Say What?

“Coming to Life” 36×48

Recently I have read a number of articles and blogs that suggest that practice of technique is more important than talent.  In fact some have gone so far as to say that there is really no such thing as talent.  Putting in the hours, they say,  is what matters.  Say what?  I must object!  Being a colorist, I know that there are elements of my painting style that cannot be taught or explained.  It is an innate sense of what to do next, which colors to use, and how to manipulate them to enhance rather than detract from the overall composition.  Comments from other accomplished artists “Your use of color is amazing.”  “I don’t know how you can put those colors together and keep a harmonious and peaceful painting.”  “You have a fearless us of color that is admirable.” confirm my opinion.  

My personal testimony lies in the music world.  I studied piano for 10 years;  by the time I was looking at colleges my instructor encouraged me to pursue piano on the college level with the goal of becoming a concert pianist.  I enjoyed playing piano.  I did it well.  But I could never sit at the keys and create a piece of music which by the way frustrated me to no end because I longed for creative expression from my soul.  So I opted instead for another line of study that ultimately led me to the visual arts.  That longing for expression has been fulfilled now for years. 

Combine an innate longing to create with recognition that (even as an experienced teacher) there are techniques, styles, and colors I use that cannot be taught and I find myself firmly planted on the side that says there IS such a thing as God given talent.  That said, I also will be the first to say that every talented musician still needs to practice, every gifted painter still needs to paint regularly.  Both must study  if they are to progress in that talent.  But to say that practice, no matter how many hours, weeks, or years, can replace being gifted by the Divine?  Let’s just say I “strongly disagree.” 

What do you think?  Where do you land in the push/pull between talent and education?  I’d like to hear your thoughts. 

All that Glitters…

In the ever constant quest for the “remarkable” (see Seth Godin’s book “Purple Cow”)  the need for wisdom and discernment increases.  Presented with new ideas, new products, and new applications the axiom “All that glitters is not gold”  has become an” ever present companion.  Instructors present artistic uses for household products (steel wool, joint tape and compound, sandpaper).  Product specialists present the latest and greatest in the line of art supplies (transfer paper, spun polyester paper, paints ready for sun printing).  It’s exciting and inspiring.

And confusing.  It is necessary to explore, but always with the question, “Does this fit in my wheelhouse?  My sweet spot?  My artistic voice?”   The purpose of exploration is to refine the search and be selective.

It’s not easy being selective.   It’s time consuming and sometimes frustrating.  It’s not popular to be selective.  The crowd will often run after the next shiny thing that comes along.  If I am to find my unique voice.  If I am to march to the beat of my own drum.  It is necessary however.  I must check and recheck that the glitter IS or IS NOT gold.

 

Catching the Beat

“She/he walks to the beat of a different drum.”  Throughout my years that phrase has meant a variety of things.  It stood for “She’s a little weird” in my youth.  As in doesn’t fit in, fit the mold, isn’t like us.  Later it became “He isn’t a team player.  Doesn’t do community well. Won’t join in.”  Years later I find that the phrase has morphed from a negative to a positive as I am more deeply ensconced in the art world.

I am working to catch the beat of my own drum.  Seeking that which sets me apart.  The thing about this quest is how difficult it can be to hear the sound and catch the beat of the drum that says “ME”.  The competition for my ear and heart is overwhelming.  Mundane tasks at hand derail my commitment to create.   The business of art distracts from the creating of art.

Even in the creative arena voices compete.  Do I follow the voice that reminds me of what is selling around me?  Do I listen when I hear myself speak of what images I paint that have sold well?  Do I incorporate some or all of the ideas explored at the workshop on Sunday?  Do I pursue ideas presented by colleagues, customers, friends and family?

I feel a little like the chick in P.D. Eastman’s book “Are you my Mother?”  asking every creative idea that passes through my brain, “Are you my drum?  Is this the beat I walk to?”  In the story, if the chick had simply stayed in the nest, he would have met his mother as she returned with his breakfast.   The moral of the story for me is to stay the creative course I am on ( currently in the middle of a large painting).

This is not a quest of the mind, but of the heart.  I cannot reason my beat into existence.  The only beat I need to listen to is the beat of my spirit and heart, confident that it will whisper “This is the way, walk in it” as I sit at my easel,  work at my table, or stare into space.  That requires quieting my mind and allowing my heart to speak.

It is a challenge worthy of my effort.

 

 

Addiction and Recovery

Quotes from the week in the studio:  “Your use of color is fearless.  I love it!”  “You must be some kind of genius.”  “We wish we could do that!”  These are particular interesting to me this week as I’ve been tracing my career for an upcoming presentation for the Arts Council of Williamson County called ART:  Up Close and Personal. What has run through my mind is the eight year old Deborah telling people “I’m good (as in a good student) at everything but PE and Art.”  So, okay I haven’t become an athlete although I DO know what I’m talking about when it comes to football.  So how did I get from there to here?

The first step of any recovery is recognizing the addiction.  “My name is Deborah Gall and I am a recovering artist.  I am addicted to expressing myself creatively.”   It all began when I was a little girl and longed to let out that which stirred within me.  It would be decades before I recognized this as the need to create.  I searched for my creative voice through crafts and music and ultimately landed in the midst of a pile of fabric and thread.  Quilting became what fed my addiction.   However, in the midst of commissions, teaching, writing, and speaking I could not use the term”artist” to describe myself.  My tongue would get tied in knots and the word simply stuck in my throat.  When a gallery owner used the “A” word and commissioned a piece for her home I began to speak the word, but it felt like sawdust in my mouth and I was certain I was being branded as delusional.

Then, in 1995, someone introduced me to two books:  Julia Cameron’s “The Artist’s Way”  and Madeleine L’Engle’s “Walking on Water”.  Voila!  My life changed as I began the 12 step recovery that Cameron outlines for recovering creatives.  She uses the term blocked, but for me it was more than being blocked, it was at the very core of my identity.  Within the pages of those volumes I found my tribe!  I was not alone in the (somewhat strange) way I looked at life or interpreted my surroundings.   Most inprotantly I found value to the very thing I was addicted to…creative expression.  L’Engle’s subtitle “Reflections of faith and art” summarized what I had desperately been trying to put together unsuccessfully in my heart and life.  I was transformed!

As I recovered my sense of safety, identity, power, integrity, possibility, abundance, connection, strength, compassion, self-protection, autonomy, and faith (all chapters/steps in Cameron’s book) I gained the freedom to say without apology or explanation that I was, am, and will always be an artist.   It is not something I do.  It is something I am.  This is recovery that feeds the addiction.  Backwards perhaps, but effective none the less.  With that…think I’ll go paint.

Photo above is part of a triptych I am currently working on.  It will hang in the same office as this pair called “Sara’s Sky”.  Sara purchased the left panel a year ago and commissioned the right panel to continue the design and form a square.  The art plan for her office is coming along nicely don’t ya think?

If you’re in the area I’ll be speaking at Williamson County Public Library on Monday, September 12 6-7:30 p.m.

Click the links above to start your own recovery.  Enjoy the ride!

The Freedom of Art

Happy Independence Day to my friends in the United States;  Happy Monday to those of you around the world.  Please indulge me in a bit of patriotism.  I woke up this morning thinking about a phrase from yesterday’s sermon:  “It is for freedom that you have been set free” and I began to ponder freedom of speech.

I am one who believes that as an artist my number one job responsibility is to communicate.  Artists use a variety of ways to not only tell their personal story, but other truths they have encountered along the way.  Political statements, social messages, inspirational thoughts have all found their way on to canvas, sculpture, pottery, photography, etc.  My personal artist’s statement speaks of giving truth expression and speaking it clearly and boldly.

That is a freedom I enjoy as a citizen of this country and it is not one I take lightly.  It is for freedom of speech, freedom of artistic expression, freedom of defining my truth in a personal way, and more that I have been set free.  God bless America!  Let freedom ring!

“What’s That You See?” is a 24×24 gallery wrapped canvas that reminds many of fireworks.  Thought that was appropriate for the Fourth of July.  Available at the studio.