# 2

Yikes, my word of the week. Well blog entry # 2 and going well, I am getting into this idea of where creativity comes from and more importantly how to sustain it, I have a couple of great books that Dan put me onto The Artists Way is one and Uncommon Genius is another.

Right now I am taking a 12 week intensive course in developing creativity and thats via the Artists Way book, week 1 is all about doing these things called Daily Pages where you start the day by doing 3 pages of handwriting on whatever topic you want, you are not supposed to read the previous entries or dwell on them-be negative, happy, disgusted, angry do and say as you please. This apparently strips back the confusion and allows the multiple personalities that we all have time to have their say for the day - the dreamer, the skeptic, the angry fucker, the goof-ball etc, let them all out and then what you are left with is more clarity and less competition in your head for clarity. I have just started and done one and today the day started off shithouse but I intend on doing them now, better late than not at all I figure.

Also this book say that 1-2hrs per week must be spent on doing something solo, something totally that you love to do whether it be looking at shops, taking photos, reading, etc etc that is purely aimed to re-fill the well of ideas and inspiration that is tapped into when an artist works. I am actually planning on going to a book-store in Eumundi tomorrow after work for that exact reason.

I have not really got into this book yet but it looks great and what i have read so far is really interesting such topics as "encouraging luck" "learning through doing" "setting up the conditions" etc. It seems about how to build and sustain a creative endeavour, really great. So this week i have kicked off and am going well with my goals for blog entries and reading and so on, I did not expect to supplement that with additional work coming from the above book but I feel its all connected and all will feed into my practice. Perhaps my practice will become about practice itself - what is it and how to sustain it? Interesting thought.

So the week ahead - going to get some timber to make some kind of contraption on Monday in my studio time. Have the weekend at Caloundra and if I am really going well start on some of those line-canvases here on Friday night, hopefully do a sketch of someone on the weekend at Caloundra so I can carry on with the portrait idea next week at the home studio, then next Thur back to work on this wooden thing whatever it turns out to be with blogs, morning papers in between. Sounds good. Camera has gone off to get fixed but hopefully I can do some video stuff again seeing how I am all set up now for that - I am keen to video some grass blowing in the breeze - sounds dreadfully boring but I think I can see something there worthwhile.