Creative Withdrawal – Thoughtful Thursday

Copyright 2010 Valerie Jones

As I revisit The Artist's Way, I keep coming back to this phrase, “We ourselves are the substance we withdraw to, not from, as we pull our overextended and misplaced creative energy back into our own core.” We ourselves are the substance we withdraw to…huh? What does this mean to me? It’s not that I am withdrawing from myself, who I am. It is more withdrawal from my current life and looking back to the dreams I had for myself. Back to those God-given dreams. Back to that creative energy we once had before we displaced it in the dreams of others.

As I dig up those dreams buried far below the surface, I go through a grieving process. I grieve for letting them go. I get angry at myself for burying those dreams in the hopes of others. I take a time of mourning. The anger, grief, and mourning are preparing me for growth in a new direction.

Join me on this journey as I recover some of those lost hopes and dreams I have for myself. How do you recover your buried dreams?

The Drawing Board – Hat

I’m working with the hat next because I don’t want the hands to smear.

An 8B pencil was used for the shadows of the hat.  Take note – I am not pressing hard, but rather using several light layers.  I don’t want to smash the tooth of the paper by pressing too hard.  If you smash the tooth of the paper, you can’t achieve the depth you need by putting multiple layers of graphite.  Smashing will gloss over and leave a shine.

I worked all over the hat.  I have to admit that I am not a fan of Spiderman.  He isn’t fun to draw either.  Ha!  After I put the darks of the hat in, I went to work on “Spidey”.  I applied the dark lines and and moved to the lighter areas.  Once I had “Spidey” blocked in, I worked on the hat some more.  I’m sorry.  I didn’t get pictures of this process for you.  I did several layers of 8B pencil and blended between each layer.

 

The threads – I made a lighter space where the threads would be.  These areas have already been blended.

I had lost my placing of the threads to part of  the hat.  Remember the clear acetate?  Here it is again.  I needed it to find my placing for the threads.

Now, those eraser remnants – here is where they come in handy.  I erased a thin line where the threads need to be.  Then, with the acetate over the drawing, I took a stylus and put indentions in the paper where the threads would be.  Then I blended the area so the threads would pop out.  A stylus should have been used upon the initial outline drawing, but I failed to do that.  Thus, hard work now.  The lines weren’t popping out as they should, so I took a utility knife to scratch out the threads.  I don’t recommend this because it damages the paper.  But, when mistakes happen, (as they will), then you make do with what needs to be done.

Hat Threads

Hat Complete

Next time on The Drawing Board, hands.

Painting by Faith

Copyright 2010 Valerie Jones

One of my favorite quotes is by Amos Ferguson – I paint not by sight but by faith. Faith gives you sight.

Julia Cameron states in her book, The Artist's Way, that many of us wish we were more creative. Many of us sense we are more creative, but unable to effectively tap that creativity. Our lives feel somehow flat. Often, we have great ideas, wonderful dreams, but are unable to actualize them for ourselves. Sometimes we have specific creative longings we would love to be able to fulfill – learning to play the piano, painting, taking an acting class, or writing.”

Through the tasks in the book, we are able to tap into those dreams and ideas. While working through the tasks, a sense of defiance and giddiness occurs. It happened to me the first time I went through the tasks. While I found the defiance unwelcome, the giddiness was wonderful. Both experiences helped shape me into a different person. I’m glad I took the walk through the tasks to find the real me.

The book also states, “Many of us find that we have squandered our own creative energies by investing disproportionately in the lives, hopes, dreams, and plans of others. Their lives have obscured and detoured our own. As we consolidate a core through our withdrawal process, we become more able to articulate our own boundaries, dreams, and authentic goals. Our personal flexibility increases while our malleability (altered or controlled by outside forces or influences) to the whims of others decreases. We experience a heightened sense of autonomy and possibility.”

I still struggle with investing myself in the hopes, dreams, and plans of others. When I find myself doing this, I take to reading The Artist’s Way once again. It helps me to redirect my energies in a better direction.

Take a leap of faith and go on this journey with me.  I look forward to your company.

Experiencing Creativity

Copyright 2010 Valerie Jones

Genesis 1:27 - So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.  NIV

Since God created us in his own image, we were made to be creative.  Look at nature around us and see God's creative handiwork!  Maybe we can't make a tree, but we sure can be inspired by what He created.

We are on a journey through the book, The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron.  I agree with Julia 100% when she says, "Creativity is an experience - to my eye, a spiritual experience.  It does not matter which way you think of it: creativity leading to spirituality or spirituality leading to creativity."

She has a list of Basic Principles that I'd like to share with you.  She recommends reading them once a day and listen for changes in your thought system.

The Artist's Way
Basic Principles

by Julia Cameron

1. Creativity is the natural order of life.  Life is energy: pure creative energy.
2. There is an underlying, in-dwelling creative force infusing all of life - including ourselves.
3. When we open ourselves to our creativity, we open ourselves to the creator's creativity within us and our lives.
4. We are, ourselves, creations.  And we, in turn, are meant to continue creativity by being creative ourselves.
5. Creativity is God's given to us.  Using our creativity is our gift back to God.
6. The refusal to be creative is self-will and is counter to our true nature.
7. When we open ourselves to exploring our creativity, we open ourselves to God: good orderly direction.
8. As we open our creative channel to the creator, many gentle but powerful changes are to be expected.
9. It is safe to open ourselves up to greater and greater creativity.
10. Our creative dreams and yearnings come from a divine source.  As we move toward our dreams, we move toward divinity.

The Drawing Board – Hair

Step 1

Overview to drawing hair - Draw the outline shape of the hair. Begin by applying the dark areas in the direction the hair grows. After dark areas are placed, blend them out to be a halftone value. Reapply the darks by drawing the darks into the light area. Pull the light area into the dark area with the sharpened point of a kneaded eraser. Never try to create the light areas of the hair by leaving the white of the paper showing and drawing around it. The highlights of the hair are actually the light reflecting off the top, outside layers of the hair. The hair creates shadows on the face.

Step 1 – I put in the dark areas of the hair using a 4B pencil. I applied the pencil strokes in the direction the hair is laying. The hair is darkest right underneath the cap because the cap is casting a shadow onto the hair.

Step 2

Step 2 – Once the darks were in, I blended over the whole area of hair. Is the hair done? Absolutely not! For hair to look full and thick, many layers of pencil strokes and blending must occur.

Step 3

Step 3 – I went back in and re-defined the darks and blended again. Pretty dark, huh? Now it is time for the eraser to pull out some lighter values in the hair.

Oh, but wait! Putting in the dark hair is bringing out the darks in the eyes. They’ll still need adjusted, but maybe not as much as I first thought.

Back to the eraser. You want a chisel point on your eraser. It will aid you greatly when pulling out the lighter values of hair.

I use a utility knife to cut the edges. I keep the remnants because they are just as useful as the eraser.

Step 4

Step 4 – I turned my work on the side so I could see shapes better rather than draw what my mind thought hair should look like. You see how the eraser pulled out the lighter values in the hair? Pretty neat, huh? It’s not looking as dark either.

Step 5

Step 5 – The hair needed more definition, so I went back in the the blending stump.

Ach…I could mess with the hair all day!

Next time on The Drawing Board – the cap.

Creative Thinking – Thoughtful Thursday

Copyright 2010 Valerie Jones

In Julia Cameron’s book, The Artist's Way, she states -

“The idea that the Creator encourages creativity is a radical thought.  We tend to think, or at least fear, that creative dreams are egotistical, something God wouldn’t approve of for us. After all, our creative artist is an inner youngster and prone to childish thinking. If our mom or dad expressed doubt or disapproval for our creative dreams, we may project that same attitude onto a parental god. This thinking must be undone.”

As a woman, I have been taught that being having a career in creativity is not what women should do with their lives.  Creating art does not pay the bills.  Taking care of a husband and children is what I “should” do with my life.  (We’ll discuss the “shoulds” in life at another time).  I had to create affirmations to rid myself of this fear of God not approving of my artistic endeavors.  I went straight to the Bible for these affirmations.

Proverbs 31:10-31 is a great affirmation from God to women.  The verses that speak to me are 24 and 31.

Verse 24 - “She make linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes.”

Verse 31 - “Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.”

What do you fear?  What affirmations can you try?

The Drawing Board – Ears

Ears are different than any other part of the face.  They have a unique shape and the skin is shinier.  Our ears are oilier which creates the shine.  I love drawing ears because of the dark darks and the bright whites.  A lot of contrast is in the ear.

Step 1

This little guy’s ears do not show the interesting shapes and huge contrasts.  I’m up for the challenge anyway.

Since the ear’s shape is so unique, you want to make sure you have an accurate line drawing before you start with the shading.

Step 1 - I started with a B pencil in the darkest areas.

Step 2

Step 2 - After adding the darks, I took the blending stump and blended from dark to light.  I adjusted the lighter areas with the kneaded eraser.  I re-defined the darks with HB an B pencils.

See?  That wasn’t so difficult!

Next time on The Drawing Board is a tutorial on hair.