The Motivational Holy Trinity

Peering through the Jungle, 2014

“Each artist expresses through art his unique way of experiencing life.
This is the essence of creation.
Through our art we bring into existence something that did not previously exist.
The creative process fulfills our need to express our experience.
And if the expression has been true, we will feel a sense of completion and satisfaction.”

(Loori, 2004, p.84)

Madder Moon exhibition, Singapore 2013

"We do things because they're interesting. 
We do things because we like them, because they're inherently gratifying. 
We do things because we get better at them, because they're the right thing to do, 
or because they're part of a larger purpose."

(Pink, 2010)

Loori and Pink artfully surmise why we engage in the creative process, why we decided to become artists, designers, writers, performers. I am motivated to be creative because creativity is challenging by nature, I feel stimulated and excited when approaching a new task or learning new things. There is said to be a holy trinity of motivation, outlined by three key points. Are you unmotivated by your creative pursuits because you overlooked one? Apparently it’s not all about you.

Autonomy . I did this myself...!

Mastery . I’m getting really good at this...!

Purpose . I did this for a cause greater than myself...!

Loori, J.D (2004) The Zen of Creativity; Cultivating your Artistic Life. Ballantine Books: New York, USA
Pink, D. (2010) Drive: the surprising truth about what motivates us. RSA Animation [Online] Accessed 09/06/2014 from, http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=SG&hl=en-GB&v=u6XAPnuFjJc
Wills. E. (2013) Peering through the Jungle. [Online] Accessed 23/06/2014 from, http://www.surface122.blogspot.com/

Synonymal Blend

Instead of using one word to describe something, I blur the two. Synonymal Blend is a term I came up to explain this unconscious blending of two synonyms. I'm not sure if there is an actual word that exists to explain this - I couldn't find one...

Synonym (noun)

1. A word having the same or nearly the same meaning as another word or other words in a language.

Blend (verb)

1. To combine or mix so that the constituent parts are indistinguishable from one another

Synonymal describes a words synonymous quality with another word. Blend is the process of combining two elements to make a new, fully merged outcome.

Synonymal Blend (adjective) therefore describes the process of mixing two existing words that have similar meanings to create a new word. This sometimes happens as a slip of the tongue and/or mind, and can be intentional - where chillout and relax become “chillax”, or accidental - when scratch and itch become “stritch”.

In my own creative practice I am less likely to use the actual term synonymal blend, but rather could look at ways of combining synonyms to describe aspects of my work in new ways, using new words. Examples; drawing and sketching could become “skrawing”, or doing an illustration using embroidery could become “peneedling”.

Other examples... please add your own synonymal blends

Frantic + Energy = Frenergy

Jazz + Dancing = Jancing

Hiccup + Cough = Hiccough

http://thefreedictionary.com

Subtractive Poetry + Fashion

 DUSEN DUSEN in Frankie Magazine, 2014

90's terrified our wardrobes with socks and chambray.

COLENIMO in Frankie Magazine, 2014

Ladies motor-racing pioneer broke vintage fingernails.

Personal Creativity Manifesto

“...without a manifesto, we cannot conceive the future.” (Kyes, 2008)

The artists’ manifesto can be defined as a “document of an ideology, crafted to convince and convert.” (Caws, 2000) On a more personal level, the artist manifesto is an individual document written to inspire, challenge and motivate. It can help the author to articulate the parameters of their creative practice and what philosophies the process is built upon. 

I haven’t written a personal creativity manifesto as yet. But I have identified that having an engaging narrative supporting creative ideas is at the core of my creative practice. Seth Godin's (2009) tribe building theory is underpinned by the central aim to tell a story that connects with its audience and creates a sense of community.

Daniel Pink says that storytelling is important because as “facts become so widely available and instantly accessible, each one becomes less valuable. What begins to matter is the ability to place these facts in context and to deliver them with emotional impact.” (Pink, 2009) Narrative therefore helps to generate interest in ideas, and provides people with a story with which they can subscribe to.

Godin says that we are searching for meaning and a tribe to ascribe to, articulating that we "are living through and are right at the key moment of a change in the ways ideas are created, and spread, and implemented." He calls this the ‘time of Tribes' – which is defined by storytelling, ‘connecting people and ideas.’ (Godin, 2009) The objectives for my creative projects are underpinned by Seth Godin’s leadership theory of building a tribe, described by his four steps; Telling a Story, Connecting like minded people, Leading the movement to Make Change. 

Telling a Story

For my projects to be successful they must connect or resonate with their audience. 
Godin and Pink see a future defined by shared storytelling, a way to connect like-minded 
people and ideas.

Connect Like-minded people

Projects are interactive and experiential, helping to cultivate a wide audience.

Collaboration is key. Projects share visions, and contributors bring a variety of skills from 
different disciplinary backgrounds.

Leading the Movement

Be exemplary and step into the unknown as a role model, mentor and guide.

Make Change

Ensure the projects have longevity and new ideas can keep being adapted from previous ideas.

Challenge creative thinking processes in order to find new connections and propose 
new cross-disciplinary relationships. 

Caws, M.A. (2000) Manifesto: A Century of Isms. University of Nebraska Press: USA.
Godin, S. (2009) The Tribes we Lead. TED Talks [Online] Accessed 20/06/2014, from http://www.ted.com/talks/seth_godin_on_the_tribes_we_lead 
Kyes, Z. (2008) Manifesto’s of the Future. e-flux [Online] Accessed 20/06/2014 from, http://www.e-flux.com/journal/manifestos-for-the-future/#_ftn5 
Pink, D. (2005) A Whole New Mind; Moving from the Information Age to the Conceptual Age. Riverhead, Penguin Books: USA.

Subtractive Poetry

 “When you cut into the present, the future leaks out.”

William Burroughs

I thought it would be interesting to set parameters when playing with newspaper blackouts, and so I combined subtractive poetry with six word memoirs. I chose to black out text from a series of 'News in Brief' stories and to reduce these down to six of the original words to tell a new story.  This is a tool that could be applied to assist in the creative naming of artwork, exhibitions, or personal design philosophies.

Six word memoirs are a concentrated form of storytelling. The idea is that stories can be communicated effectively and more poetically through a limited word count. Writing six word memoirs is fun and addictive, finding the six magical words within one short newspaper story is even better.

http://www.smithmag.net/sixwords/

Chinatown Vinyl Squad

Kult Magazine showcased a series of artworks at a group exhibition at Zui Hong Lou Bar ‘Chinatown Vinyl Squad’ over the weekend. Inspired by vintage Chinese vinyl record covers from the 70's and 80's, twenty-five local and international artists mixed mediums to draw, paint, silkscreen and collage new pieces of art. Launched in conjunction with Kult Magazine's 13th Issue - Memory, these artworks represent a "time traveling mash-up" of culture.

Long Beach : The Showdown

Chilli versus Pepper Crab inspired digital collage from last weekend's Chinatown Vinyl Squad are for sale online at Kult Store.

  

Limited Edition of 25 signed prints, $150, framed $200 

http://store.kultmagazine.com.sg/product/long-beach-the-showdown

https://www.facebook.com/events/1449585161941812/

Sketchbooking

Packing up house and flicking through my old sketchbooks. It's interesting to see what you were playing with creatively in the past to see if there are links between then and now. These illustrations were playing with with line and shadows. For nothing in particular, would be fun to play with double journal; use these as a basis for something new integrating text or colour.

Molly Wallis 2010

Molly Wallis 2010