The Messy Studio with Rebecca Crowell - Episodes Tagged with “Experience”

Episode 250: Expressions of Gratitude

Rebecca Crowell — Sat, 29 Apr 2023 15:00:00 -0500

As artists, what role can gratitude play in our work and practice? On a personal level, we know that focusing on what we’re grateful for is good for overall mental health and contentment. Today we’d like to talk about specific situations in which appreciation and gratitude can help artists cope with some of the tougher aspects of art practice. Expressing gratitude can also help in your professional life to build mutual appreciation and respect in your dealings with the art world. Today we’ll talk about the importance of gratitude on both personal and professional levels.

Thinking about gratitude in ways that are specific to your art life and work ienhances a positive state of mind. To look back over your life, and make a list of who has helped you, who has understood your passion, and what opportunities that have come your way is a powerful tool in maintaining a positive outlook. Becoming aware of these sources of support can help you through times of frustration or feeling a lack of appreciation, understanding the goodness that in the big picture of our lives. Any success you've achieved has not happened without support and encouragement from other people.

Acknowledging this support on both a personal and professional level is healthy for everyone involved. One way of expressing gratitude is simply to be generous--to transform what has been given to you into new forms, whether that is through teaching, supporting your art friends in their struggles, purchasing artwork from others, or simply a direct conversation with someone you appreciate.

It is good also to be grateful for the basic importance of art in your life, the fact that you have the ability to express what moves you in ways that can be shared with other people. In this way, every work of art is an expression of gratitude.

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What's new At Cold Wax Academy?
Rebecca and Jerry launched their spring quarter on April 12th. Sessions this quarter so far included identifying compositional issues in your work, and technical information from Gamblin representative Mary Tevlin. Upcoming sessions include a painting clinic for works in progress, and much more. As always, members can join in on live sessions with questions and comments, and can benefit anytime by interacting with other members on our Members-only facebook page. With 100 recorded sessions in the member library there is always something to learn or review, with topics ranging from technical advice to visual language to guests speakers and critiques of member work.

To learn more about membership, and to purchase cold wax tools and Rebecca and Jerry's book, Cold Wax Medium: Techniques, Concepts & Conversations, please visit http://www.coldwaxacademy.com

Please visit http://www.coldwaxacademy.com for more information as well as basic information about using cold wax medium.

Here is what a member named Sandy has to say about her own experience with Cold Wax Academy:
"Rebecca and Jerry have presented the most professional, authentic and structured approach to a creative activity I have ever come across. Their selfless sharing of all their knowledge and encouragement is a gift in my life unsurpassed."

Also-- please visit https://www.espacioart.org to learn about Rebecca and Jerry's newest project, Espacio, dedicated to providing beautiful living and working spaces for artists and writers. Espacio's first offering is Casa Clavel, a modern, fully equipped house opening this September in the beautiful cultural city of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. A few booking openings are still available in 2023, so please incquire if you are interested.

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For more from The Messy Studio:
www.messystudiopodcast.com
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For more from Rebecca Crowell:
www.rebeccacrowell.com
www.coldwaxacademy.com

The Messy Studio Podcast is a Tick Digital Media Production.

Episode 192: Your Life & Your Abstract Voice

Rebecca Crowell — Sat, 16 Oct 2021 12:00:00 -0500

How do abstract artists focus on specific ideas in their work? How can personal voice be discovered and followed given the endless possibilities of abstraction? Today we will talk about one path that has proven to be a rich vein of ideas for many abstract artists—that of pulling from their own experiences in life to create a meaningful, personal visual language. Today we’ll talk about ways to access ideas for abstraction from what you know best, your own life.

Many artists, especially beginners with abstraction, tend to be a bit disconnected from personal expression in their work. Maybe it's because they believe that abstraction is always about lofty concepts bigger than any individual, or maybe they consider abstraction to be mainly an intellectual /conceptual exercise, or that it is mainly about process and technique.

All these approaches are satisfying to many abstract artists., but others want a more personal or emotional connection to their work.

if you haven't considered your own experiences, situations, and emotions as pathways to this connection, it may be because you worry that this is too self-involved or somehow self-centered. But there is wisdom in the idea that the more personal a subject is the more universal its potential. Your interpretation of your own experiences can strike a chord with others and thus be more widely meaningful. Work based on your own life and experiences is perfectly valid and is a long tradition in art.

Discovering personal sources for your work is challenging. It requires self-awareness and observation of what moves you and what abstract elements you connect with your experiences. Specific memories of moments and emotions connected with them are most potent, and journaling and sketching can deepen your awareness of these and help you focus.

There is no formula for working abstractly from your own experience, it is by nature individualized and personal. But to realize that your own life is legit subject matter and worthy of your attention is liberating. So go ahead, express your own experiences, be quirky, be open, be a little mysterious, mine your own memories, and feelings.

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Rebecca and her partner Jerry McLaughlin are excited to be launching year two of Cold Wax Academy's membership program, which began in October of 2020. In the coming year, live online learning sessions will feature an entirely new set of topics---beginning with a deep dive into technique and the steps involved in developing a painting. Other topics for year 2 include professional development, abstraction and realism, principles of design, and expanded uses for cold wax medium.

As always, members have access to recordings of all previous sessions including everything from the first year, so it's easy to join anytime. Fall Quarter begins October 6th. Please visit http://www.coldwaxacademy.com for details about membership levels and to sign up for a year of exciting learning experiences.

Here is what a member named Sandy has to say about her own experience:
"Rebecca and Jerry have presented the most professional, authentic and structured approach to a creative activity I have ever come across. Their selfless sharing of all their knowledge and encouragement is a gift in my life unsurpassed."

Episode 124: Voices Of Experience

Rebecca Crowell — Sat, 09 May 2020 13:00:00 -0500

If you have ever had a really good art class, whether in school or a workshop, you probably retained some real gems of wisdom from the instructor. These may be specific things that were emphasized, or their overall teaching philosophy. These positive ideas and words have the power to shape our studio practices for our entire creative lives. We reached out to some art instructors, all friends of the Messy Studio Podcast, to ask them to share their insights and approaches to teaching, as well as how they motivate and inspire students to find their own direction.

Teaching art is a work in progress, and most instructors see their messages evolve over time to be more supportive of students, as well as more challenging. The best art instructors have years of experience, and know what it takes to find a meaningful path because they have traveled that path themselves. Other instructors,however, have only enough experience to come up with something that works, and they teach in a formulaic way. They know what is true for them, but not how to help others find their own way.

Meaningful art comes from personal experience. Teaching individuals involves guiding them to draw from their own well of resources, and requires the instructor to understand approaches other than their own. Students do need basic nuts and bolts information. However, they also need a wider context that goes beyond a one-size-fits-all teaching style.

We asked several friends, colleagues, and former guests about their teaching approaches and advice and invite listeners to recall words of wisdom from their own art instructors.

For more from The Messy Studio:
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For more from Rebecca Crowell:
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