Bringing Art Into the Mundane
I talk about how I find creative opportunities at my day job and even while doing chores around the house. Also I share what's inspiring me right now.
We’ve been enjoying a small taste of sunshine up here in the PNW. It’s a taste of things to come, but we’re not done with the cold and rain yet. To take advantage of the nice weather, J and I got out for a short hike to start the process of building up our stamina for the longer hikes we take during the summer. Our goal is always to hike more than we did the previous year, so we’ve got some work to do.
One of the many benefits of getting out in nature is the opportunity to scout out landscapes for painting. While we were out I took plenty of photos for possible paintings at a later date. As an artist, I am constantly seeing the potential of art in the things around me. Beautiful landscapes are an obvious choice, to be sure. But what about the more mundane scenes of life?
This is a quick sketch I did of my morning toast over the weekend. Great art? No. But it has the potential to be. I am thinking of doing a painting based off of this simple breakfast scene at a later date. Paintings or photographs of the mundane elevate the small moments. It requires the viewer to be present in even these seemingly unimportant things. It’s a reminder that beauty is everywhere, even where we least expect it.
In my artistic practice, one of the things that I’ve found most hard to incorporate is my “day job” or the job I do to pay the bills. It can be decidedly less artistic. However, I have found small ways to bring my creativity into it.
One of the ways I have done that is through small post-it drawings that I leave in the break room or somewhere else in the workplace as a means of encouragement or a small gesture of hope.
They aren’t great works of art, by any means. But they are a consideration. A moment shared. A squeeze of the hand from a well-meaning stranger. It’s a fun practice and gives me an artistic purpose at work.
Most recently an opportunity presented itself at work to show off my creative skills and build a display for a merchandising competition being held company-wide. For my submission, I’ll be building an apple tree out of hand-painted cardboard for the trunk and a canopy of green balloons on top. I’ve never done anything like this before, but the prospect of being able to tackle an art project while at my day job was one I could not pass up. I’ll share photos of the tree once I finish it. Here’s a look at the very underwhelming ‘trunk’ before being painted:
Once it’s all finished, it will stand around six feet tall. Again, great art? No. But gosh it’s fun and it keeps my brain looking for creative solutions outside of the mundane box of life we all trudge through.
In addition to looking for opportunities to be creative in my everyday life, I try to feed myself a steady diet of inspiration. That can include anything from podcasts, to magazines, poetry, a trip to the museum, or even a hike in the forest. Here are some of the things I found inspiring this week:
This podcast episode had some really great painting and artistic advice that I found really valuable. Even though I don’t currently do plein air painting, I have plans to give it a try this summer, in part due to this episode:
Plein Air Podcast 251: Four Painters Share Their Best Advice
This beautiful poem by Ariel Friedman:
The gorgeous work of pastel artist Louna Safon:
Currently reading: You Can Do Anything:The Surprising Power of a "Useless" Liberal Arts Education by George Anders
I hope this week finds you full of hope, inspiration, and maybe the inclination to look at your morning toast as a work of art. As ever, thank you for being here.
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