Are You an Explorer, Artist, Judge or Warrior?

For free downloads go to: www.melissaklein.com

Art Lab Info:
http://kleinart.blogspot.com/2014/01/art-lab-live-your-artistic-dream-invest.html

ARTiculate Your Story Info:
http://kleinart.blogspot.com/2014/01/articulate-your-story-your-story-is.html


Happy Sunday Everyone!

A quick heads up - the Waterfront Park Community Center likes to have their registration for the classes at least five days in advance of the actual class. So - if you are considering taking either the Art Lab or the ARTiculate class, now is the time to register. 

I designed the classes so they can be taken either individually or as a series. For the greatest impact, it’s best to take them as a series, but if you can only make one - or simply want to try it out for one instead of making the commitment for the ‘whole enchilada’ that is OK.

I am also offering the opportunity that if you bring a friend, then the 2nd person gets half off - just mention it to the registrar on the phone and she will figure out the math.

Consider this - we are at the time of the year when many brilliant New Year’s resolutions have fallen by the wayside. Reconnect to your creativity and put it at the heart of your day. Meet others who can support your growth. Learn new mindset tools and strategies for bringing your light into the world.

3 Easy Ways to Register

1. Online Register for classes with our WebTrac system, and submit credit card payment online. Registration is processed immediately, and you can print your confirmation form and receipt. For more info on online registration click here: http://www.biparks.org/programsandclasses/onlineregistration.html. Online registration is by far the best way of getting the classes you want! You will need your user name and password to register. If you can't remember them, call at least a day before registration begins! 842-2306 ext 118.


2. Drop Off Bring your completed registration form and payment to the Strawberry Hill Park District Office or the Aquatics Center. You will find a registration form in your printed brochure, or you can download a registration form here: http://www.biparks.org/programsandclasses/documents/winter/registration.pdf.


3. Phone In Give us a call at (206) 842-2306, ext 118.  mention the 2 for the price of 1 and a half deal.

By the way - the Waterfront Park people are really wonderful and very friendly.

Best,

-Melissa

Diving into the Mist by Melissa Klein 5”x7” framed $125

Are You an Explorer, Artist, Judge or Warrior?

by Melissa Klein

There were some strong responses to my last article about “Who are YOU to judge?” - and it was great to have the discussion. The comments by Sue Bielka were so insightful that I asked to incorporate her words into this article.  

One of the most helpful frameworks that I’ve come across to understand creativity is by Roger von Oech in the book “A Kick in the Seat of the Pants” http://www.amazon.com/Kick-Seat-Pants-Explorer-Creative/dp/0060960248/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1391923086&sr=8-1&keywords=a+kick+in+the+seat+of+the+pants

He defines the creative process as four basic modes: Explorer, Artist, Judge and Warrior. 


EXPLORER
Defining ideas, brainstorming and just generally gathering information.

ARTIST
Taking information and creating, arranging - playing with the material. In the groove of making the project happen.

JUDGE
When you step back and evaluate - Is this working? Do I need to change this? Scrap that? Add something?

WARRIOR
Taking your work out into the world - a show, submit it for a portfolio review, post it on Facebook…

"Oh Dang! Here come those twits Snow White and Rapunzel - it's all hair and boys, boys and hair…. Someday I will have to kill them." 

by Melissa Klein 5”x7” framed $125

Shifting between Roles
While this is roughly the chronological order of the creative process - in any project it’s typical to shift between these roles.

Especially between the Artist and Judge. Based on what your inner judge says, you would go back to re-creating and reforming the piece as an Artist. After you present your ideas to the world - let’s say Facebook, someone makes a helpful suggestion which you decide to incorporate into the work. Back to the drawing board. Or perhaps you realize you need more information to finish the work; put on the explorer hat again.

Nude by Melissa Klein

Pitfalls
The main challenge is understanding when you need those roles most without letting them interfere with each other. When starting a project, many creative people go into the “Judge Mode” and skip the Explorer and the Artist. One assignment in my Commercial Art class is to draw a self-portrait. One of my new students got set up with a mirror and sat there stuck…. There were a few lines on his paper, but it was otherwise blank. I went over to him and he gave me a list of all the things that he does wrong when he draws a self-portrait - it doesn’t turn out symmetrical, his jawline is off etc… HIs judge stepped in and was really beating him up about things that he hadn’t done. He wasn’t trying to get out of the assignment; he really wanted to do a great job on it. He wasn’t lazy. I told him to kill his judge (and that they always come back like zombies.) He did, and did some beautiful work that really, really looked like him. I’m so proud of him. Tomorrow, he will probably have to kill that Judge again.

Another one of my students, who does some incredible work - has a hard time finishing projects. Right before the deadline of a show, is when she goes into her Explorer mode - she looks up cool ideas on the internet, and decides that she wants to do those projects in addition to what she already has going, but “Don’t worry! I will get it all done in time!” Uh….. not without a lot of stress and late nights, and not to it’s best quality.


TIPS

Explorer - Mostly for the beginning and sometimes the middle of a project if it’s clear that more information is needed

Pitfalls: Getting sucked into the "bright, shiny object" syndrome - particularly when a project is nearing completion.

Artist - The heart of the project - give this one the most time and the most free rein. Double the time that you think it will take for this one.

Pitfalls: Other roles interfering with the Artist - particularly the Judge. Keep that space sacred for the Artist.

Judge - Kill your judge if he/she comes in too early in the project - and like zombies and vampires, they come back from the dead. Or if that’s too much, reschedule your judge - tell them to come back when the project is at a later stage. The judge is not a bad thing - I really value being able to take a critical eye to my work - but not as I’m trying to create.

Pitfalls: Not listening to the judge when you need to, that nagging question of “Gee, the anatomy of the hand looks awkward… but it’s OK! (when it really does need to be fixed). Or I really should re-write that passage or get rid of it, but…. I won’t!"

A Ninja & His Posse by Melissa Klein 6”x6” framed $125

Warrior - Many artists who struggle to bring their work out into the world need to meet their inner warrior. It’s not that you need to go to war with the world over your work, it’s that you need to be able to take both rejection and appreciation. It’s the public face. It’s the scary phone call, the post, the email, the application. 

Have a mental posse. Mentally take your friends, dogs, horses, cats with you as your companions if that helps. Suit up - put on your armor of things you feel good about. 

Think about someone you admire who was able to put themselves out there - my father was an extrovert (I’m more introverted) and enjoyed promoting his cause for Gardens and Arboretums - below is a photo taken for the Philadelphia Inquirer by Nick Kelsh where he had to climb a tree 40 feet off the ground. I remind myself that he’s in me - I can find that side.

Pitfalls: avoidance tactics and procrastination. Accept that not everyone will love what you do - but there are many who will. They deserve to see your work.

Bill Klein - Photo by Nick Kelsh & article “I was thinking about Leprechauns” 
http://howtophotographyourlife.com/what-was-i-thinking/i-was-thinking-about-elves/ And check out Nick's website it's a wealth of information about photography http://howtophotographyourlife.com/nicks-tips/about-nick-kelsh-2/

Right Brain/Left Brain Evidence & Inspiration

Here’s a really beautiful story that Sue Bielka shared about her creative process - and what it feels like to really engage the Artist who resides mostly in the Right Brain:

As a current transition coach, once career artist, this is near and dear to my heart. There is a lovely book called My Stroke of Insight, by Dr. Jill Bolte-Taylor that explores what it’s like in the right-brained world. If you haven't heard of her, check out her Ted talk http://www.ted.com/talks/jill_bolte_taylor_s_powerful_stroke_of_insight.html as well. She is a brain specialist who experienced a ruptured aneurysm in the left hemisphere of her brain, in the language center. For a number of years she lived in the right side of her brain while the left repaired itself. The critic was gone. Yay! She said she lived in this beautiful world of pure creation. On the outside, it looked as if nothing of the old Jill existed, but on the inside she was learning about the intricate workings of the brain. Fascinating.

I too had a brain aneurysm when I was 18 and experienced some of what she talked about, although mine was in the back of my head so I didn't lose my speech center. Back then, I didn't know what was happening to me, but some 30 years later, after hearing her words, I was able to relax into what I'd experienced. I decided to play around with my right brain to see if I could consciously open myself to that bliss. I wanted to find a way to get back to that feeling of pure creation.

I was painting the basement of the Children's Museum in their old location. We (my assistant and I) were painting a coral reef and all the sea life on the walls. I was going to paint a sea turtle in a certain spot. I had my reference pictures and my paint and brushes ready then I allowed myself to go into that relaxed, non-judgmental space and just played with light, color and shape. I allowed myself not to worry about painting a perfect turtle. I knew I could always paint it out if my experiment didn't work. I slid so far into my right brain that I couldn't speak later when I was spoken to. (I'd always judged that before too!) When I looked back at what I'd painted on the wall, there was a gorgeous sea turtle there. I hadn't consciously painted it from my will but instead I let it paint me! I was shocked. I'd been in total bliss and there was the result.

I certainly think there is a time and a place for judging in the world of art, but I think we need to spend more time in the early years of schooling on pure creation. So much of our schooling is placed in competition and achievement. The thing is, we live in a very masculine world that is competition based. My work is about bringing forth in women more feminine energy in order to balance the world in which we live. Unfortunately, many women have a knee jerk reaction to surrendering their competitive spirits because they're afraid they'll lose something in the process. My work is about showing them that they gain something far more valuable.

Her website is: www.suebielka-personalcoach.com

So - what role do you most identify with? What role do you struggle with? Please post below!

Thanks for reading - and I hope to see you this next weekend.

Best Wishes,

-Melissa

Who are YOU to Judge? From criticism to self-acceptance

If this article interests you - I will be giving a couple of workshops on 2/15 & 2/16 while go deeper into topics like this... Scroll to the end for more information.

Queen of the Terminal Stairs by Melissa Klein

Who are YOU to Judge?

by Melissa Klein

I was recently approached by a member of the Sequim Arts Association to judge their upcoming student show. It was an honor to be asked, but brought up a plethora of mixed emotions.  

I’m actually not a big fan of art competitions. While I recognize their value in helping artists gain recognition and exposure, I don’t like how by their very nature, they pit one artist against another. I don’t like how they really just reflect the whims and personal taste of the judges, and can intimidate audiences from loving the work that didn’t win because it’s considered inferior to the first place winner. And, imho - I’m a bit skeptical about how good they are at generating sales for artists. 

At their worst, competitions are simply a way for an organization to generate funds in the form of entry fees from artists who hope to gain some recognition, but they don’t really help their careers. Or while an organization might have good intentions, they are usually run by volunteers, and are sometimes not well organized. I’ve had my name misspelled on more than one occasion and had a difficult time getting it fixed (“No, really - I AM Melissa Klein! And it’s spelled…” ). Uh - not really good for getting good name recognition if it’s not spelled correctly.

The Cruelest One of All

One of my high school students is struggling. She works extra on her art at home. She’s thoughtful, considerate, kind. She’s engaged. She cares. She has good ideas and incorporates feedback well. She puts heart into her work, and her skills are strong. She does work that would earn “A’s” from me. IF it ever got in my inbox. But her work doesn’t get into the inbox because it doesn’t get finished. And it’s frightening how much she cares about what I and the world might think. She’s giving away her power. She has become paralyzed by both her own inner judge and fear about what others might think. Whatever I might think about her work, her inner judge will be far harsher than I would ever be as a teacher who sees my role as supportive. 

Mirror Mirror Who’s the Fairest of them All 

Comparison is the death of motivation. Recently I was hit with a triple-whammy of comparison blues: a person who had been in the same coaching program as I was (Christine Kane - and she’s awesome, here’s a link for that training https://christinekane.infusionsoft.com/go/cashflowcode/MelissaK) just announced on Facebook that she had hit 10,000 likes for her page “Modern Married.” Then I saw a training that Christine did which featured two other women’s businesses who also started at around the same time that I did - one who had tripled her income and another who is now making over 100K a year. Uh…. I’m at 41 Facebook likes (and thank you so much to the 41!) and nowhere near that income. 

The Shame Spiral

I started to beat myself up about it - “I have the same tools they do!  Why didn’t I work harder and take more advantage of the program? Why did I slack? What is wrong with me?” and make excuses: "They are different businesses and live in highly populated areas, and I’m in the boonies! They’ve been really doing their businesses for much longer!” 

There is nothing to gain from this, this is the path of pain. I am friendly with all of these women - it wasn’t easy for any of them; they all had their struggles. They had breakdowns and doubts. And they are all kind, generous and wonderful people.

Artist Heal Thyself

I flipped it, and started to celebrate all that I had accomplished in the last couple of years: leaving a full-time job in Sped, the district creating a new position for me to teach Commercial Art, the successful shows, commissions for the EPA, being included in a presentation at the Gates Foundation recently, the people who have bought and loved the work… There doesn’t need to be any shame here.

"You have to live spherically - in many directions. To accept yourself for what you are without inhibitions, to be open.” - Frederico Fellini

Photograph by Melissa Klein

The Lesson in Taco

About a year and half ago, we moved our horses to a friend's pasture to keep a lonely, ancient pony named Taco company. It was a win-win - we needed pasture, Taco needed company. April and Hawthorne are two gorgeous Percheron draft horses that we use for trail riding and spoiling. About eight years ago, we adopted April, who was pregnant, as a rescue horse from the drug industry. Taco was Taco. Taco didn’t compare himself - he was tiny and scruffy. He was delighted to have a herd. He just enjoyed things for what they were and while it’s hard to say what was going on in his head, I doubt if there was any “Oh! I wish I was….” Taco has gone on to that great pasture in the sky, I sorely miss him and will never forget the gift he brought to my life.

Me & Mini Me - Hawthorne & Taco, photograph by Melissa Klein

Finding the joy in the doing

“You exist only in what you do.” - Frederico Fellini

What brought you to love doing that work? Remember when you were five years old - or whenever that moment was that you went “This is cool! I love this!” Forget about the money that it’s supposed to bring in, forget about “the career” - you can think about that when you get ready for market. For now… do it for the pure pleasure. The only way to get better at something- is to do it.

Ride the ferris wheel.

Photograph by Melissa Klein

Kill Your Judge

In the movie 8 1/2 by Fellini, there’s a character who is a writer, always criticizing the main character who is a director. At one point the director fantasizes about hanging the writer, who then comes back in a later scene. 

I think that there’s a time and place for the judge, but not in the early stages of the creative process. Later, when it’s time to step back and reassess. I think of the inner judge as something you can “kill” many times, but it will always come back. Enjoy the respite and create during that time. It’s the brain trying to protect itself - like an overprotective parent who won’t let their child try anything to keep him or her from getting hurt - the result is that while nothing is lost, nothing is gained, and there is no joy. 

Photograph by Melissa Klein

Cultivate Resilience & Buoyancy

Brene Brown in "Gift of Imperfection” suggests writing down the things that you fear the most - and talk back to them. Acknowledge them and say that you will do it anyway. Own it instead of pushing it away. 

Celebrate accomplishments without any “buts…” Christine Kane (in her former career was as a muscian) talks about how she was able to land a gig opening for the opening act of the Olympics because the promoter was drunk at the time and in a moment of emotion, announced that she would do the spot. Who cares that that is how she got the spot? The main thing is that she did it - and it opened up new audiences who loved her work. Don’t apologize or explain away the accomplishment - sometimes we get lucky, but the hard work is still ours.

Breaking Eggs by Melissa Klein

I wound up not judging the student competition - we realized that there is a conflict of interest because some my students are submitting their work to the show. I gracefully bowed out with relief.

I don’t know if we are ever good enough… And I don’t know if we are ever done artistically. It’s both the joy and the frustration of this journey. Enjoy the ride!

Best,

-Melissa

Forward by Melissa Klein

PS - It’s really, really ironic because as I’m writing this - by coincidence, a song by Luke Dowler called “Good Enough” came on my iTunes. Check him out on NoiseTrade - he’s offering free downloads of his music and he will give 100% of his artist tip proceeds to the International Justice Mission. http://noisetrade.com/dowler/west' 

PPS - If this article interested you and you want to explore this more in-depth, I will be offering two workshop series ARTiculate which is about telling your story & ART LAB for supporting people with creative projects. It will be a combination of entertaining storytelling, art history, discussion and right-brain art exercises.

What are Right-Brain Exercises?

A picture is worth a thousand words and helps to galvanize your emotional forces to create positive change. Many times we become inundated with a tidal-wave of words or become demotivated by all of the “shoulds” in life - which make it hard to see things clearly.

Right-brain exercises are a playful use of visualization techniques to see concepts in a new light. Using simple materials like ink, paper, sand, collage, and doodling - you will be able to engage your visual side and have it communicate with you in a way that is outside of words and creates a clear picture of issue and new possibilities.

It’s not about creating art, its about using art to create a new perspective. — Melissa Klein

The Happy Factor

People get really happy when they are given permission to play like children before they knew if something is “good” or “bad” — they can’t fail. Remember the joy of mud pies before they were “dirty”? Accessing problems from a positive and humorous perspective is more motivating to create change.

Journal of Journey

Your Journal is included in the workshop and is something that you will take away with you as a physical reminder - and to add onto as you gain new insights. This is about creating lasting change and keeping inspired.

Space is limited - reserve your place!

Here is where you can apply for a scholarship - from Sue Barrington (director of the Waterfront Park Community Center):

"Scholarships for the Park District are done through HelpLine House, a local nonprofit a few blocks from here.  It requires a scheduled visit with a Social Worker there who fills out the financial application.  It is also a way for folks to find out about other free or discounted programs and services available to help here on the island."

http://www.helplinehouse.org/

Four Easy Ways to Register

1. Online at www.biparks.org. Registration is processed immediately, and you can print your confirmation form and receipt.

2. Drop Off your completed registration form and payment at the Strawberry Hill Park District Office (7666 NE High School Rd)

 or the Aquatics Center (8521 Madison Ave). No faxes or e-mail.

3. Mail In your form and payment to: BI Metro Park & Recreation District, PO Box 10010, BI, WA 98110

4. Phone In. Give us a call at (206) 842-2306, ext 118.

Credit cards accepted are Visa and Mastercard only.

See below for dates/tuition information

ART LABORATORY

WATERFRONT PARK COMMUNITY CENTER

370 Brien Dr SE, Bainbridge Isle, WA 98110

  

Monthly Saturdays 9am - 6 pm

  

February 15      April 26

March 22           May 17

                           June 28

  

$100 each class or $550 for the six month seminar.  Scholarships available.

  

Includes healthy refreshments to feed body and soul!

ARTiculate Your Story

WATERFRONT PARK COMMUNITY CENTER

370 Brien Dr SE, Bainbridge Isle, WA 98110

  

Monthly Sundays  12 - 5 pm

  

February 16                April 27

March 23                    May 18

                                      June 29

  

$60 each meeting or $330 for the six month class.  Scholarships available.

  

Includes healthy refreshments to feed body and soul!