[Woodcarver] art/cultural exchange weekend (plus)

[maricha]

sally's email to maricha... and am delighted to reply at the end of this
email...

Thank you for the kind comments re: Marnie's Benefit in another
message.  Visiting St. Patrick's church is something words cannot
describe.  I wouldn't even try.  My mother and sister had the same
spell binding experience while looking at a picture of the Corpus.  You
can see the facial expression near the bottom of the Crucifix album in
Ivan's picturetrail.  Try to put it altogether in your mind and you'll
see what I'm talking about.  It's the best we can do without being
there in person.

Now I would like to ask a question (or more) of you.  I have some
questions that just keep rolling around in my head & they won't go
away.  Maybe you're covered this topic in your interactive discussions
at your cultural exchange weekend?

Is the human baby born with in inherent ability to create?  Then that
ability could be developed if that person choses to pursue it.  I
suppose some have more natural creativity than others.  If there
appears to be "no" creative ability, can it be developed?

To further this line, I  know people who call themselves artists and
they have a "huge" amount of confidence in every medium they try.  They
do one or two items in that new found medium and proclaim themselves an
expert.  Their work is less than elementary but they are so proud.
Where does that come from?  Are they born with a degree of that
confidence and is it developed through time?

For myself, I was born in the corn belt of the midwest.  Art was
offered at the High School level but was not encouraged.  The only
students who took art were the ones who could not do well in academia
type subjects.  I feel we missed out by not being introduced to art in
our early stages of life.  It seems the ones who took art are so
pleased and satisfied with their work, whereas I am always striving to
improve.  I don't think I'll ever get to the point where I am pleased.
Maybe that is just me.  I am always researching and learning and don't
want that to go away.

Maricha, you can answer "off-list" if you like.  I would like to know
your comments when you have time.

hi sally,

thank you for your email...and giving me a great image of st. patricks...
although i cannot be there
it is wonderful of you to share. many years ago, in new york, i visited st.
patrick's cathedral and my mouth hang out for miles.

your questions are so good that i am answering, in a perceptive way rather
than as an expert. there are many in the list that are much better equipped
than myself to give you the indepth answers.  my answers are from
experience, from what i feel, from what i have observed and no way can i
measure  for them for accuracy as we are all different.  thus i invite
others to reply to these very precious questions as well.

at the cultural exchange we did not answer questions as it was more a
sharing of experiences, creative moments, and people coming alive with their
art.... to answer your first question... is the human baby born with
inherent ability to create? then that ability could be developed if that
person choses to ppursue it. I suppose some have more natural creativity
than others.  If there appears to be "no" creative ability, can it be
developed?

Yes the human baby is indeed born with inherent ability to create.  it is
sometimes evident even before the baby is born... my example of this is ...
i used to play the guitar when pregnant with all my children. they seemed to
greatly enjoy the guitar and sounds and seemed to move a lot, and i asked my
specialist doctor....if they could hear, dance etc.  and he assured me that
they did whilst in the womb. all are my children are gifted but some have
preferred to use other avenues than art, such as graphic arts, designing art
work for cars, airplanes cars etc. and only one of  daughters, persued art ,
majored in ceramics, photography but now teaches art.... yet at first
preferred science.

for myself i always love art, and i guess my first teachers were my parents
and surroundings, which opened a wonderful world of nature, music,
embroidery, singing and a million other things.... but the important thing
was... even if i did not sing well, was encouraged to sing as a very young
child of 3 or so and nothing seemed impossible to do... as by doing things
creating soap sculptures, or faces, anything  that made happy moments.
those happy and elightening days grow as you grow and although they can
become dormant, they can come to the surface at any time ... if we give them
a chance..... in the book by betty edwards she clearly states that creative
ability can be developed and proves it with people who have never drawn
before and how they draw and surprise themselves with their work and show
great potential in their art.... by using the L-mode of the brain and
telling  the R-mode of the brain to keep silent so that the aesthetic
qualities can be unfolded.   The degree of confidence is the progression of
accumulating knowledge, working hard, and lots of practice.

one beautiful moment at the art discovery was a beautiful child (27)
schitzophrenic was trying to carve, but her left hand would not receive
messages from her brain, yet the right hand was watching me play with
sculptural clay, and whilst i demonstrated doing an echidna , i shared my
thoughts of how i see the animal, shaped like an ovoid, with a long spout
type of nose/mouth, and i noticed the child was making a great echidna, then
did it threee times, and although she did not speak much , her eyes were
illuminated with satisfaction that she could do something artistic.  it was
too... rather beautiful.  then with a knitting needle, i demonstrated how
to insert holes to put tooth picks as the spikes quills of the echidna and
she inturn did likewise following the egg shape of the animal in serting
holes following the shape of the animal and allowing the toothpicks to come
alive at different angles.

Yes art in the past and present sometimes was is  given to students that had
very short span of concentration whilst a lot of the studious type of pupil
were given the three majors reading writing mathematics etc.  the mind is a
wonderful thing, we are given such wonderful gifts, and i try to use them as
best as i can, to say thank you but also to help others grow in the gifts
they possess.  and to use wise whatever gifts are given to me and/or learn
from you at the list, or students or life. Sally,  you have a lot of art in
you and your carvings.

the art discovery and cultural exchange is keeping me out of mischief... we
are now sharing what we learnt with the country folk with our city folk and
the 6 artists who went for the trip.... we clicked so well that we are
meeting on monday whilst the art bug is in us..... one is so talented with
words and poetry, and wrote for the country newspaper, the other a mural
artist made an installation of all the objects that were exchanged.... such
as the home span wool, dyed with bush roots and leaves, creating such
tantalizing colours that i cannot pput a name of them.. using a sheep's
skull to hold the most magnificent tiny brilliant yellow flowers... the
carving demonstration went on prime time television for country and canberra
stations... and although i did not speak much the potter spoke eloquently
and shared her knowledge of using copper and other metals to create great
pottery.  a lot of people did not do any art before but they sure did lovely
things this weekend.  i feel rather humbled to have been a participant in
what i think is making history and sharing a few moments of art, culture and
the inner artist in all of us.

sally i hope others can join in and participate in aswering your questions,
which are so vitally important and wonderful.


cheers
maricha
http://carverscompanion.com/Ezine/Vol5Issue2KMenendez/KMenendez.html.
http://woodcarverweb.com/Ezine/Vol3Issue5/MOxley/MOxley.html