Back to Basics?

Visual arts have always been an important part of my life, both in creating my own art and craft work, and exploring that of others. It’s always fascinated me that something so simple such as brush strokes on canvas are able to evoke such emotional responses. To look at a piece of art and feel a sense of joy, or despair, or empathy, or gain new perspectives on life, culture and society, art is an incredibly powerful tool. The creation of art is empowering, giving freedom of expression, a way to communicate feelings and emotions that simply can’t be described with words. Visual arts are a vital component in our lives and everyone should have access to explore them.

About a decade or so ago I started a new hobby, a new outlet for my artistry. I did silversmithing, I experimented with the material, trying out different techniques, seeing what unusual creations I could come up with and making jewellery for myself or family and friends. After a few years my hobby became my business, I enjoyed it a lot, but I became so busy making for events and building my stock I could barely find time to be creative anymore. If I got one new range out in a year I was doing really well. I found myself in an artistic slump.

Having now made the switch back to web design in order to fulfil our desire for a slomad lifestyle, I have an opportunity to re-ingnite some of that creative passion and delve into the world of visual arts once again.

Of course my job now does involve being creative, a technically functional website is great, but nothing without a beautifully designed layout that draws people in, guides them through a process and gives them confidence in a product or service. But I’m old school, I need something tangible, something that exists in the real world to satisfy the crafter in me.

I haven’t done any real drawing or painting for years, I used to be quite good but I worry I’ve forgotten how to do it. My process for jewellery designing tended to be three dimensional, there would be the odd sketch of an idea but they were mostly developed while working with the material itself. So where do you start after such a long time?

Back to basics? Grab a sketch book, some pencils, a fruit bowl and a vase? Start with the classic still life? I used to really enjoy doing portraits, perhaps I could try that. Or do I look to learn a brand new artform? After A-levels in art and design, a foundation art course, a degree in glass and ceramics and a silversmithing business, I’ve covered quite a lot but there’s always more to explore. I’ve never tried lampwork glass, I quite fancy giving that a go.

But before I get ahead of myself, I need to keep it simple and rebuild some confidence, be brave and just start drawing again and see where it takes me. I’ll let you know how it goes…