Ok, so I have been doing alot of procrastinating recently. Life just kind of, well, gets in the way. So here are some of my doodles / visual explosions that ultimately, but sometimes painstakingly slowly, unravels the brain.
And then I began some self portraits for the first time ever…
If nothing else, undeniably cathartic… thank goodness for creative outlets.
Ok, so experimentation continues apace. You just never know where the journey will take you, I mean, who knew I would be dabbling with a film approach?
Not sure where this is going at the moment, if anywhere, but I am really mesmerized by this at the moment. Just need to sit back and question what it is that captures me?
Take a look (note…this is a slow reveal!).
Devil’s bit scabious from Howeunique on Vimeo.
Serendipity has for some time been my favourite word. I have, for the last couple of years, based my process around the delights that serendipity can bring. So, how wonderful when exploring a new theme for some work…that these have caught my attention… Of course, what this now means is my mind is wandering along an altogether new path and i am very much enjoying the journey 🙂
Gosh, hasn’t it been a while! Finally got a window to catch up on blogs, chats and other delicious activities that we tend to sideline a little when the pressures on.
Ok, so I have managed to shoehorn a few working days in the studio, resulting in playful activity and generally trying to remember what old books feel like. So here we are, a couple of examples of those playful days… looking forward to getting back down to some more intensive studio activity… so many ideas bubbling, so little time!
Ok, so as I am sure most if not all artists have a period of ‘stuckness’, this one has attached itself… viscous and difficult to dissolve.
I have ideas.
I even have experiments on the go, yet that familiar shroud of disengagement clouds my sight. So what do I do to move forward, lift the obstructive veil… I delve into automatic writing processes and doodling. Where this goes and what this does in terms of moving me on, I am unsure. What I do know is that it does loosen and distract, sometimes for hours ( the guilt of this weighs heavily into the dilemma).
So here are a couple of the latest distractions… to muse or perhaps amuse, but there is something significant about acknowledging this as ‘all part of the process’ by posting here… I think?
Ok, so another couple of new work additions… one sold already (that’s got to be a record for me!). It made me think quite a bit about how I remain connected to my work and that it is intrinsically part of who I am. My knee jerk reaction to someone wanting to purchase it was ‘oh, but I haven’t had long enough to sit with this and reflect.’ I realise that it doesn’t necessarily have to be with me for that to happen… a strange emotion all the same… Made me smile (that and some cold hard cash in my hand!).
Sometimes the work flows with the greatest of ease in a delicious almost unstoppable outpouring. Sometimes it’s like prising out the stone from an unripe peach.
Is the fact that work is born from different mind sets could dramatically alter the value and reception of what is produced?
Ah… well… some work ongoing…
So, I having been practicing as an artist for the last five years and only now having the confidence to really start getting my work out there… I have been much more proactive recently in connecting with groups, organisations and generally becoming a little more present. I recently have been selected on Axis, a really good arts organisation in the UK. I have just been selected alongside another artist to be Axis choice this week (by the Axis curatorial team). How very exciting and a great confidence boost!
Check it out here.
In the mean time… been very busy in the studio, riding on the coast of a terrific creative wave, or should that be flow?
Work in progress shots coming soon…
Ah, as is so often the case, balancing the workload between educational practice and studio development is a difficult thing. The practicalities are that I can diarise the day or indeed days in the week when I can focus on my practice, develop the work and produce hopefully an outcome that fits what I am trying to communicate. Needless to say, what sometimes happens on these days, is that I find myself devoid of any creative thought/passion/drive.
Alas… I cannot afford to put aside a day/days in the week for general mooching (though in hindsight… there could be benefits to this process, no matter how frustrating)!
So, I am developing a way forward, knowing that what has unlocked me many a time before is automatic mark making or writing. I am now utilizing this approach but with a scalpel in hand and a book under my fingers.
Interesting results.
Jo Howe-Artist 
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