Creativity and my unconscious

 

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The Rider-Waite Tarot Empress

Creativity and my unconscious

Making art is a process where the conscious meets the unconscious, and both are displayed.  I want to liberating unconscious forces, have them flow through to my work. 

Why? Because I believe that the strongest work that I`ve done is so because it speaks about more than what is seen but also expresses my unconscious. It gains an additional force. If what I make lacks the element of unconscious revealing, then it is sterile, merely a craft product.

Let`s say I go painting and seek a motif to work from. I walk through a range of scenery before settling on a place to work from. My choice of motif is governed by conscious and unconcious forces, by what feels exciting, comfortable, interesting, mysterious or new to me. I`ll be influenced by known factors (I know I like trees) but also by unconscious forces (I am not sure why one specific cluster of birches draws me so). 

I am open to what resonates with me and to where that takes me, however odd that might be, however outside tradition or whatever decorative customs might govern expectations about art.

As I proceed to represent the motif, I am again affected by conscious and unconscious forces which drive my decisons- the size of the motif, the emphasis I give on particular colours, the surroundngs, the colours and textures and the way my brush describes the contours of the motif, giving one thing or another emphasis and so forth.

At one stage I might feel something is amiss, seek to abandon the piece as being "not quite right", while at others be strongly convinced that I am "getting somewhere". None of these can easily be articulated and they are really the result of unconscious forces which have their own mysterious laws.

 At least, this is the case if I allow the unconscious forces to operate by maintining openness to them.

To contrast: I might be an achitecture student and my artistic choices would be circumscribed by the need to represent a pre-selected building, showing its elevations clearly for the study of other architects, and to follow certain recongnised conventions to allow easy analysis of what I depict. 

Or I might have had the conscious notion that depicting a specific house in a certain style would be comercially appealing.

But I cannot force the unconscious to appear from nowhere. Indeed, the more I try the more it hides. All I can do is patiently go, and hope it rises. So I go and work habituually and sometimes this inner force appears, and at other times not.

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Developing rituals for making art

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Developing rituals for making art

The Riderr-Waite Tarot Magician

Art often has a ritual aspect it its making. The artist might always pick up a coffee on their way to the studio, always align the paints on the palettte in a certain way, take a meditative pause, as Japanese Sumi-e artists do before working- these rtiuals make them very aware that they are underting a special activity or  workspace.

If one wishes to make an art which is especially open to unconscious forces, which is best?

In my case, if I am to make art in the manner described previously in Creativity and my unconscious and go for a walk through a range of scenery, what form of ritualisation heps me to bring forth my unconscious? 

A useful ritual:

- should dimish expectations: this will make it easier to work, because one will be less nervous

- should be reassuring:  this helps one feel that there is something right about the task

- be constraining: Thus your focus is lmited, leds to greater concentration

Ritualisation could involve: packing certain art materials, chosing specific clothes, taking snacks. Thus I emphasise to myself how I am engaging in a specific activity with perculiar value. The ritual is known, safe and reassuring., yet at the same time posesses some mysterius element. Perhaps it should be a little boring? Perhaps going painting at the same time, every day might be beneficial? Perhaps the mysterious element is in the transformative artistic process itself?

I believe the construction of a safe space for unconscious flow can perhaps be achieved through limiting the cost of artistic failure to the point where it scarcely matters.

This means taking cheaper materials, making little fuss, lowering prepertion time and reducing travel. 

And I think a mental set in which failure to arrive in the "zone of unconscious flow" is essential: a sort of acceptence of failure, so that one oesn`t feel inhibited,

The ritual accomodating these needs must contain easefulness, so that mental flow fom the unconscious occurs as readily as possible. 

For me, this ritual is in the arrival at a place not too far off, a brief perusal of the different perspectives the rapid erection of an easel, the opening of simply one bag, then taking just one or two brushes, being careful with these items, placing them on a cloth. One then puts a little paint on the palette, and after a meditative pause begins work on the support which is of cheaper material, nothing costing very much...

Through such simple rituals a safe space is constructed allowing iunconscious forces to rise.

Then ending the work should have some process surely?

For me this means ariving at a state of recognition that the process has reached an end, putting away my things,after a pause, leaving. ON arrival home later reflectionthere  on the piece and the experience.

 If the piece is deemed satisfactory, it can be shown to the world, buththat is another game altogether.

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