Typography & Graphic Design Blog
Illustration – Douglas Bonneville
One of the greatest challenges for any developing artist is not only painstakingly discovering their own voice, but then courageously taking the risk of stepping into the unknown to share it with the world.
Numerous studies, books and workshops on the topic of finding a distinct voice reveal this raw nerve has always existed. Do we find our own voice by going it alone and striving heroically to be original? Or do we simply copy someone else?
Well, both.
As an artist, Frederick Franck is concerned with more than drawing solely for the sake of pleasure. He views it is as powerful tool in learning to truly see. Seeing, he believes, correlates to being deeply present in everyday life experiences. He writes about awakening through the practice of drawing directly what the eyes perceive, and no more. As a by-product, he finds inexplicable aliveness in all things, and the capacity to communicate that aliveness to others.
ILLUSTRATION – DOUGLAS BONNEVILLE
Anyone who is engaged in creative work has inevitably experienced the ebbs and flows that come with it. But like weather, even the most turbulent spells eventually pass, and though we can’t will them away, we can work with and through them until sunny skies return. So what can we do when the clouds that darken our eyes are Creative blocks, the common culprits that keep us from taking pleasure in our work?
While there are probably hundreds of ways to tackle the age-old issue, the following are a few possible approaches. They are bite-size and practical since overcomplicating things can sometimes reinforce what keeps us stuck.
It’s about removing clutter, both external and internal so creativity can resurface and blossom. We can do this through creating space while becoming vulnerable, still, gentle and self-forgiving.
Let’s start with the obvious: