💚Making time to reflect in the studio

Once a ramshackle garage, I am grateful for its transformation a few years ago into a haven for painting!

In process piece from “imprint “series ink on acetate. bvw

Since the last time I spoke with you, life, as we have experienced it, has changed. I offer solace, hope, and prayers for you. I am finding a lot to think about as I work in my little studio.

It is also the result of “sheltering in place,” I believe. Repeatedly walking in the same footsteps each day can be challenging, as it is a bit repetitive. Yet, it can also offer a chance for my vision to see beauty and truth in things that I had previously taken for granted. And so I persevere, waking up at 5 am, meditating, sometimes yoga, a little breakfast, and then into the studio! Like anything else, this takes daily practice! I have yet to get entirely consistent, but it takes about 40 days to make a change of habit.

I did have trouble focusing when the COVID-19 emergencies were at their height in the NYC/Long Island area. The pain in the air was palpable. To answer your question, “Yes, I am creating in my studio, now !”

The series, called ”imprints,” has been very much about light and dark inky shadows. It is a commission piece for music soon to be released by Justin Morgan Williams called “vendryes imprints.” when finished, they will be hand-printed Dan Welden in the environmentally-conscious process of Solarplate printing. I also continue my work on “seeking refuge series” in mixed media of watercolor and collage. Being in the studio regularly has infused my work with serenity and focus. In the future, there is also a solo show on the books for this fall and a soon to be announced online workshop class.

But I will fill you in on that and more next time! I would love to hear what your are finding helpful during this liminal, unpredictable time! Text, email me from my site or leave a message on Instagram!

I wish you sunny skies and wellness, peace, and hope!

We are all in this together!

Warmly,

beth

How Your Daily Life Can Inspire Creative Vision

Journal October 2019 @Musée D’ Orsay ©beth vendryes williams

I discovered that in my life.

Here I sit, with my laptop on a crisp autumn Saturday morning watching the sun warm the trees as the leaves begin to turn. It is a glorious moment to savor and drink in the fresh air! My thoughts go to the blessings of being creative.

Every day, I practice the process of making art out of my life.

Do you want to know why?

I discovered this way of working while I was teaching art to 600 students a week over 20 years.

As you can well imagine, not all of them cared about painting and drawing. But every student loved discovering a new experience, recognizing beauty, making a difference by making a mark that could be seen, and communicate with others.

So, I focused on reading about the creative process in tandem with raising our three sons, painting & drawing. Through that research of writings by scientists, researchers, dancers, yogis, philosophers, and writers, I learned more about the process of creating, no matter what the materials.

I began to observe the ways I used my creativity in my daily life. Imagination is needed in every part of the day, which extends way beyond merely making a product marketed as art. In fact, the process of creative thinking can result in making your life itself into a work of art!

My biggest challenge was finding time and space to work.

Check back with me next Thursday to find out what I did!

7 ways that journaling unlocks your heart to be creative

rushing through, time travel    

As I journey through life, maintaining creative flexibility,

I have found that most of the time, things don’t go the way you think they will. So when I earned my masters in drawing/printmaking from the University of Iowa, I was ready to begin creating full time and selling my work! Of course life intervenes and, shortly after graduating, my husband and I were privileged to have three sons, each 2-3 years apart.

journaling can weave creativity into daily life.

I decided to use my creative impulse to transform my rather large pocket book and uneven segments of time into a portable studio. I just kept writing, drawing and collecting the morsels of everyday life.( Link to Journal post fro October 30, 2016.)

1. Reflecting on these journals has been an unexpected gift, revealing my life from a intimate perspective, giving me an opportunity for reflection. This gives a bird’s eye view of the current map of my life. 

2. Memories come welling up in my heart, as I page through, nudging the past back into consciousness.

3. Details that I had forgotten are right there in my drawings and writing.

4.  Drawings and poems about  events and thoughts, that were forgotten in the midst of everyday activities are reclaimed.

5. There is affirmation of the joy and recognition of the sorrows of my life. 

6. I have an Opportunity to make a future based on recovering where I have been. 

7. Material is at my fingertips, for both writing and painting with historical and creative primary source materials: my own journals.

Now when I am working, and I want some inspiration, I include my personal journals among the literary and artistic inspirations available to me.

How to find the time? 

This is how I did it. I made a minimal packet in a small zip lock bag with a refillable ink pen, a pencil, eraser and sharpener, a plastic water-brush and a Moleskine journal, with sturdy paper that could take take light watercolor washes. As my bag and time allowed I added watercolor crayons, regular crayons, oil pastels and a portable box of watercolors. For a long vacation when I knew there would be a lot of relaxed time, I added larger paper and brushes, along with a lightweight coated masonite board on which to fasten  precut/ torn paper.

What do I do with journals when they are filled?

As each journal neared the end, I placed on a shelf, High up in my studio area. Last year when we were renovating our home, I Had to clear off my journal shelf of what i surmised, was 10 journals. Surprise, I had 130 journals. I had never counted them and barely had the time to review them through the years.

Like a garden, I have reaped a harvest that is constantly providing nourishment that is based on my life and the memories and images I have collected.

But it’s not the only way….

My gift to you is the story of how it happened. I would love to hear you own way of reflection on your life that has helped you to grow creatively, in whatever medium you work! Is your art, raising children, making healthy desserts, finding balance, managing money, training animals, making music, doing massage, teaching yoga, being a lawyer, keeping a beautiful home?

I am very excited to hear your story!

looking into the interior

Enjoy my latest work...I'd love to know what you feel about the work!