Well, let's start off by saying that I've been sat staring at this blog post for a few weeks now. What do I write and where do I start? Procrastination. Something I am very good at. When it comes to creating, I love being faced with challenges and questions although sometimes these challenges can lead me to a bit of a block. Creative Block.
How do I overcome this? A big question really, so I've started off by making a bullet point list:
-Research different artists and their techniques, thought process and ideas...
I keep a small sketchbook full of colour swatches, images, quotes and timelines all from different artists that I stumble across that have piqued my interest. When I've hit a creative block, I will flick through this sketchbook in order to spark a new idea.
-Thumbnails
I always keep a small sketchbook with me with the hopes that I might see something that sparks creativity inside me. Small thumbnails are great as they help me to come up with compositions, they are often not very complex. Made up of mostly block shapes.
-Reading
Reading is something I'm trying to weave into my everyday life more, I've never been very good at reading as I find myself reading the same paragraph 5 times before I finally understand what it is trying to say. Nevertheless, I keep a few of my favourite academic art books in my room, some at my studio as well as taking trips to the library and browsing the shelves.
Some of my favourite go to books at the moment include:
Old Mistresses by Griselda Pollock and Rozsika Parker
(Parker, Rozsika., and Griselda. Pollock. Old Mistresses : Women, Art and Ideology. Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1981.)
Mindfulness and the Art of Drawing by Wendy Ann Greenhalgh
(Greenhalgh, Wendy Ann. Mindfulness & the Art of Drawing: a Creative Path to Awareness. Leaping Hare Press, 2016.)
Feminism-Art-Theory: an Anthology, 1968-2014
(Robinson, Hilary. Feminism-Art-Theory : an Anthology, 1968-2014. Blackwell Publishers, 2001.)
-Removing Myself
During my most recent creative block, I decided to remove myself entirely from my studio space for a few days. I found I'd spent the past few days in there and with no success; so by removing myself from my studio space for a few days it just allowed me to forget that pressure and use the time to focus more on different ideas or concepts I might like to pursue.
After being trapped for a week or so in a state of doubt, confusion and frustration I stumbled across an idea, a start. Women and their studio spaces. A simple idea, yet I plan to explore this theme as much as possible. Ask other female artists about their studio space, process and why they create as well as delving into my own practice and relationship with my studio space.
I began by creating a short survey which I then handed out to fellow students, the questions were as follows…
1.) Draw a very rough and quick sketch of your studio space…
2.) 4 words or images you would use to describe your mental state in the studio…
3.) Write a short paragraph about your process when it comes to beginning a painting in your studio…
4.) Why do you paint?
It didn’t take long for people to return their forms; whilst this was exciting it was also incredibly daunting. Now what? Which brings me to where I am now, how do I translate these women’s words into a painting?
Still not entirely sure on how to attack this project properly in order to say what I want, so here I am again. A creative block, so stay tuned for another blog post in the next coming weeks, with hopefully some progress.
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