What does Art is Magic mean to you?Art is a vessel that allows me to dialogue with the energy of the universe and the spiritual world. It inspires wonder and gives me a means of exploring the unknown or the small, but meaningful details in life that can be often missed. Creating art helps me find my way into a meditative state where I can create much needed space and stillness for myself. These guiding and transformative powers of the creative process are why I consider art to be a form of magic.
Why do you create art?I think knowing why you create art is so important because you can return to that core reason when you are struggling in your process, and knowing that information can help you ground your focus and give you momentum to push through. I also think it’s important to realize that your “why” may change over time as you grow as an artist and move along your journey. For me, at this moment in time, I create art because it’s a form of mediation. It allows me to become more aware of the small details and synchronicities in life. It also allows me to get to know myself better, to explore my inner landscape, and to process what’s going on in the world around me. I feel that creating art helps me to connect to something deeper in myself and in the universe so, in that way, art is much like a spiritual practice for me.
Tell us about your journey to become an artist?Since I was a young child, I have always leaned on creativity as a means of exploring my inner self and interpreting the world around me. I have had many creative hobbies over the years. As an adult, I have written children's stories and been published in a children’s magazine. I spent several years building my photography skills, and I continue to sell stock photography images. I've also viewed decorating my home as part of my creative outlet, as I'm always on the hunt for storied treasures in thrift and antique stores. So, creativity has long been a meaningful aspect of my life. However, I did not begin to call myself an artist until the last couple of years.
In the past, I had typically painted landscapes or still life, and I did so from references. That way of painting (focusing heavily on technical skills and having a predetermined end result I was trying to achieve) caused me a lot of frustration and struggle. I didn't understand why doing something creative would be making me so stressed out. Now, there is nothing wrong with creating in that way, but it wasn’t a good fit for me personally. And it didn’t help me feel like the artist I wanted to be. At the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, I decided I really wanted to invest time and effort digging deeper into a creative practice that felt more fulfilling and less of a struggle for me. It was then that I learned about intuitive art making. That really resonated and clicked with me. Intuitive art has given me a wonderful way of feeling more connected to myself and more connected to the energy around me. This way of creating also allowed me to feel that I embodied what it is to be an artist, and I learned that every artist has their own unique journey. But please don't get wrong. I can still absolutely have times when I feel frustrated while I’m painting. After all, struggle is a very natural part of birthing something new into the world. But when I am creating with intention, intuition and imagination, I experience an overall sense of peace and contentment with the path that I'm currently on as an artist. I look forward to continuing my journey as I make space for the creative unknown.
Tell us about your journey to claim the title artist?Time and effort spent developing my own voice and my own creative process is a big part of what has allowed me to get to the point of calling myself an artist. Realizing that my process doesn’t have to look like that of the artists I admire, I don’t have to like and use the same tools or supplies just because another artists loves them, there are no strict rules to follow and no strict expectations to meet, my art is enough just as it is and I do not have to please everyone (or anyone) else with my art - these understandings and really coming to believe these truths have been huge for me in giving myself permission to call myself an artist.
What is it about making art that stirs your soul?Starting a piece without a predetermined outcome and trusting the process to see how things unfold is very interesting and exciting to me. I also love and treasure the feeling that I am co-creating with some sort of energy outside of myself. I would definitely say that feeling of connection with the universe stirs my soul, for sure.
What is currently inspiring you?I find watching other artists create to be very inspiring and motivating, even if it’s not something I would personally want to create or even if it’s not something in a style similar to mine. Even though I mostly paint, I find multi-media figures made of clay, wood, metal, and cloth to be inspiring, especially raw and primitive style figures that seem as if they were dug up from the earth.
When I was a child, I grew up on a farm. After my dad plowed the fields and a big rain came, it would help to bring up Native American arrowheads from the past closer to the surface. One of my favorite things to do as a child was to walk in the fields searching for arrowheads. So that memory and that feeling of finding something that has emerged from the earth, that has lived its own life and has its own story, is something that inspires me greatly; and I try to carry over that feeling in my creative process and in my visual storytelling.
What does your creative practice look like?My creative practice ebbs and flows. I have times where I rest and observe more. During these times, I read books about creativity, I practice yoga and meditation more consistently, I explore other artists' works for inspiration, I keep my hand moving by scribbling and doodling, I spend more time in nature, and I try to notice the details in everyday life. I consider all of these things very valuable and meaningful parts of my creative practice, even though I am not necessarily spending lots of time creating finished products. I need these down times to refill the well. Other times, I paint quite frequently. Each painting is different. Some paintings pull themselves together within a couple of days. Some paintings take time to unfold over a couple of weeks. And some paintings, I put to the side for several months with the intention to return to later when
the time feels right.
How do you keep your creative practice fresh and inspired?Trying out new supplies or playing around with my current supplies in new ways helps to keep my practice feeling fresh and inspired. I also find watching other artists create to be very motivating, whether or not their style or process is similar or quite different to mine. Observing artists through their social media channels or through a workshop and trying out what resonates for me about their art or their practice is incredibly inspiring.
What sort of creative walls do you hit?Sometimes I feel quite unmotivated and it's hard to get started. The lack of motivation may be coming from resistance or procrastination or fear. I’ll find myself thinking quite often about painting, but instead I’ll come up with a bunch of excuses for other things I need to get done first.
What do you do to move through them?During those times, I paint in short spurts. I'll paint for 20 minutes, then take a break to do
something else for a few minutes, come back to the painting for a bit, and so forth. Easing in and not putting the pressure on myself that I need to paint for hours at the time and I need to churn out a finished piece usually helps me get into the flow. And I often end up getting excited about and getting further along into a painting than I would have initially expected, given how unmotivated I may have started out feeling. At other times, if I just can't get into the flow, I give myself permission to accept feeling unmotivated. And I know that my mood and desire to create can and will shift. I know that if I keep showing up, just as I am, the muse will return.
How has your process evolved?There are a few big things about my process that have evolved since I first started painting
intuitively, and none of them have much (or anything) to do with technical skills. Rather, they are all about my mentality and feelings towards my practice and the way I approach my creative process. I’ve learned that my process can and will evolve over time, and that’s okay. I think when I first started, I had an idea that I’d have a map of sorts and that I would always follow the same steps. That way I’d know exactly how to get through a painting and end up with a finished product that I could be happy with. But over time, I’ve come to find that it makes for a much more interesting and exciting process when I relinquish control and let the painting unfold, when I veer off the path, lose my way for a while, and find where that takes me. I’ve learned so much more that way. I’ve also given myself permission to let some pieces go unfinished, and I’ve given myself permission to not need to like every single thing I create. So this idea and practice of moving through the process with a more gentle approach, trusting the process itself, showing up as a co-creator, and letting go of unrealistic expectations have been the biggest ways that my process has evolved thus far.
What do you wish you had known at the beginning of your creative journey?I wish I had known to be more patient and show myself more loving kindness. Every artist has been a beginner and every artist has to navigate their own personal journey to find their creative voice and process. It doesn’t happen right away, and that is okay. No one jumps into it having everything figured out and churning out piece after piece of art that they love. Everyone is on their own timeline and everyone makes art that isn’t the greatest.
If I could go back in time, I would tell myself that my journey as an artist is my own and will
look different from anyone else’s - and that is what makes it so special.
Do you have a Creative Self Care Practice?My creative self care practice has been about showing up to my process, but allowing the ways in which I show up to look different. Some days, doing yoga may serve my creative practice more than actually painting will do because that is what I need for my mental health on that particular day. I am careful about noticing when I need to rest, observe, and gather versus when I need to create and produce something. For a long time, I worried that I wasn’t as prolific as some other artists seem to be. But I’ve tried to let go of that comparison and realize that other activities contribute value to my creative practice, and I’ve realized that observation and gathering information and ideas is an important part of the practice that feels really good to me. Now, with that being said, I also have to be very honest with myself on whether or not I really need a time of rest, and that I’m not using that as a way to resist or procrastinate. Resistance and procrastination suck up so much energy and create stagnant energy that has nowhere to go and, if that is the case, I might as well be producing art and using and moving that energy in a healthy way. So I try to be careful and, as I said, honest with myself about when it is a time for me to cocoon and when it is a time for me to fly.
Do you have any creative rituals?I start by tidying up and setting up my art space. I often light a candle. I take a few deep breaths and a few stretches, and I try to drop into the present moment by becoming aware of being in my body and aware of my senses. I also say a little something in my head, asking the creative energy to flow through me and guide me through what will emerge today. Then I begin warming up to my paper and my process by mark making with a favorite pencil.
Holly’s Workshop Emerge:
