Louise Fletcher's 'Find Your Joy' course - Assignment 2
Part 2: 'Back to Blue'
I instantly felt better and more energised by the brighter colours, and letting myself use scissors felt like a huge relief! My carry overs from part one were the charcoal and the credit card- though I notice I didn't really use this in the same way.
The biggest challenge for me was focusing on the feelings that arose and not getting too distracted by the making process and thinking about what the end product would look like! Putting those visions aside made me realise how I'm actually always thinking several steps ahead when I'm working in 'normal mode'. This was interesting as if you'd asked me yesterday I'd have said that I just respond in the moment to what I see emerging on the canvas, but perhaps the reality is that I don't always. I'm probably thinking more along the lines of, 'if I do that, then I can do that, and then after that, I might be able to do this.'
I found these exercises very thought provoking, in terms of the objectivity in my decision making as I work and reflecting on my natural thought processes. A new awareness around the way in which I work has arisen and the attachment I have to my current working process.
Understanding how we naturally come to our art making, the ways in which we feel most comfortable working and being aware of what excites and engages most in our working process are all valuable assets to us as artists. It gives us the opportunity to reflect upon it, work with it and even extend it. Or perhaps, if we're feeling brave, explore our opposites as an exercise to see what, if anything we may be missing!
I finished these exercises feeling that I should indeed perhaps shake it up a bit more often to see what rises to the surface!
