Creating Space for Creativity

I have recently realised that I spend my week encouraging people to be creative and to use art to express themselves. However I do not practice what I preach. I find that my life has been so busy and that I spend so much of my energy trying to organise my work, my home and my relationships in a way that gives me more space and makes my life easier to negotiate.  As a mother of two with a third on it's way I was really searching for ways to be able take care of the family as best I could but to not lose myself in the process.  Being creative is what I do, in work I am referred to as 'The Art Lady' but lately I really have being feeling like a fraud.

Then I stumbled across some blogs about minimalism.  I have for a long time being interested in simple living but was never really able to feel committed to it.  Minimalism has much the same values but gave me a more practical way to incorporate it into my life.  Basically you pare down your life to what is of real value and importance to you.  It generally starts with the material clutter that you surround yourself with.  Over the last month I have reduced my wardrobe, the kids toys, household things and paperwork by about 60 per cent.  The was psychological impact was amazing.  I felt clearer in my head.  There wasn't so much to do. Even the everyday chores were easier.

Even though it is a process and I have more to do, I have finally found a way to create some space to be creative. The above picture is an embroidery piece that is part of a larger project I have been working on. It has sat in a box for months waiting to be completed.  There is not that much left to do, but there was never time or space to do it.  Tonight I am sitting down to finish it off.  I am also beginning real, tangible work on an arts festival that I co-created, and am getting excited about a sculpture I am doing, instead of feeling that it was another item on a to-do list.

Below are a list of minimalist sites that might spark something.

www.mnmlist.com

www.theminimalists.com

www.becomingminimalist.com

www.rowdykittens.com

Bring on the space and clarity, let us create.

Exploring Frida

Every week I work with a group of older women in a local day care centre. Most of the women have had no previous experience of art and many didn't even get to experience it in school.  For them to be "good" means to be able to reproduce something that is right in front of them.  I have introduced them to different mediums and subject matter, delved into the imagination and examined other artists work.  During the month of May we have a national arts festival for older people called Bealtaine, http://bealtaine.com/ which is to celebrate creativity in older people.  For this festival the group had an exhibition of their work in a local library.  Local dignitaries were invited and a well known artist opened it.  It was the first time that I felt that my work with them was going somewhere.  Each week when I propose something to do they all claim it is too hard and they couldn't do that, my challenge is to give them confidence and encouragement to do it and also to appreciate their work.  At the day of the opening I could see they were finally beginning to see themselves as artists and appreciate their own creativity.

In two weeks I am bringing them to see the Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera exhibition in IMMA.  I am so excited myself to see the work as Kahlo is one of my favourite artists.  I hope the visit will inspire them and help them to view art as something other than painting a vase of flowers.  What I love about Kahlo is her honesty in her paintings and how she used her work and creativity as a way of dealing with and expressing what was going on in her life.  Art shouldn't be just done for the viewer, often I forget this myself and become paralysed by the audience who have yet to exist.  I am looking forward to how the women interpret Kahlo's work.

http://www.imma.ie/

New Journey

This is my first blog ever, I have only just began the journey into blog world and by stumbling across other sites realised how useful they are.  I work for myself as a community artist and always wanted an outlet for my work to be shown to others.  My philosophy in life & work is that we are all artists, we often just need the encouragement, support or inspiration to bring creativity into our life.  Often the journey is about trust and confidence in your own in abilities and sometimes it is more about finding motivation or space to create. I hope to offer readers some inspiration and nurture their own confidence by showing what I do and what the wonderful artists I work with do.

Enjoy