Helen Wells, on YouTube, talked in a recent post about the fallow period between projects where she tries out disparate ideas and gathers information. For her it’s a generative stage; divergent thinking enables her to find connections & interests. Then she moves to convergent action and thinking – focusing in.
I recognise the divergent and convergent stages in my own practice but, for me, there’s another stage. Most, probably all, of my family is neurodivergent. While I don’t actively think of myself as neurodivergent, there’s certainly some pointers! One of those is a strong need to control my environment, particularly when I’m under pressure. There’s a lot happening at the moment, both in the wider world and in my own realm … not least that we take over the grazing block in less than a month.
That pressure manifests in my art practice. I’ve been making small abstract landscapes using collage and mixed media, and love the process. I’ve got 5 days at home to do my own thing over Easter. Am I creating new works? No … instead, I feel compelled to finish anything that’s lying around, from paintings to art journals. Sometimes, while I wait for multiple pages to dry, I clean out a draw or cupboard.
It feels good to complete things and start with a clean state. In one sense, this is solely completion, but in another way it IS an act of creation, because I’m creating the mentally and physical space for new works to emerge.
Cath Sheard Art 