Art & Ideas E-zine

Thought of the week: Creativity for well-being and health

Thu, 17 Feb 2011 23:05:46 -0500

There's so much emphasis on people doing physical exercise every day. Don't get me wrong, this is highly necessary. But I'm finding that a lot of people are not exercising their creativity -- no wonder our culture is limited in providing opportunities for creating. First off we might have a job where we do the same thing every day, or do it in a linear way. We might even have a job where creativity is necessary, but at the same time that creativity is directed by "the market." It doesn't allow the opening up of a form of creativity that changes our perceptions and allows us to release our joy.
Many times people who enter the creative process don't find the right program for them, and they try to fit a model that might not work for them and allow them to enter the process with ease and excitement at the same time. I see this a lot -- people try drawing, and because they haven't drawn since grade school, they say "I can't draw." Well it doesn't work that way; there might be many reasons why the drawing doesn't come easy. But by absorbing yourself in particular colors and applying certain techniques, you actually enter the creative process more easily, and the process KEEPS you there.
I'm concerned that as a culture we're not making the creative process an element of our daily life. But if you try to add it, I promise that you will solve problems differently and perceive life with more fluidity.
So you might ask how often should you creatively exercise? I would start small, small enough to keep you in the process. So 20 minutes three times a week is what you want to aim for, at a beginning level.
Since I'm a visual artist you might think I'm just saying you should create visual art. No, all the arts matter. You have to experiment and try to not limit your work to one form whenever it is not "working." As a creativity coach and a teaching artist I see this is where people get into a problem.
I have more to say about this; please let me know if you'd like me to write more about "creativity for well-being & health" -- Shaqe

"History takes time. History makes memory." --Gertrude Stein

Thu, 17 Feb 2011 23:00:53 -0500

We're into the second weekend of the collaborative installation "Collaging History," and our "History" will be taking its time. But we've already had seven visitors of various ages add old images and/or drawings to the giant four-wall collage which is gradually becoming interconnected via visual themes, and we have interest in getting many more people to participate -- see you this weekend? For an update on the progress, check out Shaqe's video

“Collaging History” Installation

Wed, 9 Feb 2011 21:51:37 -0500

Are our ideas about history fixed in time, or constantly in flight?

A Collaborative Exhibition
where your participation matters

Be an ARTIST:
Participate in a group art project
where you can draw and put pictures all over the gallery walls
No drawing ability necessary; professional artist is masterminding the event.

“I’m looking for people of all ages, non-artists and artists, people with abilities and disabilities, to participate in creating this installation. Participate in putting up images from past history and current history, as well as participate in drawing images. If you think you can’t draw -- good -- I’m looking for people that have a ‘naive’ drawing style. I’ll be leading people in this collaboration to document American/world history in a way that’s relevant to us now. Become a part of this -- your voice is important!” --Shaqe - artist - teaching artist

History can be percieved as stagnant in the past. But what if our notions of it are changing as history is being made? Do we percieve particular historic moments differently, due to current events? By contrasting a historic moment with current events, do our perceptions change?

Go to the exhibition page to find out more.

The Artist’s Search for Meaning

Fri, 8 Oct 2010 09:28:33 -0400

Artists create more than objects, they create a sense of meaning and purpose not only for themselves but for the people that view their artwork. As artists work with colors, sounds, or words, they search for a union in the materials that brings a work together. They work with the unknown every time they approach a blank canvas; they develop courage to travel in this vast emptiness -- a void that might become evident for them as they decide on their subject matter. Their search for meaning is found in the act of creating and traveling into the chaos of creating. As the artist persists they open up ways of thinking and courage that can only come from exploring the unknown.

If you would like to learn more about the creative process, contact Shaqe (shacha) about the "Fearless Creating" workshop: 734-420-0775.

Performance art: Taking it to the streets....

Fri, 1 Oct 2010 09:16:54 -0400

Shaqe has been taking art outside of the four walls of the studio, performing her art by drawing in downtown Northville and Plymouth. But she's taking a different approach to drawing that's attracting an audience of up to 20 people at a time to observe her art-making -- instead of using her hands to draw, she's drawing with her right foot.
This past weekend at the Victorian Festival in downtown Northville, she was drawing the old Marquis Theatre, educating people who were curious enough to approach her.
"So why do I draw with my foot? Well I had started to experiment with drawing with my non-dominant hand, and I noticed I was getting a different quality of line," she says. "Also I felt like I was opening up some creative zones within my own mind. My right hand is trained, and I am able to make realistic depictions, but my foot is not trained and I don't have that much control with it. I always invite a challenge and this seemed like the right one. I've also wanted to get into performance art, so the foot-drawing in public would be that kind of performance that would draw some intrigue, and it has." More to share later regarding Shaqe's foot performances.