CREATE - to evolve from one's own thought or imagination, as a work of art
Everyday Art Every Day
  • Home
  • Who am I?
  • iBlog
  • Poetry
  • Recent Projects
  • My Photography
    • In My City
    • Our Valley Town
    • F.A.R.T. (food)
  • Uncle Joe's Art
  • Marketing and Communication Projects
  • iCreate
  • Garden Art Adventures

Everyone IS an Artist - Speech

2/26/2023

0 Comments

 
This is my view on art-making. Everybody IS an Artist. 1. Art is easy. 2. Practice makes better. 3. Be YOU. 4. Make Ugly Art & make mistakes. 5. Have fun.
Art is the answer to everything. Think about it… Feeling sad or mad? Make art! Want world peace? Make art not war! Bored? There’s always art! Okay, maybe art isn’t the answer to absolutely everything, but it’s pretty darn close!
 
I can hear you… “But I’m not an artist,” you might be saying, “I suck at art!”

“Phooey!” is what I say to you! If you can make a mark with something on anything, then you are an artist.
 
A dude called Joseph Beuys agrees. He said, “Everyone is an artist.” Wait? That’s what I said. But he also said it, so there.
 
Pablo Picasso said, “All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once one grows up.” This is what I will help you realize.

 
The first thing to know is that Art is actually pretty easy, and you can definitely do it.
 
Try this - anytime. No time like the present (or right after this speech)! Pick up a paint brush, get some paint, or a marker or pencil. Get paper and make a mark. 
​Or even that little ring left behind on the page where your chilled soda glass was sitting… well, that can be Art – for reals. See…
Picture
​It’s not a dot, it’s a wee little sunshine.
It’s not a squiggle, it’s a boat on the water.
It’s not a scribble, it’s a lizard by a bush and a rock!
Picture

Secondly, practice makes perfect. Nope. Nope! NOPE!! Wipe that word - perfect - from your brain. Perfect is unachievable. No one and nothing is perfect — perfectly imperfect, perhaps. In fact, I say we remove the word from existence altogether. Instead, we’ll say: “ Practice makes better.” This is a simple concept. The more you do something, the better you will get at that something.

Talent is great. If you got it, use it, but practise is what really makes artists awesome… or allows anyone to be good at anything. When you were a baby, you didn’t know how to walk. You had to practice, bit by bit - first, you lifted your head and discovered your arms and legs and tried crawling. Then, you stood up (and fell down), all before even taking your first step. You had to practice  — and fall — a lot! But you did it. Are you perfect at it?

No! Trick question. There is no such thing as perfect, remember?! Are you better at walking than when you were a baby? Of course! I know sometimes I trip, even fall, and I most definitely walk into loads of things, and that’s okay. I try not to be a klutz because I just want to do better than before. And it’s the same with art.


“You were born an Original. Don’t die a copy.” John Mason

Incidentally, this is the third important thing to remember… when I say better, I mean better than YOU did before. Not better than anyone else. Be YOU. Do art that YOU love; how you LOVE to do it. (Okay, maybe at school you must do some art you don’t love, and you may have to do it a certain way in order to get marks, but you can still learn from it, even if you are learning what you DON’T like.) Learning what you don’t like is just as important as knowing what you DO like. Then, it’s simple. If you like something, do more of it and do it often. Try changing it a bit. If you don’t like a mark, cover it up. Try again. No big deal.

So back to that that Joseph Beuys dude, who said, “Everyone is an artist,” he meant that being an artist means being creative in whatever way is available to you and feels natural to YOU.


We’re on a roll, here, so now you are ready to Embrace Ugly. What?! I repeat embrace UGLY! In fact, make ugly art on purpose. What?! Why?! Note how it makes you feel. Has the world ended? Nope. Did you learn something. Yep. You learned what you don’t like. Now, cover it up and keep going. Guess what? You might even like what happened. That happens a lot in art. I’m a gonna tell you a little secret… ssshhhh…. Listen up and tell absolutely everyone: a lot, if not most great artists and stunning art happens by mistake. 

Don’t be afraid to make mistakes and make them often. If you aren’t failing, you are doing the Art wrong (which is essentially the only way to do Art wrong). It’s how we learn new things and make great art even better each time.

And, if you are loving your ugly art and happy to make mistakes, then you will not be afraid to take risks in you’re art. Ask, “what if…?” Try the thing. If you don’t like it, cover it up and try a different thing.

“But art materials are expensive, and we should not waste them.” That can be true, indeed. Use materials you don’t worry about using up. Think dollar store. There are so many excellent art-making items that are affordable… you can buy ‘fancy smancy’ art-shop materials when you have built your confidence and reframed your beliefs about making art.


Finally, and this last guideline is by far the most important one… Have fun. Art IS fun. Play. Experiment. As Gord Downie sings, “Looking for a place to happen, making stops along the way.” Enjoy the process. Don’t worry so much about the outcome. As Picasso and I say,“Learn rules like a pro, so you can break them like a champ.” 

“The artist is not a special kind of person; rather each person is a special kind of artist,” says Ananda Coomaraswamy. And the best news is “ You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have, said Maya Angelou.

In summary, let’s review: To be an artist, do art. Easy peasy. Everybody is an artist.

Go! Make art, Human!

(February 2023)

Quote Sources: 1. Joseph Beuys; 2. Pablo Picasso - bit.ly/3KFksUNg; 3. John Mason - book cover; 4. Gord Downie - N. Schneider original photography; 5. Pablo Picasso - https://artjournalist.com/acrylic-paint-brushes/; 6. Ananda Coomaraswamy - bit.ly/3m6CRzF; 7. Maya Angelou - Flickr: York College ISLGP
0 Comments

NAPOWRIMO2020 - Poem 25

5/1/2020

0 Comments

 
I am not ignoring the prompt, but merely deferring it until another time in the future. It is an intriguing prompt that I wish to devote some time. Later, so I will use this opportunity to share two poems that I wrote in Aug. 2019 for an entry into a local art walk.... our local art gallery, Carnegie Gallery in Dundas, Ontario does an annual Art Walk, during Art Week, in which they team up with the Tower Poetry Society. Poets choose artworks to inspire poems and both are displayed on a walk through Dundas BIA.

Beverly
In response to “Beverly Swamp” by Lynne MacIntyre

I peer into the murk and see many me’s,
And reflections of trees.
The trees are upside-down,
And so is my frown;
When I look into the swamp.
I listen with my eyes:
Water waves with a splash
and there’s just a flash
as you dash away;
To where the wild things are,
in the dark, dark wood.
And I wonder where are you, now?
Picture

Hidden
In response to “Stoic” by Ralph Heather

Picture
So much unseen amongst your green leaves.
In your proud boughs
you gather all the creatures
that I see with my ears:
Squirrels crunch nuts;
Blue jays squaw and screech;
Chickadees chime in;
Cicadas preach;
Interrupting the blackbird’s speech.

Leaves sway,
And they give away
the spot where you play

A tree is a house, an umbrella and a playground,
interconnecting
the lives that exist within and around.

Ouch, a chestnut knocked upon my noggin!
And, I know that if a tree branch crashes to the ground,
it certainly makes a sound.

Can you see the forest for the trees?
0 Comments

NAPOWRIMO2020 - Poem 18

4/27/2020

0 Comments

 
An Ode to Life’s Small Treasures;
Grandiose Unrealized Pleasures

6:30 am, the arse crack of dawn,
a time for the devil’s spawn,
or so I had thought...
I never knew such beautiful skies! I kid you not!

Opulent pearly pink, incandescent sky,
sultry shades of sorbet sashay.
Bloomy roars, reverberating cheery encouragements.
Optimistic rosy glow, vibrantly voicing hope,
radiating a golden orb of fiery faith in rocky times,
peeking out from the sinister buzzkill clouds;
Glorious red and yellow blazing, entwining flames of citrus
in sky mirrors, topsy turvy glassy reflections make me tipsy.

(Ideas/working out of ideas April 24, 2020, Written and fine-tuned April 25, 2020)
Picture
Picture
0 Comments

NAPOWRIMO2020 - Poem 11

4/19/2020

0 Comments

 
I’m ignoring the prompt, which is to look at Flower and botany proper names and meaning... I’ll fish out a past poem to follow the prompt but here is the third, and final poem in The Spencer Creek Trilogy....

In the Key of Creek

Cardinal calls me to Spencer’s sanctuary:
Cicadas keeping beat.

Blue jays strike up the chorus.
Wren envelops me with his whistling, whimsical melody.
Singing sparrow sings solo.
Crickets chime in.
Squirrel spots me and stops.
We stare, sharing a sliver of time.
Uncouth crows call crudely back and forth.
Chickadees chortle, chatting to one another,
announcing, “Autumn is nigh.”
Above, geese fly -
V for victory.


What’s that?
Did I hear a splash?
Bustling beaver is building.
Cat bird cries dramatically.
Cooper hawk eyes his kingdom.
Deer Momma and babe bolt.
I’m honoured to have been so near.
A mink! A mink! I’m tickled pink.
She swam across the creek.
Each day, new wonders.
Spencer’s siren song,
enticing me to sweet splendour. I surrender.


Picture
0 Comments

NAPOWRIMO2020 - Poem 10

4/19/2020

0 Comments

 
2 hay (na) ku sonnets, based on certain song titles downloaded to my iPhone iTunes...

Advice from A - L for Troubled Times

Life
Is closed
Living is not

Awake
At last
Beds are burning

Cold
Dead heart
Long hard road

Intolerance
and hurt
Float on by

Walk the line
At world’s end


Enjoy
the silence
Of dearly departed

Insane
Jungle boogie
In the brain

Just
can’t get
enough karma police

Killing
in name
of King Lionheart

Cracked
but not
Broken in pieces

Kingdom of rust
Living on Prayers
Picture
Picture
0 Comments

NAPOWRIMO2020 - Poem 9

4/19/2020

0 Comments

 
This prompt is for a concrete poem, which I have done for my 4th poem, so I present the second poem in The Spencer Creek Trilogy...

Forest Music,
Conducted by Spencer Creek

Bees dance,
dragons swoop,
and damsels swerve.
Cicadas buzz
above
siren sounds
from town,
in tune with the key of creek
Red cardinal calling
Blue jay in the fray
Red squirrel loves to rap.
Tap tap tappy-tap,
a woodpecker, or four,
knocking at the door,
competing with mad machines
lobotomizing the luscious lullaby.
Grackles traverse treetops,
making a mighty ruckus;
Troops storm the creek bed,
taking over the moment.
Squeaking and peeping,
rustling and bustling,
the forest is suddenly very busy
chattering and calling.
Who’s that whistling wanton wishes?

As I reluctantly retreat to rash, brash reality,
brushing off burrs, rebirthing the bush,
I salute Great Blue, standing at attention,
looking for a fishy feast. Then
wondrous wings spanning greatness as he gracefully glides away a w a y...





Finalized, April 19, 2020
0 Comments

It’s coming! NAPOWRIMO is coming!!!

3/29/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
I’ve registered for the napowrimo site and am super excited, in theory. In truth, I get anxious because I am supposed to write poetry and then I share it on my website which requires tech savvy... so I apologize in advance if I get overwhelmed and under-poemed;)

Ps. What blog service do you use that is super easy-peas??
Picture
0 Comments

Poetember Challenge - Start....

9/3/2018

0 Comments

 
Need a creative boost? I do! I love Kick in the Creatives...

#Poetember ... For the poets out there, this month we are introducing the brand new poetry challenge, ‘Poetember.’’ We are challenging you to write and share a poem every day throughout September!
​

Guidelines:
  1. Write a poem every day in September.
  2. You can write a poem about any topic you like, but we’ll provide optional prompts if you need them.
  3. If you choose to share your work on social media, don’t forget to link and tag us in your post (details shown below) We might even feature your work on our blog!
Prompt #1 - Calm
​
Stormy Weather

Crow caws the alarm,
Flapping ferociously.
Gales grab at fancy flyers;
End is nigh.

Thunder grumbles cuz it knows.

A calm and balmy, sultry breeze;
Allure of safety - falsely so.

A power-hungry forceful fork
Explodes its light upon
The dead still
Of a break in putrid heat.

Bird song resumes.

First round results:
Victory to the light.

Dark recedes, for now.
Though its presence duly noted
By the mammoth rain drops splatting on my screen.
Picture
Picture

Prompt #2 - violet

Violaceous Amethystine

I saw her there
in a room:
livid lavender in the canister
smells all purple and lilac-y
a plum petunia,
Violet vavoomed a violent viola
she, Violaceous Amethystine,
a mauve orchid, and
I, a hyacinth painted pansy magenta,
crouched next to the Spider lighter
sitting on the floor, fallen
Picture
  • a note on method - I looked up the prompt word in the thesaurus and combine words based on sound; ‘spider lighter’ is a random pleasant sounding object that was part of my physical world at the time; gradually an image appeared in my mind, and a mood...
  • Violaceous Amethystine is a viola-playing beauty. The narrator is a mere common man, crouched low on the floor, watching his love perform.
  • It is unclear as to whether she even knows he exists...

Prompt #3 (waiting)...
Picture
0 Comments

#NaPoWriMo2018 - Poem 6

4/6/2018

0 Comments

 

The One In the Window

In certain slants of light, she looks
like that dude from Metallica (in his younger years).
Everything was happening in Hollywood.
This ain’t Kansas anymore; it’s real,
And my favourite ruby shoes
have a broken heel.
I don’t like how it feels.
And nobody wants to
have anything to do
with a girl and her guitar.

It occurs to me I’m in a dead trade.
I can’t find work so I cant get paid.
And it seems to me,
Everybody does it all for free.

And you realize, as you roam,
that there’s no place like home.
But your home is someone else’s couch.
And it’s do, or don’t;
Not a question of won’t

Truth resonates
The universe inspirates.
Failing to find love and happiness;
Falling fully and flailing completely;
It’s all in the rewrites.
Through it all, you gotta keep on keeping on.

​

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
0 Comments

Poem #10, NaPoWriMo, I'm texting on eggshells

4/13/2017

0 Comments

 
You have nothing else to do but dwell
And twist mole hills into mountains
That rise into insurmountable peaks
If you seek conspiracy and dastardly deeds,
Then that is all you shall find
please,
don't forget the one you leave behind

Picture
0 Comments
<<Previous

    Today is a great day to create a great day.

    This site is my attempt at gathering all of my creativity that I have strewn about out 'there'....

    © Nicola Schneider, iCreate, 2000-present. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Nicola Schneider with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. 

    Creative Commons License
    Everyday Art Every Day by Nicola Schneider is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
    Based on a work at http://everydayarteveryday.weebly.com.

    Archives

    February 2023
    January 2023
    April 2022
    November 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    April 2019
    March 2019
    January 2019
    September 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    September 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    September 2016
    July 2016
    April 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    April 2015
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    April 2013
    July 2012
    February 2012
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011

    Categories

    All
    Art
    Art Process
    Art Prompt
    ArtTeacher
    Art Teacher
    Being Creative
    Benefits Of Meditation
    Bereavement
    Canada Day
    Candy
    Collage
    Coursera
    Covidshenanigans
    Creative Flow
    Creative January
    Creativity
    Creativity January Challenge
    Death
    Digital Photography
    Doodle
    Doodling
    Drawing
    Dundas
    Education
    Emily Dickinson
    Essay
    Everyday Art Every Day
    Everyone IS An Artist
    Exercise
    ExpertOnMe
    Failuresareopportunities
    FART
    Found Poetry
    Friends In Grief
    Glogster Glog
    GloPoWriMo
    Grief
    Growth Mindset
    Haiku
    Hamilton
    Hamiltonartists
    Humour
    ICreate
    Ideas Worth Spreading
    In The Classroom
    KickintheCreatives
    Kid Art
    Kindermusik With Miss Nikki
    Learn New Things
    Local Art
    Local Artists
    Make The Picture In The Poem Challenge
    Meditation
    Memories
    Mind Body & Soul
    Mixed Media
    Mourning
    NaPoWriMo
    NaPoWriMo2016
    NAPOWRIMO2017
    NaPoWriMo2018
    NaPoWriMo2019
    NAPOWRIMO2020
    NaPoWriMo2022
    Neurographic Art
    On
    Original Art
    Original Creative Writing
    Photo Editing
    Photography
    Photoplay
    Poeminyourpocket
    Poetember
    Poetry
    Realism
    Real Life
    Reflection
    Remembering
    Remembrance
    Self Porttait
    Short Story
    Sketching
    Something-else
    Speech
    Squishy
    TedTalks
    Tower Poetry Society Member
    Video
    Vision Board
    Volunteering
    Words To Live By

    Instagram

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.