| Practice isn’t the thing you do once you’re good. It’s the thing you do that makes you good. ~ Malcolm Gladwell |
Practice is important, and practicing well is even more important. It’s not enough to sit down and “work till the timer goes off” in order to check off the todo list item. “Practicing” can look like working on a weaker skill in order to develop it. Sometimes “to practice” means taking a skill you’ve developed and focusing on it in order to make it even better. Other times “practicing” looks more like combining seemingly random skills and mixing them together – just to see how it turns out.
- This week’s artist is – Bryanna Marie – whose work I recently stumbled across. Her work caught my eye and drew me in even more when I realized she was painting on coins! I love her goal of “proving that tiny things can hold an abundance of wonder and beauty when we stop to notice them,” and appreciate how she coordinates her “canvases” with their subject matters. Check out her website and instagram for more!
- Want to make music? Here’s an online tool.
- Eric Fischl is turning 74 today.
- There’s live music scattered about town all week. See what’s available here.
- Sony’s World Photography Awards have been released. You can see some of them here and even more here. (I really liked the sand castle by Cigdem Ayyildiz.)
- The Silverton Arts Festival has an open call for artists. Get more info here. Deadline is the 25th.
- The Butterfly Artist Collective is meeting Sunday at 3 in the Smiley Building. Charles Leslie will be speaking about what the Creative Art District (he’s a board member) can offer artists in Durango. Afterward will be a show and tell. If you’re inspired to bring something to show or tell about your art and what you’re working on.
- Studio & turns 12 this Friday. Join in the celebration from 5-9pm at the gallery.
- The Powder Hounds online art auction is live, until Saturday at 10pm.
- The Scrapbook Nook has a week full of classes and projects, if you’re looking for something creative to do. Call them to reserve your spot.
- Create Art & Tea has classes and workshops coming up. Check them out and reserve your spot here.
- We’ve greatly enjoyed testing these new products from Viviva – sketch pads and watercolor colorsheets. Add water to the color sheets (color scale shown was made with the sheets) and paint away. They describe both notebooks as sketchbooks but we swear they’re describing them wrong – they take watercolor wonderfully!
Practice doesn’t have to be results-oriented. There are times when you’re “out of practice” and “practicing” looks more like doodling – providing the time and space for you to become reacquainted with your materials, a process, or even yourself.
No matter what form your practice might take, you need to schedule time for it. Practice is what makes you good at your art. And, as always, the world needs you and your art!
Cheers!
Matthew & the Art Supply House crew