Art Column

by Leaf

New year resolutions are like little islands off the mainland (which is you). You build bridges to them (which creates jobs, and therefore is good for the economy of your archipelago), and then, come February, you bomb the bridges (which creates further jobs, which is good for the economy). The cycle resumes the next year, and all you are left with is a good economy with little productivity.

(Ok, maybe that was an exaggeration, and maybe my understanding of economics is a little too shallow -- whatever).

I set new year resolutions because it’s an excellent way to waste time and appear productive, and I’d like to share a few today. As an extremely amateur artist person thingy, I hope these can somewhat inspire all you other extremely amateur artists out there.

1. KEEP A SKETCHBOOK AND DO SOMETHING IN IT EVERYDAY. I used to have an A6 sketchbook and I’d sketch random items that caught my interest. If I was feeling particularly lazy or low on creativity, I’d experiment with pencil edges. This is a great way to store ideas that might come in handy later.

2. KEEP A DIARY AND WRITE SOMETHING IN IT EVERYDAY. This is basically the same as above, except this is for creative writing purposes. Jot down a few thoughts that cross your mind each day. My advice (which I hope to use myself, someday) is to not write ‘I’m feeling a bit lonely/moody today’ but write something that shows that, e.g. ‘I could massacre the ants and no one would ever know’.

3. keep a music paper notebook and write in it everyday PLAY A MUSICAL INSTRUMENT EVERY DAY. Even if it’s for a few minutes. Even if you’re just practising scales. Something will sound nice and you could build off that. If you don’t have an instrument, there are those virtual thingies online that imitate sounds.

4. MAKE AT LEAST ONE SCULPTURE. I think this is a very creative process, because clay and glaze and whatever can be expensive so it takes some thinking to make a sculpture with non-conventional materials. A splinter of wood sticking out of the door, a random stone that’s appeared in your room… they can be used to make whatever you like.

5. SHOW YOUR WORK TO SOMEONE ELSE AND LOOK AT THEIRS IN RETURN. Opening yourself to criticism and inspection is one of the hardest things to do. The Chamber of Secrets is a great place to get this feedback, or you could show your work to that classmate/co-worker/etc. who is always so brutally honest that it’s scary.

6. LOOK AT ONE POSTAGE STAMP EACH DAY. Stamps are a great example of art. If you’re interested in still life paintings or portraits, they can be found on stamps. If you’re interested in photography, it can be found on stamps. If you’re interested in graphic design and typesetting, stamps are a good place to start. Another great thing is that they’re relatively small, so many stamps have a minimalistic style of art, and the composition is something worth learning from. I’m totally not saying this because I am a stamp collector and want others to pick up the hobby.

Thanks for reading and have a safe and wonderful 2015.

-Leaf