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Pinky & Maurice

Contemporary Ceramics

December 2, 2016 by Claire Atkins 6 Comments

Call me an Amateur!

The American painter Chuck Close, said, ‘inspiration is for amateurs’.

Famously, he’s never had artist’s block, because he simply trusts in the creative process. His advice for artists is to show up and start, and see where the process leads you.

We should draw comfort from this, we don’t need to feel inspired, or be in the mood to create. Art making is not a sacred activity, in fact every mark we make is a departure point, and every face, object, thought, or dream is ripe subject matter.

For example, right now, I’m not feeling particularly moved, but I’m writing anyway in the tiny pea-green kitchen of my clapped-out caravan. The chip-board table has a crook leg and it’s limping on every word. The valley is shrill with cicadas feeding off their own drama, and as if on cue, the westerly sounds along the ridge and a spotted gum drops its crown to the forest floor with a great crack like polar ice breaking. Yet I feel strangely cocooned in here, like a passenger in John Brack’s car. The van windows have sliced the yellowing hillsides into safe cigar-box paintings and stuck them to the ply as if they’re prints from the Heidelberg School. The western sky is rolling darkly on itself, teasing. Summer has arrived, and there’s just enough water in the spring to flush the dunny one more time…

inspiration_fencing_wire_pinky_and_maurice

There’s enough material right here on either side of these fraying insect screens for something…I’m not sure what, but I agree with Chuck Close, we don’t need to summon the muse before we start making, and we don’t need to travel far to find our subjects. Like Miro’s line going for a walk, pick up your pencil, tap your keys, and see where it takes you.

However, like the spring on our property, an artist’s reserves can run dry. I find the words of Australian artist and author, Shaun Tan, encouraging on this. And while he doesn’t like to use the word inspiration particularly, he does suggest that we must live a life that’s open to inspiration and experiences in order to create.

inspiration_dunny_door_hidden_valley_pinky_and_maurice

Our dunny door

In his book ‘The Bird King : An Artist’s Notebook’, Tan talks about the cultivation of creativity like a gardener. He sees the artist as a tree that must draw from a rich compost of experience ‘- things seen, read, told, and dreamt – in order to grow leaves, flowers, and fruit. Art, following the laws of horticulture, can only make something out of something else; artists do not create, so much as transform…’

Tan says, ‘artists need to work hard to make sure their creative soil is well tilled and fertilised. They need to look outward and actively accumulate a swag of influences to bring along with them when taking that line for a walk…’

inspiration_hidden_valley_crackling_hillsides_pinky_and_maurice

This has been my year of travel. I don’t say that to brag, I’m not well travelled by any stretch, but transformative experiences happened, and new opportunities came about because I left the safety of what I already knew. The potters I met this year in the poorest neighbourhoods in India, over a wedging table in Bali, and in the villages and vibrant cities of China, all revealed to me new ways of seeing, and those experiences are informing my work in the most wonderful and surprising ways. 

We don’t need to wait for inspiration. Inspiration is calling us to come and play, it’s courting us constantly. We just need to say, yes. 

In her ‘Conversations‘, American poet Maya Angelou says, ‘Life loves the liver of it. You must live, and life will be good to you, and give you experiences.’

BOOM! I love that. You’ll sure as hell eat some shit sandwiches along the way, heck, you’ll even make some for yourself, but Angelou is spot on. ‘Life loves the liver of it.’ Amen, sister!

Next year, I’m pushing out into the deep, and I want you to join me. 

inspiration_summer_storm_hidden_valley_pinky_and_mauriceIn the coming weeks, I’ll be talking on the blog about plans that are brewing for making big clay magic with you in 2017.

Call me an amateur, but I hope you’ll step outside the caravan with me and fill your spring.

It’s gonna be inspiring, it’s gonna be transformative, it’s gonna involve passports, it’s gonna be JUST FOR WOMEN, and if anything potters – like a Summer storm – it’s gonna be BIG!

Stay tuned, or sign up to the newsletter here and be the first to hear all the juicy details.

xClaire aka Pinky & Maurice

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Filed Under: blog post Tagged With: amateurs, australian ceramics, Chuck Close, Claire Atkins, creativity, curiosity, inspiration, Maya Angelou, Pinky & Maurice, Shaun Tan, travel, workshops

Comments

  1. Mary Howard says

    December 3, 2016 at 9:54 am

    Beautiful writing Claire. I think you might have a ‘great Australian novel’ inside you as well as a potting project. Going on a journey is a transformative experience. I came back from Spain, especially going to Montserrat with a desire for something great ‘brewing ‘inside me. Like you it is going to have to do with some kind of ‘Women’s business’. Can’t wait to read and hear about the project as it unfolds. I have a friend dreaming dreams for running quilting and sewing workshops on her property and building cabins to stay. I think we are all looking in different ways at helping people to tap into creativity and getting away from consumerism.

    Reply
    • Claire Atkins says

      December 3, 2016 at 2:21 pm

      Thanks so much for reading Mary!
      Having a great Australian novel inside me would be a great thing wouldn’t it! I think I’d even settle for a mediocre, or an average novel! Ha! 😉 I’ll keep taking the line for a walk and see where it goes. I recently met a local writer who has a very small writing gang, and she thought they might let me join their posse.
      How are your students all going with their stories?
      XClaire

      Reply
    • Claire Atkins says

      December 3, 2016 at 2:42 pm

      Hi again Mary,
      Sorry, I couldn’t see all of your comment before!
      I can’t wait to hear more about your travels and how they unfold. Your friends dream is a beautiful one, and needed too I think! We have some similar feelings about our bush property that it might become a retreat for artists, at the moment it’s an important retreat for us. It’s been great to have a place where we can go that forces us to disconnect from our phones and screens. I write on a screen there too, but it’s great that I don’t get distracted online when I’m mid way through a sentence!
      xClaire

      Reply
  2. Mary Howard says

    December 5, 2016 at 7:27 pm

    I was thinking about what it is about going to a new place that is so affecting. One thing I noticed on the pilgrimage was that every moment seemed to be significant. I’ve tried to take that attitude back to my daily life here in God’s country on the North Coast. Hope to see you and Luke and the boys over the holidays.

    Reply
  3. Anna says

    December 13, 2016 at 10:08 pm

    thanks for sharing.. and I’m sure the Bali workshop will be wonderful

    Reply
    • Claire Atkins says

      December 14, 2016 at 7:28 am

      Hi Anna!
      Thanks so much for taking the time to comment here 🙂
      The workshops at Gaya are so unique, and this one I think might be particularly special.
      Feel free to join in the fun!
      xClaire

      Reply

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We have been overwhelmed by the support and genero We have been overwhelmed by the support and generosity of our community to install the controversial signage for our play ‘SHIT’ on their lawns and front fences! Thank you! Thank you!❤️❤️❤️ #oceanshores #makethatshitpop #privatelawns #publicparks #SHIT #australianplays
Last week Byron Council caved under media pressure Last week Byron Council caved under media pressure and released promotional signs for our play they had impounded. However, unlike every other event in Byron Shire we’re not permitted to install signage for this multi award-winning Australian play along public road reserves. 
Our play, with its provocative title, is about three women who have grown up in Australia’s broken foster care system. Their story is hard to hear, but don’t silence it, these three women and thousands like them have been silenced their entire lives. We’re permitted to display event signage from private residences or businesses. Please get in touch if you live or work along a main road in Byron Shire and would like to sponsor a SHIT sign.
Our SHIT has hit a community nerve and promotional Our SHIT has hit a community nerve and promotional signage for our play has been impounded by council following complaints. Come see what all the fuss is about at The Drill Hall Theatre in Mullumbimby, 12-28 March. EVENT TIX in my profile link.
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‘Out of control girls, angry girls, nasty girls ‘Out of control girls, angry girls, nasty girls are a sight to behold. They’re terrifying, electrifying, they’re everything girls shouldn’t be, and we hate them. This is a play about three such girls, Billy, Bobby and Sam. And you’ll never forget them’
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We’re in rehearsal, deep diving into Patricia Cornelius’s brilliant and brutal writing to perform in her electrifying play SHIT. Playing by public demand from 12-28 March at The Drill Hall Theatre in Mullumbimby, and reimagined by a stunning creative team, under the direction of legend Liz Chance. We sold out quickly last time, so hop on it. Event tix up there in my link tree.
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#australianplays #australiantheatre #patriciacornelius #SHIT #mullumbimby #drillhalltheatre #byronbay #actor
I’ve been lucky to work on some exciting new TV I’ve been lucky to work on some exciting new TV series this year. And as much as I love acting, I love working behind the camera too. I was so happy to climb aboard this project as Art Director. COURTESY BUS is a piss-your-pants-funny Australian comedy written by Brett Stephens @brettsixsixty, starring @mandy.nolan, Nell Schofield @nellyvision, Tony Barry, @ellensbriggs, @andysaunderscomedy, Liam Olsen and @jen.kyna. Each episode begins at the end of the night, and tells the hilarious and heartfelt stories of a riotous cast on their wayward journey home. Coming soon! 

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After a sell-out first season, Patricia Cornelius's multi-award-winning play SHIT returns to the Mullumbimby Drill Hall Theatre by public demand on 12-28 March 2021. Starring Claire Atkins, Kate Foster and Kate Horsley. Reimagined and directed by Liz Chance, with sound design by Paul Pilsneniks and choreography by Kate Holmes. 

Tickets: $27/$24/$20 Enquiries 0420986570 
EVENT TICKETS in the link. This will sell-out. Book now.

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