspired and to give up art entirely. Rather all yourself to be inspired and learn from others instead of putting yourself down.
8. Leave all your prep work and current work in a mess. Trust me after two weeks of working in a messy pile of papers, trying to find one prep drawing is a bit of a nightmare.
9. Take criticism badly. Yes some people are honestly just rude and unhelpful, but most of the time criticism, both positive and negative can be really useful and help you to see your work in a slightly more neutral way.
10. Give up. No matter what happens, never ever give up on what you love to make. That's a good way to never become an artist

So dear readers, a little advice for those of you studying art or know someone who is.... Make what you love doing and you should be okay. 

Until we meet again

Talia

And So The June Countdown Begins...

Happy Mother's Day dear readers! If you forgot it was Mother's day then shame on you! Yes, I know it's only been 35 minutes (in South African time) but that's no excuse. Today is the day you take a moment to appreciate all the things your mother does for you everyday, not to mention the nine months she had to haul you around before that.

Now... I know it's late and yes I should probably be in bed by now... But unfortunately my workload seemed to magically pile itself up in one week to have all the time consuming elements take place in uncomfortably close proximity to one another. There always seems to be a million things to do when you seem to get one huge deadline out of the way... The list is constantly growing and changing... Kind of like life I guess. If things stopped changing and we didn't have to adapt, I think we would all get bored eventually.

But the frustrating thing about the workload now... especially for sculpture and printmaking, is that it takes so long to produce a single piece of work. After so many weeks of being back, I only have two final etching prints, a sculpture drying in the sculpture studio and a complete set of photos that still need to be made into a book. That's not much considering how much work and time has gone into everything...

I'm just itching to draw or paint something that I can look at when I'm done... But the saddest thing is that time won't allow me to do that until June... and that's still another month away before I can breathe normally again. But the show must go on, and no mental breakdowns can be allowed near the etching equipment. For now I don't have many pictures of work to share, but I promise I will post them all as soon as I can.

Happy Mothers Day dear readers!

Until we meet again
Talia

That Confusing Question

"Is being consistently inconsistent the same as being inconsistently consistent?" Chances are your brain just froze a little bit trying to decipher that question. Mine does the same thing even though I've thought about this question more than once. Whilst you're probably picking your brain trying to figure it out... I thought I'd pick my brain a bit on consistency and persistence.

Throughout my life, the one thing I've always been consistently good at is throwing myself into my art and putting in so much effort that what was required. I was so consistent at it that I made it a habit for myself. And last year when I was going through an especially rough phase in my life, my work and my art became my reason for existence for several months. Metaphorically my art became my significant other.

This is a good strategy when you're going through a rough time and feeling quite alone in the world. But for me, I suffered for a while and then the suffering stopped. I picked myself up and started living life again. I found someone I could actually talk to and touch and be held when I was feeling upset. Someone who makes me feel special, and someone who I can care about. I remember for a while when I was single I would actually miss caring for someone, but then I would distract myself by drawing and painting.

Now I have realised a flaw in my past strategy for beating loneliness through art. When you apply consistency to only one area of your life, and you apply a lot of it, chances are the consistency everywhere else in your life diminishes. There's the flaw you don't really see until other people point it out to you, and I realise that I have been a guilty party for quite a while. I guess you could say I'm both consistently inconsistent and inconsistently consistent in many other aspects of my life.

As various self-help books will probably tell you, admitting you have a problem is the first step to fixing it. Now my goal is to be consistently consistent in every other area of my life. I think posting once a week every week on this blog is a good motivation to be consistent.

Until we meet again dear readers
Talia
P.S. Being consistently inconsistent isn't the same as inconstantly consistent, just in case you were wondering. It took me an hour to figure it out, but I have an answer now at least!