Rules
“If you start from the position that there is no right or wrong, no good or bad, and creativity is just free play with no rules, it’s easier to submerge yourself joyfully in the process of making things. We’re not playing to win, we’re playing to play. And ultimately, playing is fun.”
― Rick Rubin, The Creative Act: A Way of Being
When we were little, we loved art because we felt so free. And we were so proud of what we created.
Remember? We got to sink our hands into wet clay, twist and break chunks of plasticine apart; press colourful handprints onto paper in intricate patterns; drip paint and smear glue over different textures.
We wore old clothes or a paint-stained art apron and no one cared if we made a mess. As long as the art was confined to sanctioned spaces and places and didn’t mess up the walls, the furniture or the carpet, all was good.
Those art sessions were a form of play therapy.
They allowed us to let off steam and get messy to avoid exploding with anger or dissolving into tears about some bully on the playground…or at the art table.
There were rules, but our egos weren’t attached to the outcome.
Remember the joy of colouring outside the lines in a colouring book? Your sky was painted orange and the grass was blue.
Then some killjoy came along and insisted you were doing it all wrong.
Didn’t you know the sky was supposed to be blue and the grass was supposed to be green? And why were you colouring outside the lines, anyway?
You were supposed to colour inside the lines. Everybody knew, that was the rule!
There are people who say you have to learn the rules before you can break them. Maybe that’s true.
But when it comes to making art for yourself, you get to make your own rules. It’s an opportunity to cut loose and be free.
Creating art is about going with a feeling, following inspiration, responding to an event, a moment in time or a musical beat or rhythm.
But before you can create beautiful art that you feel good about you may have to make a glorious mess first.
We often focus on the end product.
Then, when the art journal page turns out differently from what we expected, we’re disappointed. But that unexpected end result could inspire new thoughts or a new direction or a fresh page in your art journal.
Be messy with your art, break all the rules and create on your terms.
The unplanned splotch of paint that falls onto the paper, the spilled blob of black ink, the crooked placement of a silver sparkle; the spurt of glue or the image that isn’t quite perfect may be your saving grace.
In creating messy imperfect art, you free yourself to go places you never dreamed about.
So break the rules, get messy and find your rhythm. You might just create a masterpiece of your very own.
Want more? Watch this video.
