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

Episode 233: The Compulsion to Create

Rebecca Crowell — Sat, 10 Dec 2022 15:30:00 -0600

There is something compelling and mysterious about the urge to make art. Those of us that make art today are part of a tradition going back many thousands of years. What is its role in your own life? What basic needs does making art satisfy? Why do so many of us spend so much of our time putting down paint, shaping clay, carving wood or marble, or cranking prints through a press? Today we toss around some ideas about what motivates us to create and the satisfaction it brings.

It's not uncommon for an artist to stop working for a while due to some disruption in their lives and it can be a distressing time. If stopping is the result of a personal upset or trauma, a vicious cycle can develop in which not working can lead to an even lower state of mind, and lead to even more difficulty getting back to it when the overall situation improves. Yet most artists don't truly give up their studio practice when circumstances are negative, and will continue to search for a way back in.

Although artists have always persisted through every era of history and every situation that people experience, it is sometimes seen as a self-centered activity and not essential to society. In fact, it is an extremely personal activity and that connection to self is the source of the passion artists feel. At the same time, art transcends individual experience with its universal appeal, and is a very basic aspect of a fully developed culture.

For artists, art can fulfill many needs, from the desire to explore and be challenged, to spiritual fulfillment. It is a way of processing experience and to find a language for what goes on in an artist's inner life. These aspects lead to the intense drive and passion artists tend to feel for their work.

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What's new at Cold Wax Academy?
Rebecca and Jerry sre well into their Fall quarter of live, online sessions with a special focus this time on member participation, plus informative sessions on a variety of other topics. This month also marks the beginning of Cold Wax Academy's 3rd year of teaching sessions, meaning that the member library now has over 80 recordings and other instructional documents available for members. To access this wealth of information and to take part in upcoming live sessions, please visit the membership page at ColdWaxAcademy.com and sign up for one of the two levels of membership available.

Please visit http://www.coldwaxacademy.com for more information.
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:
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For more from Rebecca Crowell:
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The Messy Studio Podcast is a Tick Digital Media Production.

Episode 207: Art and Aging

Rebecca Crowell — Sat, 11 Jun 2022 15:00:00 -0500

Many of our listeners to this podcast are in their older years, and the rest of us can only hope to find ourselves there one day. Aging brings with it many challenges—these are as specific and diverse as our own personalities and yet as common as anything else shared by millions of people. While physical abilities and stamina may decline for older artists, aging can also contribute to creative work in positive ways.

Many artists have the drive to keep going despite physical limitations because art is so central to their lives. They adapt to issues like fatigue, aches and pains, the need to be conscious of posture, or coping with sensitivity to the physical aspects or materials of studio work. Repetitive motions required by the art process and lifting and carrying heavy, awkward objects can be problematic.

But there are many very positive and healthy aspects to making art late in life that include not only the great satisfaction of creativity itself, but that support brain health and other aspects of aging well. These include the mental flexibility required to create, a sense of purpose that is part of a commitment to a studio practice, and the personal connections with other artists in the creative community. Artists often tend to connect across generations and other social barriers, recognizing what they have in common and learning from one another.

Art transcends many of the emotional problems of aging in ways that can balance out the more difficult aspects of aging. It is a way of connecting with the reality of the experience of aging. It can help us rise above a potentially negative situation, that of our bodies becoming slower, more painful, and restricted--and to express the more profound and beautiful aspects of a long life.

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What's new at Cold Wax Academy?
Our Spring Quarter membership program is well underway with lots of information about working with Form and Content, and tips about Professional Development for artists at all stages of their careers. We are now looking ahead to our Summer session which begins on July 13. We're excited to be focusing on Personal Voice and Composition and we'll also be hosting some special guests to share more information about Professional Development. Member Critiques and Paintings Clinics, our new feature, are ongoing. You can join anytime and catch up with past recorded sessions at your own pace. Please visit http://www.coldwaxacademy.com for more information

As always, members have access to recordings of all previous sessions including everything from the first year, so it's easy to join anytime. 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 84: What the Creative Process Teaches Us

Rebecca Crowell — Sat, 10 Aug 2019 13:00:00 -0500

A few weeks ago Rebecca posed the question on Facebook, “what has your art practice taught you? Are there things you’ve learned as an artist that help you with other aspects of life? There were a lot of responses that were deep, insightful and passionate. Today we’re going to talk about this topic and some of what the artists said who responded to the question.

What does your art mean for you as a person living your life? How does what you do in the studio lead you to be a better person or have a more fulfilling life?

I realized in posing the question it is hard to separate out studio practice from the rest of life, or from who we are as people. But thought it would be interesting to get other artists ideas on this.

May lead to future podcasts, let us know if you’d like to more about any of these ideas

reading the answers was uplifting/ how deeply these artists feel about what they do, central to their lives and who they are.

Answers ranged from the somewhat concrete (such as learning to see and pay attention to the world) to others quite spiritual or soulful. A lot had to do with self-esteem, sense of accomplishment, learning to see things through.

Probably most people could have gone on at length as their statements were pretty concise and pithy. Not an easy question to sum up, covers a lot of ground.

The root of the question: Consider the person you are when making art -- can you and do you access that in dealing with daily life. If not, can be a huge challenge but awareness is a start.

some natural, organic change over time though--because you are living it in the studio, a big part of your ife

Example—
patience, letting things unfold, living with some uncertainty.
Letting things go, moving on
Is there carry over?

These can be big issues—and what we learn from art practice is ongoing—we can glimpse it but forget, over and over. But still there may be progress over time.

My own response: my art practice
In terms of personality—has made me more trusting and optimistic about life in general –that endless cycle of trial and error and coming through in the end—still learning
the big picture--how I process life’s experiences, a loop of input and output, leading to overall deep satisfaction, sense of living a full and self-reflective, life –integration of inner and outer experience.

Creative practice and healthy emotional life:

Happiness, sense of purpose in life

self-knowledge --increased self-awareness on some level: authenticity, what is your true voice; trusting in intuition

Self-confidence/self-acceptance /knowing yourself and what you want, what is right in the moment. Helps with business side too.

Ability to be happy in solitude and treasure alone time/learning to dedicate your studio time

Spiritual aspects: connected with meditation practices, being present, sense of deep gratitude
Focus on the moment not the outcome, valuing the journey

Humility, letting go, learning that sometimes things turn out best when we step out of the way and stop trying to control everything

Lessons learned:

Being willing to try and fail, take risks, value of what is learned the hard way

problem solving—how to overcome obstacles, “thinking laterally”, letting things evolve

Perseverance

really seeing the world around us in both visual and conceptual ways

Wrap-up: the question tapped into people’s passion for their work—and how much a part of who we are it is. Every one of us can be grateful for what our work brings to our lives in positive ways.

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