Gifts of unexpected creativity & Inspiration

Late last year I started recording short art-making sessions. I was intrigued with the subtle sense of suspense in it; at least that’s how I feel when I watch other people make art. What are they going to do next? How are they going to make that work out?

What had started out as a personally satisfying activity became even more fun when people starting telling me that they enjoyed watching me make art because it is extremely relaxing.

And then in December, when participating in Tracking Wonder Quest 2015 I met Stan Stewart who was also questing. I was intrigued with his music and asked him if he would like to collaborate by adding his music to my art-making. What was a simple question quickly unfolded to an extremely fulfilling collaboration of mutual respect, inspiration and goodwill.

‘She Is Change’ is an especially meaningful collaboration for me because I was working on art that I was afraid to show anyone, so it was a big thing for me to even record it. It was art that felt deeply wonderful – but weird – and I didn’t want to risk showing it to people who might want to criticize it – at least not until I’d had a chance to explore it more and become more confident with it.

But when I shared it with Stan, he got it immediately. And he expressed his appreciation in such clarity I got confidence to go ahead and share. It was at that moment that I had a new criteria for myself: to record risk-taking and improvisation.

What’s more, not only did Stan ‘get it’ and appreciate it, he composed an amazing score tailored to the vibe of the art. He was able to express his understanding of it into music terms. He then played ALL of the instruments you hear in this piece, layering them on top of each other. Take a look/listen:

Stan and I have done a number of collaborations since we met. You can find them on my YouTube channel. You can also hear about new ones if you follow either of us on Twitter.

Through my collaboration with Stan, I have heightened appreciation for:

  • combining artistic visions which lead to something greater than the sum of the parts,
  • deriving inspiration from new channels,
  • risk-taking in my own work,
  • a curious, willing and improvisational approach to figuring things out (when this is shared, it’s nothing short of MAGICAL!!), and
  • new friends, mutual support and reasons to enjoy artistic adventure!!

You can learn more about Stan on his website and his YouTube channel.

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