Practice...Practice....Practices Art

What is an art practice?  do I need one?  do I have one?  What is Artistic Practice 1. The term refers to the ways in which an artist goes about his/her work. Artistic practice goes beyond the physical activities of making artistic products and can include influences, ideas, materials as well as tools and skills. John Antoine Labadie

I no longer define my art through one lens. What drives my practice now is an openness to possibilities, and a willingness to take on new challenges and engage creatively as often and in as many ways as I can.

Spark Box Studio 

What emerged very clearly from my work was that the artists I interviewed saw their practice as a process of conceptual enquiry and of making meaning. Liz Ellis, for example, said:

I mainly use photography and print, although I am starting to plan video and sound for the future. But I would say that I see my practice much less as being about what media I use, than the approaches that I take … [it’s] about methods of investigation, I suppose, the kinds of questions I find myself asking and I want to find, not so much answers to, but to show that process of investigation.5

Her use of the term ‘investigation’ is significant, indicating that she sees herself as interrogating the concerns that preoccupy her rather than as simply a maker of images. Liz and the other artist educators interviewed tended not to identify themselves exclusively with a particular medium or technique but saw themselves as engaged in creative investigation and problem solving, a process that culminated in the artwork. While they might be proficient at welding or digital photography, they utilised their skills in order to articulate their ideas.

Tate Papers 

This has come about by a phone call and chatting with another artist about process.  Slowing down and falling back in love with your art and the process.  The word slow down has popped up so much since the first of the year...and the word Live=Alive is my word for the year.  One would think that to live you have to do...be...more. But I'm getting the hint that's not true. 

To live is a ongoing process of change, growing and seeing how things unfold.  Oh and there so much more depending on the individual I would think. An elder shared with me some time ago that life is about letting go too. 

Lots to think about...Rolling in thoughts and need some grounding....