Creative Response

"Painting is just another way of keeping a diary".

- Pablo Picasso

To jump start my new year of self-discovery and creative encounters I embark on the journey of self-exploration by starting a creative project with the working title Seven self-portraits. The idea was inspired by Cate Coulagos Prato's book "Mixed-Media self-portraits" and is straightforward: this year I shall create seven self-portraits in the media of my choice.

The book is filled with creativity tips, ideas and stories from a number of artists who use the therapeutic effects of creating self-portraits and generously share their stories and their artowork. Why seven? I just happen to like the number. At the same time knowing that it should be more than one painting takes some of the initial pressure of.

From Cate Coulagos Prato's book: "A self-portrait is your one-way ticket to the land of YOU! It's a place where you can see your beauty, understand your shadows, and express deep, intense and painful emotions. It's a powerful tool, one that can effect change and growth, tell stories, and promote connections with others with an invitation to view your unconditional self."

The scary and the exciting part is that I have never painted a portrait in my life and I always considered it to be a task for a real artist. I have no idea what will come out of it but hey, what do I have to lose? Since I paint myself nobody but me can be disappointed!

The first phase is intuitive and is about gathering information. As I leaf through art books of my favourite artists I pay attention to the colors and shapes that speak to me. The idea for the first self-portrait comes before I pull out a poster with one of Frida Kahlo's paintings. It's time to roll up the sleeves!

Observing my own face in the mirror in a new, more detached way I let go of the usual judgement mode. Instead I explore and describe, paying attention to the facts. How far are my eyes positioned from each other? How wide is the mouth line? Using Adobe Photoshop I experiment with the photo I took of myself and settle on the composition.

Consider this:

If you were to make a self-portrait, what side of you would you choose to emphasise?

What would be the medium of your choice?

Would would it look like?

One of the joys of being a newbie is that with the beginner status we get the privilege to play and experiment, relax the expectations and the preconceived ideas about us being this or that way. As we take the first steps and make the first thousand mistakes we adopt the investigative attitude and practice, practice, and when we think we got it practice some more.

I believe it is a very healthy and inspiring experience to expose oneself  to new experiences. Every year I choose a field or two to try my hand at. It can be anything from a new language to a karate class. This practice brings me back to the beginner's joys of discovering that it is from those very "mistakes" we learn and therefore there can be no mistakes, only experience. It also allows me to extend my social network and meet people I would have unlikely met otherwise. This particular strategy is supported by two principles that help me insure that this new activity does not become a new stress factor and fits into my lifestyle.

What one man can, I can

This belief is the foundation of creating the resourceful conditions for us to succeed in what we are doing. It can be hard to believe sometimes when as a beginner I watch an expert at work but watching and admiring her performance empowers me only if I truly believe it is possible for me as well. The only way to achieve it is... by giving up all attempts to succeed and simply let the action get expressed through me.

One thing in, one thing out

There is just as many hours in a day and to add something to it I first have to make space for it. This semester I am taking a class in traditional Chinese painting style Xieyi and decided to let go of my bonsai hobby which opened a whole new world for me and brought me a lot of joyful encounters.

Newbie attempts at handling "the four treasure of Study": paper (zhi), inkstone (yan), ink stick (mo) and brush (bi). One can see that I have a very vague idea about what a wide orchid looks like (this one reminds more of a clutser of bananas) and have a lot to learn about using ink and brush.

The truth is you're already a cook.

Nobody teaches you anything,

but you can be touched, you can be awakened.

Out down the book and start asking,

"What have we here?"

From Edward Brown's cookbook "The Tassajara Recipe Book"

think about this:

When was the last time you tried something new?

What would you like to try your hand at? How would that enhance your quality of life?

What stops you from doing it now?