MAGIC

This week we turned our attention to the Magic of our present. During the meeting, we discussed the following:

1) ARTcards (because of course we did)

2) Check-in where we shared about the assignments we did: Monsters and our ARTbreaks.

3) We shared our “AHA” moments and epiphanies we had this week about our art and process.We discussed Magic or what it’s like when our creativity is really cooking. I shared how for me it feels fizzy, like dropping a tab of alkaseltzer in a glass of water, how it changes the chemistry of my body and my mind. I asked them to answer the following questions about when it happens for them:

Where are you?

Who is there?

When does it tend to happen?

How do you feel in your body when it does?

Do you have any tricks to summon it.

If it was a spell in a cauldron, what types of things need to go in for the magic to happen?

4) We interviewed each other about being artists, some of the things we focused on were process, materials, theory, method, display, marketing, how you know when something is done, how you know when something is ready for the public, challenges, and how do you get ideas?

After the interview, we introduced each other to the group mirroring back the things we heard from one another. Next we each shared some things we admire about that artist and what we see in them that is unique and valuable.

5) Being present and making a record.

We make art or creative projects all the time, often without realizing it because we are not really present. with ourselves and our process. When we skip this part we miss out on the sort of spiritual aspect of art making.

I gave the example of being in a museum and seeing a piece of art with the maker’s name, but not having an artist statement or a body of their work. You miss out on context and are unable to really understand their work fully. We do this with ourselves. We don’t tap in, we just wander the halls of our creativity without really taking the time to consider our development, our process, ourselves as artists. That is the MAGIC of the present.

The other thing we don’t do is make a record. We maybe make a bunch of stuff, but we don’t essentially publish it anywhere. This could be your notebook, a blog, your social media, whatever works for you. When you take the time to record your work and articulate it into the world and share it, it makes the world a little bit better and brighter.

6) We discussed quickly Manifestos: essentially a document of some sort that says what you as an artist stand for and what you want your work to do in the world. To begin this process you will make two lists:

10 things you think artists should do/be

10 things you think art should do in the world