Michaela on Art and Process

During the college application process, I wrote pieces that allowed me to discover my unique way of writing.  My tutor Sandy Charlap gave me words including "process," "time," "unbroken," "control," "tendrilling," and "memory" to describe freely. She also gave me questions, but once I felt comfortable I took control and continued this process on my own by asking myself questions. That’s where I found my voice with words and that voice interconnected with art. 

I’ve always had a feeling for art, but I never really experienced it. In the tenth grade, I learned art can be something bigger than what I expected.  I started by drawing boxes, learning about line, proportion, and value structure. I shifted from just making art to having an immense understanding and desire to be an artist. Exploring different ways of working, collaging, stamping, incorporating wallpaper, paint, pastel, and charcoal in unfamiliar ways.  I always ask myself, "What happens if I try this?" I am not afraid of the unknown. I actually think those moments of not knowing are the best ones. Not knowing where an unbreakable work of art will take me is fascinating. Some art work effects me and my passion for creating by transforming into the unknown. The experience of not knowing is awakening, an adventure I am willing to take. Every day is a process of transformation. I am becoming a strong artist by taking what I have learned into my voyage.  For me that evolution is tendriling. The light ahead of the tendril, uncoiling. I am the tendril, uncoiling into existence. My tendril is moving toward abstraction.

I have been forming a collective of artists who I am influenced by like Henri Matisse, Cy Twombly, Joan Mitchell, Brice Marden, Bonnard, and Judy Pfaff.  I have learned how to “steal like an artist” by taking ideas and making them part of my work. Judy Pfaff, as an artist, influenced my determination to move in new directions. Last year, I developed an installation called “Deep Space.” My interpretation of the universe. Having the freedom and space to create is meaningful.

I have the ability to want, have, or leave it.

And the last ingredient is time……
I process slowly, and it is not always easy to express myself in words. My art is my voice. I am quiet but my mind isn’t. My art speaks in ways my voice cannot. Being in the studio at my school and creating is my sanctuary. It is a place where I find my true self. Escaping in a world where I have power.

One piece of work for an eternity.
giving me the time and freedom to explore.
but my most precise and powerful work is shown when I am given time.

I take my time and present with my best effort. 
When I am creating, I am not worrying about time.
It flies by like a streak of wonder.
The urge and motivation to not stop creating.

I suffer displeasure leaving my work in a rush of swirling ideas. 

I have become independent, by making my own decisions in art by allowing my strength to come forward. I create my own choices with out having a specific ending in mind. My process reveals what comes next.

I applied to seven schools and got into every one of them with scholarships!

 

All photos (and the artwork presented therein) created and shared by Michaela.

Austin Kleon: "Steal Like an Artist" @ TEDxKC (2012)

During a windy snow day this past week, the IP faculty asked the iPeople (a term synonymous with "IPians," introduced by Khaled A.) to watch a video on "stealing" and art.  We, the IP team, hope that this talk will inspire our learners to not only form collaborative partnerships with one another but also to re-evaluate the notions of influence, plagiarism, and originality as they move forward in life.

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Writer, author, and New York Times bestselling author of Show Your Work! and Newspaper Blackout, Austin Kleon (@austinkleon) has spoken to young artists and at organizations such as Pixar (@DisneyPixar) and Google (@google).  In 2012, he delivered a talk at @TEDxKC, "Steal Like An Artist," after releasing a book of the same name earlier that year.  During his presentation, Kleon offers a list of ten ideas that all beginning artists should consider.  His talk amounts to a radical yet timely reinterpretation of creativity for the 21st century.

So not only was my idea idea completely unoriginal.  It turns out there was a 250 year-old history of finding poetry in the newspaper.  So what am I supposed to do? Instead of getting discouraged, I kept on.  Because I know something that a lot of artists know but few will admit to.  And that is:  nothing is completely original.  All creative work builds on what came before.  Every new idea is just a remix, or a mash-up, of one or two previous ideas.
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How does an artist look at the world? Well, first, she asks herself, 'What's worth stealing?' And second, she moves onto the next thing.  That's about all there is to it.  When you look at the world this way, there is no longer good art and bad art.  There's just art worth stealing and art that isn't.  And everything in the world is up for grabs.  If you don't find something worth stealing today, you might find it worth stealing tomorrow, or the month after that, or years later.

What did you think? Have you "stolen" anything notable lately? Please post in the comments section below.

Description of 1st image:  Kleon's visual representation of how artists see the world.  Photo located at sharingisliberty.wordpress.com.  Kildonan and its IP program claim no ownership over this picture.