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Making Art is a Joy and a Discipline
Finding Inspiration for a New PaintingCreating Room 011- Step TwoDrawing The Inspiration for Room 011
A few weeks ago I began the process of creating room 011 in The Invention of Rooms gallery. Once I had my Dura-Lar all taped off and ready to go it was time to gather the particular elements that would make this room different from the others. The inspiration for each of these rooms comes from a variety of places. Often times I am inspired by patterns in nature, or a single object that ignites a story in my imagination. Sometimes I even gather inspiration from the ornamentation or simplicity in a magnificent facade.
This particular room was inspired by Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, a persian poet. The book I have is translated by Edward Fitzgerald, accompanied by Edmund Dulac's illustrations. I read these to myself as a child by flashlight. At night under my blankets I would pretend to understand them as the imagery flooded my mind. On the brief occasion when I did understand, I would become ecstatic. It has never exactly been the subject of a poem or the word choice that inspired me, but the imagery that is conjured from the sound of one word following another, like when reading Shakespeare aloud. While I notice the subject and object in a poem, I pay far more attention to the rhythm of the lines and the song created by the sound of the words. XIV, Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam Where it not Folly, Spider-like to spin The Thread of present Life away to win-- What? For ourselves, who know not if we shall Breathe out the very Breath we now breath in! Inspiration not Duplication
Inspiration is important for all artists, but while we devise our masterpiece we need to practice, practice and practice. Practice is important for any skill to develop, whether it is reading, writing, running, or even learning to wink. Forming the habit to create, even without an assignment or commission, can get difficult when the idea or inspiration well has run dry. This is a good time for an artist or designer to do a forgery.
In a painting class, I did an Egon Schiele forgery. I was inspired by his wobbly lines and dry brush. Had I never painted that forgery, I would not have learned the particular techniques I now use when a dry brush is required for texture. Sometimes the line between inspiration and duplication is a fine one. It can be a great honor for an artist to find that their work has been cloned. Other times it's insulting to the artist who has been cloned and embarrassing to the cloner. As a designer, copying is sometimes an even finer line—it's often invisible until tripped over with humiliating results. At the point when we begin to see the inspirational piece more clearly than our own work, it's time to take a break, reassess our goals, and redefine the message. I like to gather inspiration from various sources. They often have nothing to do with each other but somehow they still communicate the same theme. Everything deserves its own story—sometimes it needs to be found, and other times created. Go to: Room 011, Step OneRelated postsAdd a comment |
