Tuesday, February 9, 2010

conglomerate entity 1 (in Heidi's book)


Well, this started out as a collab using Ellen's Santa, but started going very badly. I originally attempted some kind of stained-glass Santa-thing, but it was looking pretty sad, so I just started going all stream-of-conscious and I got this. I guess I wasn't feelin' the holiday vibe anymore, being this was started so long after Christmas. So, I guess you can call it a collaboration (or not), since I originally based my lines on Ellen's drawing (there's a Santa in there somewhere). That's the great thing about art sometimes - you don't always know what you'll get - you don't always stick with the original idea, or have a plan even. I don't like how some folks think someone who is creative or is skilled in art can simply, magically whip up a work simply because they are "talented". The fact is, we all have the ability - we are all creative and artistic, however some of us don't use it and therefore lose it. It's all about work and making decisions (and hopefully fun).

11 comments:

Unknown said...

I like the drawing but I really like what you wrote.

I have a friend who always say he's "waiting for inspiration" If I had to wait for inspiration I maybe would have completed one drawing a year. A while ago, after he nagged me for a few month about collaboration, I let him compose music for a short movie I was working on. I've been waiting for a minute and a half musical piece for the past couple of years...

steve said...

Oh no, that sucks Aya. You're in Brooklyn, right? Try and hook up with a guy named Travis Stewart (aka Machine Drum). The guy's a brilliant composer. I think he's actually doing work for a stage production right now.

Anyhow, yeah, it's all about work - that's why it's called art work. Thanks for the kind words too btw!

Mary Stebbins Taitt said...

WOW! I like what you did with this Steve, it seems to go with those other pieces to me, the mimes! The colors are great, and all the faces remind me of how I feel when I am feeling dispersed or pulled in many directions at once.

henniemavis said...

Fascinating... the art & the discussion!

Aya, I understand the "waiting for inspiration" thing, tho I confess, it doesn't stop me from digging in. If I'm not feeling inspired, I practice basic skills (on bananas & eggs, ha ha). I joined my first art exchange for many reasons, but mostly to grow my ability to get inspired in new ways through the influence of other artists. Inspiration did not (still does not) come easily to me. Sure, I have strong traditional execution skills, but whoop-de-do. I'd rather have clever ideas with more regularity. I'd give up some of my "talent" in trade for that, most readily.

henniemavis said...

Steve, the time you must have put into this staggers me. Wow, Andrea will be impressed too, no doubt. I consider her the gold standard for time commitment to one's drawing :-)

I love how the faces are interspersed over the body. I was thinking it would be cool to see with my elbows or hands, but those faces don't have eyes... so that shoots that idea, HA!

Moleskine.Exchange said...

Well said Steve!

Thanks Hennie!

ballookey said...

I thought I commented on this already, but I love it - I love the heads pointing out from various places and I like the fact that it took a certain foundation and then went completely different with it.

'Wait for inspiration'... bah! My problem is that I have too much inspiration and not nearly enough time. That's why I wanted to commit to a project like this Moleskine Exchange: So that I'd HAVE to get some things done and completed on a regular deadline, and so that I'd feel pressure to take my ideas and do best I could on them because they're going into someone else's permanent book.

If one waits for inspiration, it'll never arrive. Just start doing stuff, know that you're going to fail sometimes and be OK with that. If it looks like failure, keep going until you're absolutely sure - like it's so bad it gets up off your desk and walks itself to the garbage. And even if something isn't 'inspired', make it the best uninspired nonsense you can.

Mary Stebbins Taitt said...

I write a lot of poetry and sometimes, I'm inspired and write soemthing I love and sometimes I'm not and struggle for days and days trying to write soemthing--and in the end, the work I struggle on may be better than what I thought was inspired. Sometimes, during the struggle, something clicks and I become inspired.

steve said...

right on!

Mary Stebbins Taitt said...

(It's the fellowship application I am wrking on now). Poetry.)

Ellen said...

Much better than what I drew. Sorry for not coming up with something more creative Steve.