Author: MaryGwyn

Artist-Art Educator-Art in Healthcare

Why Make Art?

How do we answer the question of “Why make art?” Maybe its not Why but rather Who?

Why make art? The question has been asked many times and answered in numerous ways. It would make a great research project but that has probably been done before. Still I would love to hear what other artists have to say on the subject. Why do you make art? There are numerous philosophical opinions. There are many cerebral answers. Some respond from the heart in deep felt ways. Van Gogh, Picasso, even Albert Einstein discussed the topic of Why make art? Quotes abound on the quote sites. Why people make art is probably unanswerable in many cases.

Megan Coyle says, “Artists have a deep rooted love for making art.” That is so true. A love from the heart that cannot be squelched. “As for myself, I create art because it has always been something that has brought balance to my life,” is one answer given on the Artpromotivate website. I cannot argue with that answer either. Art does bring something from the inside out that needs to get out. Getting it out seems to bring a sort of balance to life. Madhans Art says “Whether an art lover or an art student, it’s essential to understand why artists create art.” That’s another point that I cannot find any fault with. Probably the best response I saw was from Walking Ledges, ““We make art because we must.” Yes we must. But does that really answer the question?

Yes we love it. Yes it brings balance to our lives. Yes it is essential to understand why. And why we must. But the answer is summed up not in Why? But Who? Answer that question and all the rest falls into place. A Creator greater than us, creates through us. We are the vessel. How cool is that! Julia Cameron’s groundbreaking book, “The Artist’s Way” is the best direction for finding the answer to “Who.” Connect to the Who and all the answers make sense.

(Isaiah 42:5)

Timeless Appeal

Cardinals never grow old as an artist’s subject. People love cardinals. They always will.

Cardinals never grow old as a painting subject. Every one loves cardinals, especially now in winter when they are the only spot of color in an otherwise bleak landscape. I never tire of painting them. Many artists will struggle to find new material. Or a subject that is challenging. Or something that is different from the usual in an effort to not be stale. I confess to doing that too. But then I always return to cardinals. And chickadees! I love them too. Lots of people paint cardinals and chickadees. Is that a reason for me not to paint them? I don’t think so.

Some subjects are timeless. No matter how many times they are painted and by many varied artists, they are still popular subjects. All the more reason to keep painting them. They bring joy to many people. The legend of the cardinals is meaningful to lots of folks. Variations abound but the theme is to see a cardinal is to see a reminder that someone who has passed on, is still with us. I have wondered about that myself. I have a pair that frequent my bird feeders daily. I’m sure they are my grandparents. At least, I talk to them as though they are. That may raise some eyebrows with some of my friends but OK. I probably raise eyebrows for a number of things! Talking to cardinals seems pretty minor, as things go.

As long as people love cardinals, I’ll go on painting them. And chickadees too. As artists, we have to do what we have to do. It may not be what the current hot ticket thing is. It may not make you a star. If it brings joy to you and to others, who cares if its the big thing or not. Stardom is not all it’s cracked up to be anyway! I’m guessing, since I don’t know! Cardinals and chickadees have a timeless appeal. To me, that’s a great reason to keep on painting them

Rethinking

From over-thinking to rethinking a painting led to some life lessons as well.

What do you do with a painting that isn’t working? Stick it in the back of the garage or the back of the closet and forget about it? Leave it out where you can stare at it hoping a new idea will pop up? Keep piling more paint on it to see if eventually it may gel? I confess to doing all those things and more. Sometimes a painting will sit for years with me occasionally giving it the quizzical look. I may dab a spot of paint on it and look again. I may forget it altogether.

Life is like that too. There are things you stick in a dark corner hoping that sooner or later a solution will come to you. If you’re like me, there are things that sit in the dark forever. And there are things that I take out and stare at. Every now and then, I’ll throw a spot of paint at whatever the issue is. I can over-think almost to the death. I can over-think an issue so many times that I forget what the original issue was. What I rarely do is ask for another opinion. I either lock up that tired horse and forget about it or beat it to death instead of finding out what somebody else has to say about it.

Then, Out of the Blue, the solution will appear from where I least expect it and from a least expected source. But not like a bolt of lightening or blinding flash of inspiration. It comes gently, in a still quiet voice that says, “don’t over think, rethink.” Sounds simple. It really is. The problem is taking the time to stop, breathe and listen. I learned that lesson from this painting. It literally sat for over a decade in the back of the closet in the guest room. It was a hideous mishmash of bright garish colors. At the time, I didn’t realize those colors were blinding me to everything else about the painting. The colors hurt my eyes and made me want to look away. Avoidance was the name of the game until someone asked me if I could paint a painting in neutral colors for them . Bingo! I took a breath and began to rethink.

Instead of going into over-think over-drive, I got quiet and listened. I made up a palette of quiet neutral colors. As I concentrated on breathing, the still and the quiet came through. What emerged was made up of gentle strokes and soft peaceful color. What if I applied this approach to the problems of life? Instead of over thinking with harsh, garish responses, I could rethink gently with quiet neutrals. It worked for this painting. Maybe I can get it to work in other paintings and other areas of my life. We’ll see! In the meantime, it worked for a second painting too!

Once I gained an understanding of what happened with this painting, the 23rd Psalm popped into my head. Then I knew the real source of this direction.

“He leads me beside quiet waters, He refreshes my soul.” Psalm 23:..2-3

Distractions

Not all distractions are bad! Some are frustrating. Some are too much fun to be mad at. Nothing you can do about distractions but move through them.

Some things have gotten in the way of my blogging as of late. The biggest problem was the new computer I bought from Apple. It was not the right size and after struggling for months to make it work, I have finally given up and traded it in. Now I’m happy with the computer but not the process that brought me to this place. At least now, I’m much more versed in gigabytes and terabytes. I won’t be fooled again!

And the second distraction is this cute little ball of fur named Angel. Angel came with the name and I felt like it suited her. Well sometimes! She has already doubled in size in a few short weeks and I soon will no longer be able to pick her up. But she is a complete and total delight even when we are fighting with doggie lessons. I quickly gave up on keeping her out of mud puddles. She’s a natural mud puppy. However, she loves the shower so we can easily get the mud off. It’s been raining almost the whole time she’s been with me so I have to monitor the backyard time for mud hazards! She has learned to sit well. We’re working on “no jumping” but not yet doing well with the “no biting” with sharp little puppy teeth. Potty training has gone well too. Did I mention that she is very smart??

Finally the distractions have been tamed and it’s time to get down to business! I don’t know about you, but I sure am glad to say good-bye to 2022. Counting on things looking up in 2023!!

In the meantime, enjoy some puppy shower fun for a little smile in your day!

This shower water sure tastes yummy!

True Creativity

The Voice of Creativity does not come from the outside world.

Much is being said today about the origins of creativity. There is no shortage of ways to get “in touch” with your personal creativity, make your creativity thrive, bring out your creativity, etc., etc., and on it goes. Until it is recognized that the Source of all creativity is not outside of ourselves but within, we are probably not going to bring it out or get in touch or whatever. It’s a difficult concept to grasp. It has taken me a long time to gain this understanding. Sometimes I forget it. When I do forget, that is when I have to take a step back out of the rat race, turn down all the noise and other constant static that fills up all our lives. With so much outside static battering our senses, the Voice we need to hear cannot get through.

Many people when asked can quickly conjure up the image of a “happy place” that symbolizes peace and serenity. Mine has always been Reelfoot Lake in West Tennessee. The reflections of sunlight on still water, turtles sunning themselves on a log, herons and egrets quietly watching for their evening meal to swim by are remembrances I can quickly go to to gain peace in the midst of the constant stimuli of daily life. The memories instantly cause me to take a deep breath and lean back savoring those peaceful moments. That is when I can get in touch with the Source of creativity. That’s when I can hear the still quiet voice inside. That is when I recognize that the Voice is inside. Not outside.

When I pay attention to that voice from within, I recognize that it is the voice of the Creator, the Source of all creativity. The images in my memories remind me that it is the Great Creator who created, Reelfoot Lake, the lake that gives me so much peace. When I stop to listen, I know that it is that same Creator that creates all works of art. When I listen, I can hear the whispers of how and what to create. I don’t always listen because I get caught up in the noise of daily life. The art reveals when that is happening. I get frustrated. I keep trying but not getting anywhere. I look at the paintings and I want to cry because I can’t figure out what’s wrong. Sometimes the reminder comes from someone out there reminding me to look within. Sometimes I realize it myself. It’s when the reminder says, “Stop, Listen.” Then I can hear the Voice within say, “try some purple and see what happens.” The whispered Voice of True Creativity has broken through the static and that is a beautiful thing. Now I can breath again.

Shining the Artistic Light

One of the most rewarding things about teaching art workshops is the wonder of how unique artistic talent is to each individual. I don’t teach workshops where everybody expects to paint the same thing and have them all come out looking like a row of cookie cutter canvases. The freedom for each artist to express what is inside themselves makes for constant surprises. It is truly rewarding to watch personal expression reveal itself through art. It is like a window into the soul what might otherwise stay hidden from the outside world. The cookie cutter can’t unmask the heart. The heart of all art is in the freedom of allowing each individual to bring out their own personal inner light.

Changeable artistic expression is a great way to experiment with what is inside working its way out. One day the feeling may be one of quiet, of solitude and the art that is made will reflect that. A maple leaf painted with slow, painstaking detail comes from the still quiet heart. Another day when the fall wind is crisp but the sun is breaking through the clouds bringing a light heartedness depicted with a few quick swishes of bright color on the page. Instantly, joy pops out for the world to see. (Let’s Make Art can show you how to do these!) There are as many ways to depict maple leaves as there are artists ready to depict. And as many maple leaves as there are ways to capture their essence through art.

One artist chooses the softness and gentle color changes of a sweet gum leaf with its starfish-like structure. She expresses silence and an inner choice of order and attention to structure. God’s amazing creation in fine detail. While another artist decides to go for bold bright color in a “larger than life” oak leaf hydrangea. Two different artists, two different leaves, two different approaches. We would never see this beautiful expression of uniqueness if we were all painting the same exact thing, exactly alike.

Last Saturday at Watkins College of Art at Belmont University, in Nashville, Tennessee, our workshop focused on painting fall leaves and flowers. We decided to go foraging around the campus to see what sparked our imaginations. Oprah Winfrey is quoted as saying, “You have to find what sparks a light in you so that you in your own way can illuminate the world.” Giving artists the freedom to let the sparks be lit is a wondrous thing. You never know what might be expressed. Every little bit of expressed light means that much less darkness. While I am there to give direction and impart knowledge of skills to use, my biggest job is to stand back out of the way when the light starts shining! And that is a thing of beauty!

Gotta Start Somewhere

Botanical Style painting is what I return to over and over when I’m in need of soothing and stress relief. Even painting broccoli can be soothing.

Me? I started with broccoli. Yep! That’s the first Botanical Style watercolor I did in the first week of Botanical painting at The Corcoran College of Art of George Washington University. I was really getting into those little florets, painting every little circle when the teacher stopped by my desk and asked if I wasn’t getting tired of the repetition. I wasn’t until she burst my little bubble. It was very soothing progressing slowly through each meticulous green sprig on each bigger sprig. I made a discovery that day with my friend, the stalk of broccoli. This botanical style painting thing was very soothing. I couldn’t wait to get to the next painting. At the time I was in need of some serious soothing and this type of painting was doing it for me. I did progress beyond the broccoli fairly quickly and moved on to tulip bulbs, then tulips and beyond. I shoved the broccoli painting into a file in the filing cabinet and forgot about it until this week.

I the found the broccoli painting while cleaning out old files. The memories came flooding back. That particular class was held at The Corcoran’s Georgetown campus in a beautiful old restored school house building similar to the elementary school I went to in Dyersburg, TN. The building had big old pane glass windows that went to the top of the high ceilinged classroom flooding the room with light. The downtown Washington campus was in the basement of the museum with only fluorescent lighting and a few stingy windows at sidewalk level so we could see feet going by outside. I loved the Georgetown campus even though it meant longer travel time and a bus ride on top of the usual train ride to get to campus. The botanical painting class got me started in what has become a teaching passion. I love to see other people discover how soothing this style of painting is. My final painting in that class was of a tulip through the stages of growth from bulb to flower. That painting hangs over my fireplace to this day.

Most of my oil paintings are completely different from the botanical style paintings. I love those too. The oil paintings provoke more emotion and energetic feelings. The botanical style paintings are calming and comforting, invoking memories of quiet garden walks and the smell of flowers. That was the last broccoli I painted. Even though it was soothing, it did not remind me of the smell of flowers! But those little florets gave me time to stop, take a breath and do something slow and methodical. Botanical Style painting is something I return to over and over when I’m in need of stress relief. It is the perfect antidote to the crazy world out there. Now I’m more likely to paint an iris than broccoli. But Hey! Gotta start somewhere! And we can all use a little stress relief.

Flower of the Misplaced Month

One of the best things about May is the colorful outbursts of iris blooming every where you look around Tennessee. The bearded iris is the state flower so no self-respecting Tennessee garden can be found without at least one variety of iris gracing the mid to late spring garden. Though purple is most often associated with the state flower, iris blooms can be seen in a rainbow of colors gathered around mailboxes, fence rows, lining driveways and more with their distinct tall pointed leaves and large velvety petals . It would seem that iris would be the flower of the month for May, right? Apparently not.

Bearded iris are probably my favorite flower to draw and to paint. I love drawing the ruffles that adorn the falls and standards of the petals. They remind me of antebellum dresses. Or I could say I love painting the many colors they come in, but the truth is I love the purple ones the most. Yes I play favorites!! Thinking about painting another iris, I decided to look up the meaning of iris and found some interesting facts.

According to Flower Meanings.com this beautiful flower was named for the Greek goddess, Iris. The Greeks believed the flower symbolized the rainbow bridge between heaven and earth. Petal Republic.com says the iris was adopted as the symbol of France in the Fleur-de-lis when King Clovis I adopted Christianity as the official religion. The three petals of the iris falls and standards were believed to embody the Holy Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Irises frequently show up in the portraits of kings and queens leading to an association with royalty.

Silverpoint Irises

With all this noble and mystical history, who decided that the iris was the flower of the month of February? Most bearded iris bloom after the daffodils and tulips have come and gone. Neither of those make good February flowers either. Maybe daffodils in some locations but not usually. Why isn’t crocus or snowdrops the flower of February? May should have been Iris month! Whoever the big flower of the month assigners are, they goofed on iris. Why didn’t anybody tell them when Iris bloom? At least they gave iris a month. For that we can be grateful!! Now back to painting…

Creating Joy

We could all use a little more joy in our lives!

Dancing for joy. Singing for joy. Shout for joy. Rejoicing. Enjoying. Bringing great joy. Ecstatic happiness. The very word “joy” makes people smile. “to experience great pleasure or delight” is one definition from Merriam Webster. I think of joy as a feeling in motion, something that must be acted on as in the dancing, singing and shouting. We could all use a little more joy in our lives right now.

A constant barrage of negative information hits most of us right in the face every morning. It’s everywhere you look. In everything you read. Wouldn’t it be nice to have more opportunities to feel joyful? Instead of the negative daily greeting, how about seeing some dancing for joy, hearing some singing or shouting for joy? There are genuine reasons many of us have to not feel joyful. We have bills to pay, medical issues, the car needs repair, the roof is leaking, illness. The list goes on and on.

Listening to a series of sermons on the Psalms of Ascent reminded me of how often the theme of singing for joy comes up. Painting during these sermons was something I was drawn to very strongly. Painting the Word of God through His Spirit was a longing in my heart. The theme of these Psalms was churning in me..

I can’t count the number of times I have actually in my life wanted to truly shout for joy or sing for joy. There have been some times when I felt that much joy. Is it a regular thing? No. But I wanted it to be.

As I sat in my painting spot listening, I painted. And I asked the Great Creator to paint through me and show me joy so I could show others joy. And guess what?? He did! AS I looked at the first paintings I thought, “this is what joy is!” He showed me that all I needed to do was ask. And guess what else? I started to feel joyful. And then I smiled and started to sing. Praying you will too!!

Note: The Psalms of Ascent sermons were by Pastor J. P. Vick at Northside Assembly of God, Jackson, TN

Art and Soul

Realizing all art came from a Creator much bigger than us little humans forced me to look at art in a way I never had before.

The title of a recent workshop I taught spurred me to do some soul searching. More and more information has come out lately about art’s benefit to the soul. All the information now has really been around for years. Arguably, it can be said it all started with Julian Cameron‘s ground breaking book, “The Artist’s Way.” I first read and worked the book over 20 years ago and to say it changed my life is putting it mildly. Realizing all art came from a Creator much bigger than us little humans forced me to look at art in a way I never had before.

You would think that once the light goes on and you realize that all art is much more spiritual than it is cerebral, you could sit back and let the Spirit takeover. “Bingo” you are creating on a higher level and don’t have to think any more. It is actually the opposite. You think more, not less. How can that be, you ask? A wrestling begins between your two warring factions, your heart and your brain. That battle must be fought meaning the ability to sit back and let Spirit takeover doesn’t happen naturally.

For many of us, the reality that art comes from the heart has been known for some time. To allow the Spirit to takeover is to allow the heart to open up. The heart is a lot more vulnerable than the brain. The heart is easily wounded and the artist’s heart even more so. Our soul is contained in the heart. For the soul of the heart to be set free, trust in the Spirit must begin. Trust begins in baby steps.

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