Drawing Connections
Insights from psychology and cognitive science on making art and thriving as artists
People are designed to be curious just like greyhounds are designed to run. Both can probably still survive if those natural tendencies are caged, but they are unlikely to flourish. How does curiosity help us be our best selves? What can we do to free our curiosity if we find it has been caged through neglect, complacency, or an inhospitable environment?
Just like the pain of hunger is a signal to feed our bodies, the pain of boredom is a signal to feed our brains. Boredom cries out for mental engagement but it doesn’t tell us how or with what. The big businesses of the attention economy are more than happy to provide quick and easy short term boredom balms, but these rarely enrich us. How can we learn to listen to our boredom and reach for something that is more nourishing in the long run?
The pleasurable state of mind between the known and the unknown, between familiarity and exploration, is where creativity flourishes and discoveries are made. How can you cultivate this state of mind and what can it do for you?
Like Jello and cement, once our minds are set they are hard to change. This has certainly been true of my “paint scarcity” mindset in the studio. One alternative to trying to think ourselves into a new mindset is to look to the environment for help. This is just what I did when I set out to shift my paint scarcity mindset by creating a micro-environment of abundance.
Environment matters. It’s easier to get daily exercise in a city that is designed for walking than one that is designed for driving. It’s easier to eat a healthy diet if that is what’s on the menu. And it’s easier to learn a language in a city that immerses you. Unfortunately, that is not Barcelona. In my ongoing effort to tip to Spanish fluency, I find myself wondering if I can tweak my environment in order to offload some of the learning burden from my own waning willpower.
I’m feeling grateful and pleased that my painting, Head On Again, recently won first place at the 2024 Cold Wax International Juried Exhibition. Grateful, pleased and … lucky. What does luck have to do with it?
Is it really fear we feel when we worry about what other people think about us or our work? Reframing “fear” in this context as “vulnerability” helps identify a range of useful strategies for thriving in an uncertain social environment.
Is it really fear we feel when we are in situations where we don’t know what we’re doing? Reframing “fear” in this context as “confusion” can help us identify a broad range of strategies for what to do when we feel out of our depth.
Is it fear that artists and writers feel when facing the blank canvas or page? Reframing fear in this context as uncertainty about how to make a start or keep going can help us identify concrete ways to become unstuck.
Sometimes what we label as fear is really uncertainty, confusion, or vulnerability. Read on to learn how reframing fear can lead to problem-solving solutions that are more useful than the vague encouragement to “be brave.”
In this short post, I reflect on the recent drivers of change in my artwork.
Practice strategies you can use to turbo-charge the knowledge construction that underlies expertise.
The problem with categorizing art and why I’ve decided to drop the “fine.”
Six strategies for maximizing your online art experience.
Can we consciously change the way we subconsciously think?
Writing is a great way to explore and clarify your own understanding of your artwork and art practice.
How can we outsmart our brains so that we draw what is there instead of what we think is there?
I have been interested in observing people and making art as far back as I can remember. Now, I’m combining these interests in my new blog.
Uncertainty brings its own kind of mental pain. And the temptation to avoid it – even when it is part of learning and discovery – can be hard to resist. Whether we cling to familiar shores out of a sense of self-preservation, love, or entitlement, we often end up limiting our own opportunities for learning, discovery, and personal growth. How can we change our environments or our own mindsets to support us while we swim in deeper waters?