learn it & use it for life

personally, i loved the excerpt from twyla tharp's the creative habit: learn it and use it for life. she put a lot of focus on the artistic process as opposed to outcome. i like the comparison to scratching a lottery ticket, this makes creation seem like change or a convenient occurrence with various materials. her personal process is somewhat uncertain, therefore she is constantly revising her work and growing as a creator. she warns about various troubles in the arts, something like writer's block. i have come across the feeling of being unable to generate ideas and it is frustrating. i like her comparison of going from little ideas to big, developing work into something more substantial. one of my favorite quotes describes how to approach ideas and pursue them:

"The Harvard psychologist Stephen Kosslyn says that ideas can be acted upon in four ways. First, you must generate the idea, usually from memory or experience or activity. Then you have to retain it- that is, hold it steady in your mind and keep it from disappearing. Then you have to inspect it- study it and make inferences about it. Finally, you have to be able to transform it- alter it in some way to suit your higher purposes" (pg. 101)

i think that twyla tharp is an inspiration in this excerpt. she brings up another issue that i've experienced, the need for originality. when making art, it is easy to be cliche and predictable. throughout my reading, i noted that "individuality must be maintained". it is easy to be inspired by other artists, yet translating that inspiration into a personal creation is difficult. additionally, there is the problem of having an idea and losing it. the ability to hold onto brainstorms is incredibly difficult, yet twyla suggests a few solutions. for her, it makes the most sense to constantly videotape herself when trying to come up with a dance. in this way, she has permanent evidence of her work and process. similarly, artists can document their process through pictures and notes in a sketchbook.

project update: i've finished my marc jacobs painting. it is a mixture of acrylic paint and pastel to create a realistic representation of the designer. my next venture is going to be painting lil' wayne. i've already drawn the outline and plan to begin painting/filling everything in during tomorrow's double block. my final picture in this series is going to be shia labeouf. i found an awesome picture of him crouching in a swimmer-esque position without his shirt on. this means that each person in this series will be shirtless which creates continuity. marc jacobs is pretty small, approximately 13 x 8 in. going from my sketch of lil' wayne, he will be 15 x 12 in. i'm planning on making shia a little bit smaller and i'll hang them in this order: shia, marc, wayne. this means they'll increase in size but use the same materials and process. i like how we're on a first name basis. i'm very excited for the outcome of this project! i'd like to experiment with paper cuts, mixed media and paint markers, but i'll save that for another day...