Sometimes it is a real challenge to find a topic or idea to draw or paint, print or sculpt about. Motivation and inspiration sometimes flow like a river and other times your creative flow feels as dry as the Sahara Desert. As a teacher I am always open to ideas coming my way, and many times they come completely at random, like this one.
While looking at a knitting blog, the fiber artist whose blog it is, had a link. She had posted a lovely little drawing and a story about how she hadn't kept a sketchbook in years and thought she would never really do much sketching ever again and then she found this group on a Flickr page and got inspired. So I followed the link and thought this was a great little way to nudge my own creativity and would certainly be something that would be cool for you guys to know about and for one of our next assignments to participate in as a group. Here is the site. I subscribed to their weekly theme email and I will also put a link in Blogs Of Note on my blog so you can access the page anytime you want to.
The social and collaborative aspect of the internet is an amazing boon to your generation and the art world generally. To me the niftiness of this world of interrelated art, ideas and inspiration never gets old. I hope that you understand the gift this kind of communication is. It was not so long ago, just after you all were born that the internet began to make its impact on globalization, connectedness and the advent of social networking.
Before the magic of instant communication and social networking artists were entirely limited to their physical location, personal experience and actual connections to others, reading and going to galleries museums and other cultural events. Finding external inspiration and motivation took a lot more "legwork". Research required leaving the comfort of sitting on the couch in your jammies (as I am now on a cold sunny Sunday morning) and going out to the library, book group, arts organization, or other venue to talk to and look at what was going on in the world. Of course there were always paper publications reporting on the goings on of the art world but they were costly and if you didn't have a subscription the library may or may not have a copy of your favorite journal or magazine. I am starting to sound like an "old timer" but it is true. The internet is a valuable tool, I hope that you can learn to use it to its fullest potential. Dig in and dig deep.
"We become what we behold. We shape our tools, and then our tools shape us." - Marshall McLuhan
While looking at a knitting blog, the fiber artist whose blog it is, had a link. She had posted a lovely little drawing and a story about how she hadn't kept a sketchbook in years and thought she would never really do much sketching ever again and then she found this group on a Flickr page and got inspired. So I followed the link and thought this was a great little way to nudge my own creativity and would certainly be something that would be cool for you guys to know about and for one of our next assignments to participate in as a group. Here is the site. I subscribed to their weekly theme email and I will also put a link in Blogs Of Note on my blog so you can access the page anytime you want to.
The social and collaborative aspect of the internet is an amazing boon to your generation and the art world generally. To me the niftiness of this world of interrelated art, ideas and inspiration never gets old. I hope that you understand the gift this kind of communication is. It was not so long ago, just after you all were born that the internet began to make its impact on globalization, connectedness and the advent of social networking.
Before the magic of instant communication and social networking artists were entirely limited to their physical location, personal experience and actual connections to others, reading and going to galleries museums and other cultural events. Finding external inspiration and motivation took a lot more "legwork". Research required leaving the comfort of sitting on the couch in your jammies (as I am now on a cold sunny Sunday morning) and going out to the library, book group, arts organization, or other venue to talk to and look at what was going on in the world. Of course there were always paper publications reporting on the goings on of the art world but they were costly and if you didn't have a subscription the library may or may not have a copy of your favorite journal or magazine. I am starting to sound like an "old timer" but it is true. The internet is a valuable tool, I hope that you can learn to use it to its fullest potential. Dig in and dig deep.
"We become what we behold. We shape our tools, and then our tools shape us." - Marshall McLuhan
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