Minding the Gap

I finally got to visit my out of state family several weeks ago. We had all been vaccinated and it was great to be able to hang out, share stories and reminisce. My Mom pulled out some old pictures I had made as a young child. Back then I was already experimenting with mixed media. I was melting my crayons to make a painting. Thanks, Mom, for saving all these little treasures.

It was evident that as a 5-year-old I had a passion for play and exploration. I consider my curiosity my greatest gift. Do you remember what you had a passion for as a kid? Did you love gardening, sports, music or art. I loved all of them, but I think I was most drawn to art. I was surrounded by creative people, and I was fortunate to have a family that was supportive of the arts. As I got older, I practiced and studied my art and music. I worked to improve my skills and I had friends that loved art as well. As we got older some of my friends ventured off to other interests because they weren’t interested in pursuing their skill. They got lost in the gap. My music went the same way. I found visual art was a better fit for me.

It wasn’t that we gave up their passions, we redirected them. Some found music to come more naturally, or writing or sports. When you have a passion for something you pursue it for love. It doesn’t feel like work to spend hours improving your skill. You get lost in time. But you reach a point where your passion for creativity is not producing the results that you see in your imagination. This usually happens with children at about the age of nine. At this age other developmental changes are happening, and you want to be able to render something realistically. Your landscapes or drawings of animals or cars aren’t looking like the picture you have in your mind or the one you are copying. Most kids stop drawing at this stage. They get lost in the gap.

The gap is the place of the unknown and unfamiliar. You need persistence, trust and hope to negotiate the gap and find yourself on the other side. This can be almost impossible for a child, and it may be even more difficult for an adult. When the passion is there but the trust is gone, or you don’t have supportive family to nurture your passions, you can get lost in the gap. You don’t have the tools to negotiate the unfamiliar that is the gap. I love mentoring budding artists of the adult variety. Most of my students are women who are returning to their passion for art after putting other priorities ahead of their own. Many had taken art in school but haven’t done anything since but are being called by their muse to pick up a brush again. This initial excitement is like the fun and fascination they had as a child, yet they are anxious. What if I can’t make anything decent? What if I make a fool of myself? The anxiety is going to hinder your creativity. This is the gap you must push through. How do you do this?

Workshops are popular with so many because it is not only a way to learn technique, but you can connect with others like yourself. The pandemic put an end to in person classes, but online lessons grew prolifically. Some people even prefer online classes because they can work at their own pace. For the shy ones, they can observe quietly. For others it is a wonderful way to get instant feedback. You do not need to take a workshop to improve your skills, you can do it alone, but you will make much greater and faster progress taking workshops and classes. The community and friendships that are born from workshops are incredible. I think this is my favorite aspect of teaching and traveling with groups.

I had developed online courses prior to the pandemic and they have been popular. Now that this country is returning to in-person events, people want to come to workshops. I have one in-person workshop that quickly filled, and I still have many online classes. I am offering my final interactive 3-month Creative Soul Course which is beginning soon. The courses will continue to be available, but they won’t have my daily input. I invite you to check it out, along with my books. You can see everything on my website www.SandraDuranWilson.com

If you would like a course that teaches not only techniques but gives you tools to enhance your imagination, along with daily input then this is a perfect fit for you. I would love to negotiate some of the tricky terrain with you and share with you my decades of making art and teaching. See you soon.