Friday, November 02, 2018

where do your ideas come from?

What a huge question

The first thing that comes to mind is that my ideas come from MY LIFE.
It is the most obvious answer.  But our lives are so immense aren't they?  
answer:  Place
a)   the environment I currently live in and experience is a source of ideas.  It is awesome to live in Northern Ontario.  Driving to Manitoulin from any direction places me between rock cuts and close to clear lakes.
And Manitoulin Island is full of spirit.  I seek solitude here.  It is quiet with water horizon views.  
Also the SKY is a source of ideas.  Moon, sun, stars, clouds, blue-ness, hugeness, above-ness.
b)
where I grew up, a farm in North Western Ontario, with big fields and a spectacular lone elm tree.
I always felt isolated there.
My parents and siblings had a big impact on me, and still do.  
c)
I study art every day.
I look at reproductions in books and read about artists and their ideas and lives.
I write about these things in my journal, sometimes inspired to try something immediately. 
Art study is a passion of mine.
d)
My journals. 
I gather thoughts in them every day.
I re-read them.  I find and develop my own ideas in these journals.
There is true-ness in the journals
e)
My mothering.
It is ongoing, and continues to give me more than you can imagine.
f)
Strong emotions such as great sadness, furious anger, or physical fraility may be where I start a piece.
However, although these pieces may begin with vehement negativity, as I work into them with my hands, those emotions are displaced, replaced with a glowing serenity.
I feel serene after so much time with the work in my lap, and the completed works are calm.
What is an idea really?  So often it begins as just a glance - a speck
something off to the side.
after so many years at this art-game, now I recognize the feeling of that speck
I grab it from the air and write about it or sketch it into my current journal
and move on with my day.  
It usually takes me a few days of sleeping and moving before I feel it as an IDEA, not just a glance.
I have inner dialogue with my self.  
I imagine that all humans do to some extent.

My heart responds to stimulation so quickly and generously, 
and I want to make art that will allow my open heart to speak.
I want to make work that is as true to how I understand my life as possible. 
So that when another human encounters my work, that person will know me. .

And also, even more
I hope that person's heart and inner self will recognize something in my work
that resonates deep within them. 

And they know something more about them selves.

But I am side-tracked away from the question about where ideas come from.
I guess the short answer is that
I don't know.

To live an absolutely original life one only has to be oneself.  Agnes Martin

All images in this post are of a new large scale work in progress.

14 comments:

Mo Crow said...

what a beautiful answer to the perennial question

Robbie said...

Some of us don't even take the time to realize where our ideas come from! Like stopping to smell the roses...you just inhale as you walk by! HA

Anonymous said...

As you strive to express time in your work, this post also circles around the concept of time.
The best ideas that connect us from across the globe come from our sheared experience of life. (can't believe I just wrote that)
Your blog and art brings out my best thoughts.
Cheers Jan

Anonymous said...

That should be "shared experience"

kathyd said...

color is what comes to mind for me . daily painting in my journal .
but most of all writing it down when it comes in my mind .( :

Judy Martin said...

I know that Jan. And so do others. Thank you very much for taking time to comment...much appreciated. xo

Hilary Musings said...

Your work resonates and inspires me. As I reach this 'certain' age where quiet becomes possible, I am loving stitching. I feel like the arms of many before me are helping guide, but wowza, there is something about the pieces that you create. Love this journal and your work - Hilary

Patty said...

The first photo made me think you were about to open a tiny stage curtain to a magic story. And you did!

Gwen Buchanan said...

Amazing work. so much thought and emotion and sensitivity involved.. love what you do!

Sarah said...

Life is a creative force that is always seeking to ex-press itself. We either go with it, or we suppress it and it comes out sideways in the form of something seemingly less desirable to us and others...

Judy Martin said...

Your comment intrigues me Sarah. Can you give me an example? x

Heather Pregger said...

Wonderful post. And what a wonderful thing to take negative emotion and turn it into serenity.

willow woman said...

It seems there is a dialogue that occurs as I journey through the day. And that inspires me!
I am in awe of the tiniest detail or perhaps a piece of cloth in my studio that begins to speak. Isn’t this creative place so wondrous and alive!

Cynthia Pittmann said...

Lovely reflection. Honest. Such commitment. Maybe you’ve found a way to open your heart with your journal and your art. About your textile art, I like the way you work jean material in your patterns.