How an image can change your life journey

Once you are able to imagine something, you can be very close to achieving it.I’m getting ready to go out to the studio, but I thought I would write this down first. You see, I think you could benefit from my experiences with inspiration!  I can’t begin to tell you how many times I have procrastinated going to that blank paper, because I didn’t know exactly how a piece would turn out.

And that is  the process exactly. It is unnerving, facing a blank white paper. The experience leaves you feeling like you are at the edge of a cliff. There are no guarantees.  You may not create a “successful” product!  Look at your art as a verb instead of a noun; as a process instead of a destination. When I can allow myself that perspective, I realize my greatest creative leaps!

To image or holding an image in my imagination expedites creative thinking. When I allow myself to hold an image in my mind and to value its presence, I have a fluid medium with vast potential to work with !

Once you are able to imagine something, you can be very close to achieving it!

You must be flexible...for it may not happen in the manner that you imagine.

You must be persistent...for it may not happen in the time frame you envision.

You must believe in your vision.

That is why I challenge myself to remember daily images and moments in my drawing journal. So I decide to target 5 images of my day, dawn light to the evening sky.  Sometimes I remember things more accurately than others.  Since I am a visual artist, I create a visual journal. I also write in a multidisciplinary attempt to get closer to the truth of my observations. You could use other methods of capturing  invisible images in action, through music, movement, recording or organizing a written plan. I give myself permission to document my imagery without judgement. Then I reference it for my work.

Expanding this creative process into your daily life would allow you to imagine opportunities in your life that create what you imagine. Every unexpected turn is an opportunity to transform a part of your life in a way that you never imagined before. Imagining it is the first and most important step in creating change.

A website worth taking time to look at, woolgathering by Elizabeth Perry explores  and shares creating in her sketchbook. In the category of life being transformed by imagination, take a look at the article about Vik Muniz. His work begins as a photographer but "Mr. Muniz has ambitions beyond the art world — something to do with alchemical transformation, not just of garbage into art, and art into cash, but also of people’s lives."

How have you transformed your art, your life in unexpected ways? Did you image or envision something before you made the changes?  Do you have trouble holding onto what you envision?

Life as art...a balancing act

I look at " life as art ". It makes sense to me that the very act of being requires creativity and can improve with self-reflection.  Reading, meditating and experimenting have allowed me to put together a holistic , creative way of balancing life.    I have created a  mindmap of the areas in my life in which  I want to be sure to develop and unify. 

When you are creating art, it is always good to take a step back and reflect on it, asking whether it needs color, a certain linear quality, a better balance. These are some of the elements and principles of art.

The elements of design are line, form, color, value, texture and space. These concepts are organized by  the principles of art . The principles of art are balance, movement,repetition contrast, emphasis, balance, pattern and unity. So, I decided  to  apply these elements and principles to the big art of my life and see what would happen!

The materials that I build my life with are artwork, spiritual growth, physical needs, intellectual development,  relationships, environment (surroundings) and riches (both financial and other). I knew it would be difficult to remember these areas on a daily basis, so I made them into an acronym, ASPIRER.  I like that word , so I remember it easily.

Each day, I plan my activities and goals around these seven areas. Some occur more often than others, but I generally touch base with each of the areas at least once a week. No real pressure, just a gentle reminder to balance myself with my goals.  Kind of a visual nudge, I guess.

Color is constantly influencing me from choosing what to wear, to creating an appetizing meal,  to seeing a rose -to -lemon sunrise on my way to work! Its broad spectrum and depth delight me everywhere I look!  Color changes in relation to its surroundings. This brilliance of color color and its changeability cause me to be aware of the corresponding qualities in my life. It reminds me, also, how who or what I am near to has a great influence on how I perceive things!

Color, anyone?

Organizing the art studio....

...Just another expression for reflecting upon and readjusting priorities to suit where I am now! Looking at it that way makes it much more motivating to get to that seemingly mundane job. The bonus is that after having sorted my work by both size and medium, I can now find a piece in a matter of minutes instead of hours! This makes it possible for me to inventory and document both past and present work. Above is a my finished product.However, organizing is a process and needs to be addressed daily. I love it when it looks like this, though! (I read a lot to make my art, thus the library at my fingertips!)

I have been sketching as well,,,pen and ink in my journal. Daily skethcing and painting is my meditation on the world! Everyone has different ways of making time for reflection. What is yours?