Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven’s sake.
~ Kurt Vonnegut
I couldn’t sleep last night so I got up and read Austin Kleon’s new book, Keep Going. It’s a quick read and one that I will definitely be working through again. I love the idea that the creative journey is ongoing (like Groundhog Day) – more of a lifelong marathon than a sprint. Isn’t that encouraging? Tomorrow is always another day and we get another chance to keep making our thing.
- This week’s artist – Andy Goldsworthy – Works as both sculptor and photographer. He crafts his installations out of rocks, ice, leaves, or branches, cognizant that the landscape will change, then carefully documents the ephemeral collaborations with nature through photography. “It’s not about art,” he has explained. “It’s just about life and the need to understand that a lot of things in life do not last.” Working with such transient materials and locations, I greatly appreciate the nature of Andy’s work – how much of this has to be done for himself, for the sake of doing. It would certainly be fun to stumble across such a construction while out on the trail…
- The Scrapbook Nook has a variety of classes this week: Thursday and Tuesday at 1 they will be making cards with some awesome specialty papers! Saturday there won’t be a class due to Easter weekend. Their April art contest has been announced!
- If you haven’t been yet, you can still see the SAQA trunk show at Stitch this Saturday. (But this is your last chance!) Find out more at Stitch’s website.
- Early Release Mondays Art Classes for middle and high school students are offered by the Durango Art Center. Enjoy 2 full hours of creative, non-judgmental, ART FUN! Each week students will discover a new art medium, a new artistic skill, and study some of the greatest artists of all time! Draw, paint, sculpt and create! All materials, snacks, instruction and inspiration are included. Mondays from 3:30-5:30.
- The opening reception for Studio & Gallery‘s new juried show, Truth, is Friday from 5-9.
- Have you visited the Durango Railroad Museum? It’s hidden behind the rail yard. Of course, there are bits of train history, but so much more! Discover a plane from 1913, local artists’ work, learn more about native animals, and the history of our town. Hours are listed at the bottom of this page and entrance is free. If you want some sketching practice with models who won’t move, this is a great opportunity!
- Growing up, I spent a lot of time in the library. I still like to spend time there (or in a book store), wandering the aisles and seeing what I happen to discover. Austin Kleon shares some thoughts about being more intentional in what we consume in his post More Search, Less Feed.
- It’s been some time since I’ve talked about the Town Plaza Mural, but this evening is the Mural Celebration Party from 5-6. Hope to see you there! You might have seen a mention on the news…
- The oldest figurative art. Humans have been drawing for quite some time!
- One of the ideas in Keep Going, is to “Forget the noun, do the verb”. I think that the Equal Odds Rule explains that concept perfectly!
- There are only a few days left to enter our second art contest – so send in your entry! You can see the contest details here and all of the current entries here.
- In conjunction with last week’s watercolor sketching kits, we have also brought in some different watercolor paper options. From affordable Arches pads to Fluid 100 blocks we have a few different options for you to choose from.
In the last section of Keep Going, Austin writes about creativity having seasons, and about them being different for everyone. It can be hard to be patient in the off-seasons and comfortable with the bursts of output in the growing-seasons. Over the course of a creative life, however, it all works out and makes sense for each of us as individuals. Ultimately, we should be doing our creative work for ourselves – to help us grow, heal, expand, learn, and explore.
Are you making time to create this week?.
Cheers!
Matthew & the Art Supply House crew
P.S. – Thanks for reading! If you like this newsletter, please forward it to a friend.If you’d like to receive a weekly newsletter in your email, you can subscribe below.