I completely agree and thank you Mike for putting it so well, it has  
reaffirmed an idea I had but was not sure about, the fact that artists  
should always work not just await the 'mood', creativity seems to stem  
from creativity.

- how about drawing in clay for a while, you may either enjoy it or get  
so frustrated you will welcome back the paper!

carol peace



On 21 Apr 2008, at 08:49, Michael Bray wrote:

> I sympathize with what sounds to be a common situation given the  
> responses so far.  A couple of years back, there was a guest lecturer  
> at the university where I teach.  She was showing an animated film  
> that she had just finished.  During the talk, she addressed just this  
> point.  What does one do when there doesn’t seem to be the drive or  
> inspiration to work.  Her solution was insightful.  She just works  
> anyhow, almost on automatic pilot.  What she does do though is to work  
> in a different media or process, which seemed to be the key.  She had  
> just finished an exhibition, and was not feeling inspired to work, so  
> she made a series of 100 monoprints, mostly consisting of  
> non-objective shape, line, and color, with no aim in mind, just to  
> keep the process going.  As she was doing this, she began playing with  
> the lid of her ink bottle, dabbing it on the masking tape that held  
> the paper in place.  She became fascinated with the images on the tape  
> and began a new series of work on strips of tape that became crowd  
> scenes after she altered and added to the initial ink cap markings.  
>  The tape series and the monoprints later became the backdrop for her  
> animated film, as well as some of them being stand alone drawings and  
> prints.  The point was to always keep working, even if there is no  
> point at times to the work itself.  I think as visual people,  
> inspiration only comes when there is something to look at.  I know  
> that if I think too much without making something, my mind feels like  
> a hamster on a wheel.  Once I start working, even just mindlessly  
> marking paper, something will eventually capture my imagination and  
> the energy and engagement soon follow.  I have come to value these  
> times.  It’s as if I’m bored with the line of work I was doing, and I  
> used to stop.  Now, I work more freely, without any clutter of what  
> the work should be or should look like and just draw.  I find after a  
> short time, the work moves into new and often more interesting areas  
> that I wouldn’t have thought to push it.  It only happens because I  
> kept working during this period of doldrums where I gave myself the  
> freedom to experiment, alter processes, and not be precious about the  
> work.  A good topic Berry, thanks for bringing it up.
>
>  Mike Bray
>
>
>  On 4/20/08 9:13 PM, "malcolm banthorpe" <[log in to unmask]>  
> wrote:
>
>> Given that you're not lacking in ideas or inspiration this is clearly  
>> not just the drawing equivalent of writer's block. "Just not feeling  
>> like drawing" is something that I'm familar with from time to time.  
>> For me it seems to be linked with the inner critic - the internal  
>> commentary that you refer to. I think that the disinclination to draw  
>> usually follows a period when I feel I've made some progress and am  
>> quite pleased with the outcome. This sometimes leads to an  
>> enthusiastic start of what promises to be a "really good" drawing.  
>> This is also the point where it all starts to go wrong. I have  
>> learned the hard way - but don't always remember - that if I set out  
>> with the intention of producing a "good" drawing the result will  
>> inevitably be disappointing. The intention means that there is a  
>> predicted end result - a mental picture of how it will look.  If it  
>> is not achieved then it feels like a failure. If the result is as  
>> predicted then it's still disappointing because it is likely to show  
>> little or no advance on earlier work.
>>
>> Fortunately it doesn't happen too often. When it does I now know that  
>> the feeilng won't last too long and after a short break - up to  
>> perhaps a couple of weeks - I can get back to just drawing, without  
>> precise expectations.
>>
>>
>>   
>>                                                                        
>>    Malcolm Banthorpe.
>>   
>>
>>   
>>                                                                        
>>          .  
>>  ----- Original Message -----
>>  From: Berry Daines
>>  To: [log in to unmask]
>>  Sent: Friday, April 18, 2008 10:40 AM
>>  Subject: Drawing indifference
>>   
>>
>>  Back to Drawing......
>>   
>>  There was a good/bad drawing debate a while ago, which I pondered.  
>> When drawing I have a running inner  commentary of those niggling  
>> comments from Art College tutors, questioning techniques before the  
>> charcoal had even hit the paper. Usually music or radio plays etc  
>> drown that out.
>>   
>>  Currently I'm not lacking inspiration or ideas but for the first  
>> time ever just don't feel like drawing. I'm hoping to be back to  
>> normal in time to encourage teenagers to sharpen their drawing skills  
>> at some workshops in June, but have any of you drawing researchers  
>> ever lost enthusiasm for drawing?
>>   
>>  Berry
>>   
>>   
>>   
>>   
>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 
>> ----------
>>
>
>