Podcast day today while I was on the road. I was listening to artist and educator Nicholas Wilton on his Art2Life show. Often he has guests and they have some interesting discussions. Today, though, it was just Nicholas with some thoughts.
Nicholas was musing about the fact that in art, particularly when we are new to the endeavour, it can be paralysing if you don’t know where you’re headed with a particular work or, I suppose, any aspect of an art career. Procrastination, stagnation, avoidance can result. It is, Wilton believes, all about making choices. He feels that it doesn’t really matter what choice you make, as long as you just make one and keep going.
Both the right choice or the wrong choice will give you feedback about your direction. In a painting you may need to do some remedial work if the choice produces something you don’t like. If you do like the result, that feedback will encourage further exploration. I suppose, in decisions about an overall artistic journey, the feedback will indicate to you whether the choice has assisted in your progress or hindered. In the latter case, you may decide to remedy the situation or take a different path next time there’s an opportunity to decide. Alternatively, if all seems to be working, we forge on.
Indecision, a lack of making a choice, can stop us in our tracks. So grab a colour, a brush, and do something. The result and your assessment of that will guide your next step.
Until later,
Kirsten
Everyday Thoughts of an Artist 
This post reminded me of one of my favorite TED talks “How to be a looser” by Rich Franklin :
the point being NOT to hesitate: I’ve been thinking on how this relates to our observance of nature in action, and can’t help but think that the bush plants are in the know regards this.
no wait, no hesitate
have you seen a flowering wattle,
the soft, puffy yellow blossoms painting the whole bush, pollinating full throttle? :
: or have you read the Illyarrie, that is to say the red cap gum ?
each bursting flower doffing it’s brilliant cap, right off, at everyone?
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November 29th 2022, another comment & reply, i to you, & mum to mum, doing never done !
i was entranced by this post, and awake this morning again thinking of it; this morning it resurfaced to me a line, a sentiment, from the South African human trafficking series, Blood & Water, in which a speech is given, and to paraphrase in words, as i remember, there’s a line that says something to the effect that “the greatest and least of creativity is made by this living generation, and always arrived at by the accumulative sum of acting on an doing, from the most minute decisions ~ decide to move in the direction of living the world more fully as you can imagine it”
so, from the smallness of the individual eye, i do, I the worldly morph am a little seen & wonder …
imagine it ?
imagine it
and find and do what’s fit :
: what to do
to give the world to see it too, more completely, as you are you ?
❤
& ever thankful for your blog Kirsten my dear friend
ps
~ a side note: my youngest adult daughter rattled aloud last night, with a mirthful, appalled laughter at one of the latest read phrases she picked out from online, on a site which attempts-to-be-non-secular and non-biased for social justice"; it was in a seasonal greeting that they had posted, in a salutation, greeting sort of spot, where it noted to
"Enjoy a safe & Festive Period"
~ Mum, she notes, my attitude has been all wrong about the female cycle, it's supposed to be "festive"? how come you never explained this??!???" she quips, with zero hesitation
& this she noted, while next pointing out the rather female organ looking aerial view, of the world cup 2022 stadium in Qatar, which is daily on the news; i sigh, I sigh, we've a long road ahead to align word, deed and art with humor, compassion AND acknowledgement of spirit let alone spirited movement in our outward actions that actually captures the sacred ! Yet I can't help but smile, marvel and be grateful for at our collective attempts, all the while … ?!
Happy Thanksgiving time !
Merry Christmas to you and yours & happy doing somethings !
xoxo Tanja
pps I love, love, love your blog; always hoping you keep at it, this elucidating doing somethings !
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