Clarity starts with Curiosity
Kids ask the damnedest questions; you know, “Uncle Bob, why is the hair near your ears so white when the hair on the top of your head black?” “Mom, can you use my crayons when you wax your legs?” “Do puppies mommies make them eat their vegetables?” I had a friend who used to tell me, “The only stupid question is the one that isn’t asked.” and I began to understand that there is a bravery in a child’s innocent questions. That bravery that we lose as we become older and more concerned about our place in society, and that we regain as we age.
When my students are in my class and say that inevitable phrase, “I know this is a dumb question…” I always tell them that there is no “dumb” question, only unasked ones. Artists and scientists tend to explore areas that others don’t because we stop worrying about what others think and just go ahead and ask the why. If we can’t get answers that satisfy us, we hunt and gather information; everywhere. Why can’t you do pastels over oil? Well, actually you can; if the oil has had long enough to cure and the surface is prepped correctly. It does not always work on every oil painted surface but it can be done on some. Thank you Mike Beeman. Do pastels always need to be under glass, well no; not all of them do; but more about that later in the year.
When you are exploring your world creatively, what limitations have you been told exist and have you been given a proper explanation of why? The real question is; how far down the rabbit hole are you really willing to go? Did you know that some art schools teach you basic chemistry? They do that because some pigments will react to others. Why is that no longer such a concern? There is a question, why don’t we worry about putting some yellows with flake white anymore? What glues work with what papers on which surfaces and how many will be reactive and give off gases as they cure, for how long? Why should that matter?
The world being an artist can be as simple or as complex as you would like and this is the other important part, “AS YOU LIKE”. You don’t have to be a chemist, you don’t have to be an archivist if you don’t want to. You can combine whatever you want and try as many things as your heart desires. Professionally, as a hobby, as an amateur, however you want to creatively practice; do what you want and explore the creative realms as you wish. Artists have been designing their existence and defining their existence for as long as people have been marking up cave walls. A millennia from now, no one will remember who you were or even if you existed. The artists who left the petroglyphs have no name, why worry about being embarrassed now? Embrace the bravery of the child and explore this world, who knows what you will learn and the answers you will recieve.