more on the creative process

this is a new piece of public art on Maple Street in Evanston. I don't know who the sculptor is but it is very, very striking.



So I am at a Ragdale artist residency, trying to sink into the creative process. It is not so easy to empty oneself and be open to whatever muses offer themselves up. It is often a struggle (see 2 posts earlier). I feel that one of the purposes of this blog is to offer up any helpful hints that might help cultivate your creative process...

so here it goes.

I have been reading some of Bill Viola's Reasons for Knocking on an Empty House. The writings are taken from his notebooks of the past 25 years. I bought the book a while back and am only just now delving into it.

In 1979 he writes,

"Landscape can exist as a reflection of the inner walls of the mind, or as a projection of the inner state without. Flat open vast space lends itself to a cleaner monitoring of the subjective inner world...Removing all cues, from the outside, the voices of the inner state become louder, clearer."

My studio is situated on the prairie with with lots of light permeating the room.


It feels so vast and expansive. It is a privilege to live in it for 2 weeks, watching the light change throughout the day. Years ago I worked with ice in the depths of the winter and decided to explore it once again. I am most productive when I take myself out of the equation, when I can empty myself and just wait and see what the universe offers up.

For those of you interested in an artist residency, I highly recommend it.
You can learn more about it and obtain the Ragdale application here.