The Northland Artists’ Exposure Gallery in Parkville, MO
is opening a new art exhibit on
Sunday, July 12, 2009.
The opening reception will be from
1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
The theme for the show is Americana. Come by and see all the artists different interpretations of the theme. We also have a few new artists whose work you may not have seen before.
For those of you who are not attracted by the Americana art theme there will plenty of art that does not follow the theme to check out.
You can also see our artwork by going to www.northlandartists.com.
Americana Opening at Northland Exposure Artists Gallery
Creativity in Art
I read a blog the other day that talked about what critics and art jurors think about when they look at a piece of artwork.
What makes a piece of art worth writing about for a critic?
The answer to this question was very interesting.
The response from one critic was, they view the art and wait for other artists names to pop into their head. If a list of artists names come to mind viewing the work they then look for whether this piece is a direct duplication of another artist’s style or if the piece has something unique in its own right. If no names come to mind, is this piece truly creative in the artist’s approach, style, and/or subject matter?
This really made me stop and think about my own art. We are all influenced by artists we admire but do we bring our own creativity to our art or are we taking other artists’ styles and painting new subjects. Maybe we are even painting similar subjects in our artwork.
Creativity asks a lot of an artist. Creativity asks you to step out where there is no path to follow, to forge your own path, and to risk ridicule. Creativity requires courage and an adventurous spirit. As artists we all want to believe we are creative, but the real question is “Do I have the courage to forge my own path with my artwork?”.
Is there anything more exciting or scary than going in a totally different direction than everyone around you? You must step out into the dark and hope there is something to put your foot on. You must go it alone. You must fight the voices in your head that say, “This is the most ridiculous thing you have ever done.”, or “You are wasting your time.”, or “If this is any good, why isn’t someone else doing it.” or whatever the voices inside your head say to you.
I recently took a class in writing and the instructor talked about those voices inside your head and how they could get in the way of making real progress on a writing project. Her suggestion was to give those voices a name and to negotiate with them. They can serve a purpose in enabling you to view your art critically but if you allow them free reign they can stop you from being truly creative.
She said she named her inner critical voice after an aunt that was alway critical of everything. I named my critical inner voice “Jibber Jabber”. A name like that takes some of the negative power away from the voice and puts it in perspective. You don’t necessarily want to totally ignore it because sometimes it has a point. But you don’t want to give it the power to keep you from being truly creative.
Here is one of the toughest ways for an adult to become creative. Allow yourself play time with your art materials. Tell “Aunt Susie” or “Jibber Jabber” that they need to take a break now and give you time to play. There is no right or wrong, it’s just play time. You are not creating a piece of artwork, you are just playing. This might be easier if you play with materials you do not normally use in your artwork.
- If you are a painter get some clay or paper.
- Play paper dolls again by cutting pictures out of magazines.
- If you are a 3D artist try painting.
- Try finger painting.
- Instead of using brushes to paint with use sticks or q-tips.
- Use paper instead of paints
- Use objects you would normally throw away such as bottle caps, plastic containers, plastic or paper bags, old dryer sheets, or whatever you can find.
Allow yourself to be creative.
Tell Jibber Jabber to take a break.
Have a great week and enjoy your play time!
Gloria Heifner