“The unexamined life is not worth living.”
-Socrates
It is hard to believe that it was 5 years ago in which what I call the “Abbey Normal Daze”. And it led me into the Solitude of Art. I tried to fill the days with experiencing art in its various formats. To make more art myself. My Own Private Art School. To make art as a daily habit. This Process has been full of plenty of Ebbs and Flows. Steven Pressfield was right by entitling The War of Art.
“The Turbulence of the Seeking Mind”
I started amassing art supplies. I became basically a self taught artist. As I look back on things, most of my education has truly been myself, alone with a book or two trying to figure It out. I started with a simple box of crayons. And slowly work my way into painting. I found myself going into more abstract art with it. I find the form to be freeing for my mind. Yes, the box exists. What exists inside the box by looking into it. What exists outside the box when I pull back for a wider view. This is contrary to this current society that needs that box to check a specific requirement off. And it has to align with a political bias. So this made me an Outsider.
“Amongst the Anonymous “
I don’t have an exact answer to why abstract art caught my attention. It maybe a by product of my sense of humor. I found this talk about abstract art from the late David Lynch. (I wish I could link to that talk but Instagram acts like an etc ha when I mistakenly hit the refresh button) To paraphrase. He said, that the world does not make sense. So why should art? Abstract art reflects that. By engaging with abstract art a person is building up a their own skill of intuition. And that stirs curiosity. Making a game out of it.
I have found that my art is not a good conversation starter with others for the most part. That’s O.k. It reminds be to embrace stillness. Quietly to just keep going on.
During the Abbey Normal I found the relief of taking hikes in nature. Or simply going for a walk. I read various books by Creatives and Thinkers that told how they too benefited from the act of walking. For example, Nietzsche didn’t fully trust any idea that didn’t come to him while he was walking. Frederick Gros’ A Philosophy of Walking was a guide for me to see walking as a form of meditation. So when I need to step back from my creative work in order to think about I go for a walk. My Stuck Mode needs a chance to breath. This brings back a memory of my youth. When ever I said I was Stuck and wanted to take a walk. Only to be told, “Sit down. Shut up. And do your work. And I don’t care about it”.
When I go on these hikes, I take my camera with me. I use the camera to frame a snapshot of how the world is in that moment of time. This is just another form of creative work for myself. It becomes another way for me to meditate. Some days, I leave the camera behind and to take pause and just observe the place around me. To just be still. For myself.
As I was putting this post together I came across this.
I wish I could get away with doing this. I am so jealous he got away with it.
Andy Warhol is another artist I find myself intrigued by. He too did art work in various different mediums. This reminder is on my wall.
Additional Reading
Skin and Bruises 