Big News! I will be exhibiting in Brooklyn, NY, at The Other Art Fair Nov 9-12. This wasn't initially on my calendar, but now it is, and I am really looking forward to it. It's in a new venue, and I have a larger booth than in LA, so I get to show a more extensive selection of art.
My first instinct was to panic a bit (naturally!) as I asked myself if I had enough work to hang that felt closely knit. And by this, I mean I want to show the work showcasing the leading, most dominant ideas currently taking place in the studio.
Well, it turns out I do have enough work to fill the entire 20-foot booth.
This segways me into today's article, which I will start with a quote from Pablo Picasso:
"To know what you are going to draw, you have to begin drawing."
Picasso was famously prolific during his life, creating over 20,000 drawings, paintings, sculptures, and ceramics. 20k folks! I thought the 100 documented works I produced last year were a milestone!
Picasso said, "Ideas are simply starting points, as soon as I start to work, others well up in my pen."
Fortunately, I kept working in the studio after I got back from the show in LA simply because I was eager to explore what and where the work was taking me.
This is another example of A WAY IN: PRACTICE.
Note: As I wrote this article, I wondered if the word "practice" was glamorous enough to be placed in an article title. I like to play around in a thesaurus in my free time*, so I looked up the word PROLIFIC, and then I got jazzed, debated, and eventually discarded the word PRODUCTIVITY.
Words can trigger things in us, so here's your opportunity to self-check. When stepping into your creativity, what would bring you to the table consistently without trepidation? The idea of being prolific, productive, or practicing?**
Pick a word, and get to it.
The word practice resonates with me because practicing allows plenty of room for missteps and growth.
Sounds simple, but simple concepts are often deceptive on the surface. Staying "in practice" is a discipline of the mind at some level.
I haven't been teaching long, but when someone says they are stuck, it's never because they have practiced too much.
I have had students who can barely make marks on paper or canvas because they need every mark to "count," as if it is some comment about their ability and potential for greatness. I don't judge in this moment because I recognize myself in these moments I share with them. This was something that used to keep me from being more prolific. This thinking can freeze someone. I always wonder whether to step in with a little metaphysical therapy at this point or not.
We all have greatness in us, and yet…
not every mark is genius. It is emotionally freeing to come to terms with it. The more you think you are stymied, the more you will be. It is self-perpetuating.
My guess is that Pablo knew this as well.
If I weren't emotionally reining in my insecurities, I would not be showing up to "practice" consistently. Michael has been a superb example on this front. He keeps showing up for his art, painting, drawing, printmaking, or creating 100's of watercolors. He knows that in practice, ideas happen.
Deciding to be more prolific and staying in practice is a simple "WAY IN" to art. By deciding, you make it your dominant thought.
Pick a word, whether productive, practice, or prolific, and create! See how I used the word "simple" back there? Could it be? Can I wake up, change how I talk about creating, and use it as A Way In? I could start by saying I am "longing to get back to my practice."
Maybe it is not a discipline (out-of-fashion but useful word) but a reframing of your mind until it becomes a "habit," which, by the way, I saw was a solid synonym for practice ;)
Until next time, Monica
*I don't really "play around" in a thesaurus. But, I lean into it enough that grammerly.com keeps emailing me, giving me gold stars, and telling me I have an above-average vocabulary, which I doubt, which is why I use a thesaurus, and the loop continues...but hey! A gold star!
**Profilic had the more glamorous synonyms with words like RICH, CREATIVE, BOUNTIFUL, and ABUNDANT.
Here’s a favorite from the studio floor waiting to dry and for a frame.
Here is the info if you want to join me at the fair in Brooklyn; I am in Booth 9! (Right by the entrance!)
It is in a NEW venue this year, Zerospace, which I understand is easy to get to via the subway.
OPENING NIGHT
THURS, NOV. 9: 6 – 10 pm
GENERAL ENTRY
FRI, NOV. 10: 5 – 10 pm
SAT, NOV. 11: 11 am – 7 pm
SUN, NOV. 12: 11 am – 6 pm
ZeroSpace
337-345 Butler St.
Brooklyn, NY 11217
In honor of Veteran’s Day, The Other Art Fair offers active and retired military free admission on Saturday, November 11. Please email us at tickets@theotherartfair.com for your complimentary ticket. Military ID is required upon entry.
If you would like to attend, use my discount code. if you REALLY think you are coming respond to this email and I will give you the top-secret guest pass that they don’t like us to publish!!
MONICA20