time & creativity

nothing but time

I’m probably not alone in thinking more about the concept of time right now. How does it feel when we now seem to have more of it and yet can’t quite realign ourselves with this “new normal”? And how does time play into our creativity?

There are of course many ways to think about time: either as linear or cyclical. As an artist, I have the sense that every time I come back to my artwork, I have made a circle back but I am at a different place (creatively and emotionally). So what does this vision of time look like? It feels more like a spiral (a combination of circular and linear).

Julia Cameron, in her book “The Artist’s Way” talks about this.

“You will circle through some of the same issues over and over, each time at a different level. There is no such thing as being done with an artistic life. Frustrations and rewards exist at all levels on the path. Our aim here is to find the trail, establish our footing, and begin the climb.”

With this idea, I approach my artwork each time. It somehow liberates me from the idea that I have an end goal. It fits into my philosophy that art is a process. That’s how I teach and that’s how I learn.

I engage my students in the art process with the use of mixed media and collage because layering is how we can create new cycles of time, each layer building on the last one.