Being a genius vs. having a genius

I thought it was really interesting what Elizabeth Gilbert had to say about your genius/having a genius. In particular, I liked when she talked about the major error of people no longer having a genius, but becoming/being labeled AS a genius. I agree with Gilbert when she said labeling someone a genius only boosts their ego and provides them with a lot of pressure. Labeling someone a genius essentially means that they are the person of all divine creativity and no one else can ever truly match up to their work. Other artists will always feel that no matter how hard they work, they final project will never be as good as this 'genius'; this feeling of failure will eventually begin to kill of young artists.

In Gilbert's speech she talked about a 'pit of dispare' where she felt all her writing and her entire book was awful and was going to be a huge failure. I had a similar feeling halfway through the term. I was creating these mixed media collages, but kept feeling that they were never good enough and had no meaning to them. I was unsure of myself and was unsure of how I wanted my final piece to look. For at least 2 days, I was unable to come up with any ideas that I was really happy with. Finally I told me self (my genius) that I just need to stop over thinking and just create artwork. I googled artists for inspiration and ideas and from there I was able to continue with my piece and take it in a new direction. I told my genius that I just needed to push though and was just going through a slight mental block.

Austin Kleon Blog

I really like the quote, "If you steal from one author, it’s plagiarism; if you steal from many, it’s research,” by Wilson Mizner. Recently, I have been researching many artists to see if I am inspired by any of their pieces and often times I feel as though am I just coping their ideas and their work. This quote is saying that people take ideas from artists all the time, but it is not "plagiarism", it is just part of the research process for an artist. By taking other artists ideas I am just gathering and collecting some background information to see which techniques and images I like. From there, I can take those techniques and make them my own.

A strategy that was in the reading and that I have been doing more of is to just stop thinking so much and just create art. In the reading Austin Kleon says, "If I waited to know “who I was” or “what I was about” before I started “being creative”, well, I’d still be sitting around trying to figure myself out instead of making things. In my experience, it’s in the act of making things that we figure out who we are." This helped my to realized that the more art I create the easier it will be for me to find out what kind of artist I am and what strategies and techniques really work for me. My creative will evolve the more I create artwork.

The Critique Handbook by Kendall Buster and Paula Crawford

For me, the critique period is very helpful as I am trying to create my artwork. The combination of constructive criticism and my peers ideas are very helpful to me. I am able to see how others view my work and hear the changes they think I should make in order to improve my art work. The critique period is also a great and helpful time for me to ask my peers and teachers questions about my artwork. I am able to ask questions like is my art work is engaging and if my color pallet is working or not. I have learned not to take these comments to heart and not let them crush me or my vision for my art work. Instead, I have learned to view them as a way for me to just improve my pieces.

Even when I have my parents or teachers critique my school papers the comments can be harsh and hurtful, but in the end those are the comments that helped me to become a better writer. I am able to learn new skills from their comments and ideas and then incorporate them into my next pieces of writing.

In class, I think it is extremely important to slip the class in groups so that people can critique others artwork, but also ask questions about their own artwork. I think this will help each person become a better and more confident artist.

Art & Fear, by David Bayles & Ted Orland

1. "But while you may feel you're just pretending that you're an artist, there's no way to pretend you're making art." (pg. 26) I can relate to this quote because when I first started taking art classes at Beaver I did not really consider myself and artist and was not taking my artwork as seriously as I should have. I did not think I was good enough to be considered an artist. By reading this quote I realized that I could not pretend to make and I to be an artist you have to create art work and that is exactly what I was doing.


2. "Your finger prints are all over your work, and you alone know how they got there." (pg. 36) Many times only the artist understands the meaning of the work. The public does not always understand or receive the message that the artist is trying to portray; the artwork is just simply meaningful for the artists. I like this quote because it is sending the message that even if the public does not understand your artwork and do not like it, the artist knows the message that he or she is trying to express.

3. "The lessons you are meant to learn are in your work. To see them, you need only to look at the work clearly- without judgment, without fear, without wishes or hope." (pg. 36) A lot of times I feel I have a lot more to learn about my artwork and my style, but am unsure how to do this. This quote helps me to understand that I need to just look at my work with out critiquing it or criticizing it and see how I feel and what are the message I get from my art work.

The Creative Habit, by Twyla Tharp

I definitely agree with Twyla about the idea of 'scratching' as a way to brainstorm. I often have trouble coming up with ideas on my own so it was interesting to see how she generates her ideas and gets the ideas in her mind flowing. Twyla suggests listening to music and just moving around the studio space to see what types of ideas formulate. She also suggests going outside or reading books to help generate new ideas. I thought it was interesting that she wrote about how musicians and movie writers use the scratching method as well, but I think she should have focused more on artists rather than other people.

Although I like her idea of scratching, I think she had too many rules involved. For me, brainstorming does not have rules and I can brainstorm at any time. I do not think that their is one right way to brainstorm. I like Twyla's idea of listening to music and moving around to help me think of ideas. I also realized that before I start my work I need to sit down and really focus on what messages and ideas I want to portray in my art work. From there, I can begin to experiment and try out different materials.

Inside the Painters Studio by Joe Fig

How do the workspaces and routines of these artists support the work they do?
It was very interesting to see how different each artist works and what kind of atmosphere they need in to create their best works of art. One artist for example, Ross Bleckner needs complete silence when creating his artwork. He hardly leaves his apartment and cannot listen to the TV or radio. He works 7 days a week because that is the only way he can stay concentrated and stay in the rhythm of creating art work. For Mary Heilmann, the location of her studio really impacts her work. Her studio is in a barn and the wide open fields that surround her cause her to include a lot of green into her work. The barn and the wide open space surrounding the farm influence her to show the difference between deep space and flat space in her paintings. Alexis Rockman travel a lot to the Amazon and Long Island so location definitely influences his art work.

Which artist did you relate to the most and why?
I can relate to the artist Mary Heilmann. For her, the scenery really effects her paintings and I feel the same hold true to me. If I am in a place surrounded by mountains my art work will probably look different than if my studio were on a beach. Heilmann also takes breaks through out her day and is not working on her art work all the time. Similar to Heilmann, I cannot work on my artwork for an entire day. I am able to sit and work for 2 hours but I definitely need to take breaks and remove myself from my art work for a little bit. Lastly, Heilmann listens to the radio or her i pod while she works. I cannot work in a silent room, and I also need to be listening to music while I create my art work.