Before drawing this I wanted to doodle a bit to prepare for whipping out "Vanity". That's what I told myself anyway. I spent over an hour working on some eye as "preparation" and completely forgot about I.F. Hand tired, back and neck cramped and on fire I scratched this thing out.
A chick. A pile of bodies. A hand mirror. What else could anyone ask for?
So, the whole purpose of this blog is to make myself get off my keister and keep being creative. I sometimes forget that one creative thing I enjoy doing is writing. One of the many things I wanted to be as a child was a writer! I loved it and still do. Lately, though, I have shoved it aside and focused more on the idea of making artwork (I would say doing artwork, but I haven't been doing much these past couple weeks) and beating myself up for procrastinating.
Writing certainly makes my head work and when my head is working, ideas always come to me - including ideas for visual works. So...I'm writing. I had thought about making yet another blog strictly for "Sensible Blathering" but, honestly, I have too many blogs. Way too many. Since I've been using "It Does Art", I haven't posted to the others, so there is no point in creating another one that will eventually be neglected. I'll just blather here because it's tied to being creative!
A little known fact about me: I have started writing 3 books in my life. One was started when I was still in high school and the other two were started in my early 20s. Note I said started instead of completed. Yes...procrastinator. I like the idea of going back to them, but out of the 3, 2 will not be picked up where I left off because I'm not the same as I was then. However, I can still take the ideas and form them around who I am now and the similar messages I want to convey. I think about them often and I think about how much motivation I had when I started them and how I just became overwhelmed with life in general, not the writing. I think about how I am now and there are still aspects of me that haven't changed much - the main one being my attention span and how frustratingly short it is. It's something I work on and as long as I'm doing something to keep my head working in a creative manner, I'm okay with it.
I keep reminding myself that there really isn't anything I'm incapable of doing. That includes finishing books, creating serious/ridiculous artwork, or even going outside when I'm just too afraid. It's the same for you. Not a "if you dream it, you can do it" message - more of a "break things down into their simplest forms so you can see how non-complicated things can be".
I want to make a candle holder out of paper-mache/papier-mache - I realize this would be along the lines of ridiculous artwork. Woohoo fire!
A few years ago I discovered this gem of a site “Illustration Friday”. It’s perfect for us creative cats who need a bit of motivation or fun. Because I’m absent-minded and a procrastinator, I have posted a total of maybe 3 illustrations. That’s about 1 per year! Yeah…
So, this week’s topic is “fuel”. There were many thoughts that swarmed around in my head and a few drawings were made, but I just couldn’t feel them. And then I got it.
Backstory: On October 19, 2011 the Dalai Lama lead a day long prayer and global fast in honor of the people of Tibet who have self-immolated, were killed, or are jailed for fighting for human rights. This day of solidarity was something that I wanted to participate in and while I’m not religious and have few true beliefs, one strong one is that I believe that our minds are incredibly powerful and even sending out positive thoughts/energy can have an effect. Although I’m terrible at being calm and clear headed, I chose to fast and (try to) meditate in support.
I sometimes use candles to help me focus on something and nothing while meditating. I used a tea light and as I was drawn into the flame, I experienced some slight visual disturbance – enough to give me an image. The base of the flame looked like the silhouette of a person sitting in a typical meditative position. Of course it looked like it was surrounded – or on – fire. That made me think of those that self-immolated. I continued on, but the image didn’t leave my head.
I chose to illustrate that image for “Fuel”. To me, it goes beyond thinking of fuel as an accelerant. The fuel is many things: oppression, hate, desire for change, self-sacrifice, a statement. Thinking of the ancient elements: earth, water, fire, and wind, fire was the only one that could produce a chemical change. Anything could be something else.
