contemporary collage paintings
the process
Leslie Avon Miller

My life flows when I'm in my art.


Jean De Muzio
Showing posts with label Creativity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Creativity. Show all posts

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Scraps of Time and Paper








Priceless Gifts


An empty day without events.
And that is why
it grew immense
as space. And suddenly
happiness of being
entered me.

I heard

in my heartbeat
the birth of time
and each instant of life
one after the other
came rushing in
like priceless gifts.




Gathering scraps, I pieced together many minuscule bits, arranging, adding, gluing, and tearing apart.

The tiny bits blended with one another, beginning a new whole; a thing, a composition, a space in time born of smallness and insignificant scraps of paper. A picture of my time. 

Time is the music of our being.  
It is to us what water is to fish.


~ Jessica Julian




In this world, there are two times.
There is mechanical time and there is body time. 

The first is as rigid and metallic as a 
massive pendulum of iron that swings 
back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. 

The second squirms and wriggles like a bluefish in a bay. 

The first is unyielding, predetermined. 

The second makes up its mind as it goes along.

~ Alan Lightman


 one moment, one chance

 
She had always felt
that the essence of human experience
lay not primarily in the peak experiences, 
the wedding days and triumphs 
which stood out in the memory like dates
circled in red on old calendars, 
but, rather, in the unself-conscious 
flow of little things--the weekend afternoon
with each member of the family
engaged in his or her own pursuit,
their crossings and connections casual,
dialogues imminently forgettable,
but the sum of such hours creating a synergy
which was important and eternal.


~ Dan Simmons


Happy New Year my friends. 
May 2012 bring us all 
ample creative bluefish times.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

In the Flow of Creativity



Flow is being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz.

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi


Have you ever been in a flow, when things just kept getting better and better? That’s happening now for me, and I am having so much fun! I am barely noticing that my studio is under construction. I hauled paints and paper and brushes to the house and have set up a tiny mobile studio in a bathroom, so you know it’s a very small space. I put a board over the sink and away I go!

Earlier this year I set up two pieces of paper on board to do warm-up mark making prior to a painting session. I just kept painting and painting on them, layer after layer. When I had a go at painting with smoke (see my last post) I used those pieces for my trial runs. I took a small section of one of those and did additional mark making to create the piece above. I wanted to let you know that if you decide to paint with smoke as Dean Nimmer outlines in his book Art From Intuition, I suggest you wear a respirator. The fumes, especially if you are working over acrylics, were very unhealthy. Dean outlined a number of safety factors to keep in mind, but not that one. When it comes to sensitivity to vapors and fumes and air born particles I am the canary in the coal mine. Just thought I would share that precaution.

Do you do it for the money, honey? The answer is no. Don't now and never did. Yes, I've made a great deal of dough from my fiction, but I never set a single word down on paper with the thought of being paid for it... I have written because it fulfilled me. Maybe it paid off the mortgage on the house and got the kids through college, but those things were on the side--I did it for the buzz. I did it for the pure joy of the thing. And if you can do it for joy, you can do it forever.

Stephen King


Meanwhile the Re-Fresh Your Creative Practice program is coming together and we are set to start Tuesday, January 19th. There is still time to join us if you wish. I am having so much fun with that creative project! If I had to choose between my love of creating art and my love of working with creative people, I would not be able to do so.

I’m in the kind of flow that fills time to the brim, and I find I am inspired even in the early morning and late night hours. I am making every effort to visit your blogs. It looks to me as if there is a great deal of creative flow going around!


We have so much to celebrate!! There is a permanent party rocking the Universe! We are all standing on one giant revolving dance floor- get out there and do your thing and do it well! Dance the dance of life, and let your own unique and beautiful rhythm flow.

Katharine Dever

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Jeane's Studio Visit






Jeane’s Visit to the Studio

Hello!
Tour the studio
Art work
Jeane’s art work is so deep!
Technique talk
Oils
Wax
Acrylic
Canvas
Birch Panels
That great soft yellow bag
Talk
Laugh
Bits of life stories
Tea
Dreams
Visions
Intensions
To brush or not to brush?
Scrub is a good thing
Laugh
OMG!
Show and Tell
Meet the kitties
Meet Wire Man
Talk
Laugh
Little gifts
Good By until next time

Great Energy!

I loved your visit Jeane!


Friday, April 17, 2009

The Muse is Happy


Big Rocks is a possible title, by Leslie Avon Miller


Old Bones by Leslie Avon Miller
What a great day this was. I started my day fully focused on creativity. I had a number of phone conversations with artists who I admire and appreciate. I was honored to coach a few artists working in calibration with the artist. The benefits of previous sessions were celebrated, and visions even more expanded. It is truly thrilling to hear about success, and the ease with which it flows when we are working in alignment with our values, or as we sometimes say around here, in alignment with the Big Rocks. It’s like the universe steps out half way to meet us at the place of our dreams.

I feel expanded, open, flowing, enthused, and delighted! It is better than Christmas.
To be witness and co-facilitator for the expansion of creative visions and dreams, happening right now, and coming into to being as we speak, is a tremendous thrill and a gift to me.

So, from that kind of energy I went to the studio, and worked on the Old Bones paintings. I have been adding layers, and making changes to these paintings, trying to bring forth my vision. I am frustrated however, by photography. I am going to have to learn how to use the newer SLR camera. I just can’t get a good enough photo with the little camera.

So I scanned these images. Since the paintings are on birch, and measure 20 inches by 20 inches, they are much too big for the scanner. So what you see here are cropped portions of the work. I wanted to show you the deep texture that I just can’t capture with the small camera. The Big Rocks painting is the one I wrote on with a graphite pencil which I talked about in my Moodle post.

I think I should clarify my last post. I don’t actually have the ways and means to take my work shop (currently in development) to Australia or New Zealand. I am letting the universe know that’s something I would like to do. I could hold onto that idea and never make it happen. So I decided to say it out loud as an intention. It is a great dream, goal, idea, and vision. Now I am making myself accountable to make it happen.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Question #2


Laughter and Silence 6 x 6 collage by Leslie Avon Miller


What is it that you give to your creativity?

These are my answers: Curiosity. Reverence. My time, my energy, my resources, my attention, my love, my respect. Connections with other creative people. Looking at things, everywhere. My blog! We built a building that is one half studio and one half wood shop. That was really a big commitment for us. It feels like a gift every time I walk over there. It is a project still under construction. Being creative is a state of being but it is also a relationship - me and my creativity.

And blog readers wrote that they give

Being open
Going different places, walking, looking, reading, talking
I write lot
I write snippets for artist statements
I collect quotes
I give my all
It’s all I think about
I make a commitment and get into the flow
Time
Space
Materials
Equipment
Freedom
Intention and willingness to explore
One voice joining with others
Creativity
Commitment
Showing up
Seeing a project through
Willingness to listen to my soul
To keep my heart open
My heart and soul
I am willing to put the fruits of my creativity out there
I give my closest attention
My time
My passion
I study
I practice

Monday, March 30, 2009

The First Question: Blog Reader’s Answers


Knowing, 6 x 6 collage by Leslie Avon Miller
I have been away for a few days. Looking over these answers again has been touching. As artists, it is clear that our creativity is a portal to something bigger than ourselves, to something of profound meaning and value. I just can’t synthesize these because every one is a precious gem. So here they are, in no particular order, and with a touch of paraphrasing. Breathe in the beauty, the soulfulness, and the exquisiteness of the connection each creative person has to their own creativity.

#1 What is it that you get back from your art?

Acceptance of myself and my art
Permission to just be
License to live a different kind of life
Balance in my life
A spiritual feeling
The older I get the more making art changes to meditation
Being in the flow
Writing is the greatest thing for me; it has taken on a life of its own
My writing resonates
Satisfaction
A sense of playfulness
It provides solutions
A coming together, a flowering
I make money
Validation
Impetus to keep making art
Enjoyment
An outlet for my creativity
The ability to solve problems
A sense of community that sustains me
Opportunity to learn new things
Sense of accomplishment
Calms me down
Teaches me patience
Teaches to accept and enjoy many forms of art
Outlet for expressing my emotions
Solace
A way to work out problem and to share
A great adrenalin rush
Feeding of the heart and brain
My brain becomes engaged
I feel blessed
A chance to express one’s deepest beliefs, joys and dreams
A way to get in touch with the visible world around me
Art and creativity is way to express myself in the world
Connections with others
A sense of purpose
A feeling that art is food and medicine
A part of my soul
A secret thought
A new color or texture
A surprise
Regenerative energy
Creativity creates a bigger pool of creativity for all of us
Art is the path to wisdom
Pure joy of creating
Deep satisfaction
Pleasure in completing a quest
The amazing sight of giving new life
Joy, clarity, fulfillment
Growth
Deeper understanding of my inner and outer life
Increased appreciation for the world
A constant dialog with the work
Gratitude to be alive