i’ve been in atlanta for the last week, soaking up the sunny rays of our brand new grandson, linkin urijah miller. we are lovin’ linkin, and hubby clark and i are getting back in touch with the wonderful world of babies.
being away from home, taking long walks in the peaceful, wooded suburbs of atlanta, and time to read – with a trip to anthropologie thrown in. oh wait, don’t forget a ton of late night shows on hgtv… (we don’t get cable at home and i can’t seem to get enough of it here) and conversations with our kids about their latest interests and challenges.
these are a few of my favorite things. i am renewed as i talk with God about us – reading “walking with god” by john elderedge + utmost for his highest with oswald c. inside my head i find myself designing the next ginghamsburg campus space, picturing how our next event could look, reorganizing a room in my home, reimagining our autumn porch in tipp city. i can’t help what my brain does in the off hours but i can feed it and keep it well-nourished for the next season.
what drives your design machine? time away? time with god? time in the out-of-doors? i’d love to know how you “feed your soul” and make time to listen for God’s next creative endeavor. comments invited.
being away from home, taking long walks in the peaceful, wooded suburbs of atlanta, and time to read – with a trip to anthropologie thrown in. oh wait, don’t forget a ton of late night shows on hgtv… (we don’t get cable at home and i can’t seem to get enough of it here) and conversations with our kids about their latest interests and challenges.
these are a few of my favorite things. i am renewed as i talk with God about us – reading “walking with god” by john elderedge + utmost for his highest with oswald c. inside my head i find myself designing the next ginghamsburg campus space, picturing how our next event could look, reorganizing a room in my home, reimagining our autumn porch in tipp city. i can’t help what my brain does in the off hours but i can feed it and keep it well-nourished for the next season.
what drives your design machine? time away? time with god? time in the out-of-doors? i’d love to know how you “feed your soul” and make time to listen for God’s next creative endeavor. comments invited.
My "design machine" is driven by an old railroad conductor named Charlie. Charlie has leathery skin, and wears overalls and a hat, both with slim pinstripes of blue and white denim, in classic railroad style.
ReplyDeleteCharlie is insatiable in his quest for new ideas. He is always looking - on his bike in the mornings, in art galleries, restaurants, amongst other artists in their studios... Every conversation is an opportunity to pick up a new tool, skill, or reference for later use. He nurtures and protects this desire, cultivating it even on days when he is tired brain dead.
Charlie values Art History in a special way - he needs to understand what has been done in the past in order to see how to address the present. Pop culture is also relative to his pursuits for the same reason. Charlie believes an object out of context is a hopeless drifter, destined to be lost in a sea of mindless fodder - the junk and kitsch that populates our visual landscape.
It is important in dealing with Charlie though to understand that ideas are only half the battle with him. The ideas stop coming if they are not acted upon. We learned this together the hard way. All ideas and no work just leaves Charlie frustrated, and nothing gets done.
Even if the ideas are given up, or disliked in the end, they need to be finished. This can be as little as a detailed sketch and not an actual object... Most ideas end this way, and are saved for further thought and reference down the road. Generally we can count on 1 out of 10 ideas, give or take. The beauty of the completion of the idea is that it serves as the link to the next thought, and also provides the endorphin lift needed to start again.
Charlie and I get along most days pretty well. He gets cranky, and I do too, but we keep working, and we don't give up... No matter what.
We know that the work of creativity and expression through self-exploration is the hardest work on the planet. "Bearing your soul to be judged by the masses is dangerous business," says the conductor. He is no spring chicken.
We are fearless in our pursuit, disciplined in our approach, and confidant that God who has blessed us with these talents and ideas will honor this desire in our hearts with the fruition of dreams, and the ability to press on in the journey. After all, the next piece is always the best.
My 'design machine' is driven by listening to other artists talk about their work or watching them while they work. As I am invited into their creative world, I get new and fresh ideas of how to use different materials and how to work with my subject matter. Whenever I am in a rut, or scared about starting the next project... it always helps to see someone else creating.
ReplyDeleteI had the privilege of hearing an artist, Amy Cutler from Brooklyn, talk about her work last night at a slide presentation. Her work is very personal and she has a beautiful way of taking normal objects or figures and paints them in a way that bends the rules of logic. Seeing this opened up a whole new door of thought for me. She also talked about a special sketchbook she keeps called her 'vocabulary'. In this sketchbook she studies objects, animals, people, etc... and keeps them in there for language to use in her paintings at a later time. When she comes back to that image her hand already understands them.
I am starting my vocabulary sketchbook today.
i tend to refuel by basking in the company of other creatives. when a creative close friend or associate and i get together, wild ideas just seem to flutter about, and in those moments, i am inspired by his/her own uniqueness and i often get tons of ideas from our time spent together.
ReplyDeletei think i'm unique in that i love working independently, greasing my own design machine, but i cherish and long for time spent with other creatives in the community-at-large.
god has gifted us all so amazingly and i get so excited by seeing the ways in which he's gifted others, and in trying to find the connection i can use to combine my gifts with others. i love working with local artists, helping out with my own talents as they try to do their own things.
to sum it all up: creative community connections. i absolutely neeeeeeed them to replenish my spirit.