Heartsong Studio

Hidden Messages

When a work of art grabs your attention, what’s really going on ?  It’s way more than the colours or shapes.  Something is getting into your heart.  It’s not always obvious, or even on purpose.   

Have you seen the film “Babel” ?  There are long scenes where only Arabic, Japanese, Spanish, or English are spoken, with no
translation at all.  The amazing thing is, you understand everything that’s being said !

How can this make sense, when I barely know a word of Arabic, Japanese or Spanish ?  

The same thing is getting through to you when you are powerfully attracted to a work of art.  Apart from the usual ways of “reading” a painting or sculpture, there is a certain something that is communicated to your heart.

In the movie, body language and facial expression played a large role, as well as the actor’s tone of voice.  Yet many of the roles played in Arabic were by non-actors. 

How did they communicate to us ? 
They actually lived the emotions in the roles. 

Just like in your art work, composition, nuance and tone play a part.  Yet if you feel little emotion, that’s what will be
communicated. 

Create any work of art and your state of heart will show, whether you intend it or not.  A certain something gets “spoken” from the heart of the artist, and “heard” in the hearts of the viewers.

You may not even be aware that emotion is there by your own hand.  Whatever your feelings for your subject, these will be communicated to your viewers without fail.  There are no wiggly lines in the air, but like gravity, it is unmistakable.

This is why a school assignment, no matter how well done, is seldom if ever effective in moving you.
 
You can try this experiment yourself.

Find a partner, and have a large sheet of paper to share, crayons or coloured pastels.  You are going to have a visual conversation. One of you starts with an “opening remark”.

There’s no talking, no drawing symbols, no hearts, no arrows, no stars, no lightening bolts, words, or numbers.  How will you “talk”?  You will invent the visual language as you take turns.

You’ll need to watch carefully with your heart as your partner works.  When done, it’s your turn and so on until the conversation feels complete.  Usually doesn’t take longer than 15 minutes.
Then you can talk !
 
Did you stay on your side of the paper, or did your marks touch ?
Did you take a leading role or follow her lead ? 
How did it feel to be seen / not to be seen ?
What did you talk about ?

Each time you do this exercise, it’s completely different.  And you always understand, on some level, what’s being “said”.

The point is to experience how powerful yet subtle communication takes place quite apart from the usually accepted forms.  You can be sure that whenever you make a work of art, the feelings in your heart get through.  By knowing this, you can make your work more effective. 

Get really clear in your heart from the start how you feel about your subject of choice.  Keep checking in to see how this changes
as you go.  Then watch as viewers warm to your hidden messages.

How’s your art making adventure going ?

I’m asking because I really want to know.  Whether you’re an experienced artist already years on this journey, an emerging
artist off and running, a beginner or a wanna-be who hasn’t quite started, you are on a path that is right for you. 

I know how pathways can go, sometimes straight, but more often curvy, steep, with the odd roadblock.  I also respect that it’s
these very difficulties which hold the biggest potential for insight and learning for each of us. 

Out of respect for your choosing this rewarding path, I am seeking your help to serve you better.  Some of these questions might jog your input, or bring up other areas of interest you’d like to suggest.

What is your biggest problem in moving ahead on your particular path right now ?

What’s your most important question to ask about art making ?

Do you have easy access to your heart’s wisdom ? 

Do you have an obsessive puzzle at the moment, or are you moving smoothly along ? 

Do you have a reoccurring bug-bear that keeps popping up to trip you time and again ?

What would you most love to see in articles about art ? 

What’s your biggest attraction / objection to art classes you’ve taken ? 

What do you value most in viewing others’ art ?

Can you “read” hidden meanings in your own art and learn from them ?

Especially if you have other ideas, interests, or problems you’d
like to see aired, please bring them on !

I really long to serve your needs and interests with Fresh Horses newsletters.  So you could help determine the type of articles which would quench your thirst the most.  What would refresh you ?

I’m all ears, er… eyes.
Please tell me how your art journey is going.
Write me at:  celeste@heartsongstudio.com

Celeste Varley
“Oh! for a horse with wings” -Shakespeare
Let our hearts sing and take flight!

Have you ever toyed with the fantasy of becoming famous with your art ? Come on now, buried in your innocent dreams of long ago ?  If you’ve decided it only happened long ago to the rare and gifted
few, read on for a real life story in :
“From potboilers to fame”

If you think that artistic fame comes only to those who are blessed from the start, then you’re normal. I shared this view until
recently. You might harbour lofty goals in your heart, but sticking to them with persistence takes a heap of a lot of faith.

It’s more than okay to have lofty goals and intentions. Nothing wrong with being motivated by what you love either. So, why does actually working towards your dream seem too much of a stretch ?

Many artists assume that they need to anticipate what people want, and make art that attracts and pleases people.

Recently, I heard an artist saying that every time she paints a sunset, it sells almost immediately. In her experience, that’s what people want.

The moment I heard that sunsets sell really well, a story my husband told me years ago, sprang to mind.
============================

Bill had a college friend, 55 years ago in Southern California, who was an art student. This friend, Jack, made a lasting impression on Bill because of his persistent devotion and just plain street smarts.

Jack made “pot boilers”, as he called them – paintings sold out of the back of his old van. Jack would pin a line of blanks on a
line. Then he’d go down the line, painting in all the horizons, then the sunsets, then the water, then the sailboats, and so on.

What a slick entrepreneur, huh ? That’s what I thought too. These pot boilers sold quick and cheap right off the street. They kept him in supplies so he could do his “real work” and continue taking classes at Scripps College, Claremont.

Jack paid his way through college by painting signs on grocery store windows. “Bread 14 cents”. He’d clean his brushes by wiping them on a spare tire in the back of his van.

One day, someone wanted to buy this tire with all its colourful brush wipes, so he
sold it ! He seemed to attract fame from the start.
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I always wondered what ever became of the gutsy Jack. Was he just a phoney street entrepreneur ? After all these years, I
decided to look him up. I googled Jack Zajac recently. 

What a surprise !

I was more than surprised to learn that he studied sculpture in Rome on several prestigious scholarships, and is still a very successful, internationally respected artist. At 78, his sculptures are shown in many world-renown galleries.

He made no pretensions about his sunsets being his life’s work. Jack never fashioned his real work on what he guessed would please people. From reading his biography, he always had very firm views on what his goals were.

Jack Zajac may have broken all the rules. . . except one. The most important one. He knew his calling and followed it, whatever
that took. He instinctively knew that his heart’s calling was always true.

We won’t all have such international acclaim and success as a Jack Zajac. Nor do we all have such single-minded devotion. Still, true stories in our time like Jack’s are inspiring. They show us what’s possible given the goal and intentions, the faith and
persistence.

We all have at least one true heart’s calling for doing what we do. Once you find it, there is no doubt. You’ll know it without
guessing. Not a long shot or daring, hunch or gut feeling, your true heart’s calling has always been quietly there, waiting for you
to join it.

Simply hoping won’t get you far. It’s not as powerful as expecting. An even bigger attractor of success is knowing.

How can you know ? Your knowing can grow stronger by finding an access to your
heart that works for you. Not just the organ that pumps your blood, but the centre of your core inside.

Whatever your true heart’s calling may be, have you ever longed to dance out of line; to break the usual rules and see where the call leads you ?

You don’t have to be stopped by the humble nature of your calling either.  If you’re a dish washer, be the best darned dish washer you can be !

If it’s fear that’s holding you back, think how you’ll feel 5, 10, or 20 years from now. Then get deeper into your heart and prepare to be surprised.

Next to hearing your true calling, taking sovereignty of it, making a commitment, living your clear intention are the most difficult.

The neat thing about art is, you can practice it at any age. True devotion is fraught with pitfalls and not for the faint of heart. But so is life.

“What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life ?”
Mary Oliver, poet

Here’s wishing you the courage to take flight and soar.

Celeste

Does an artist’s name on a work impress you ? Do you have, or wish you had, a known name in art, or are you uncomfortable signing your work ? Here’s an article that asks the age-old question:What’s in a Name ?How do you sign your artwork ? When you look at art in a gallery, do you look at the artist’s name first ? Part way through ? Last ? Or, do you even bother ?