Poll Are You Artistic?

[freakofnurture]

Writing is one of my vital signs.

 

[Cynthiatoo]

I write when I am unwell. I call it verbal vomiting. I would have to be extremely well before I would sit and do something like draw or color, so I decorate my old house in an artistic manner. With old things, weird things, vintage things and dead things.

 

[Deleted member 6617]

Woodworking, oil painting, drawing. I love creating something new out of something old or worn out. Old wood is my favorite to work with.

 

[Artista]

Airbrushing on almost anything (canvas, vehicles, clothing, murals), graphite drawings, portraiture is my main love in Art.

 

[bluecat]

Hi,
I love art, anything visual goes. I write, do photography, did a little sculpture, which I loved the most of any other art form, but you need a workshop for that so not now, draw and make jewelry. Sadly, past few months I haven't been able to do anything besides writting. I am just too physically tired. Hopefully it will get better, I wouldn't want to give that up.

Btw, seeing what nor wrote about this being almost 'triggering' question I remembered something too. When I did sculpture, I couldn't believe how much crap that brought up for me. Art is such a powerful way to express yourself, even if you're hiding something really deep, it makes it come up.

 

[just me here]

I create for a living, but few would call my work "art". I am a journeyman toolmaker, I make tools to help people do their jobs. Some are big and have moving parts with hydraulic or pneumatic power, some are as simple as a specialised screwdriver or wrench, but I always try to make them pleasing to the eye and pleasing in tactile ways too.
I play with photography and music, but I would never dream that I could make a living at them.

Yes I am very artistic and creative, and even if I have to force myself to get in and do it, creating something always leaves me feeling better for awhile. Arts are a good diversion from the unnending anger and frustration of the PTSD existance.

 

[Meli]

Does anyone have trouble picking just one artistic talent. I start so many projects that I don't feel successful in any of them. I have or currently draw, write poetry, photograph, stitch, work in pastels, do calligraphy, dabble in woodworking, faux finish, and PhotoShop (yes that is an art). A ton of my disorder comes out in my art. My boyfriend has asked me, on many occasions, if I was ever going to do something positive in my art. Hmmm?

I like to say that "passion is an artist's burden, sweet and taxing". I feel everything, and my art refects what I feel. But If I feel too much, I can't produce any art at all. I've taken spells of weeks on end that I haven't even picked up my camera or taken it to functions where I know I'd love to have photos. I regret those weeks.

~Meli

 

[atl22]

If I weren't artistic, I probably would not be here. I have been able to cope with PTSD symptoms by making art, but now that I have been in a relationship for a number of years, I have realized that it is not working. I have just deluded myself into thinking that I am coping when I am actually just working myself into exhaustion by being a workaholic.

My father made furniture and he taught me, although I really hated it. From furniture/woodworking, I started studying furniture made by architects, which led me into architecture, mainly because I had dreams of going to Latin America and working on public housing projects. I draft 7 days a week, about 10 hours per day or more. I also draw in graphite, make video collages, photo collages, and I used to carve in wood and marble. I also have worked in clay, plaster, found objects, and street art (photocopy with wheat paste and advertising appropriation, usually billboards that advertise alcohol in my high-crime neighborhood).

Meli - I know exactly what you mean when you wrote that your boyfriend asked you if you were ever going to make something positive. In arch school, we had to study the history of the kitchen and I started a series of photo collages that focused on the development of canned meat. Yeah, those images are never going on the wall. My fiancee said they were "too intense".

I love the watercolors of Steven Holl, so I have started to learn how to watercolor so I can make quick sketches of space.

 

[anni]

Oh Lord, I can never pick one thing, either. Luckily my teeny tiny little business allows me to play with a wide variety of mediums, hence outlets. Painting, murals, furniture, mosaics,pottery, charcoals- whatever the commision is, so just lucky. This sounds idiotic, but I've gotten onto cupcakes, of all things n the past few weeks, who knew? Other things are impossible at the moment so started these and believe it or not it's a wonderful outlet! I wish I could do photography but cannot. It's one of those things where you either have the eye or you just do not. I took a ton of classes in college thinking one could learn but nope- I have technical skill just no talent for a shot. That must be a wonderful thing to be able to do!

I don't think I'd be here, either, if it were not for all this. It's not just being able to express oneself-it's who I AM in the end, so the single place I knew I could come to, and I'd be there, if that makes any sense.

 

[Meli]

If I weren't artistic, I probably would not be here. I have been able to cope with PTSD symptoms by making art, but now that I have been in a relationship for a number of years, I have realized that it is not working. I have just deluded myself into thinking that I am coping when I am actually just working myself into exhaustion by being a workaholic.

My father made furniture and he taught me, although I really hated it. From furniture/woodworking, I started studying furniture made by architects, which led me into architecture, mainly because I had dreams of going to Latin America and working on public housing projects. I draft 7 days a week, about 10 hours per day or more. I also draw in graphite, make video collages, photo collages, and I used to carve in wood and marble. I also have worked in clay, plaster, found objects, and street art (photocopy with wheat paste and advertising appropriation, usually billboards that advertise alcohol in my high-crime neighborhood).

Meli - I know exactly what you mean when you wrote that your boyfriend asked you if you were ever going to make something positive. In arch school, we had to study the history of the kitchen and I started a series of photo collages that focused on the development of canned meat. Yeah, those images are never going on the wall. My fiancee said they were "too intense".

I love the watercolors of Steven Holl, so I have started to learn how to watercolor so I can make quick sketches of space.

Hi Atl22,

Thank you for the support/commonality. It seems the only time I do positive pieces is in the beginning of a new relationship. I get all hyped up on the whole fairy tale thing, and have written some extremely powerful love poems. I get in a jam as life starts throwing conflicts and differences at me, which are compounded by my fear of abandonment and self worth issues. I end up not being able to see what was in those early poems, or appreciate them when I look back at my work later. I'm working on that; using the tools I gained in cognative therapy. I'm trying very hard right now to "not" dismiss the positive, and find that loving feeling my boyfriend and I used to share.

I enjoy intense art because it makes me feel so much. I'm interpersonal in nature, and it's a way of life to empathize and be pulled toward people and thier emotions. Art is a big bucket of emotion, not just something pretty to look at. Conflict, chaos, death, and pain in art intrigue me, but I can understand how many are turned off by that sort of thing. It probably is better that you keep those canned meat pieces to yourself. "Insert art appreciation smile here".

I don't have a favorite artist; mostly because I don't leave the house too much so that I'm exposed to it in libraries or galleries. I tend to only follow people around to functions that I'm hoping will accept me, and they aren't artists. So my techniques are truly my own because I'm not influenced by other artists. Both of my parents are artistic, at least they used to be; my mom moreso than my dad. I don't show my art to many people, and a great deal of it is created specifically as gifts, so I'm not in possession of it anymore. I'm very reluctant to share it for fear of ridicule. My boyfriend scoffs at my old school technique of smudging charcoals or pencil, and he picks apart my photography because he's in competition with me. I've stopped sharing my photos with him all together. A friend forced a bunch of biographical and scholerly art books on me, but none of it really inspired me.

Some of what I do is simply a venue to release emotion, but most of it is a tiny piece of "Meli" that I give to those I love. I made my boyfriend's and my son's birthday cards this year. I used my photos, Photoshop, my poetry, and Calligraphy in both of them. I could have just as easily shown my love in a 5$ card from the grocery store, but I chose to spend hours upon hours making my own. Sadly, I was scolded for wasting my valuable time. It's frustrating to not have support in something that you obviously have a great amount of talent in. I wish I could find a way to do something with my art; share it with the world.

You mentioned dreams in your post. I've been wondering lately, after learning so much about this disorder, whether or not all my life's dreams were things I really wanted to do, or if they were things I thought would impress others. I question if the influence of other people coupled with my need to please have altered what I really want to do. What's your take on that?

Thanks again for reading my post, I appreciate you.
Well wishes,
~Meli

 

[Meli]

Oh Lord, I can never pick one thing, either. Luckily my teeny tiny little business allows me to play with a wide variety of mediums, hence outlets. Painting, murals, furniture, mosaics,pottery, charcoals- whatever the commision is, so just lucky. This sounds idiotic, but I've gotten onto cupcakes, of all things n the past few weeks, who knew? Other things are impossible at the moment so started these and believe it or not it's a wonderful outlet! I wish I could do photography but cannot. It's one of those things where you either have the eye or you just do not. I took a ton of classes in college thinking one could learn but nope- I have technical skill just no talent for a shot. That must be a wonderful thing to be able to do!

I don't think I'd be here, either, if it were not for all this. It's not just being able to express oneself-it's who I AM in the end, so the single place I knew I could come to, and I'd be there, if that makes any sense.

Hi Anni (with an i),

Hee hee!! You make every bit of sense to me. When I'm deeply withdrawn within my art, I feel comfort, pride, and excitement. It's the only place I can go to achieve self gratification. I love the pieces I produce, even if no one else is even interested in them. I have a habit of saying out loud "I rock". My profile picture is an example of that. I love it to pieces. I took the photo, and then I Photoshopped it (I don't really have red hair, but for a few moments while on the forums, I do.). I take quite a few self portraits for two reasons; I'm a genealogist and am very passionate about family photos, so I want to be in them for my decendants to look at; and I can take a lousy photo of myself and make myself look great. It's therapeutic to look great in my opinion, so my self portraits are a reminder that feeling great makes for a great life.

Cupcakes aren't silly. Baking is a respectable art. Not everyone can do it and produce tasty treats. I'm not so good at it, but my mom is. She bakes her butt off, and has been doing that for 40 years. She is still being mentally abused by my father, so she uses baking to relieve stress, and what she bakes serves as comfort food. She showed up the other day with a big pan of homemade peanut butter fudge just for me. She knew I was stressed out, and she put gold stars all over the top of the container. Moms rock!! When the pan was nearly empty, I took a photo of it and sent it to my brother 750 miles away. Was that bad? Hee hee!! He's not getting pans of his favorite fudge anymore. I'm a stinker!!

You are lucky to have all those mediums at your fingertips all the time, and a reason to play with them without criticism. It's your job!! I should find a way to make money with my art. I'll work on that; you're an inspiration.

Thanks for reading, keep up the good work,
~Meli

 

[atl22]

Meli,

For me, my dreams to go to Latin America were more of an escape from my past life and my family. I also had quite a self-destructive streak once I turned 21, so I went to 2 war zones in Latin America to experience it. Crazy, I know, but I viewed it as another test that if I really went in there deep and survived, that would be another test to prove that I am meant for something. I tried to go to a 3rd war zone but they would not let me in the country. This was many years ago. These experiences made me realize that I wanted to work in the city where I grew up, especially in my old neighborhood.

Thinking about it further, I was probably also rebelling against my parents and family out of spite, so maybe it did have something to do with PTSD. So, in answer to your question, I was probably doing it partially for myself but also just to anger my family and get out of the country in order to be in a completely new environment.

I am sorry to hear that your boyfriend does not support you in your art. I was in a similar situation when I first started school. I worked my a_s off and my girlfriend at the time just did not care or show any interest at all. It was very painful to work all night to finish a drawing only to bring it home and have her show absolutely no interest. I usually only had 3 hours of sleep maximum and in the morning she would encourage me to just skip school. That was dangerous because my school had a very strict policy: 3 absences = failure. In the end, she dumped me because I was at work or school all the time and she told me "I want to go out with an architect, not an architecture student." Ouch. That hurt.

I made art before I started school and the most terrifying thing for me was to get up in front of strangers and present my work with detailed explanations of process and intent. I used what I call " the shear force of will" method. If I didn't do it, they would fail me and the thousands of dollars I gave them would have been wasted. After a few weeks, I discovered that I could stand up in front of anyone and explain my drawings.

I'm with ya on the intense art. To me, that is the most interesting, although I do love a good abstract painter or sculptor. One of my favorite painters is Carlos Almaraz. He made some fantastic paintings of car crashes in LA and homes burning. Very painterly - with flames in oil sticking out almost an inch from the canvas. Also, another favorite painter is Gunther Gerszo. He paints very precise paintings that appear random but actually are quite ordered. Some of them appear to be building facades. Maybe why that is why I love them so much.

I love this thread and the fascinating stories.

atl22