journaling tip tuesday: creativity journaling, finding the words

Although many artists like to say that their work speaks for itself, we usually have to talk about the work whether in an artist’s statement or at a show.  Someone is inevitably going to ask you, “Why do you like trees so much?” or “Why do you use red circles in your work? or even “Are you ok?  Your painting looks like you’re tormented” (yes, I did get that from a friend once!)  Anyway, wouldn’t it be nice to have an answer prepared so you don’t find yourself tongue tied?  But better than that, it’s good to have that conversation with yourself- figure out what symbols or themes appear in your work often and then find out what that means to you. 

Use your journal to get the thoughts out, brainstorm, figure out what it is that you are trying to say. You can use this exercise to help you write that dreaded artist statement. When you write your artist statement you want to be concise and not too wordy or convoluted. In your journal though, you can be wordy, have spelling errors, awkward syntax and even incomplete sentences. This is about getting it out in the first place. Exploration before the execution.

Great art is the outward expression of an inner life in the artist. ~Edward Hopper

+This is a big one: look at your life, yes, at you, at who you are. What moves you? What issues do you find yourself gravitating towards? Are there certain themes or events in your life that have had a impacts on the way you think or behave? Do you have a life philosophy? Write these out in list form. You can go back later and dedicate a journal entry to each one.

+If certain themes or a general feeling appears in your work, write it down. List form. Go back and pick out areas to write about. How does this theme in your work reflect areas of your life, your own personal history? After all, we create what we know. Where could these themes be originating from and why? Or maybe we are creating what we don’t know, what we wish for….

+Make a list of the symbols, figures, shapes that appear or that you are drawn to.  For each one, list what they could possibly mean. Or if not a meaning, how does it make you feel?  Once you have a list, you may find themes.  Themes can always lead to a series…….

+Write about the colors that you are drawn to.  Why do you always pick up that Paynes Gray?  Colors have a whole psychology to them.  Look it up, put it in your journal. Here are a few links to start with:
:: http://psychology.about.com/od/sensationandperception/a/colorpsych.htm
:: http://www.squidoo.com/colorexpert

+So you like to paint a bowl of fruit and really there is no reason or symbolism behind that, that’s great too! This is still a good exercise to do to help with the artist statement or the gallery chat. If you think about it, of all the things in the world to paint, you are choosing fruit. Why? Maybe you just love to paint and the organic forms and the vivid colors allow you to explore paint and all its wonderful qualities. Writing about what motivates you helps clarify why you do what you do.

It might feel awkward to dissect your own work like that, but we are visual communicators.  Even if you think there is no meaning to the dots you placed in the lower right corner, something compelled you to do so.  Find out if there is a deeper meaning or maybe you will find that you are guided by something else, something more intuitive, or more experimental.  Finding this out is valuable and can only enrich your work.

++These tips may also help if you are feeling stuck or blocked with your work.  Figuring out what you are drawn to and what symbols or colors can help jumpstart ideas.

Some of the pictures are truly mysterious to me…which is why I so often say publicly that I don’t know or don’t care what they’re really about. And yet I can also say that the paintings are prayers. ~ Susan Rothenberg

Posted in creativity journaling, journaling tips

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 14th, 2009 at 9:00 am.