As some of you know, I have been having a love affair with Elephants for a while. There is so much to love about them and I think the main one is their love. They are so full hearted and gentle with their herds and family, yet they are such huge and strong creatures. It is no wonder then that Ganesh is such a well worshiped Hindu deity, also know as the God of beginnings. I love the beginning of something, a new day, the start of a new art work, a new group of people at my art workshops and especially the beginning of a journey. So in fact my new art work could be called "The Beginning" but I am looking forward to seeing "The Elephant God" around. SHOP
0 Comments
![]() One thing our new generation does really well (and maybe a little too much) is "put themselves out there". With the selfie, Face Book, Tinder, Snapchat, and other platforms these guys manage to express themselves so easily. This is not about the repercussions of the next generation, but rather why do we, as artists find it so hard? We all dabble, I have a Web Page, Face Book ART page and Instagram but I am not as candid as many younger people are. I like to share, but really not too much. I discovered today why. It's about being brave enough to withstand the recourse. No matter what people say on social media you can't "unread" it, you can go back and delete it but the conversation has already gone "out there". It's great to put yourself out there but you have to be ok with the "feed back", it takes a strong person not to take things and comments too personally. Whether you are an artist sharing your work with the world or a teenager posting a selfie, just remember why it is you are doing it? Then, know that you don't need validation from the masses, validate yourself. I have been dabbling with imagery of elephants, I like to entrust my art with everyone because I believe the world can only be a better place when creativity and art are shared. "You know what’s wrong with you, Miss whoever you are? You’re chicken, you’ve got no guts. You’re afraid to stick out your chin and say “Ok life’s a fact, people do fall in love, people do belong to each other because that’s the only chance any body’s got for real happiness. You call yourself a free spirit a wild thing and you’re terrified somebody’s going to stick you in a cage. Well baby you’re already in that cage, you built it yourself and it’s not bounded on the west by Tulip, Texas or on the east by Somaliland it’s where ever you go, because no matter where you run, you just end up running into yourself.”
- Paul Varjak (Fred) This is an art work I made for a Black & White exhibition (that I never entered). It now belongs to a beautiful lady in my life. I never quite realised, at the time of falling in love with the above quote out of Breakfast at Tiffany's, that it was about the importance of showing your vulnerabilities to someone you trust to maintain connection. Can you believe, I forgot to take photos of our workshop in action? Seriously, we were all having such a creative wonderful time that it never even crossed my mind. This is the best I could do, after shots! There is an elephant to be shipped off to South Africa, a marvellous butterfly which is part of a bedroom re - decoration and butterflies and anchors off to be framed. Thank you to my lovely students, I am blessed I get to have such creative souls to hang out with. What shall we do next holidays?
![]() Just for the record, I am not a drawer or illustrator. I have absolutely no drawing skills whatsoever! Every now and then I do take pencil/pen to paper and have a doodle. I have been using some beautiful pencils called "Inktense" they are expensive but so lovely and soft with quite brilliant colours, which does not show up well in this shot. It is good to step outside of your comfort zone, that is where the growth happens. On that note, back to the drawing board. ![]() Every school holidays I like to have a mini art workshop in my home. I enjoy teaching and sharing my knowledge and I love having like minded people around my table loving the creative process. It is such good therapy for everyone involved. I only feel comfortable having people who I know, and I often wish I had a space outside of my home so I could open up the classes to the wider community. For now though I am looking forward to my little group arriving and seeing their results of the mixed media project I have for them. I shall share the finished works here soon. |
AuthorSydney based mixed media artist. Archives
August 2023
Categories
All
|
Support |
© COPYRIGHT 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
|