Don't be daunted

Don't be afraid, don't be daunted, just do your job. Elizabeth Gilbert author of Eat, Pray, Love shares an inspiring talk about another way to think about creativity.

If you doing anything remotely creative this video is worth 19 minutes of your life:

Elizabeth Gilbert on nurturing creativity | Video on TED.com

Jack Hadley founder of coworkutah recommended it. This morning Jack taught my senior seminar art class a thing or two about social marketing. I now see the value of Twitter and Facebook and blogging beyond just socializing. Thanks to Jack we are not listening to anyone who gives us the concerned look when we tell them we are artists. Today my fellow artists and I will be inspired to carve our own way.

I'd love to hear about what you thought of the video and if you have any ideas about how to stay focused on your creativity and not about how bad the economy is.

50 Drawings in 50 Minutes on Top of Each Other

After the previous assignment with Catherine Downing, (50 Drawings in 50 minutes) my instructor Tawni Shuler, recommended me to do 50 drawings in 50 minutes on one big piece of paper. She asked me to use an organic form. I chose a piece of burlap paper and twirled it smashed it up a bit and then arranged it on the table in front of me. With this approach I never rearranged the object. I just moved my drawing paper around and changed mediums each time I drew it. I drew small parts of it, I drew it very large and very small. I drew it with my eyes closed. I tried angular approaches and soft circular approaches. The time went by very fast. As you can see the result doesn't look like a still life drawing at all. I had fun just playing with different materials. Sometimes,"Unexpected paths lead to great discoveries"(Wayne Hodgins).

50 Drawings in 50 minutes

To prepare for this I gathered various types of paper and different drawing and painting materials I enjoy. I used an object, in this case a pair of glasses that was missing a lens and drew it for about 60 seconds. Then I switched to a new piece of paper every minute. Exercises like this are useful for revealing the way we work and think as artists.

Immediately I looked at the drawings and wrote notes about how I was affected by the time restraints and what developed through the process. In the beginning I was nervous about making true marks that would identify the form accurately. I knew the process was going to be long so it started out as work.

As I warmed up I began moving the object around and then I even added a bottle to personify the objects more. I drew 17-23 blind with a marker. I was surprised at how accurate I was. I began to single out parts of the glasses that seemed symbolic. I like the limbs of the glasses crossing. They seemed to be guarded. I became agitated in the middle worried that I would run out of ideas. Then when I realized the end was near I calmed down. I switched to watercolor. I began to zoom in to shapes that I liked more. At this point I could have kept going because it was no longer work.

I reached a place where I began to be connected. I thought of the rushed days thatI don't have the opportunity to take time for myself to think and ponder. Those are days that I become easily frustrated and I have less patience for others. I contrasted that feeling with the days when I do take time to read and think and meditate and my view of the world is full of light and inspiration. I like the glasses that have the yellow paint and missing lens because I was able to construct a visual verse about that experience.

I found this exercise to be very helpful. I hope it proves to be helpful for you as well. Have you noticed up anything about these drawings and this process that I didn't mention? Please share it with me. If you try this exercise on your own let me know how it works for you.