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| Goddess by Marla L. Niederer There is a myth of the tortured artist that in order to be a great artist, one must suffer tremendously. There are many great artists throughout history that have creating amazing work despite all the suffering they endured during their lives. But the question really should be, how much more magnificent could their work have been if they didn’t have all the obstacles placed in front of their art work by the painful life they endured? |
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| Claudette by Marla L. Niederer |
I know for a fact
that my art flourishes when I am happy, secure, comfortable, warm, and
loved. It really takes a nose dive when
I am discontent and/or stressed. Part of
keeping me happy so I can create my art from a happy place is feeding my artist
soul. There are many different ways to
feed your artist’s soul. I thought I
would list some of the ways that keep my artist soul happy in case you might
wish to try some of them too.
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| Flower Faeries by Marla L. Niederer |
1.
Find your
tribe. Art very often occurs within the
solitary space of one’s own studio but it doesn’t always have to. If you are working in your own studio, alone,
hours on end, days on end, you need to make time to be social. What better way to socialize than to find
other artists to connect with. Join an
art group in your community. For years I belonged to an art doll
group. Since that is no longer
available, I am now a member of a fiber art group and meet with a group of
watercolor artists once a week to paint. Art flourishes in the warm glow of a good
supportive group of other artists.
2.
Read books about
art and artists. This statement dates me
for sure but I have learned so many techniques by reading. This started while I was a child and has
continued to this day. It is also
inspiring to read about the lives of other artists. And it is also enjoyable to read fiction with
the art world as its setting. Two ideas of books to read are , The Painted Kiss by Elizabeth Hickey, and Making Color Sing by Jeanne Dobie. You can find both on Amazon.
3.
If you don’t like
to read about techniques there are so many good videos out there available on
sites such as YouTube. Make yourself a
nice cup of tea and watch some of them. Here is a link to my friend Maria Greene's website. She offers really good art tutorials. http://mariagreene.org/
4.
Visit art
museums. It goes without saying that
viewing a work of art in a magazine or on the internet pales in comparison to
viewing it in person. I always find that
a trip to an art museum is uplifting, inspiring, and educational. Viewing amazing art is music to the soul. One of my favorite art museums to visit is the National Gallery of Canada which you can click on a link to here
5.
Buy new art
supplies when you can. Okay, the secret
is out. I am an art supply hoarder. I have my first set of pastels that were
given to me when I was eight. If you
didn’t know, that was many many weeks ago.
That being said, it still is always exciting to bring home new art
supplies just crying out to be tried!
6.
Attend conferences
for the field of art you are engaged in.
I have learned so much and made many friends by attending conferences
for doll artists through the years. I always leave so inspired and ready to get
back to my studio to try out new ideas. There are several really great conferences to attend. I am teaching at two next spring. I am teaching at one in Philadelphia and you can click on the link to it here http://www.quinlanmuseum.com/convention/
Another I am teaching at is in Columbus Ohio and you can click on the link to it here http://cyndysdolls.com/
There are also two wonderful doll art orginizations that put on annual conferences
ODACA you can click on a link to here http://www.odaca.org/
NIADA you can click on a link to here http://www.niada.org/
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| Lissette by Marla L. Niederer |
7.
Sometimes it is
okay to chase something shiny down the rabbit hole, especially, if it leaves
you with a smile as wide as the Cheshire Cat’s grin. For example, I saw a little antique lamb on eBay. I had to have it but the price kept going up
and up and up. I could have blown my art
supply budget to buy it but then I couldn’t buy more art supplies and frankly I
really enjoy buying art supplies. So I decided
to make an inspired one of my own. It
was very off task, very off the focus I have been trying to maintain. It took time that could have been used for
something more “productive.” But, what
fun! And what a smile it has left on my
face. Now I’m ready to return to my
“real” work!
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| Lissette by Marla L. Niederer |
If you have other
ideas about how to feed your artist soul feel free to post them in the comments
section. I would love to hear from you.
Until next week….warm
hugs,
Marla
If you are looking
for something to create for gift giving during the holidays I am teaching two
online classes on AforArtistic that you may be interested in.
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| Mermaid Ornament by Marla L. Niederer |
Mermaid Ornament
Class begins November 8th 2016
If you wish to find
out more about the class click on the following link to AforArtistic
http://www.aforartistic.com/mermaid-ornament-brooch-with-marla-l-niederer.html
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| Poinsettia by Marla L. Niederer Poinsettia Bust Ornament Class begins December 1st 2016. If you wish to find out more about the class click on the following link to AforArtistic http://www.aforartistic.com/christmas-in-july-poinsettia-with-marla-niederer-cloth-doll-artist.html |
Lovely post. I certainly do all these things. Sometimes I come up against a wall. Instead of tearing my hair out I take time off for a day or as long as it takes to do something different completely. Weed the garden or tidy cupboards. Something that can be done mindlessly, while my mind fixes the creative 'problem' I'm trying to overcome.
ReplyDeleteHi Megan! Thank you for sharing how you work through your creative "problems." I often do the same and am always surprised how much of the creative "problem" gets worked out while doing something else :-)
Deletewarm hugs,
Marla