Where Do You Go My Lovely?

“Where do you go to my lovely when you're alone in your bed. Tell me the thoughts that surround, you I want to look inside your head.”

The words to this song came back to me when I was thinking about art making. So often we re plagued by thoughts going on in our head telling us that we are not enough, that we will never do good work, everyone is more talented/creative etc. I’m sure you have had these feelings. I know I have.

But there will always be people who are better and cleverer more beautiful but that should never stop us from using our unique talents and putting them out in the world even if we are not very confident. I think we all have something special to offer and we just have to be brave enough to take the risks involved in putting our gifts out into the world. So here is something mind blowing to think about.

There has only ever been, and will be only ever be,

 one of you in the history of the world.

 Dwell on that thought as it’s truly amazing!

So what is it about you that is unique, quirky, funny or strange? How can you use those attributes to make art that expresses who you are? I think you have to play and take the risk of making work that you love and find interesting even if others don’t share your enthusiasm. You never know where these experiments will lead.

Here are a few ideas to get you started.

1. What is the craziest idea you have had for a plate but have never tried?   Try making that.

Here is one I experimented with.  It's a piece of metal and I found it on the street!  I did this first test but was a bit disappointed with it  It had less texture than I would have liked. I wanted to see if I liked it in red or blue hence both on the plate.

 2. Don’t be bound by the rectangle. Create an unusual shaped plate or use two, or more, together to make a design. Anchor them in place on the press bed with tape underneath so they don’t move. Try them in different arrangements.

3. Pick a couple of weird colours, even ones you hate, and try them together. You may find a colour combination you absolutely love!  The combo below I definitely didn't love!

Creativity is like a muscle too, the more you use it the stronger it gets. 

Warmly,

Susanne