Creativity Counts: Working Small And Often
Dear Wonderful, Creative You:
Most of us think of the word “artist,” and imagine an apron-clad person, a smear of paint on their face, standing in front of a 3 foot x 4 foot canvas filled with gorgeous, realistic imagery. We imagine their perfect painting will eventually be packed, brought to a gallery, hung on the wall, and purchased for a large sum of money.
While that vision of an artist is indeed a rich and inspiring one, it’s only a fraction of artists. There are many kinds of artists, and many ways in which creativity counts. As an art therapist turned art teacher, I find too many students who feel handcuffed by this image of what a “real” artist is. In truth, real artists make all kinds of art. I believe we are all creative, and there are countless ways that humans express their creative fire – from a beautifully written letter, to a gorgeous vase of wildflowers, to a spreadsheet that makes a complicated set of data easy to understand.
Part of my job as a teacher is to help people see all the ways in which their creativity already shines, and to soften the fears of the inner critic – that part of you that says you aren’t good enough to be an artist, don’t have time, or aren’t worth the money for good supplies. Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Big Magic, suggests allowing the inner critic “in the car,” but not letting her drive. I invite my students to give their inner critic a cup of tea and have her sit on the couch and relax while we play and explore, without fear of the “art police.”
Through working on repeated explorations of one idea or theme, I love leading students through a process that is both creative and mindful at once, freeing us from the dictates of the inner critic. We affirm our artistic selves through deep exploration of what we love. Laying out countless little pieces of paper, we make small adjustments with each piece, discovering the particular colors, shapes, lines, and combinations that bring us the most joy.
As a matter of necessity in this process, there will be many pieces that we don’t love or perhaps even dislike. It’s not our job to edit as we create. It’s our job to create as freely as possible, and open the faucet of creativity. Then later, after you’ve explored all the ideas, you can allow your discerning mind to come back into the room and analyze what pleases you and why.
Many of my students worry at this point that they will have wasted the pieces that went to the cutting room floor. Not so. All of those pieces can have a second life as a background for drawing patterns, or be combined with other drawings and paintings for collage, or cut into strips for texture in your art journal. These are just a few of the endless ways to use the pieces that didn’t feel exciting enough to frame.
What I love most about working small on multiple pieces at once is that its an incredibly engaging and addictive process. I leave a table set up with all my little inchie squares, my watercolors, and I can paint at a moments notice, for a few minutes, or a few hours. I want to invite you into this process too. Your art table is calling.
You can access the recordings of our Daily Inchie Watercolor Workshops in our membership, The Gathering. You don’t need any prior experience, just a few simple supplies and the desire to live your artistic life. I can’t wait to see what emerges for you from this process. You can join the membership and stay, or just join for the month.
Talk to Us in the Comments
Tell us about what lights you up about working small, working in a series, or creating daily. We would love to hear from you.
Creatively Yours,
Amy
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I would love to join you, but I’ll be away until early July. Are you having another group of watercolor workshops in the near future?
HI Gloria: These workshops are both live and recorded, so you could definitely catch us on replay if that felt good to you. In July, we will be doing a workshop on using the inchies, slow drawings, and other work in collage. Then in August using them in dynamic art journal pages, and in September we will do another watercolor workshop. I’m using these months to teach my stage oriented process for making art and showing how to bring it all together in art journals and framed pieces. I hope that this helps you discern whether The Gathering is for you right now. We would love to have you. Cheers!
What lights me up is the wonderful greeting on this email: to wonderful creative Dianne. Thank you for the lovely message
Aw, Dianne, you are a wonderful and creative being! We all bring creativity in our own way and I’m so happy you are looking for a place to nurture it. We are happy to welcome you in the community. Cheers
Amy, The opacity of your watercolor inchies is beautiful. Can you explain how that happens with your layered painting and NOT mine?
You refer to glazing as a way of layering. What is “glazing”? And is that why your color examples feel almost etherial?
With thanks, Starr
Thank you so much Starr! I’m so happy this process intrigues you so much. The short answer is that glazing is layers of watercolor washes. You let each layer dry completely before adding the next. That’s what creates those clean layers. That and not fussing with drying watercolor! I am teaching all of what you ask about in detail in daily watercolor workshops and helping folks dive into their own gorgeous work in our workshops if that speaks to you. Otherwise, you can google and find lots of wonderful Youtube videos on glazing. All the best Starr!
I do not have an i-phone so can’t access circle app. How do I access the inches class on my pad or phone (simple way since I’m computer illiterate)
HI Diane: You can access on your android phone, tablet, or desktop. I can see your email on the backend, so I will have Monica reach out with instructions in your email. Cheers!
I really love the idea of working on small projects. I will not mess up a whole page to experiment as I usually have no idea what I am doing. Thank you for your inspiration!
Isn’t funny the way we assign such preciousness to sketchbook pages? Why are they needing to be perfect? What are they for? I’m a big believer in redefining the space – it’s for exploration, curiosity, written questions, recipes, and lots of painty, messy, scribbly goodness. AND – I love working small for the same reason. It’s super freeing. So glad this speaks to you!
I really liked taking the inchie classes in February and I do take advantage of your free weekly projects. I live in Canada and find the dollar difference a real factor. I have to add another $10
+ to the $25US. Once our dollar values get closer I will join your monthly group.
Meanwhile, I really appreciate your free weekly gatherings.
Thanks so much
-marilyn
hi Marilyn: I’m so happy that you are enjoying the challenges and slow drawing classes. There’s a lot to dig into there and you can certainly benefit from repeating and digging deeper with that. Cheers!
Hi Amy, our beautiful creative soul. This really resonated with me this morning as my inner critic is dominating me at the moment. However you have inspired me today and so has Faith, from the inches project. Thank you Amy for your words of encouragement and inspiration.
Dianne – This means so much to me. I am so happy that I was able to reach you. May your inner critic find her way to the couch with a cup of tea to relax while you create!
Hello beautifully creative and always supportive Amy!
I am really enjoying this watercolour inchie challenge. For once I am free to really give it a good shot (it’s mid-year semester break!) and I’m relishing diving into the paint and inchies! I definitely have to leave the inner out in the garage! It’s freezing cold out there since it’s mid winter in Australia! I’ll post pics when I figure out how to 🤔. Just adoring the opportunity to play. So far I have 45 little inchies after just two days! Such fun 🤩. Bless you always Amy.
Sandy down under!
Sandy you are the sweetest. I am so so glad that you are enjoying the challenge so much and getting deep into it. This is exactly my hope! I want you to learn about your paints, glazing, shapes, and find your unique voice through repetition and experimentation. I’m so happy! Cheers!
Just a quick note to say I truly appreciate all you do for the art community. I love the gentle way you present and encourage us. I added a few of your classes on my Dashboard for the summer including How to Start and Finish Your Online Classes 🙂 Looking forward to them so much. Thank you!
Hi Annette: YAY – I’m so happy that it helps. Happy creating!