A really smart guy once said, “Creativity is intelligence having fun.”
Updated: Jan 23, 2019
Oscar Wilde wrote, “Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates Life”. To me, it means that just as any individual creative effort at artistic expression is unique, so is life. No one’s life is truly perfect, but each is beautiful in its own way.
You can ask ten potters to make you a mug, and you will have ten beautiful mugs, each with its own imperfections, and as different and individual as the potters who made them.
Simply put, if you think you aren’t ‘good at art’, stop that. You may be looking for perfection when your focus should be on having fun with your creativity.
Embrace your humanness! All those odd bits and quirks that make you who you are. Art is a creative process. Allow your perceived flaws in each of your endeavors to become the individuality that makes your artwork your own. Let go of attempts at perfection and allow yourself to discover your style.
We are each born with some level of talent. But talent must be nurtured, fed, and given wings. You don’t have to go to a formal school setting, but you do have to read, watch, and learn. We are so fortunate to live in an age where the nearest laptop and WiFi connection can be your learning forum. Most of all, you have to practice.
Start with something as easy as doodling. Pen and paper. Pick a starting point and begin. There are no mistakes. If you zig and you meant to zag, that is fine, keep going. Fill the entire page with squiggles, loops, waves, angles, words, whatever. Add color. Make yourself happy. Doodling actually helps our brains with focus and recall.
Do a search on Google for images of doodle art for inspiration. Remember as you look at the artworks, you are looking for ‘inspiration’ not comparison to what you create.
As a potter, you may wonder, why doodle? What can I do with doodles on clay? Carve patterns to add texture and dimension to your clay wares.
Want to check out a great blog with instructions on doodle art? Check out Heidi Denney’s work at her blog: https://doodleaddicted.wordpress.com
Oh, and in case you didn’t already know it, that really smart guy I quoted in this post’s title was none other than Albert Einstein.