Creating a Signature Series

I just taught a workshop on Creating a Signature Series, in which a group of artists worked out their concepts for a new body of work. Part of my motivation for the class was selfish: I'm honing my own idea for a series, and I wanted to see what would come out of a group workshop. It was a powerful, inspiring class. Everybody came away with a new series that they're excited to work on. Some even found the perfect title. I was blown away by their courage, inventiveness, and generosity of spirit. It seems that artists create because we want to connect with ourselves and with others, and to influence the world in a positive way.

(If you're interested, I'm teaching the online version of the class tomorrow from 5-7 pm--if you can't attend live, you can sign up and I'll send you the recording later.)

There are many reasons why I like painting in series. It allows me to follow a story through to its completion; it creates a container that lets me explore freely and deeply. It's also fun! When I get obsessed with a subject, I want to find out everything I can about it. It's like trying all the flavors of your favorite sparkling water brand (I would say ice cream, but I've stopped eating sugar).

One of my early series was "Beyond the Skin," which I worked on from 2001-2003. It combined three distinct things going on in my life at the time: an obsession with Kundalini yoga and chakras, research on goddess iconography, and dealing with my father's illness and death. Those three things formed the container that defined the series--and guided my exploration. Because each painting is a discovery. I may have a thumbnail sketch or a general idea when I start, but the work itself takes me in unexpected directions.

In this case, I knew I was going to do 7 paintings to correspond with the chakras. Most of the time, though, I let the guiding emotion or concept play itself out until it leaves me--sometimes mid-painting! I have several unfinished works that were in progress when the series petered out and I was done. I can never finish them after the inspiration is gone.

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Teaching others how to develop their own series helps me focus in on mine. I have the title, direction, and style for the next one--and a few sketches. I just need to sit down and DO THE WORK. Isn't that always the kicker?

Art Heals

My friend Lisa Lightman creates beautiful, meditative studies of objects. She deconstructs, looks beneath, offers different viewpoints, and leaves the viewer wondering just what they're really seeing. In this painting, I see a chrysalis on the upper right, a person standing under a spotlight or streetlamp, and a kid falling through the air on the lower left. But that's just me. I have a storytelling brain. What I love about her work is that I can get lost in the wondering. I never even saw a flowerpot until I saw the title.

With love and light,

Maggie

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