Re: beady confusion

I think every artist out there goes through the same things. I had to make a decision about two years ago about what I wanted to do. First and foremost I want to quit my day job and support my family with my art work. In order to do that I had to decide if I wanted to try everything I saw or if I was going to stick to one or two mediums.

For me I decided to stick with my oil painting (my first art love) and with glass. I've only been working in glass for a year or so now, but I've been painting since I was a child. I love the instant gratification of the glass and that's why I chose it as my second/third medium. I have been making fused work and now I'm starting again with the lampwork.

I see so many things on television and at art shows and think that would be fun. However, all those crafting supplies cost money to start up. I now have beading supplies, glass, kiln, and the torch. Then all my oil painting with a touch of acrylic supplies. It's too expensive to start up something new for me and therefore I made a commitment to myself to keep it down to a few loves.

You have to do what is best for you. Think about what you want to do. I can totally understand your feeling to make something with your own hands. There's nothing like it in the world! I can sit at a desk all day, negotiate contracts, blah blah blah, but I don't feel alive unless I'm making something. That's why I'm going to hate to be back at work. That's almost 10 hours a day I could be working on my stuff and not making or losing money for someone else.

I'd say all of those different things (and a bunch more) are perfectly valid.

Part of your confusion, IMO, comes from our culture's way of imposing value on things from the outside, instead of letting it emerge from the inside. Doing something because it has meaning for you, because it is healing, because you feel the need... doesn't go over very well in a lot of circles.

Leaves us with the feeling that we have to somehow -justify- what we are feeling called to do, instead of feeling free to just do it and see what it is all about after some kind of bigger pattern emerges in it. And it's really hard for most of us to let it find its own place in our lives without reference to other people's evaluation.

Deirdre

Well, you can't do everything at once. You can't run before you walk. Blah, blah, blah. Go with the mood that strikes you that day. But if you want to get good, practice something everyday. As a musician, you know that. Don't worry about "ought". Joseph Campbell once said the goal in our lives was for each of us to slay his/her particular dragon. And written on the scales of the dragon are the words "Thou Shalt."

Yes, this is one part of the problem I have. I can't just think it done-- I have to do it, and my hands don't know what to do, sometimes.

Laura

This sounds like very good advice, Louis. It resonates, and I think I will take it very much to heart. Thanks for taking the time :)

Laura

For this, I would suggest throwing out the notion that there is some kind of "right" way, and experiment until you get something you find aesthetically pleasing that is also strong enough to hold together. Those are really the only two 'rules' that apply, IMO.

On the other hand, on the road to those goals, some things will either need to be redone, or will finally have you shaking your head saying "Well, THIS didn't work ... what else can I try?"

Deirdre

This is odd, because I looked at some collage links last night and thought "that looks pretty cool" :)

Laura

This sounds like a good idea, too.

Laura

OK, now I want to know the 'how' of collage jewelry.

Do you wire things together? Glue them to a base? Solder them to each other? What is the methodology?

Deirdre

I agree that you may be making it unnecessarily hard on yourself -- creating your own headaches, maybe.

How about experimenting with *un*justified, undefined art for a short while, and seeing if you can feel or see a difference between that approach and the one you describe as needing a purpose or justification?

My personal sense is that my best stuff comes from a relaxed rather than an 'under tight control' state of mind -- sort of a 'nothing to prove' attitude, where I don't judge or force anything. Gives it has a chance to speak for itself.

Deirdre

Hmmm... Might I suggest that you read "A Million Open Doors" by John Barnes, and pay particular attention to the part about the formation of the Inessentialist movement? The book deals (in part) with an entire society which insists that everything must have a concrete, measurable value before it can be worth doing, and the process by which that viewpoint is (more or less) shattered by politics and circumstances. It's also a whacking good read; I was a bit disappointed in the two sequels, but the first one remains on my "Desert Island" list.

Celine

When I work with wood (carving), I very clearly see that the best art/product is a collaboration between the grain, etc in the material and me. If I do something in tight control, that collaboration cannot happen.

Tina

I am so much a kinetic learner that it's pretty much amounted to a learning disability for me. It's a qualitative vs quantitative way of experiencing the world.

Tina

Makes perfect sense to me :-)

Deirdre