Lorraine Maxwell Art

As an artist, I am often asked “Why do you make art?  It seems a simple enough question but it’s something that I’ve thought about for many years.  I’ve had to ask myself that question many times as I struggled with rejection letters from galleries, unkind comments from viewing audiences and having to learn how to convert my thousands of slides of my artwork into digital form. (Costco now does it for a reasonable price and I don’t have to buy or borrow the expensive machines to do it myself – yaaay!)

The simple answer is there is no simple answer but lots of reasons – some more complicated than others.  I make art because creating something (a painting or drawing) out of nothing (a blank canvas or paper) makes me feel that I can organize the uncontrollable chaos in my life into something manageable.  I make art because I love the challenge of making an idea come to life before my eyes so that I can clearly see the colors and images that float in and out of my consciousness. Finally, I make art because I really enjoy confounding people with abstract images and shapes to make them think about what they are viewing – that’s an important part of my art-making fun.

1.  Art develops creative thinking. Creativity is the process of recombining known elements and past experiences to produce something that is new.  There is an urgent need today for creative solutions for the home, community, nation and the world.
2. Art provides a means of communication and self- expression. Art is a form of language. It offers another way of making personal statements and observations about the world that may be difficult to verbalize.
3. Art serves as an emotional release. At the same time a person is creating something, he or she is solving problems of tension or frustration. People who can turn feelings into creative channels, have an outlet that can safeguard them all their lives – a natural “self-healing” process.
4. Art strengthens self-confidence. Self-confidence is the feeling of assurance in one’s own judgment, ability and power. People who create art gain confidence in working through the many decisions, challenges and problems experienced in the process of creating.
5. Art increases self-understanding. Through creating art, each person can discover their own point of view. Choices of colors and methods can be very revealing and seeing other’s ideas and approaches to the same projects one is working on can add to this self-knowledge.
6. Art enhances the ability to visualize. Visualization, the ability to see a mental picture of something that is not there, is vital to creativity. The ability to “see it in your head” is crucial to becoming a good thinker and achieving whatever one wishes to accomplish. Evidence now shows that original thinkers in math and science use visual thinking.  This ability can be strengthened through art.
7. Art provides decision-making/problem-solving opportunities. People are required to make countless decisions as they create art.  Decisions about things such as subject matter, colors, shapes, materials, tools, textures and sizes are going on from the moment a creative project is started.  By working through problems in art a person learns how to work through problems in life.
8. Art heightens awareness and sensitivity. Experiences in art heightens all the senses. Visual power especially, is increased. By participating in the creation of art, people’s senses are sharpened. This in turn can make them more aware of their environments and more intelligent and observant consumers.
9. Art aids physical co-ordination. Art increases large and small muscle co-ordination. Through art activities, there is increased motor control and eye, hand and mind integration. Free drawing has been found to develop the skills needed for lettering and cursive writing.
10. ART IS FUN!

Becoming an artist today is easy if you can commit to a life of poverty.  The first step is to get yourself admitted to a prestigious College with an acclaimed Arts Program and expensive tuition.  Then, work hard at your craft (painting, sculpture, photography etc.), learning all you can from some of the best artists/teachers available.  Afterwards, graduate with lots of knowledge and expensive student loans.

Now you are free to go out into the world to discover that the knowledge that you have gained is basically useless because, a) the public doesn’t want to buy your art- it wants cheap posters and/or pretty reproductions of other people’s art, b) the techniques you spent years perfecting are no longer useful – computers can do a lot of what you learned to do by hand and, c) everyone thinks their child can do what you do.

So, you make your way in society, working at other jobs to pay the rent and because you really like to eat.  It sounds depressing and it would be but you know something that most don’t. The real secret to being an artist is that you create your art because you love to create art.  You have to do it! You feel more alive when you are creating and that feeling cannot be duplicated, everything else is forgotten when you are making your art and that is why the “oath of poverty” seems easier to take.

Most of us rush around trying to fit everything into our busy lives. There is little time to just sit and think. Sometimes we need to slow down a little and consider the pieces of advice that help us through our days.  So, in the spirit of fun and inspiration, here are some of my favorite Art jokes and quotations.

I come from a long line of artists – it’s called the unemployment line.

How many visitors to an art gallery does it take to change a light bulb? Two, one to change it and one to say my four year old could have done that.

“Find out who you are and do it on purpose” Dolly Parton

“Art is art, everything else is everything else” Ad Reinhardt

And last but not least, my favorite quote by one of my favorite artists, Meret Oppenheim.  Oppenheim was an early feminist who lived her life breaking rules.  She was the muse of photographer Man Ray and posed nude for some of his most iconic photographs. She herself is most famous for her fur lined teacup “ Le dejeuner en fourrure”, owned by the Museum of Modern Art in New York.  Her quote, which I have written on my studio wall says, “It is the duty of a woman to lead a life that expresses her disbelief in the validity of the taboos which have been imposed upon her kind for thousands of years.”  Words to live by!

                                          Artfully Creative

As the world becomes increasingly complex, we are called on to use our creativity to solve problems more frequently.
Just last week I was asked to create a float for a parade to be used in a week’s time. There are lots of stores that sell supplies to make a float. They all happen to be in states in the middle of the country. Even if they had shipped supplies immediately, they would have arrived too late to be used. So, creativity took over. We used indoor/outdoor carpeting to cover the whole float and attached mylar garlands and room decorations, plastic leis wrapped with beads, and shiny fringe used for table decorating. With fingers crossed for no rain, the float looked beautiful and held up for the parade.
As we use our creative “muscle” more and more, solving problems become easier for us and not just artistic problems but problems at work, at home and even with our relationships. Try to imagine solving a problem you are struggling with in as many ways as possible. List several solutions, including crazy, outlandish ones. Don’t just think about different things – think differently.

Try to imagine living in a world without art. What would be missing from our lives? 

Well, to start with, there would be no movies, TV shows, magazines, video games, YouTube, Snapchat, Flickr or Instagram.  There would be no wedding photographs to share, in fact no photographs at all. Food and product labels would be generic and our clothes would be devoid of color and style.

You would not bother to travel to see the architecture or the many art treasures in Rome or Paris or go west to see the artwork of Native Americans.

Art enriches our lives and culture. It lifts us out of our everyday struggle for survival and gives meaning to the things that we do, it gives us a way to make sense of life.

To be sure, a world without art would not be a world without beauty. Nature is more beautiful than anything that we can create but by learning to appreciate art, we can more fully understand the beauty that surrounds us.

In many African languages and cultures there is no word for art because art is simply an integral part of life and there is no need to separate the two. Maybe we can learn a thing or two from other civilizations that have existed for thousands of years.

Creativity is defined as having or showing imagination.  Art is defined as the product of creative activities.  Therefore, by definition, we are all artists in our own way.  We all are creative and express our creativity in different ways in our lives.

 Some of us express ourselves in the clothes that we choose and the original ways that we combine and wear fashions. Others can whip up a wonderful meal out of leftovers. Still others can take beautiful photographs or design an entertaining Facebook page or problem-solve at work.

Many of us take our creativity for granted because it comes easily to us but sometimes we should pause and consider how our skills help make us the unique and special people that we are.  Take the time, especially at this hectic time of year, to take stock of our own talents and gifts and give ourselves the gift of personal recognition and appreciation.

Art is the extension of creativity and a form of personal expression.  We are not all visual artists but we can all be creative and the artists of our own lives.

 Share with us on the blog how you are personally creative.  We would love to hear from you.