Journal: Tuesday 30 July 2019
The art 
The conversation
This is my first piece of art in more than 3 years and it is a powerful one. Lately, I have been reflecting on what Stuff Ink is all about, as well as what makes me special i.e. my unique selling point. Since I was young I have always had this sense “that I was destined for greatness”, however I still am yet to understand what greatness means in this context. Years ago, I was once also asked what my gift to the world was, which I responded “my life research, and my gift to me will be writing about it along the way”. Again, I have never really been able to articulate what exactly my life research is. Given what I have been reflecting upon of late, what came through in my art today seems to fit perfectly with where I am at.
Materials
Chalk pastel on mixed media paper
My process
- I started with an intention or word to focus my art on. Today it was the word WELCOME. I thought this was appropriate given I am just getting back in touch with my creative process again.
- I created a clear space and then sat down and did a guided meditation on meeting my higher self. The purpose of this was to still my mind and get past the resistance and worry of not being able to create something ‘that would look good’.
- I then began drawing with no set image in mind. I just sat and looked at the pastel chalks until a particular colour jumped out at me and started with that. In this instance, it was the green of the bird.
- I sat back and looked at my drawing. I then walked away for 15 minutes while the fixative was drying to give us some space. In that space, a conversation started to take place in my mind while thinking about the meaning of the artwork.
- I came back and wrote the conversation down on the back of the artwork.
- I wrote down these notes on my process and what I noticed.
- Then I made myself type these up to publish on my blog before any negative thoughts got the better of me so I could come back to this again later.
If you are interested in reading about what came up for me during the process of creating this artwork, click on the link below to read my journal notes.