I am new to the world of warm glass and my field of expertise happens to be the area of psychology. I became involved in this work largely based on wanting a medium to express emotion in a minimalist fashion. My work, thus far, tends to reflect that.
In Daniel Sterns book, "The Interpersonal World of the Infant", he articulates a wonderful insight. He describes how as the infant develops the use of "language", it is the first time that we begin to "limit" the "experience". When we attempt to narrow our "experiences" into phrases and descriptions, we have already lost a piece of that experience as we are putting parameters on it in order to explain it to others. I offer this up as food for thought and support the idea that "Art" can be most powerful when we allow ourselves to view it or touch it with our most primitve senses. Each person will experience it in their own way, and hopefully others will "get" what you were putting into it!
Great discussion thread!!
Rob
Thoughtful work?
Moderators: Brad Walker, Tony Smith
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Amy Schleif-Mohr
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- Location: Milwaukee
My first teacher at Pilchuck, Kathy Bunnell, had a great line about art education . . . . "Kids always know which crayon to pick up next". Profound, no? It's the teaching that can limit us, once we know that certain colours "don't go together", we can be effectively hobbled. And of course, there really are no rules, but there are institutionalized precepts, which have to be shattered periodically. BrockRob Cleve wrote:I am new to the world of warm glass and my field of expertise happens to be the area of psychology. I became involved in this work largely based on wanting a medium to express emotion in a minimalist fashion. My work, thus far, tends to reflect that.
In Daniel Sterns book, "The Interpersonal World of the Infant", he articulates a wonderful insight. He describes how as the infant develops the use of "language", it is the first time that we begin to "limit" the "experience". When we attempt to narrow our "experiences" into phrases and descriptions, we have already lost a piece of that experience as we are putting parameters on it in order to explain it to others. I offer this up as food for thought and support the idea that "Art" can be most powerful when we allow ourselves to view it or touch it with our most primitve senses. Each person will experience it in their own way, and hopefully others will "get" what you were putting into it!
Great discussion thread!!
Rob
My memory is so good, I can't remember the last time I forgot something . . .
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Catharine Newell
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- Location: Portland, OR
Rob Cleve wrote: I offer this up as food for thought and support the idea that "Art" can be most powerful when we allow ourselves to view it or touch it with our most primitve senses. Each person will experience it in their own way, and hopefully others will "get" what you were putting into it!
Great discussion thread!!
Rob
Yes. Isn't this exactly what the best art evokes? It's conveying something elemental that can be picked up and translated by the viewer. This is why I'm wondering how technique can be everything to someone's approach. What innate part of self or experience is transferred to the work through technique, only?
Catharine
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Brian and Jenny Blanthorn
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I am not in2 words
When I did spend time thinking 2 much I just stoped making stuff
In some ways the work kinda makes itself
When it comes out realy well, which is not often, I realy wonder how it all came about
I work from stuff i got like rocks n fish n old glass from previous firings n new ideas n kinda mix n mach
I do sepend a lot ofd time sortin out Cheetin Technology which includes ergonomics n machines
Brock I was wonderin about ur salmon pic
MayB its the patterns that draw U rather than the pic itself ??
MayB U wanna apply the patterns 2 a surface
I dont draw or paint either
I do very rough scetches
Brian
When I did spend time thinking 2 much I just stoped making stuff
In some ways the work kinda makes itself
When it comes out realy well, which is not often, I realy wonder how it all came about
I work from stuff i got like rocks n fish n old glass from previous firings n new ideas n kinda mix n mach
I do sepend a lot ofd time sortin out Cheetin Technology which includes ergonomics n machines
Brock I was wonderin about ur salmon pic
MayB its the patterns that draw U rather than the pic itself ??
MayB U wanna apply the patterns 2 a surface
I dont draw or paint either
I do very rough scetches
Brian
I'm wondering if people ever only use technique? There is something that has taken them to the process of learning the technique and the desire to "'perfect" it. In the field where we believe "all behavior has meaning", it's not always on a conscious level that people decide where there art may be going.
From the websites I've seen of the artists who post to this board, there are so many beautiful objects being created that the inner workings may not ever be apparent or able to be confined to words. I think it's more important that we support what people are creating and take from it what we can!
I'll hopefully will be ready to share some pics of my work soon and open myself to the interpretation of others! HAHA!
From the websites I've seen of the artists who post to this board, there are so many beautiful objects being created that the inner workings may not ever be apparent or able to be confined to words. I think it's more important that we support what people are creating and take from it what we can!
I'll hopefully will be ready to share some pics of my work soon and open myself to the interpretation of others! HAHA!
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Claudia Whitten
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Why are you doing the work that you do? What is your thought process behind your work?
This has been stimulating reading for me this morning. I feel that my work is self exploration of who I am. Not always the case though for years I had worked with glass and made pieces that were just exploring the basics of what I could do in glass. As a result of getting stuck there, I was not feeling what I was doing.
This last year has been different. I have been exploring a technique and the possibilities it has to express myself. I am working in who I am , being a gardener I use botanicals a lot in my work. I get my inspiration from people I admire and try to bring their energies into my work. I don't think that others would see this when they look at them. They just see the end result. The energy of these people help me to bring the essence of who they are to the pieces.
This may seem weird but it works for me and I no sooner finish one and I am thinking of how to improve on the next and bring more in to it. Each one I enjoy more than the last. I feel passionate about what I do.
For me this works because it is for me and the fact that the public likes them is a plus.
So, I think what ever your thought process is if you are working with passion your work will grow and develop into your own.
......Claudia
One comment at my last show was:
Your work is so controlled a lot of what we see are just pieces of glass put together.
This has been stimulating reading for me this morning. I feel that my work is self exploration of who I am. Not always the case though for years I had worked with glass and made pieces that were just exploring the basics of what I could do in glass. As a result of getting stuck there, I was not feeling what I was doing.
This last year has been different. I have been exploring a technique and the possibilities it has to express myself. I am working in who I am , being a gardener I use botanicals a lot in my work. I get my inspiration from people I admire and try to bring their energies into my work. I don't think that others would see this when they look at them. They just see the end result. The energy of these people help me to bring the essence of who they are to the pieces.
This may seem weird but it works for me and I no sooner finish one and I am thinking of how to improve on the next and bring more in to it. Each one I enjoy more than the last. I feel passionate about what I do.
For me this works because it is for me and the fact that the public likes them is a plus.
So, I think what ever your thought process is if you are working with passion your work will grow and develop into your own.
......Claudia
One comment at my last show was:
Your work is so controlled a lot of what we see are just pieces of glass put together.
[quote="Brock]
clip from Ron
When we attempt to narrow our "experiences" into phrases and descriptions, we have already lost a piece of that experience as we are putting parameters on it in order to explain it to others. I offer this up as food for thought and support the idea that "Art" can be most powerful when we allow ourselves to view it or touch it with our most primitve senses. Each person will experience it in their own way, and hopefully others will "get" what you were putting into it!
Great discussion thread!!
Clip from Brock
It's the teaching that can limit us, once we know that certain colours "don't go together", we can be effectively hobbled. And of course, there really are no rules, but there are institutionalized precepts, which have to be shattered periodically. Brock[/quote]
OK, shatter them periodically. But don't you find artists and particularly art students being trained to find clever ways to shatter things and to disregard traditional craft and technique because its not sexy enough. (Its also hard to make money with good technique: too many good competitors to compare you to) . Don't discard the tradition of great decorative arts, the accumulated language and technique, wholesale. Great craft in traditional media using traditional language passed-on from great masters is every bit as valid and wonderful as innocent art or folk art or unconcious/subconcious/superconcious/whatever art.
Our artistic language and traditions have value. They need to be shaken-up sometimes, but the notion of the artist as rebel innovator-changer bloody-eared earthmover is overrated and leads to falseness (and crappy technique).
clip from Ron
When we attempt to narrow our "experiences" into phrases and descriptions, we have already lost a piece of that experience as we are putting parameters on it in order to explain it to others. I offer this up as food for thought and support the idea that "Art" can be most powerful when we allow ourselves to view it or touch it with our most primitve senses. Each person will experience it in their own way, and hopefully others will "get" what you were putting into it!
Great discussion thread!!
Clip from Brock
It's the teaching that can limit us, once we know that certain colours "don't go together", we can be effectively hobbled. And of course, there really are no rules, but there are institutionalized precepts, which have to be shattered periodically. Brock[/quote]
OK, shatter them periodically. But don't you find artists and particularly art students being trained to find clever ways to shatter things and to disregard traditional craft and technique because its not sexy enough. (Its also hard to make money with good technique: too many good competitors to compare you to) . Don't discard the tradition of great decorative arts, the accumulated language and technique, wholesale. Great craft in traditional media using traditional language passed-on from great masters is every bit as valid and wonderful as innocent art or folk art or unconcious/subconcious/superconcious/whatever art.
Our artistic language and traditions have value. They need to be shaken-up sometimes, but the notion of the artist as rebel innovator-changer bloody-eared earthmover is overrated and leads to falseness (and crappy technique).
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Bert Weiss
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I find many complex angles to explore in this consideration. I think a lot of the expression of self or soul comes through art in a subconscious way. I don't necessarily sit down and say to myself, "let's come up with the feeling of water." Sometimes I scribble and the feeling of water emerges. In retrospect I can recognize and analyze that. When I am done with a piece, there is a feeling of satisfaction that I got somewhere interesting. I know from retrospect, that it took me many years to get to the point where these excersises gained maturity.
There are people who have the talent to express vision or emotion very early in their art explorations. Others require the maturity of experience. I believe that anybody with desire and intent can reach peaks with their art experience.
I have noticed that artists I have met from the West coast are much more concerned with assigned meaning to their artworks than people I encounter in the East. (I know there are lots of exceptions don't beat me up.)
I have never been attracted to "pretty" in my art. I find it strange when people at a show tell me how "beautiful" a piece is.
Technique is interesting and challenging, but is only a vehicle to allow the soul to express itself. Unless this expression comes through, the work will be cold or lifeless. (Maybe the expression of cold or lifeless is the intent.)
One of the joys of teaching technique is providing the vehicle for another artist to be able to express their soul in a more exciting way.
Hey Brock, at my Pilchuck class, Kathy Bunnell was hired as a teacher, but chose to be a student. We had some big fun.
Threads like this are needed to make the technique stuff bearable.
There are people who have the talent to express vision or emotion very early in their art explorations. Others require the maturity of experience. I believe that anybody with desire and intent can reach peaks with their art experience.
I have noticed that artists I have met from the West coast are much more concerned with assigned meaning to their artworks than people I encounter in the East. (I know there are lots of exceptions don't beat me up.)
I have never been attracted to "pretty" in my art. I find it strange when people at a show tell me how "beautiful" a piece is.
Technique is interesting and challenging, but is only a vehicle to allow the soul to express itself. Unless this expression comes through, the work will be cold or lifeless. (Maybe the expression of cold or lifeless is the intent.)
One of the joys of teaching technique is providing the vehicle for another artist to be able to express their soul in a more exciting way.
Hey Brock, at my Pilchuck class, Kathy Bunnell was hired as a teacher, but chose to be a student. We had some big fun.
Threads like this are needed to make the technique stuff bearable.
Bert
Bert Weiss Art Glass*
http://www.customartglass.com
Furniture Lighting Sculpture Tableware
Architectural Commissions
Bert Weiss Art Glass*
http://www.customartglass.com
Furniture Lighting Sculpture Tableware
Architectural Commissions
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Amy Schleif-Mohr
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- Location: Milwaukee
db,
I have a theory about art students and formal education, so far it has held up...
I think that in formal education a student is taught the "rules" and when a student is nearing the end of the formal education they are told "you know the rules, now how can you break them and still exicute a successful piece?"
I think there is a difference between a person's work that knows the "rules" and chooses to break them and a person's work that doesn't know the "rules" and breaks them. Signs of this should be apparent in viewing the work, but of course this is all subjective.
I am certainly not saying formal education is better, there are many examples of where this is absolutely not true. But, usually that person knows the "rules" from somewhere either inherintly (sp?) or some other kind of education.
Amy
I have a theory about art students and formal education, so far it has held up...
I think that in formal education a student is taught the "rules" and when a student is nearing the end of the formal education they are told "you know the rules, now how can you break them and still exicute a successful piece?"
I think there is a difference between a person's work that knows the "rules" and chooses to break them and a person's work that doesn't know the "rules" and breaks them. Signs of this should be apparent in viewing the work, but of course this is all subjective.
I am certainly not saying formal education is better, there are many examples of where this is absolutely not true. But, usually that person knows the "rules" from somewhere either inherintly (sp?) or some other kind of education.
Amy
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Phil Hoppes
- Posts: 298
- Joined: Wed Mar 12, 2003 2:20 pm
- Location: Overgaard, AZ
Interesting thread. For myself, a little history. My mother (and father for that matter) are artists. My mother, professionally, my dad as an avocaton, so I come from a family of artists. When I made the venture from high tech to glass art I had some discussions with my mom to ask her about her art. She commented much the same as Catharine did in starting this thread by asking me "What was I trying to say with my art?".
This lead me to thinking about my craft and just what/where was I going. To be honest, at the moment, I don't really know. I'm just at the start of this journey and I'm not afraid to admit it. There are many things I WANT to say with my art but I don't feel I'm ready yet or I just haven't found the spark to push me in a particular direction. That being said, I'm not standing still. I'm learning as much as I can, as fast as I can. I have a body of work that I'm developing and happily selling but there is no "message" behind my work at the moment. So does that mean it is not art? I don't think so. I don't think that all art has to have some deep meaning. I do believe that some of the best art is inspired by emotion so for myself, I just figure I'm in searh of that emotion.
My Artist Statement at the moment is just a one liner - "Order in search of chaos". I'm too structured and I'm looking for chaos to stir that emotion, take me out of my comfort zone, break the rules and the walls and find the emotional path for my work. I don't think however that means what I creat now is not art, it is more just "work in progress"
Phil
This lead me to thinking about my craft and just what/where was I going. To be honest, at the moment, I don't really know. I'm just at the start of this journey and I'm not afraid to admit it. There are many things I WANT to say with my art but I don't feel I'm ready yet or I just haven't found the spark to push me in a particular direction. That being said, I'm not standing still. I'm learning as much as I can, as fast as I can. I have a body of work that I'm developing and happily selling but there is no "message" behind my work at the moment. So does that mean it is not art? I don't think so. I don't think that all art has to have some deep meaning. I do believe that some of the best art is inspired by emotion so for myself, I just figure I'm in searh of that emotion.
My Artist Statement at the moment is just a one liner - "Order in search of chaos". I'm too structured and I'm looking for chaos to stir that emotion, take me out of my comfort zone, break the rules and the walls and find the emotional path for my work. I don't think however that means what I creat now is not art, it is more just "work in progress"
Phil
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Tony Smith
- Posts: 1037
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- Location: Massachusetts, USA
- Contact:
I find this thread both enlightening and disturbing. There is an undertone that an artist needs to have a vision and a motivation that trancends the desire/need to make an object that is aesthetically appealing, technically challenging or personally rewarding to the artist... or what?... you don't qualify as an artist???
I approach my glass from two different perspectives: One is that I have an idea or an image of what I want to make... perhaps it is a blue hydrangea and I want to replicate an image of it in glass http://www.amsmith.com/wgwglass2003/img_1742.jpg . I use techniques that I have learned to create that image in glass... or I develop techniques that are new to me to achieve that goal. Does there need to be a reason that I want to replicate that flower other than the fact that I find it aesthetically pleasing? I'm not sure that I want to get so deep into my own head to learn that my attraction to that flower is because I have a deep seated hatred for my wife's third cousin, twice removed that has been repressed in my memory. The fact that I find that flower sufficiently appealing that I want to see it immortalized in glass is sufficient for the needs of my little brain.
The other approach is that I have a technique or techniques which I find technically challenging that I would like to apply to a design. So I develop a design that incorporates these techniques. My "Scorpius" plate is an example of this approach http://www.amsmith.com/wgwglass2003/img_1752.jpg . In this case, the result isn't so much about the design, but more about the techniques. If the design is also aesthitically pleasing, and others find it so, then I have succeeded in the ever-elusive marriage of technique and artistic vision... but as in the first case, there is no underlying psychological reason for creating the piece... if there is, then I don't want to know about it.
I imagine that others create with a vision and with a message that they intend to convey to their target audience or the world at large. There is a small percentage of my pieces that have started out that way... my 9/11 magnets and my Columbia magnets. There's also a 9/11 mirror that I made. But that's it. It doesn't really make a difference to me if anyone sees my work. I could dump my website and leave this board tomorrow because the only message that I wish to convey is that I had sufficient control over my techniques to achieve the desired goal. That's what is important to me. The goal may have been texture, or contour, or color or shape, but in the end, I have to find it attractive or rewarding, or it will stay in the bin under my worktable, and nobody will ever see it. The work that I have shown to other people should convey the message: I have control over techniques that enabled me to create this piece of glass which I find attractive and technically rewarding. If they also find it erotic, intriguing, empowering, disturbing, thought provoking or more, then that's a surprise to me, because that wasn't my intent.
I'm sorry if that makes me a shallow artist, but it's sufficient for me.
Tony
I approach my glass from two different perspectives: One is that I have an idea or an image of what I want to make... perhaps it is a blue hydrangea and I want to replicate an image of it in glass http://www.amsmith.com/wgwglass2003/img_1742.jpg . I use techniques that I have learned to create that image in glass... or I develop techniques that are new to me to achieve that goal. Does there need to be a reason that I want to replicate that flower other than the fact that I find it aesthetically pleasing? I'm not sure that I want to get so deep into my own head to learn that my attraction to that flower is because I have a deep seated hatred for my wife's third cousin, twice removed that has been repressed in my memory. The fact that I find that flower sufficiently appealing that I want to see it immortalized in glass is sufficient for the needs of my little brain.
The other approach is that I have a technique or techniques which I find technically challenging that I would like to apply to a design. So I develop a design that incorporates these techniques. My "Scorpius" plate is an example of this approach http://www.amsmith.com/wgwglass2003/img_1752.jpg . In this case, the result isn't so much about the design, but more about the techniques. If the design is also aesthitically pleasing, and others find it so, then I have succeeded in the ever-elusive marriage of technique and artistic vision... but as in the first case, there is no underlying psychological reason for creating the piece... if there is, then I don't want to know about it.
I imagine that others create with a vision and with a message that they intend to convey to their target audience or the world at large. There is a small percentage of my pieces that have started out that way... my 9/11 magnets and my Columbia magnets. There's also a 9/11 mirror that I made. But that's it. It doesn't really make a difference to me if anyone sees my work. I could dump my website and leave this board tomorrow because the only message that I wish to convey is that I had sufficient control over my techniques to achieve the desired goal. That's what is important to me. The goal may have been texture, or contour, or color or shape, but in the end, I have to find it attractive or rewarding, or it will stay in the bin under my worktable, and nobody will ever see it. The work that I have shown to other people should convey the message: I have control over techniques that enabled me to create this piece of glass which I find attractive and technically rewarding. If they also find it erotic, intriguing, empowering, disturbing, thought provoking or more, then that's a surprise to me, because that wasn't my intent.
I'm sorry if that makes me a shallow artist, but it's sufficient for me.
Tony
The tightrope between being strange and being creative is too narrow to walk without occasionally landing on both sides..." Scott Berkun
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Amy Schleif-Mohr
- Posts: 280
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- Location: Milwaukee
Tony,
I think the important issue here is that you have put thought into what you are making. I don't think anyone is judging on what art is. It's the thought that is important. The message of your work can be as simple as exploring shape or any of the other elements or principles of design, or as complex as the Mona Lisa, the point is, is that you have thought about what you are making and have chosen parameters for the piece. The reasons for your choices can be obvious or obscure, it's up to you.
Amy
I think the important issue here is that you have put thought into what you are making. I don't think anyone is judging on what art is. It's the thought that is important. The message of your work can be as simple as exploring shape or any of the other elements or principles of design, or as complex as the Mona Lisa, the point is, is that you have thought about what you are making and have chosen parameters for the piece. The reasons for your choices can be obvious or obscure, it's up to you.
Amy
. . . . because the only message that I wish to convey is that I had sufficient control over my techniques to achieve the desired goal. . . .
Tony, it's very difficult for an artist, (or a dabbler, or a technician) to assess their own work. You may be being too easy on yourself, you may be accepting that what you made is good, or is technically competent, because, after all, you made it. It becomes easier to critique your own work in hindsight, but fresh from the kiln, everything is a beautiful baby.
I don't think you need some anguished angst-ridden psychosis to produce good work, I don't think you need some long thought process and self-justification to produce good work, I think you need a command of the techniques you employ, . . . and a voice.
The voice is the hard part.
Brock
Tony, it's very difficult for an artist, (or a dabbler, or a technician) to assess their own work. You may be being too easy on yourself, you may be accepting that what you made is good, or is technically competent, because, after all, you made it. It becomes easier to critique your own work in hindsight, but fresh from the kiln, everything is a beautiful baby.
I don't think you need some anguished angst-ridden psychosis to produce good work, I don't think you need some long thought process and self-justification to produce good work, I think you need a command of the techniques you employ, . . . and a voice.
The voice is the hard part.
Brock
My memory is so good, I can't remember the last time I forgot something . . .
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Gale aka artistefem
- Posts: 184
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- Location: MO-on the banks of the Mississippi
- Contact:
Thank you Catherine.......it's been a long while since we had these kinds of questions to mull over.
"Why are you doing the work that you do?"
"driven to commit art". It's my four word "short" artist statement. Can't live without the process of artmaking, don't want to live without it, there is no life without it!! Making art is how I process my life experiences, advance toward self knowledge and just plain move through life. It is my preferred form of interpersonal communication.
What is your thought process behind your work? IS there thought behind it? Have you researched your premise?"
With some work, it is all about beauty - joyous and harmonious form, made with no agonizing thought involved in the process. This type of work, I create for income to support my continued life in the arts. At present, I find most buyers want relief from the depression of 9-11, from the continued war-mongering, relief from a depressed economy and escape from the increasing violence of our society. So I intentionally make light-hearted, beautiful pieces to fill this need that will hopefully give some respite and take the edge off the harshness of daily life.
The "other work" I make is from and for my soul. It can take months, years to research and bring to it's final outcome. This work is made in installation form, is usually socio-political (my responses to the whacked out parts of our world) and has a social conscience. This work is not marketable nor is it intended to be marketable in a monetary sense. Who wants a nagging conscience sitting in the middle of their living room?
http://www.shutterfly.com/view/albums.jsp
"What is it that you're saying, are you saying it clearly, and why are you saying it at all?"
Clarity - reducing the message to it's barest essence and communicating this succinctly is an continued tantalizing pursuit. As for the why of it? I would rather be an active participant in life, rather than just a viewer. Making art is my contribution to the whole.
The challenge for me is finding balance between my two artwork forms. If I go too long making lite-art, I begin to feel deprived and have to take time out of busy production schedules to make "serious" art. I call this my personal form of arts dementia........."Look out, Vincent - she's lost an ear!"
I'm pretty sure I don't want to combine the two parts - they are entirely differing beasts for me.
"technique is cheap"
Technique - well-made for longevity is the means to an end.
In the final analysis, there is no satisfactory life for me without the occupation of artmaking. It is the what I am about, who and how for me....
Hmmm....similarities to the triumvarite of a belief system - LOL!
"Why are you doing the work that you do?"
"driven to commit art". It's my four word "short" artist statement. Can't live without the process of artmaking, don't want to live without it, there is no life without it!! Making art is how I process my life experiences, advance toward self knowledge and just plain move through life. It is my preferred form of interpersonal communication.
What is your thought process behind your work? IS there thought behind it? Have you researched your premise?"
With some work, it is all about beauty - joyous and harmonious form, made with no agonizing thought involved in the process. This type of work, I create for income to support my continued life in the arts. At present, I find most buyers want relief from the depression of 9-11, from the continued war-mongering, relief from a depressed economy and escape from the increasing violence of our society. So I intentionally make light-hearted, beautiful pieces to fill this need that will hopefully give some respite and take the edge off the harshness of daily life.
The "other work" I make is from and for my soul. It can take months, years to research and bring to it's final outcome. This work is made in installation form, is usually socio-political (my responses to the whacked out parts of our world) and has a social conscience. This work is not marketable nor is it intended to be marketable in a monetary sense. Who wants a nagging conscience sitting in the middle of their living room?
http://www.shutterfly.com/view/albums.jsp"What is it that you're saying, are you saying it clearly, and why are you saying it at all?"
Clarity - reducing the message to it's barest essence and communicating this succinctly is an continued tantalizing pursuit. As for the why of it? I would rather be an active participant in life, rather than just a viewer. Making art is my contribution to the whole.
The challenge for me is finding balance between my two artwork forms. If I go too long making lite-art, I begin to feel deprived and have to take time out of busy production schedules to make "serious" art. I call this my personal form of arts dementia........."Look out, Vincent - she's lost an ear!"
I'm pretty sure I don't want to combine the two parts - they are entirely differing beasts for me. "technique is cheap"
Technique - well-made for longevity is the means to an end.
In the final analysis, there is no satisfactory life for me without the occupation of artmaking. It is the what I am about, who and how for me....
Hmmm....similarities to the triumvarite of a belief system - LOL!
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Catharine Newell
- Posts: 83
- Joined: Thu Mar 13, 2003 12:33 am
- Location: Portland, OR
Brock wrote:. . .
I don't think you need some anguished angst-ridden psychosis to produce good work, I don't think you need some long thought process and self-justification to produce good work, I think you need a command of the techniques you employ, . . . and a voice.
The voice is the hard part.
Brock
I agree. Building meaningful work does not necessarily mean that it is riddled with angst or accessorized with unintelligible verbage. That's out there, of course, but...
The reasons behind making work can be very simple to quite complex and convoluted. Someone may repeatedly construct pears because they remind the artist of wonderful summer days spent at their cherished grandmother's home. Or work extensively with the color blue because they're drawn to the ocean. That's enough.
Recognizing the beginning of your motivation is, I think, extremely important. The whole process of making work develops from this beginning, this germ of a thought. With experience and investigation, one digs deeper and becomes more involved and expressive. Continually examining motivation for doing this work at all is essential. Otherwise, how is one to move forward?
Catharine
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Pat Watkins
- Posts: 8
- Joined: Mon Sep 15, 2003 4:12 pm
- Location: Victoria, VA
thoughtful work
It's really scary for me to add to this premise but I am going to try...
My background was in sports and I "kind of" grew up and work now in accounting. One thing that was a constant was that a person would not lose his technique but would lose his aesthetic ability or his kinesthetic ability. For instance, we never lose the ability to ride a bicyle but we lose the ability pursue the ride. Technique has staying power through experience and patterns done over and over again, but through these patterns we change and become something more and different than technique. We let others see ourselves and what we want to communicate.
At the conference Tony, I asked you how you were able to perfect the angles in the pieces you displayed - you felt still in pursuit of the perfection...you still only saw the limits of your accomplishment. Where I was in admiration of your ability to assimulate perfect angles. So what I am saying is...not only does a piece speak to the creator but to others as well. Although there will be different interpretations and different visual appeals, we leave technique behind and move on to different dimensions.
Yes, I draw my work but what comes from it in glass is another total work or piece. For instance, I am working on this gypsy and I want to be able to fuse (cast), beadwork, and foil this piece. It isn't line art anymore and I don't have to enclose her inside a box.
Sorry I have probably gone too far away from the original thought processes.
My background was in sports and I "kind of" grew up and work now in accounting. One thing that was a constant was that a person would not lose his technique but would lose his aesthetic ability or his kinesthetic ability. For instance, we never lose the ability to ride a bicyle but we lose the ability pursue the ride. Technique has staying power through experience and patterns done over and over again, but through these patterns we change and become something more and different than technique. We let others see ourselves and what we want to communicate.
At the conference Tony, I asked you how you were able to perfect the angles in the pieces you displayed - you felt still in pursuit of the perfection...you still only saw the limits of your accomplishment. Where I was in admiration of your ability to assimulate perfect angles. So what I am saying is...not only does a piece speak to the creator but to others as well. Although there will be different interpretations and different visual appeals, we leave technique behind and move on to different dimensions.
Yes, I draw my work but what comes from it in glass is another total work or piece. For instance, I am working on this gypsy and I want to be able to fuse (cast), beadwork, and foil this piece. It isn't line art anymore and I don't have to enclose her inside a box.
Sorry I have probably gone too far away from the original thought processes.
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Tony Smith
- Posts: 1037
- Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2003 5:59 pm
- Location: Massachusetts, USA
- Contact:
Re: thoughtful work
Pat,Pat Watkins wrote: At the conference Tony, I asked you how you were able to perfect the angles in the pieces you displayed - you felt still in pursuit of the perfection...you still only saw the limits of your accomplishment. Where I was in admiration of your ability to assimulate perfect angles. So what I am saying is...not only does a piece speak to the creator but to others as well. Although there will be different interpretations and different visual appeals, we leave technique behind and move on to different dimensions.
I strongly believe that I am my harshest critic. When I show people pieces that I find unacceptable, they often surprise me with positive comments. I brought one piece to the conference to show some of the problems that one can encounter when sandblasting. It did not turn out as I expected and has a number of technical flaws. But I've had at least ten people express an interest in buying the piece from me. I've never had that many people ask to buy any of my other pieces.
Is it possible that my glass is speaking to others in a "voice" that I cannot or do not hear?
Tony
The tightrope between being strange and being creative is too narrow to walk without occasionally landing on both sides..." Scott Berkun
Re: thoughtful work
May I add to this: the evolution of craft technique through practice and passing-along from teacher to student over generations builds an enduring aesthetic that people learn to love, and that develops regional/ cultural flavors, a sense of historical place-belonging. Its goodness. It can be stifling, for sure, but much of the art that I love and which adds a lot of quality to my life is technique and tradition-based. And when I read in Art In America that an editor appreciates an artists' technique, but finds fault that his 'narrative' is not particularly innovative, it really makes me sad for that editor. Actually it makes me mad enough to keep coming back to this thread and repeating myself. Sorry. Sort of.Pat Watkins wrote:clip
Technique has staying power through experience and patterns done over and over again, but through these patterns we change and become something more and different than technique.