Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Risk monkey

Pastel on 50" x 38" paper.
One thing that all of my Opus tutors have been telling me is that I need to take more risks.
"Screw your head off and put it under your arm" says Dorothy Tucker
"Work from your belly" says Mary Cozens Walker
"You're not alone. Every good artist faces this battle head on. Otherwise your work stays perfectly fine - but it's not enough. Enjoy the journey because you never get THERE." says Kate Green

"The Monkey parable: A monkey sees a nut in a hole and reaches in to grab it. Once he's closed his fist around it, he can't get his hand back out of the narrow opening. He can't free himself unless he lets go of the nut, but because he's afraid to lose it, he won't let go."

I'm like this monkey. I can draw and I can make good quilts. I'm afraid to let go of these things in order to free myself. It sounds silly, but it's really hard. To start making art directly from my imagination without knowing what I'll let come out. Terrifying.

We have our youngest daughter here this week and it's just so nice.

1 comment:

Wholly Jeanne said...

love the dorothy tucker quote. sounds so easy, doesn't it? love your work, will be back often. (from another one who spends far too much time in her head.)