‘Tis the season…when merchants are merry and Master Card glows, when children are nestled and reindeer are…well doing what reindeer do and aren’t you glad that Santa doesn’t need a pooper scooper or Christmas morning would take on a whole ‘nother look!
And parents, poor beleaguered parents are frantic with shopping and cooking and wrapping and cheering and assembling and what do they get for all of this work? The bill, first thing come January 2.
Now I know asking anyone to take a minute and think during the holiday season is heresy, but that’s exactly what I am going to do. What have you asked for this Christmas and what are you going to do about getting it?
Did you ask for a new studio with the very brightest lighting or a new set of brushes, pencils, pastels, or some special fifty weight paper? Did you get a kiln or a wheel, some packets of beads or an armature for your next sculpture?
How ‘bout asking for a new skill instead, “Oh sure, just what I need, a new skill when I haven’t master all of the techniques to really do what I am doing now and this yahoo wants me to go out and try something different!”
Yes, that’s exactly what I want; I want you to pick up a new skill set. Don’t do it for me, don’t do it for your Aunt Hermione, don’t do it for the environment, (Okay you could do it for the environment), do it for yourself.
Mastering one technique is the task of a lifetime and as artists we become so focused on doing one thing well we often overlook the “Big Picture.” (If you have no idea what that is see ‘Creator’ with Peter O’Toole and let Harry explain the Big Picture to you.)
Yea, right so big shot what is the big picture? I don’t know. For me as a photographer it’s re-learning how to draw. I am seeing things I never noticed before, the relationship between geometric shapes and anatomy, the tones between black and white and the damnable fact that women just are too perfect to draw with any real hope of success.
But I am also seeing how the subtle play of light across the human form makes a magic all of its own. The old masters had it right; there just is no substitute for drawing the human form. So how ‘bout joining the Plein Air group in Port Orford for the figure study classes? It’s only once a month, (I did get that right didn’t I Ava?) and the cost is sixty-five dollars split between all of the participants. That’s less than the cost of a latte. Coffee or art, you make the call.
So maybe figure study isn’t your answer. Maybe the shifting play of shadows on skin do nothing for you and you’d rather stare at a dead plant than see a nikked human. What about color? Are you getting all of the colors of the South Coast on your canvas? If not try pastels or colored pencils, maybe you’ve always wanted to sculpt, have a go, it won’t hurt a bit.
It doesn’t matter what you try so long as you try something. Give yourself the gift of skill this year. When the wrapping paper is strung from one end of the house to the other and the toys are all broken and the MP3 players are burning out the ear drums of the entire next generation and when dad has the HDTV playing three different ball games at once, will you be wishing you could die so you could live happily ever after? Or will you slip away and bring out that scluntch of clay and grab a knife and start modeling? Angelina Jolie could be lurking in that clay or maybe you favor Jurassic Park, a steam ship to sail away from it all or a rocket to ride the comet’s tail, it all there, just waiting. Now pick up your tools and go get it.
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