Time to Change – From Teaching to Mentoring
After finishing a series of canvas paintings, I have felt that it’s time to change. It has been smoldering in me for the whole year, but as we know, the change rarely happens in one go. There’s one big thing that I want to change in my teaching. I want to give more personalized suggestions and encouragement, and enable more sharing and connecting. I want to be a mentor rather than a teacher in the traditional meaning. When you start creating art, you need a teacher to follow. But when after a while, you will want to create something from your personal perspective. Then you will benefit more from observations about your art. When you have someone to help you see the possibilities in your expression, you will find it easier to grow your creativity. During this year, I have developed my online workshops in that direction, and the results tell me that I should continue on that path.
Questioning Your Talent vs. Willingness to Learn
While pondering which paintings to frame, I was also thinking artist colleagues that have helped me to analyze my work in a new light. That’s one reason why I also want to enable connections between people who love to create art and even more importantly, want to change their art.
Here’s what I wrote on my Facebook page today:
“Am I talented enough?” – Pondering about it doesn’t take you forward. Replace it with the question: “Am I willing to learn?” Because art like any field has a set of principles and skills that you just need to know and practice.
Then there’s imagination and originality. Is that the talent that we talk about? I don’t think so. They are also skills that can be learned. They are about self-exploration, tolerating quiet time, being open to what inspires and irritates you.
When you see something that raises negative emotions, start questioning: “Why do I see this as a threat?” By answering, you will understand more about yourself, about people in general, and get the curiosity that makes you step out of the conventional. Your empathy and imagination will grow, and you become more willing to learn.
My art journal page from 2010, and my painting from 2017.
The Change Is in The Nuances
This week, I reorganized my art supplies and found an old art journal. Funny enough, there was this page: “Time to Change.” And when I compare it to the piece that I just painted, it looks quite similar if you omit the clumsiness.
Then I realized that the painting that I had created a year ago also looks quite similar. I sat by it holding the new piece, and it felt like the two come together.
In art, the change is in the nuances. Many of your characteristics won’t change during the time. But how you express, invent and gain more self-knowledge will. Sometimes people say that they wish they would have started creating art sooner. I totally relate to that. I had a long break in creating when I was a young adult. But then, art is not just executing; it’s also about living. People who have more life’s experience than me, always make me humble. They have more to express, deeper insights to deliver. When I can help, inspire, and encourage with that, it makes my life meaningful as well.
Art Journaling and Mentoring
One thing that I don’t want to change is that I will keep on talking about art journaling. I believe in playing with ideas and not just creating big pieces. To me, a full sketchbook or art journal can be more of a treasure than a single canvas painting. Now when I have been painting bigger canvases, I also missed having a big sketchbook. So I purchased one that is twice the size than Dylusions Creative Journal that I usually use. It’s manufactured by a company called The Pink Pig from the UK.
Bloom and Fly – Stay Tuned!
While browsing the art journals, I was planning for the upcoming spring season. Next year, I will run a new community called Bloom and Fly, and it’s for all who want to learn together with me. It will have a separate fee, but it will also include mentoring days, monthly live sessions and led discussions. You can share and work on any project there. So if you want support for creating from any of my self-study classes or any other art project that you desire to finish, join Bloom and Fly! The registration for the spring will open on Black Friday, Nov 24th. I will have a special discount for early birds so make sure that you won’t miss it!
Hopefully, you are as excited as I am! If you haven’t subscribed to my weekly emails yet, now is the time!
When Another Art Class or Business Class is Not What You Need
I was 17 years when I drew that red-haired girl sitting on a stone. Back then, I didn’t think about art as a business. I didn’t try to find my style. I wasn’t even fully aware of my lacking skills. Still, the image feels genuine to me. It illustrates the place where I still want to go in my imagination. I want to get rid of the everyday life, I want to climb higher, see the big picture, and feel the wind of change blowing against my face.
It took me tens of years to put my feeling into words – to become conscious of what I want to create and how I want to lead myself as an artist. I found my way by building methods that connect my imagination with what I do in practice. They include answering questions, finding images that speak to you, and creating art to process it all.
My coaching program The Exploring Artist is based on those methods. It is just what you need if you have been creating art for some time already. It’s different from the classes you have used to see and take.
When an Ordinary Art or Business Class Doesn’t Help You
Namely, the world is full of business classes that claim to know how you can sell your art. They teach you how to make a marketing strategy, review your business model, build your website, etc. But if you haven’t grown as an artist, know what kind of advocate you are, the investment is rarely worth all the money.
Similarly, the world is full of art classes. They teach you techniques that may grow your technical skills, but they don’t help, when you want to dive deeper, use the full potential of your imagination, and create from your personal standpoint.
The Exploring Artist – Sign up Now!
After The Exploring Artist, you might get excited about finding your people and take a business class. When you already know what kind of art you want to make and what kind of advocate for art you want to be, it will be enjoyable.
After The Exploring Artist, you might want to take an art class. When you know your blind spots, choosing the class and making the most of it, will be much easier.
So when you consider the price of The Exploring Artist, think how much you would spend on those other classes. Consider how much time have you already spent without truly growing your artistic identity.
This is a rare opportunity to work with your art, and give it the attention it has needed for years already.
>> The Exploring Artist begins July 1st – Hurry and sign up now!
Feeling Dissatisfied with Your Art? – Watch the video!
This week, I talk about why we can feel disconnected and dissatisfied with our art no matter what other people say about it. I also address the issue why the exercises of taking inspiration photos and creating from them don’t always work. At the end of the video, I create this decorative illustration which is a new version of a class assignment from 6 years ago!
Feeling Dissatisfied with Your Art? – Watch the Video!
Build Your Artistic Identity – Discover Your Passion!
The Exploring Artist will be back in 2018 – Subscribe Paivi’s weekly emails to stay in touch!
Feeling Disconnected with Your Art? – Learn from My Story
I feel really passionate about this topic, so I made an illustrated story about how I cured it. I shared this on my Facebook page. For those who don’t use Facebook, I share it here too. Click the image to see it bigger!
Here’s the link to my latest coaching program – come to solve this issue with me: http://www.peonyandparakeet.com/exploring-artist/