A Red Moment, 6 x 6 collage by Leslie Avon Miller
I love to create my art. I am also enthused about creating posts for my blog. And I enjoy the connection here in blogland with all of you. I become interested and entertained when I read your blogs, experience the talent you have when writing, see the art you are making, or see the photos you capture and post. Being someone who loves to cook, I also enjoy the recipes. I love to travel vicariously through your blogs, and read the prose, poetry and essays that provide a look at life in our times.
I find the more I create, the more I want to create. The more I have ideas, and pay attention to them, the more ideas come to me. It is a great cycle. My creativity thrives on my attention! What is it that you get back from your art? What is it that you give to your creativity? What gets in the way and frustrates you in your efforts to create? What are your biggest hopes and dreams for your creativity?
I am inviting all of you to share with me what you think, and how you approach your creative work. If you would like to dialog with me in an informal interview process, either by email or by phone, please contact me. The purpose is to become more aware of the successes, the trials, and the joy of being a creative person. You might also benefit by telling your story. Sometimes that results in insight or greater clarity. So if you are interested, please email me at leslie avon miller @ g mail (dot) com. (Remove the spaces). I look forward to hearing from you!
Love the bit of red! Your post is thought provoking and I will take some time to gather both thoughts and feelings...my creative life is such an important part of me. Thank you for being available for discussion.
ReplyDeleteLove your stuff, Leslie, and this could prove to be an exciting forum.
ReplyDeleteIf you ever get bored, you could produce a book entitled, Zen and the art of collage", which is what I see in your pieces..
Hello Leslie,
ReplyDeleteNow, am I pleased that I'm not creative and so don't have to respond to your offer? Or am I disappointed not to be eligible?!!
I shall look forward to reading of the stimuli of others.
BTW, are the black lines in this piece your DNA in the way of fingerprints?
You are asking some great questions, Leslie. I absolutely agree that creativity thrives on one's own attention. It's a sacred practice, really, which offers the opportunity to express one's deepest beliefs, joys, and dreams. That practice takes time, and commitment, but the benefits, as you have enthusiastically declared, are phenomenal.
ReplyDelete"A Red Moment" is wonderful Leslie, as is "Small Gestures" in your previous post.
ReplyDeleteLove your header and whats going on in the side bar too.
Leslie...certainly a thought provoking poat.
Wonderful to hear those words "I love to create my art" from you, because it certaily shows. :)
Will look forward to reading more...
I'm always interested in how other artists think about what they do...
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great series, looking forward to it!
Art for me is a solace,when I feel the need I knit or hand sew.
ReplyDeleteArt is problem solving when I move faster with my hands than my brain and I need to " adjust"
Art is a great vehicle for sharing, with my group and friends around me and in blogland.
Art causes a great adrenelin rush from time to time, when things are buzzing.
Art is a feeding of the heart and the brain especially when I see work which really excites me I actually feel a part of the brain engaging which has been in some way asleep until that moment.
I feel so amazingly blessed to enjoy the whole dimension of the arts, and without it I would see little value in living.
your spirals of red are very wonderful! sounds like you have the start of a very interesting conversation.
ReplyDeleteI love the new collage. Something spacious that lets the textures and colours sing out more, I think.
ReplyDeleteLeslie, I'm in on your interview process if you want me. But I need you to ask me questions. And as I've said before, I'm not a deep thinker. You know I love this bit of red, don't you?
ReplyDeleteFor me, Art is creating, seeing and drawing is a meditation, a way of getting in touch with the visable world around me through creativity.
ReplyDeleteGrrl is echoing my thoughts...very Zen collages.
ReplyDeleteI'm in! Hearing/reading about the creative process and the way artists tick is extremely interesting to me.....and motivating.
will look forward to ur interviews
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't be me if I wasn't creating something...if I'm not drawing, I'm writing, and I've always been torn between the two! I've hit what I call a "sweet spot", for the last ten years I've been juggling both writing and making art, and for a while I wasn't drawing at all and focused only on my writing, but found, most of my characters are artists, sooo...I went back to my sketchbooks and pencils and worked my way back to colors, and I went through this explosion of abstract imagery that I always wanted to make, but felt too intimidated to do...it's hard to explain...but once I got going, I was in my glory! Taking the bull by the horns and just doing it. Pretty much unlearning everything I learned and following my bliss, creating shapes and textures that have always been inside of me. It's always lovely to hear from someone who sees my things in the gallery or online and fall in love with them, when the experience becomes personal to them in some way that's special, I'm happier.
ReplyDeleteNow that I'm on the cusp of self-publishing one of my novels (a little ghost story called, "Dusty Waters"), I'm entering another cycle of my creativity...it's pretty scary putting together a book, over 300 pages of something that I've worked on for several years, and have received enough rejection letters to wallpaper my studio...it's (the publishing business) just so dang frustrating, but I'm doing it myself (with the help of my Fred), so it's not so frustrating. Reading the proof cover to cover over this past weekend, I'm very pleased with what I've done, I've done a good thing, I think, and not just for myself, but for the potential readers who might get something out of it. While reading it, I realized how it's not so much about the ghosts and the haunted house, but it's about the people too, and that people can be scarier than the idea of a ghost.
Oy, what a rambling mess...it's been a long day at the day job, and it always amazes me that I can manage to come home at night, feeling dragged through a knot hole, shot at and missed, battling stress and Fibromyalgia, and still feel like creating something, even if I spend only a half hour reworking a paragraph in a manuscript, as long as I do something...make a mark every day, I'm alive and happy.
I love visiting your site, your work is so lovely and peaceful, the textures are so visually beautiful I can just about taste them! (Your use of white is so warm and fantastic too!)
Well, I think I'm done...take care, keep sharing!!
Art and creativity are for me a way to express myself in the world. It's a form of communication that is truer and more revealing than words.
ReplyDeleteI also know that when I stop creating and making art, I feel like I'm just passing time. It makes me feel extremely restless.
The interesting thing is that I didn't start making art until I was 40 years old - not sure how I managed before then. Maybe I was blissfully ignorant of the force of creative expression!
Mary Ann: Yes I agree, our creative lives are vital. I have been writing my own answers to the questions I posted. There is much to be mined there.
ReplyDeletegrrl: This is such a Fun idea! Maybe at least a self published zine?
Derrick: I’m on to you Derrick! You ARE creative; what about those shop windows, humm? What about your blog posts? Those are creative…The black lines; wood texture. Paint on the wood and then imprint on the paper. Does look like finger prints of a sort.
Carol: Yes, time and commitment are of the utmost importance for our creativity. Well said.
Jo H: Art is a great joy.
Janette; all of this is good; solace, value. So much here that you identified. Thank you.
Jeane: Yes to red!
Annie: Spacious; you have such a great way with words. Thank you.
Mary B: Wow! Love your new photo! You look marvelous darling! The red is for you, you know….
Carolann: I like that; meditation, getting in touch. All good.
Robyn: “the way artists tick”; that great!
Kate: I will summarize what we find out. This is an experiment. And the discussion will continue I am sure.
Laura: Wow, look at all you do. Self publishing; that’s a great idea especially in this day and age. Lets us know when your book is available. It is fantastic that you create despite all the dragging through key holes. What a rich comment. Thanks.
Bob: Your use of words always resonates with me. My art came later in life as well. Earlier I guess I was an explorer of sorts….
Thank you to everyone who has commented or emailed. The value of art is affirmed!
Leslie,
ReplyDeleteyour work grows day by day.
It is a pleasure to follow this growing process.
Congratulations!
Niebla is exposing in the gallery where I work.
Presents some of the most emblematic works produced over the last twenty years.
has a strong plastic speech in the abstract expressionism and is part of a generation of Catalan artists whose work marks the landscape of art.
His screens are interior landscapes that express his ideas, thoughts, emotions and show their great human dimension. Having worked, for a few days, in preparation for mounting the exhibition was one of the richest experiences that I lived.
Regards
Yours, José brito
Your posts and art are always large!
ReplyDeleteMuch to see and much to think about.Thanks!
This piece is incredible. I'm so glad I came across your blog today. I love the questions you've posed and I too love the connections and new friends I've made via my blog. Connections I would not have had with creativity and my art alone.
ReplyDeleteNice to "meet" you.
Namasté,
Carmen
José: This sounds wonderful. I wish I could be there to see this exhibit of Niebla’s work. Congratulations.
ReplyDeleteBabs: Thank you for stopping by.
Carmen: I’m glad you came by as well. I enjoyed seeing your blog also. I look forward to seeing more.