Bennett - Making art a practice: 30 ways to paint a pipe (how to be the artist you are)

Cat Bennett 2013

The rights of Cat Bennett to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1998.

Published in 2013 by Findhorn Press

ISBN 978-1-84409-607-7

All rights reserved. The contents of this book may not be reproduced in any form, except for short extracts for quotation or review, without the written permission of the publisher.

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Printed and bound in China

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Yes is the answer and you know that for sure.

JohnLennon

Kate Wilson Geometric Mechanics

I n 1928, the Belgian artist Ren Magritte made a small painting of a pipe and underneath wrote Ceci nest pas une pipe (This is not a pipe). He called the painting The Treachery of Images, making clear that what we see is only part of what we get. A painting of a pipe is not a pipe; its a painting. More to the point, art leads us beyond ordinary perceptions to extraordinary ways of seeing, and being. For some of us, this comes with the desire to make art.

Who knows where such a desire comes from? Perhaps we have a special gift; perhaps we simply love the way art stirs our imagination and expands our appreciation of life and the world around us. We see there are ways to make meaning and uncover clarity through art. Whatever is behind our desire, it seems we cant rest until we begin to make things and explore. Theres magic in seeing something emerge from our hands, however simple. We want to engage in this magic.

Still, many of us feel trepidation when we set out on our creative paths. Despite gathering skills, we wonder if we can manifest our dreams. We see what other artists have done and are doing now. Can we really join them? Who are we as artists? What are we here to explore? Some of us begin our journey and get stuck en route. We loose our enthusiasm and our work loses its edge. We may well struggle to make a living at it. Art always poses challenges. It asks us to question and grow. Being an artist is a way of life and an art practice leads us forward. It gives us the tools of engagement and inquiry to be the artists we are.

This book speaks to the moment we cross the threshold of our dreams and step into the studio, whether that studio is a designated room or the kitchen table. It doesnt matter if were beginning our creative journey or if were further down the path, our art practice gives us ways to begin and to stay engaged with giving form to our dreams. It can help us to love our work and enjoy ourselves just as we areno small feat.

Ky Anderson

In the pages that follow are 30 practices with concrete actions to help us connect fully with our true creative selves. There are many ways to make art. Thirty Ways to Paint a Pipe is a metaphor for how we might bring our creative explorations to life, and bring ourselves to life too, whether we paint or send messages to the moon.

If you can see your path laid out in front of you step by step, you know its not your path. Your own path you make with every step you take. Thats why its your path.

Joseph Campbell

I nside we all feel theres something wondrous and creative waiting to emerge. Sometimes we dont know how to give it space or to allow its wild unfoldings but we are all creative. Its our human nature. Art is our creative spirit at work in the world. Its where our creativity collides with that of the universe around us. Well all do something different with our creativity but, if were called to make art, that call is meant for us. Its a call to action and discovery. How do we find creative freedom? How do we become the artists we are?

We might think its hard work that matters most, that if we slog away long and hard enough, if we ponder the cosmos and practice our skills, well get where we want to go. And we might think that where we want to go is to the pinnacle of artistic achievement where fame and even fortune can be ours. Even if our goals appear more modest, to simply make a beautiful painting, for instance, we may think that concerted effort will make it happen. But, sometimes, we see that effort doesnt liberate our creativity but can even constrain it. We feel an itchy dissatisfaction. We know theres more. Sometimes we dont know how to beginit can all feel so daunting. An art practice helps us to express ourselves fully and freely with our minds, hearts and spirits, no matter how fledgling our efforts. We do need to work hard, and play hard too.

Anthony RussoFallen Angel

When I was starting out as a working artist, aged 22, it never occurred to me to think of art as a practice. I did know, as we all do, that I needed to hone skills, in my case in drawing and painting. My own formal training had been in art history at university. My career as an illustrator and artist grew out of my first job as an animation filmmaker and out of a lifelong habit of drawing. When I left my job in my late twenties and moved from Canada to the United States, it was quite easy to segue into illustration. Work for newspapers and magazines came easily. I learned as I went but had no time, or even the thought, to make art a practice in which to explore not just skills but the inner alchemy of the creative process.

On our creative journeys, most of us climb one mountain or another and never make it all the way to the top. We may find the climb too hard or not engaging enough. Sometimes were heading up the wrong hill, not the one meant for us. It can take a while to find ourselves as artists. The journey is full of starts and stops, for all of us. We may see there are others ahead of us, perhaps the internationally reknowned Chinese artist Ai Weiwei. We might compare ourselves. Ai Weiwei has such an expansive and pointed vision, such an international reach. It can cause us to stop in our tracks. We know we have something beautiful inside but it is not Ai Weiwei! Sometimes, off in the distance through dense clouds, we catch sight of another mountain that may be better suited to us, we think. Were always looking outwards and forgetting to look inwards at the fabric of who we are. We might well head down into the valley where doubts and questions arise. In the words of Ai Weiwei, Art is always about overcoming obstacles between the inner condition and the skill for expression. It makes me feel he knows this journey too.