By Karen Burnette Garner
DACULA, GA. JUNE 17, 2016 | In the field of geology, the study of rocks and their creation come down to two pretty simple ideas: time and pressure. Those elements take everyday materials and transform them into something altogether different. Precious stones are the result of time and pressure on the crystallization of minerals. Coal becomes diamond, sea sand and creatures become limestone and slate, rocks become different rocks through the forces of pressure-created heat and time. Time and pressure can allow the most fragile tree root to split the massive boulder.
“Tuesday Afternoon near Charleston” by Karen Garner.
Artists are acutely aware of time — drying time, exhibition schedules, working art into life time. Created works mark the time, capturing the moment when the light touches the sky, or the fish slips beneath the lily pad, the blossom opens to the air, or the child smiles up to its mother’s face. The artwork can reflect internal passion, external social unrest, or a simple delight in the juiciness of color and form. Art becomes a mark of the passage of time under the watchful eye of the artist.
Artists can find themselves in pressure filled situations, creating to seek connection with others, or being driven to succeed on their own terms and those terms the world imposes. At times, the artist is the source of the pressure. Desire to achieve notice, to earn income, or to make their unique voice heard, can drive artists into the studio to release their will on the canvas, the stone, the instrument, or the written word. Many times, the artist is the most difficult master to please of all, and their own expectations can create tremendous stress. When have we created enough, or done it well enough? And is it really enough to satisfy that pressure to create?
When I create a peaceful landscape painting, it is critical that I leave external pressure at the door. I may have deadlines, or limited time to work, but the art itself demands a mindset of letting the image evolve, and grow in its own cycle of creation. My mind has to be able to travel to that place where the living is slower, and the land and water ebbs and flows to its own timetable. Peaceful heart equals peaceful art.
I guess the bottom line is to ask the question, “With the time you are given, how much pressure does it take to create what you are called to do?”
Do we invite unwanted, or unneeded pressure, to create our masterpieces? Is that a necessary part of art?
Or is it simply a byproduct of the world we live in, with its instant access, “want-it-all-now” thinking?
We, as humans, are products of time, and while we all lead busy lives these days, we are not engineered physically to respond to constant pressure. Few living things are. We are wise to keep this in mind when external (or internal) pressures mount. Art is not only a self-expression, it is a self-preservation.
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