Nicholas Wilton | Elizabeth Fram

“Creativity takes courage” ~Matisse

My week at the Studio Center opened a door that won’t close tightly again. And that’s just fine. I approached my time there as a portal for experimentation, and now I realize that there’s no going back; it’s a one-way path.

While I don’t have any idea where exactly I’m heading, let alone what it is I’m seeking, my goal is to figure out how to “stitch” previously learned lessons into something new. For all I know, I may eventually circle back around to a point very near where I left off. But for now I’m feeling the need to stretch, and it’s equal parts liberating and scary as I jump in with no specific end-point in sight.

With that in mind, I stumbled across a couple of resources that have been both encouraging and reassuring. Maybe you will find them so as well.

Nicholas Wilton often shares nuggets of good advice on his blog, but this quick video about breaking through to something new in your work couldn’t have come at a more timely moment.
Finding this 2014 issue of NEA Arts, “The Art of Failure – The Importance of Risk and Experimentation”, was a score. I haven’t made it through the whole issue yet, but the interviews I have read are illuminating. Don’t miss what Perry Chen has to say on “Improving Through the Creative Process” on page 09. It’s good to be reminded that plenty of others have been on this path before me (us).

©2018 Elizabeth Fram, detail, Stitched-resist Dye on Silk, 10 x 25 inches. What I find most exciting about this process is it seems to be equal parts careful planning and pure serendipity. The dye acts as both a partner and an opponent, but its unpredictability is the secret that makes the process so rewarding.

I have found that most artists are very generous with their knowledge. They are happily willing to share hard-won lessons from their studios, easing the road for others who are interested enough to ask. And with the internet making it possible to be more closely connected to an ever-wider creative circle, the task of addressing our own artistic challenges is eased through exposure to how others face theirs.

I have been working on this piece intermittently since February. The process seems to just drag on and on. I have definitely been in this spot before, so I know that patience and persistence are key. In the meantime, I’ve been grateful for other textile work and my drawing practice, which have provided a welcome reprieve. But that doesn’t solve the fact that I still have to finish this particular challenge.

Happily, two things this past week have contributed to getting me back on track. First and foremost, a lengthly and honest critique with a friend/artist whose ideas and feedback never fail me. I know I’ve said it before, but I can’t stress enough how important it is for all of us to have a solid bond with another artist, allowing for a frank back-and-forth about work in progress. The distance of an unbiased eye is invaluable. Hopefully you have that kind of artistic partnership as well.

Secondly, I fortuitously happened across this short, 2 minute video, recently uploaded to his blog by painter Nicholas Wilton. His suggestion to “listen to your work” speaks directly to the challenge I’m wrestling with at the moment. I was introduced to Wilton’s paintings, writing, and video clips last month by another artist friend and couldn’t be more grateful! His point of being fully “in” a work and truly listening to what it has to say hits the proverbial nail on the head. The more I read back through his archives, the more impressed I am with his ideas and generosity. Among other things, it is so important to know that certain issues are universal, no matter what level of achievement one attains.

So, I’m back at it — not thrilled yet, but finding a rhythm. We’ll see; this may be one that ends up, at best, as a good learning experience. But regardless, I am grateful for the unselfishness of others and the safety net to be found in a sense of shared camaraderie.

❖

And speaking of camaraderie, I can’t resist sharing this uplifting clip of the “Graffiti Grandma”, Luísa Cortesão in Lisbon, Portugal, who found joy in making street art by tagging walls with her buddies. Another reminder of the importance of community and to not take our work – or ourselves – too seriously.

Elizabeth Fram

Eye of the Needle

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