Getting your hands on a different medium than what you are used to is GREAT for the soul. I had no expectations, and I admit the first thought I had was, "I'll make a little pot with the coil method." DUH...heck no. I let that go and just started playing around with the clay, watching how excited Grace was and how SURE she was about making a flower, a lily pad and a frog.
Creativity gives us hope, a vision and ultimately - a goal. We should never be afraid to express ourselves, no matter what the situation we find ourselves in.
Every artist needs to grow. Here are 10 top ways to grow, and some resources for great working contemporary realist artists and folks to help.
"The Language of The Creator" - Janice Tanton's TEDx Talk. Artist, parent, and full time human being Janice Tanton takes us on a journey of creation from an artist's point of view, including how we can encourage others to find their own voice of creation in whatever form they choose, and how to be authentic and playful in the process.
Everyone has it - that annoying voice of The Little Man inside your head that wants to take you away from what you are doing, comment (usually negatively), judge, doubt your actions, keep you in a state of fear and paralyze you from getting things done that you know you should.....the things that you love, the things that move you forward and the things that inspire confidence in your work and the world around you. It's a battle but I've found some tools and strategies to get him gone when I need to.
Janice Tanton's 2011 TEDxCalgary Talk on The Language of The Creator. Focused on meaningful personal, family, community and organizational building through creative language of the arts, this heartfelt, personal artist's talk seeks to inspire you to consider human ways of being together.
How might it be for all of us if we were able to all just "be" ourselves in every situation? What might arise from this and for us? What might this intimate sharing of stories reveal about each of us, in our fragile human state. I learned so much over the weekend, not just from the rich content, brilliant ideas and brave folk who attended, spoke, volunteered, organized and tech-savvied the whole event, but from the act of openly sharing meaningful personal stories, despite nerves and all of the other distractions that accompany family life.
Take up a voice in championing the arts in education at the K-12 levels, or the arts funding cuts will continue to occur. In the end, our society will suffer because we have failed to impart critical thinking skills necessary to solve the complex problems of our society or to provide alternative education methods. Our systems have let us down. At the end of the day, it falls upon wise parents to impart not only art skills to the best of their ability, but most importantly, the critical thinking processes involved when creating in the arts: brain skills that everyone requires.
"An exhibition of one's work in which passion and your human capital is invested, is an intensive, life-changing experience. It is like giving birth - the experience & responsibility lasts much longer than the show opening."
