Meaningful Work
Rayna Gillman has a post on her blog about what it means to make meaningful art and asked a question about my work. Here are my thoughts on the subject:
My work is generally informed by 3 sources:
1) Fences and stone walls.
2) Southwestern landscape and colors.
3) My thoughts about my internal psychological barriers (the emotional equivalent to the physical walls and fences mentioned above).
My colors, my lines and my shapes are all influenced by these intense interests. The amount of openness in my work or the amount of “structure” is a result of my state of mind, what images (real and photos) I’ve recently viewed, what I’ve been thinking about and experiencing.
But in the end my goal is to make work that is beautiful to me. Proportion is something I’m striving to get perfect. To me this is beauty. And it is so incredibly hard to acheive this perfect proportion with piecing because everything shifts and moves and in the end it’s not exactly what I thought it would be but as I work on my skills and my eye it gets better and better.
I love the challenge of refining my skills as I love the process, I love the results, I love everything about piecing. I love that it is so hard to get perfect as it keeps me engaged in the process. Sure sometimes it is frustrating but I never think about looking for an “easier” option. [oops that was an aside - back to the topic of meaningful art...]
I don’t purposefully go to my studio and say “I’m going to make a work about a canyon wall I photographed yesterday” or “I’m going to make a piece that is about when my friend did X and how I felt about it”. I go to my studio to make art that I love and to make the very best art I can. For me the work is very much an instinctive reaction to my world, abstracted into beautiful proportions that make me feel good when I view the art.
In the end my thoughts and feelings are poured out into the work and some people can really connect. Some to the southwest landscapes, some to the internal barriers, some to the fences. Some to something they see entirely differently than I might ever think. I know much of my work has sadness in it. Some happiness. I think some folks pick up on that. Some don’t. Not everyone is going to connect to my work, but it is very rewarding when folks do respond.
But in the end the most important thing is that it have meaning for me.
Posted by Lisa in: Inspiration
Rayna said,
June 1, 2006 @ 1:24 pm
Thanks, Lisa. I think I knew all of that - but my brain couldn’t process it for the blog discussion. Anyway, people should talk about their own work. I remember picking up on the emotion in one of your pieces - I think it was sadness. It was loud and clear to me, but other people might not have picked up on it at all. There is more to your work than meets the eye - and if it is true that we ARE our art and our art is us - well, you see the inference. Thanks for sharing it.
Pam RuBert said,
June 3, 2006 @ 7:04 am
Welcome back Lisa, I always enjoy reading your posts. You write very well, and even when discussing difficult topics, it’s almost relaxing to ease into your dicussions.
kirsty said,
June 4, 2006 @ 5:25 am
Lisa, I became so caught up in our discussion that I have neglected to say how very beautiful I find your work. I find it soothing; it has a still and gentle quality. Thank you for making it and sharing it with us!
shan said,
June 5, 2006 @ 10:55 am
Lovely post, Lisa. It’s wonderful to hear about the content of your work. Your comments on proportion make me think of the Renaissance artists and their interests in perfect and/or beautiful proportion.
Lisa Call said,
June 5, 2006 @ 7:02 pm
Thanks all for the comments. Shan - I hadn’t made that connection as my work is abstract but it’s an interesting thought. I will have to read more about them now!
Nicky Perryman said,
July 6, 2006 @ 1:47 am
Hi Lisa,
Interesting post about your work and influences. I agree, I think primarily our self-expression must be meaningful for ourselves, without considerations of what other people will think. Its interesting to explore our own personal imagery and symbolism - I like the idea of having my own secret visual language that will be open to interpretation by the viewer.