Artifact #6: Creative Spirituality Discussion
Objectives:
- Become familiar with ways in which spirituality influences artists
- Discuss the differences between spirituality and religion
- Examine spirituality as a generative force and a well spring for creativity
Original Post:
One of the really interesting pieces that Grey touches on is the idea of inspiration. He states that, “every artist has his or her own unique process of inspiration…some people receive full blown, detailed images in a flash during the guided visualizations or shamanic drumming. Others may receive only the briefest glimmer or feeling and it is not until their pencil touches the paper that the imagery comes flooding through”(Grey,80). I could not agree more with this statement. As I mentioned earlier in the term my dad is a carpenter and can make amazing things out of wood. But it was not until this certain project that I could see how truly gifted my dad was. I went to a Christian elementary school and the principle came to my dad and asked if he could make the school a life size Bible all out of wood with the stories from within coming alive in the form of shapes and people.
Instantly my dad got what Grey refers to as visualizations. He could instantly see how each piece was going to look and where he was going to place each one. He carved out each piece with premier accuracy and painted everything with intense precision. Each piece was just the way he had envisioned it to be. It was a 6 year project that he worked on and off on but he finally got it done.
In addition, the night before he was going to present it he got another vision of how to make it better. I can still remember him working all night on it trying to make those last minute changes that he believed was going to put it on top. Grey refers to this in his article when he states that, “pressure is a great catalyst. Important ideas can come at the last minute under a deadline. Often as a painting is coming to completion, I will have to change an entire section because an essential insight suddenly arises” (Grey,80). This is exactly what happened to my dad. The deadline approached and all of a sudden he had new ideas of how to improve it. Its funny looking at it now how many comparisons I can draw from Grey’s article and the process it took for dad to complete it. Everything layed out exactly as Grey explained. He had an inspiration, envisioned it, made it, tinkered with it at the last minute, then presented it to my school.
It was such rewarding project to see come together because you could see how passionate my dad is about wood working and the extents he goes to make the details perfect. He’s a perfectionist and you were really able to tell when it was complete.
Reflection:
Discussing this topic was truly a special experience for me because I was able to relate to it so closely. As you can see in my previous post I went to a private Christian elementary school called Emmaus Christian School. My parents were very adamant in making sure that my education was not only the highest of quality but that it was also taught in terms of our belief which is the Christian faith. I also mentioned earlier that my family, especially my dad, is extremely talented in the field of woodworking. He has the amazing ability to envision a project and then go out and create it. However, this doesn’t mean that he simply goes out into the shop and creates random things. All of his projects are made for a specific purpose or inspiration to fulfill a vision or bring about meaning. Grey has a good quote in her article The Mission of Art that explains this when she says that, “an artists finest works can symbolically unveil depth upon depth of meaning, like mirrors reflecting each other, deepening endlessly” (75). This is exactly the way my dad operates when making his carvings. He wants you to be blown away by the beauty of his piece but he also wants you to see the deeper meaning.
When I was attending this Christian school, as I previously stated my dad was asked if he could make a life size wood carving of a bible. Without even a slight bit of hesitation he said yes because he’s been wanting to a project like this for a long time. He felt that God had prepared him for this project and that through his work he could bring glory to the Lord’s name. This is how my fathers spirituality influenced the artist inside of him. He felt the calling and it was finally time to answer it.
Before I dive into the specifics of how spirituality is a generative force and well spring for creativity I want to first step back and discuss some of the differences, I believe that exist between spirituality and religion. Up until I was about 6 years old I had grown up Catholic and attended Catholic kindergarten and first grade. I learned all of the customs, how to say grace etc. However, my parents felt that they were just treading water in the religious customs and weren’t actually growing closer to God. This is when they decided to make the switch Christianity. Now I am in no way trying to put down the Catholic religion but for our family it just wasn’t the right fit. There were so many customs and rituals that we had to follow that we just ended up losing the true meaning which was to focus on God. This is I believe is the biggest difference between spirituality and religion. Spirituality is what you feel inside you as you go throughout your day. Praying to God and feeling him talk back to you and give you answers. Versus religion where you simply follow the customs because you have to and don’t really feel anything.
Finally, I get to discuss the last goal which examines spirituality as a generative force and spring for creativity. Going back to the bible project that my dad was undertaking he unsure of how he was going to proceed with the stories piece of the bible. He knew how he was going to make the bible frame but he didn’t know if he wanted to make 3d pieces that popped out or if he wanted to carve them into the actual bible. He then got another spiritual inspiration and told me the next morning that he was going to carve each story in 3d figures and call the project “the word alive”. Grey has another amazing quote that explains this when she says that, “inspiration is the most mysterious step in the creative process. The artist is possessed by a creative force, overtaken by a vision and driven to create” (81-81). This is exactly what happened to my dad. Through his spirituality and closeness with God he was able to receive the answer on how to proceed as well as the creativity for what it was going to look like. At the time I didn’t like the idea but my dad’s creativity in work working is unlike any I’ve ever seen. And as the project progressed you could visually see how my dads spirituality was engrained into each piece that he made. It was truly one of the most amazing projects I have and ever will see.
Future Goals:
As I progress in my woodworking skills I want to eventually be able to create some of the jaw dropping projects that my dad can create. I want to be able to feel that calling and bring those inspirations to life so that other people may see and enjoy the works that God helped me perform. In order to do this I have to continue to grow each and every day in my spiritual faith. I want to be close enough to the Lord that I can hear and feel him guiding me through each and every piece of the project that he wants me to create. These are my goals for the future that I wish to one day achieve.
Table of Contents
Artifact #1: Lindsey Vonn Out for the Olympics
Artifact#2: Life Values Assessment
Artifact#3: Food As Art
Artifact#4: Personal Adornment Discussion
Artifact #5: The Aesthetics of Horror
Artifact #6: Creative Spirituality Discussion
Artifact #7: Art, Games, and Technology Discussion
Artifact #8: Remixing Google Image Search