Do People Need to Feel You in Your Work?
From the heart
Do they? ……. Do you? Feel you need to connect with the creator to feel the full impact of a piece of work? Whether it’s writing or a piece of art, does that connection make a big difference?
Does the story matter? Within a piece of writing perhaps that’s a given, but does a narrative make a difference to how you perceive an artwork, particularly when it’s abstract?
I know that I have been captivated with a work when I have learned the thinking behind it. Knowing that information has opened a gate in my mind and I am there, experiencing what the creator has described, sharing in their story through my own eyes and my own perception. An intermingling and a knowing.
Is connecting to the artist part of this too?
How much to share?
I’ve been questioning how much to share of my experience. Connection is important to me. I paint to connect to others who feel like me. And so I decided to share this on Instagram this week. I put on my big girl pants and I wrote …
I thought I’d write a little about why I paint and what it means for me. It can be hard to describe and I’ll be honest, I get anxious about being too deep. But I’m going to tell you what’s in my heart.
Fragility and impermanence are reoccurring themes in my paintings. The fragility of the planet, the loss of habitat and climate change make my heart weep. Some of my paintings are dark.. Rising and the poem I wrote to go with it is a good example.
And there are 2 I haven’t shared with you yet. I have entered them for a juried show. If I am lucky enough to get them longlisted (probably an out of reach aspiration) but IF they were accepted I would feel a little surer about sharing them here. And if they’re not, I am committing to share them anyway. Because I am proud of them and because they come from within me.
The fragility is within me too. It is always there under the surface.
When I paint, it comes from deep inside. It is not a conscious decision to paint the subjects I do. They appear. Thought takes place in the final layers but it still takes me by surprise that I have produced what I have.
I paint to connect to people who feel like me. Who feel that fragility and are troubled by it too.
To connect, to protest in my own quiet way.
Much of this is allusive and not easy to articulate. I am anxious about putting people off but equally, perhaps it will strengthen the connection with you.
And so I am being brave.
And it it’s a disaster, I might disappear in a cloud of embarrassment.
But also, many of my paintings are celebratory of that glorious nature too!
My poem, Rising
My poem I wrote for Rising, perhaps says it best…
Everything is rising
Temperatures……… rising
Sea levels………………rising
Wild weather…………rising
Threat of War………..rising
Moon rising over inky depths below
Oh to be a bird
Trusting…………….This planet will keep on turning
Adjusting……………What will be will be
Flying………………….worry no more
Diving…………………into oceans blue
Existing……………….in tranquillity
in celebration of our planet.
Uplifted
The response to this opening of my heart was beautiful and unexpected if I’m honest. It was uplifting. It brought deeper connection from many of those I’ve known for years from being on social media. Perhaps they understood me just a little bit more? Perhaps they recognised something in themselves in what I’d written?
Speak our truths
If we can’t speak out truths ( as long as those truths aren’t hurtful to anyone else) then how can we hope to find people with similar convictions to us. How can we truly recognise one another and join in harmony? Does that all sound a bit ‘whoo whoo’? Perhaps. But without doubt this world of ours needs all the harmony it can muster. And we as humans, need to know there are more people like us. We are all to aware of the trolls and the haters and it adds another level of apprehension but perhaps we can counteract that. Perhaps we can join together and fill the internet with love, joy and hope.
What is your experience?
Does this resonate with you? Do you like to ‘know’ the author or artist a little to appreciate and understand the work on a different level, or is it superfluous? Perhaps you find it a bit much and would rather there was less of a deeper sharing?
Hi Susan
Lovely piece of writing. I have noticed that if I share something on social media in which I feel more vulnerable then it does seem to connect more to others. This authenticity is palpable and resonates with others. An honest, vulnerable post can have a positive, uplifting energy about it which creates connection rather than the energy draining feeling of comparison xx
Beautiful and vulnerable piece of writing. Thank you for sharing about the "why" and story behind your paintings. I loved this line in particular: "When I paint, it comes from deep inside. "