Something I would like to talk about: The Gift of Malleability
After talking with a number of artists lately struggling with their practice of creating work. The main issue that seemed common amongst them all was the process. How to comfortably and successfully create, with emphasis on a body of work.
Speaking for myself, the single most complicated issue begins with absolutes in mind, i.e. subject, style, materials, and being wed to the outcome. So often when approaching work like this we ignore potentially good detours, happy accidents, and the power of our subconscious to express our personal aesthetic and unique creative vocabulary.
I began thinking about this many years ago as an artist and a cabinetmaker. One day when I was building a complicated piece of furniture I made a mistake, and it ruined my day. There was no way around it – I screwed up. There was only one way to achieve the task at hand and I had flubbed it. I knew the right way to do it. A few days later I was painting, and I made a mistake with composition, and it also ruined my day. I then realized I was flogging myself as I had done because of my carpentry mistake. There was only one way to achieve my carpentry task, but the options were unlimited with the painting. Both endeavors began with a plan, a drawing, but one was etched in stone, the other had no real limits. A light went on in my head – one must be attached to the outcome when building furniture, not so with art, as a matter of fact, in my opinion, it can be damning for our art.
The biggest trap is attachment and defending something that is not working to ourselves and others, during the process and after. This also can deny us the gift of malleability. The ability to let ourselves make mistakes and shift – allowing our subconscious and our personal aesthetic to do their things.
Kevin Tully
October, 2024
image @kevintully