Art Ways and Whys

This is your brain on art

There’s the art you make that comes easy and the art that comes hard. There’s room for both, advantages to both, and a need for both. Easy art relies heavily on confidence, assurance, and muscle memory. Hard art creates doubts, uncertainty, and frustration. And yet, it can be the most rewarding. Are you brave enough to find out?

Meet 90-year-old Sheila Hicks. My new role model.

I don’t want to go do something I know how to do. I want to go do something I don’t know how to do. I don’t want a legacy. I just want to have fun while I’m here. Sheila Hicks

Sheila has a legacy, whether she wants one or not. She prefers to constantly challenge herself by pursuing new artistic techniques and experiences rather than sticking to the familiar methods she's already mastered. She thrives on the unknown and the process of learning something new.

This could be you, out with the old and in with the new. You actually can teach an old dog new tricks. Hear me out. I have this theory that we age faster when we decide to slow down and settle into our old(er) age by choosing certainty, comfort, and ease over making an effort to start or learn something new. Scientists agree. (I wanted to make sure my theory was correct.)

Kendra Cherry, MSEd. says research shows that the phrase “use it or lose it” applies to our brain, aka cognitive functioning. I’ve been using that phrase in reference to my hands, too. Unused muscles, neurons, and skills can be forgotten. “Cognitive function can decline because you’re doing less complicated tasks and the demands on the brain are lower,” says Mayo Clinic expert Prashanthi Vemuri, Ph.D., who researches the brain and neurodegenerative disorders. Sheila Hicks is still going strong because she’s been consistent in learning, innovating, and experimenting over her 70 years career. I’m inspired.

I now realize that I decided to go on an adventure and try something new this year because I missed the challenges I faced while creating the quilts for my exhibition last year. As hard as it was sometimes, I enjoyed problem-solving as I worked to turn my quilt visions into reality. I could have made it easier by working small, as I’ve done for 25+ years. I’m totally comfortable with that and can almost do it with my eyes closed. Doing the art I’ve done all these years is fun and relaxing, and I know I’ll have a successful outcome. It brings joy. I can turn to it anytime I want to.

But there is still a spark (or two or ten) that I want to ignite. I want a new challenge. I want more aha! moments, more puzzles to solve. I want to take chances, be brave, and discover what lies beneath or above my skill level. It’s hard art because I don’t yet know where I am going or how to get there. There is no leap without doubts, but Doubt and I are on good speaking terms now, and we are getting good at working together. Something wonderful will come of this. Of that, I am sure.

As Shiela would say, “It’s music to my eyes.” I’ll let her have the last word in this 4.5-minute video. Hopefully, you will be inspired to tackle some hard art, too. What do you think?

Quotes of the Week

Boldness has genius, power and magic. Engage, and the mind grows heated. Begin, and the work will be completed.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

People give up if they don’t have a goal. When you’re young you have all these goals, but then you start dropping them and wanting to stay with the status quo. That ages you. When people have meaning in their lives, when they have a purpose, that’s more anti-aging than anything.
Dr. Andrew Steele

PS. I had my first (right hand) carpel tunnel surgery on Friday. Fortunately, the first post-op instructions is to use your fingers right away, and I have been with no pain. I’m thrilled. Today it’s bandage off, bandaid on.