Stepping Stones
“All art is a work in progress” — Rick Rubin
I’m reading Rick Rubin’s fabulous book, “The Creative Act: A Way of Being” and was struck this morning by his perspective that every creative act is “a stepping stone to the following work … for the entirety of your creative life”.
I’m often so focused on where I want to go next that I forget to turn around and see where I’ve come from. I don’t remember or honor each of those stepping stones. I took a look back today and remembered that my path to making art I love has been a long and twisty one. I didn’t particularly love the image above when I made it. It is 10 years old, made at a time when I had decided I needed some serious creative outlet in my life and started drawing again, like I did when I was a kid.
Drawing always brought me joy. It was a way for me to escape the chaos of shared bedrooms and the constant ruckus of 6 younger sisters. Yes: six of them. It was a crowded, noisy household and I craved solitude and quiet. Reading and drawing were my refuge.
“I was sorely limited by the tools available to me, but also by what I imagined was possible”
Ten years ago, I needed that happy, secure place again. I had a job that kept me away from home several days a week, staying in beige hotel room after beige hotel room, alone with my Kindle night after night. Then I got an iPad and my world opened up a bit more. It was hard to schlep art supplies along with the necessities of business travel, but the iPad could be used for work and play. And so I got a creative hand back in by making digital drawings (often of my hotel rooms) when I traveled. I drew in airports often as well, like the image below. There’s lots of time to kill in airports.
As I look back at these drawings, I am amazed at how different they are from the art I make now. Granted, I was sorely limited by the tools available to me, but also (I see now) by what I imagined was possible.
These images are a selection of paintings I made from 2017, when I began painting in earnest, through today. I can easily see the progression of my skill, my imagination, and my voice through the years.
My life has changed dramatically in the last decade and so has my work. I’ve learned - am still learning - to paint and make art that exists other than on a screen, and I now have the luxury of time and space to do so.
Taking the time to look back through each year’s drawings and paintings has reminded me that we never arrive; we are always on the journey, always taking one more step to uncovering who we are.
I’m interested in your thoughts about this idea of art as progress, as a means of continuously learning and getting closer to our own honest expressions. Leave me a comment here:
As someone who never drew or painted until 2 years ago at 74, I love seeing work like yours. I can only hope to make progress and be able to paint what’s in my heart and mind.
It is such a joy to watch the evolution of your work! Whew! I can see you blossoming as you moved away from that hotel room table. I am always in awe of the twists and turns and adventure of your work, and I look forward to what is next!