A moment of clarity

Last month I had my first face-to-face selling event since 2019. I exhibited at the Melbourne Festival Art and Architecture Trail in Derbyshire, an annual event that until the pandemic I had participated in for 10 years. After such a haitus, it was a big commitment to get new work together, design a display and remember all the necessary practicalities of packing and wrapping, tools, business cards etc (a full load for my little Ford Fiesta!).

There was also the realisation of the copious peopling that would need to be done after three years connecting to the world through my online courses, via a computer screen. I had forgotten the joy of meeting creative friends, customers and students and hearing their connection to what I do.

A show like this never comes together as you think it will. Like any project, you start with an idea and it changes along the way. Old work jostled with new work, including a collection of ceramics that I had designed and made this year, as well as my usual stalwarts of cards, prints and art books. It wasn’t until I had all of my offerings in one place that I was able to take some time to reflect on my progress and development.

I am sharing this because I know when I look at other people’s display stands or at their online life, I think their achievements have been linear, all project-managed to a curated fruition. My experience is that it all rumbles together, just in time for me to stand before it smiling! My experience is often not seeing the wood for the trees, or the central core of ‘me’ that holds it all together. Pulling it together is a journey of self-doubt and self-confidence.

I think this is true of creating sketchbooks too.

My online courses all relate to the sketchbook as a place of development and experimentation, working towards a singular expression, a creative ‘voice’. And like working towards a show, the work often develops messily and with errors, self-doubt and insecurity.

Amongst the mess, when you get out your creative endeavours (or your sketchbook) and sit with it in reflection, it is possible to connect the dots and see how they relate to your core self-expression.

If you are feeling that your work is sprawling and has lost intention, gather it around you when you are feeling relaxed and well. Maybe get some music on and a cup of tea. Start to note down what the core components are - the themes, the colours, size and style. And then ask yourself if these are currently working for you. Boundaries really help for generating new work, so if you are able to list some core areas to what makes your art yours, you have a springboard for creating work more aligned with your intentions.

Coming back from the art festival, I had had a much needed boost of self-confidence from the experience of seeing real people again in real time. It put me in a good place for seeing how I needed to simplify what I do. As I start new projects, I gather ideas, formulate a few tasks in my head and then I am off, launching into the work of connecting brain, eye and hand and making mark. I realised I have to also give time to putting some ideas down, some projects on the shelf. It is okay not to see things through.

The challenge is knowing when to let go and when to carry on.

Although I loved doing my ceramics project this summer, I realised it is not a medium I want to carry on working in as a selling proposition. And yet doing it, moved me through a period of creative block and helped me find some raw, tactile qualities and emboldened mark again.

Taking time to reflect, clearing out work, prioritising what happens next, has all helped me see more clearly what steps to take next, and after a year of muted tones and monochromatic outcomes, and with Autumn on our doorstep, there is some colour arriving back in my world and joy at the prospect of capturing the season ahead.

If you need support in finding your creative voice, take a look at my online, self-paced courses. If like me you create and sell and need to get back on track, I would love to work with you, I offer my experiences and expertise as a mentor to those in need of clarity and confidence to take the next steps. Visit www.helenhallows.com for more details.