KIM-LEE KHO
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Daily Practice: Getting Hands-On by Going Back to Kindergarten

2/16/2015

3 Comments

 
Picture
Energy management is always an issue for me, one that I have to keep working on. Teaching art, while incredibly rewarding, uses massive amounts of my physical and mental energy, even though I only do it part-time! 

So getting into the studio regularly can be a challenge. I am lucky to have enough shows going on (generally) through the year to force me back in and focus me on studio work. But in between, when there is no urgency, an unhelpful loop can develop: low energy = little studio time; little studio time = lower energy; and so on, until it actually makes me despondent.

I know I'm far from alone in this experience, so at the risk of seeming repetitive, I am returning to this topic, for the benefit of any artists or art students reading this, but also anyone else who works creatively. Any creative activity feeds our creativity as a whole.

The way I lead myself gently out of the unfortunate loop I described is to get hands-on with something, get tactile with a material or process that is simple, not “precious”, that I don't need to commit lots of time to. Getting tactile helps every time.

Right now for example – you'll laugh – I have been folding and cutting paper in the same way we did to make snowflakes in what, kindergarten? Some of them turn out to be snowflakes and some definitely do not, but while making them I lose myself in the process of folding (what structure will I use?) and cutting the designs into them, improvising with my scissors.

It gives me an unreasonable amount of pleasure to work on these simple things and while I'm having fun I am also developing my facility with pattern, design, reflection and 3-dimensional structure. Who knows how that may pay off in the future? In the meantime my energy level rises as does my mood :-)

Do you have any difficulty getting into the studio every day, or maintaining some other creative practice? If so, what has worked for you? Your solution may help someone else. Please share in the comments below.

“Any creative activity feeds our creativity as a whole.”
“…get hands-on with something, get tactile with a material or process that is simple, not “precious”, that [you] don't need to commit lots of time to.”
Picture
Cutting and folding paper into snowflake-type designs is one simple creative practice to get back in the studio (or other creative mode) by getting tactile and re-introducing play. Photo: Kim Lee Kho
3 Comments
Marianne Morris link
2/19/2015 11:43:10 pm

I like to do this too... I don't usually keep them, but when I see yours laid out like this, I'm thinking they would make interesting stencils for backgrounds in my art journal. I think I might get onto that today.....

Reply
Kim Lee Kho
2/21/2015 04:12:40 am

Hi Marianne, thanks so much for your comment! They do make wonderful stencils as long as you don't need them to have a long life (i.e. store them away for multiple future uses), not without coating the paper at least. I hope we'll see examples in a future blog post of yours :-)

Reply
Sharon Kirsh link
5/16/2015 11:37:10 am

Thanks for sharing that you face this challenge as well. I find that it's sometimes hard to make the time even though it's what I need the most. I go loopy when I haven't been creating! I've recently started scheduling art making into my calendar. So when I wake up and check what's on tap for the day and see studio time from 1 - 4 I don't question it. I hate missing appointments!

Reply



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    Kim-Lee Kho

    As a visual artist I like nothing more than getting up to my elbows in paint or little plastic toys, or wading in at the deep end in pursuit of an idea. When I am not teaching others in a similar vein, you can find me researching, writing and noodling around in my studio, seeing where my latest lines of inquiry lead me.

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  • Home
  • Gallery
    • Burnt Offerings (2022) >
      • Sponsors: Thank you
    • My Father's Things (series)
    • Heartspace
    • A Full Heart
    • Subject to Limitation >
      • Boxed In
      • Expanding Media
      • Fences as Barriers
      • Containment
    • Skin
    • Face[t]s
    • [Un]Settled
    • Digital / Photo / Mixed
    • Painting
    • To See More
  • NEW SHOP! 🎉
  • Courses & Events
    • Current + Upcoming
    • Virtual Studio Parties
    • Gallery Walk & Talks
    • Testimonials
  • Blog
    • News Archive
  • ABOUT
    • Biography
    • Statement
    • CV
    • Publications/Media
  • Contact