Last year, I took some classes where people were making analog collage and gel printing. And I had a strange response.
I was bitter and jealous as hell.
They get to play with scissors and paint, and I’m over here slaving away over a hot iPad.
I knew it was silly. And I knew it was telling me something.
On July 1, I pulled out my unopened Gelli plate. Actually, I had to find it first. It was in a box with other pristine art supplies I’d barely used.
Almost eight weeks later, after more trips to Michaels and Blicks than I can count, I am obsessed.
I watched all of last year’s Gel Printers Summit. I’ve watched so many YouTube tutorials. I keep trying new things, buying new supplies, making more papers, cutting things up, gluing them back together.
I can’t get enough of it. It’s so joyful.
And also… I’m a beginner again.
That part is humbling. There’s no two-tap undo for analog art. Believe me, I’ve tried.
I’m into making tiny collages and Artist Trading Cards. These are some of my favorites, but I’ve also made some remarkably unattractive collages and gel prints.
| And I’ve been thinking about Ira Glass’s words about creativity: |
“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me.
All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap.
For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not.
But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit.
Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this.
And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know it’s normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work.
Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions.
And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile.
It’s normal to take a while. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”
More to come on this later.
Sending love and cheering you on,
Kelley
As creatives, in the beginning, we focus on creating appealing art. We forget that we are actually learning 2 separate things….learning our supplies and creating an attractive piece of art. Learning the behavior of supplies/medium is a challenge that requires a lot of practice. Digital art is similar, the program and its language must be learned along with creativity.
It takes courage and determination to continue through the “ugly-phase”. Congratulations to all creatives who repeatedly step up to the challenge.