Monday, February 16, 2009

Timing is everything...

How bizarre..after writing my blog this morning, I came across this little video via a blog I just subscribed to: Art Studio Secrets

I came across Lisa Gloria's fabulous work whilst perusing You Tube for artist demos...check her out, she's amazing.

In this video,
Jill Bolte Taylor gives a talk on TED about what her stroke taught her about how her brain hemispheres function.

The Price

The Price
Oil on Panel
12x24"


I'm not going to explain, or reveal the full title of this piece, I'd rather leave some room for imagination.

Lately, my poor old brain has been working overtime, even when I'm painting - which is sometimes a rare respite from the 'mind monkeys' throwing around ideas and dialogues. It's nice to have artist friends who I can talk to about this, who go through similar mental assault courses in the pursuit of art.

It's funny, I Googled 'busy brain' recently, and found that lots of people from all walks of life have an internal theatre going on, which they can't really control, but can result in lots of creative energy and ideas.

When I'm a bit calmer, doing Yoga, meditating, climbing, that sort of thing - I still tend to have an internal monologue giving me a running commentry on what I'm seeing, hearing and remembering. This is annoying when I'm meditating - something along the lines of "I'm concentrating on my breathing, oh yes I'm, I'm not thinking about anything, yay that's great, I'm not thinking about anything..." which defeats the object really.

Right now, it's less of a monologue and more of a forum. I wake up with a different song playing in my head every night. It's like someone left the TV/s on and I can't find the remote. My heart races and my neck aches.

However, I'm feeling artistically charged in a more consistant way than I've ever done. It's a common thing among artists, and I can take a stroll down the corridors of art history to confirm that I'm not alone. Lots of creative people have 'mind monkeys' of some kind, to greater and lesser extents, and this is what fuels the restless urge to make art. I know I should be grateful - when I'm too content and calm, my art goes down the pan. A quiet night's sleep would be nice though...