Monday, August 27, 2007

Keri Smith Wants You to Create

At one of the sessions of the Dream Art group I am facilitating, we used Keri Smith's wonderful new "book" Wreck this Journal. In it, she has pages and pages of wonderful ways to manipulate and construct with the journal. In my group, I wanted to remind everyone that we can get to caught up in the "preciousness" of everything.  Sometimes we just have to get dirty and rip pages out of clean, brand-new books - so that's what we did!  We passed it around and tore pages out to then do what we wanted with them.

a page from Keri Smith's "Non-Planner Datebook"

There were several great pages that were torn out by members of the group, including "rub dirt on this page" and more cryptic pages like "with your left hand" (the matching page said "draw on these pages").  It was so fun and liberating to tear and create with these pages.

I also wanted to make sure that everyone knows about Keri Smith's fantastic blog wish jar. You can stay up to date with all her wonderful creations, including her new Non-Planner Datebook! She also shares a lot about her creative process and I am always inspired by reading her words and looking at her fun images and creations.  Enjoy!

Art as the Dream as Art

We experience dreams in much the same way that we experience a powerful piece of art. There is an emotional experience that we may or may not understand.  We are taken in by the images or words or sounds and for a moment, we forget about "waking life" and are immersed in a different world and therefore, a different part of ourselves that we may not usually have easy access to.

So it makes a lot of sense that the act of making a piece of art while in "conversation" with a dream can be a very powerful process that affects both waking life and the dreaming life.  When we dialog with the parts of ourselves that we don't always communicate with, it can have tremendous outcomes.

I'm currently re-reading the wonderful book Art as Medicine: Creating a Therapy of the Imagination by Shaun McNiff. In his book, he shares a wonderful story about the dialog between dreaming and art-making:
A woman...was making eight-by-six-foot paintings. She was a tall person, over six feet. With the group she discussed how she feels that she takes up too much space and experiences conflicts with others in relation to this. In an evening performance she rolled up one of her large paintings, placed a red rose on it, carried it in a slow procession accompanied by sacred music, placed the painting on an elevated surface, and knelt before it. That night she dreamed that a large ship stops in the middle of a village to board passengers. It moves deeply through the earth without effort and not subject to the control of a person. As the ship passes, the ground returns to its previous condition...The woman who feels too big, who is accused of taking too much space, and who just walked in a procession, dreams of a large ship that moves gracefully through the earth...In responding to this dream, we marveled at the way psyche amplified the actions of the day, sympathized with them, and transformed them into fascinating forms that re-framed the situation within a silent drama of imagery.
This passage beautifully illustrates my own experiences (and what I have witnessed in others) in making art with dreams.  There is a powerful dialog that can happen between our waking life and our dream life. When we can look at the pieces we make with as much respect as we give our dreams, we can integrate this new knowing and truly change our lives by healing old wounds and transforming how we are in the world.

Monday, August 20, 2007

Sally Cruikshank & Giant Puppets

I'm not sure where to begin with explaining who Sally Cruikshank is and what a big influence she has been on me. The best way to really get to know her is to read her wonderful blog



I grew up in Marin County, here in Northern California. I was also the daughter of movie lovers and at least one comic book/animation enthusiast (when my father was asked what he would be doing if he weren't a revolutionary minister and dreamworker, he replied, "a comic book artist!"). 

One of the best art movie houses outside of San Francisco was (and it's still holding its own in that department) the Sequoia Twin Cinema in Mill Valley (now called the CineArts at Sequoia). We would go there regularly (sometimes once a week!) and watch all sorts of wild films.  I loved reading as a child, so my parents were delighted to discover that I loved foreign films because I could read the subtitles.  Of course, being a seven-year old watching an unrated French film in the 70's brought up some interesting questions in my little brain!

One of the other great things that the Sequoia Twin would do is show Sally Cruikshank's fantastic, amazing, dreamlike, inspiring, animated films.  My Dad and I would be rooted to the spot as we watched her shorts.  Her work is indescribable, but to me, seems VERY influenced by dreams. I can't find any evidence supporting this fact at all - but see for yourself! Face Like a Frog is one of my favorites (and now it's available on DVD!).  My father and I STILL sing, "Don't Go in the Basement!" (performed by Oingo Boingo, no less!)



And as far as giant puppets - I'm not sure if this was inspired by dreams either, but images of this giant "princess puppet" went right into my dreams!

Experiencing videos like these always fill me with inspiration and excitement.  I hope it does for you too!

Monday, August 13, 2007

Process Painting

In the Dream Art Group I am facilitating, the Process Painting technique came up.  It's a wonderful way to spark creativity, discover new aspects of ourselves and explore issues that are presenting themselves in our lives.

(image from Heather Sullivan's wonderful Build Altars website)

Michele Cassou & Stewart Cubley are the pioneers in this process. When I was part of a Process Painting group (also called Point Zero Painting & Painting Experience), each person has their own "canvas" taped to the wall, which is usually some very inexpensive paper. There are tempera paints (which is the same as finger paints!) in the center of the room and every kind of brush you could imagine, and every person paints freely, with no thought going towards the final product. It is a purely process-focused experience. That is why the paper and paints are so low quality - so there is no fear of being too "precious" about painting ("I shouldn't use so much blue - I don't want to wreck this nice painting!").

Whenever you get stuck, the facilitator comes by and asks really simple, non-directional questions like "how are you feeling?" and "what color do you want to use next?" Choosing the next color is a nice way to step out of the "stuck" place and come back to the act of creating. It's amazing what this process brings up and it is amazing what images come out when you are not thinking of the final outcome.  It is such a place of freedom!

Imagine what you could paint if you were in a place of total and complete freedom!


After taking my own Process Painting Workshop, with the wonderful and talented Lauren Vannett, at the (now no longer?) Brush with Creativity studio in Sausalito, CA, I created a series of powerful paintings that shifted my whole career path.  At the time, I was working for various non-profits around San Francisco. I wanted to do good work in the world and "help people," but making web sites and photocopying didn't really feel my heart with joy.  After making these series of paintings, I realized that art-making and creative expression was essential in my life.  This realization lead me to John F. Kennedy's fantastic Arts & Consciousness program, which showed me the path towards my creative ministry.

I highly recommend that you take a Process Painting class (or any version thereof) and experience it for yourself - but check out the facilitator very carefully - there are some people out there that claim to be doing this process, but actually make comments about the final work and other destructive things - no one in the group should be commenting on anyone else's pieces as it can damage the safe container that has been created by only focusing on process. Call the facilitator of the group and ask questions about their process.  If you get a bad feeling, move on and find another workshop - there are hundreds of them out there, all over the country!

If you are one of those folks who want to read a bit, before taking a class (and I know you well because I am one too!), then pick up Life, Paint & Passion: Reclaiming the Magic of Spontaneous Expression by Michele Cassou & Stewart Cubley, with a forward by Natalie Goldberg, who wrote the wonderful book Writing Down the Bones.

This book gives a wonderful history of how Michele and Stewart came up with this process, why they feel it is so important, and how it changed their lives.

I also have this wonderful little chapbook that Michele Cassou created, called Questions to Awaken your Creative Power to the Fullest. I want to quote the section called Do Not Compromise:

Do not compromise with your inspiration. Creation is adventure, a moment to moment discovery. Open the door to your spontaneity, to your playful side, and images and colors will flow out of you to your surprise and delight. To create is to move into the unknown, to enter into the mystery of life. Let go of control and listen to your intuition, which knows best.

There are no mistakes and no points of comparison. Your work is totally unique, because you are unique.  You cannot fail!


This is such wonderful advice for creating in general.  And to bring this all back to making art with your dreams - it's all about following our intuition. When we wake from a dream and feel called to create something, being able to access the place of freedom and worry-less making is essential.  There is no good or bad, no failure and no mistakes.  It is pure creativity - pure making and that can be a powerful, spiritual space to dwell in!

Monday, August 6, 2007

Dreaming While Awake

PrismaColor picture by Kathy Taylor
My mother has been an incredible inspiration to me for all of my life.  I grew up sharing my dreams and art with her and she always received them with appreciation and interest. She is a very crafty lady (as is her mother) and I was always surrounded with yarn and quilts and dolls and paints and other wild projects she was working on.

When she moved, she created a fantastic studio for herself in her new garage (a garage was inconceivable idea in the house I grew up in). 

Her latest passion are her PrismaColor pen pictures, which she creates using dreams she has had as inspiration.  I've been encouraging her to start a blog and share these totally amazing pictures with the world and now she has!

Here is a description of her process in her own words:
I've been working with my dreams for over 30 years and in the last 10
years I've been mining my dreams to make art. I lost interest in
"illustrating" my dreams and began to just follow the path of least
resistance. The process is something like what the surrealists
experimented with - automatic drawing. But what I do seems to draw from
both conscious and unconscious states of mind. I suppose it's a
meditation, really.

I've come to think of it as a "getting out
of my own way" kind of art making. There is some sort of balance
between thinking things through and following impulses, feelings and
intuitions. I do think about the elements of design, but only when it
doesn't interfere with the flow of images.
Her images have always been an inspiration to me. Check out Dreaming While I'm Awake and enjoy!