Hello, that is John S. Sofa. I’m the creator of The Artwork of Artistic Rise up. And what I’m Gonna speak about as we speak is a bit about artistic well being. Artistic well being, in a way of artistic well being for the artistic self, by way of placing it in the identical type of context that the theme is about. I wanna speak about how we dedicate our time and we spend a lot of our days and a lot of our time concerned with work clearly, now we have to earn cash.

And on this time of COVID-19, we’re fortunate if now we have a job and I’m spending about seven to eight hours a day on Zoom usually. And after I’m not doing that, I’m spending time with my household, which can be essential. However what occurs is I feel is that now we have determined in society that of, course, your day job is essential. And naturally your family and friends are essential, however what we lose at occasions is our sense of self. And what I imply by that’s that we’ll be justified in some way in understanding as a result of now we have to be wholesome. So we go to the health club or these days we most likely must do pushups in between conferences or we do stairs, or what have you ever, to be able to maintain our our bodies transferring, good things.

The opposite Factor that we do is we deal with our psychological well being, whether or not it’s meditating, utilizing apps like Headspace, or whether or not it’s doing one thing like going to remedy, no matter it’s for you, additionally good. The third factor I feel is lacking is our artistic well being. And what this includes is “me time” or what’s thought-about to be “me time” usually. And what I imply by that’s that as a result of we spend a lot of our time targeted on work and we really feel very justified in that as a result of we’re doing one thing which is socially sanctioned and obligatory for getting groceries and obligatory for principally life. However what we frequently neglect and what we frequently don’t spend time on our “me time” issues as a result of it’s thought-about to be a bit indulgent and egocentric. However my argument is that for artistic innovation, the flexibility to operate higher at work, you want time by yourself. You want time to take a seat and ponder and heart.

A part of this to me, results in the counterintuitive notion that investing an hour a day on one thing that’s completely for you truly recharges your batteries. So for me, for instance, I stand up early. I’m not a morning particular person. I hate getting up early, however I stand up at 5:30 within the morning after which I spend time attempting to get up initially, I’ve a morning brew that I make. After which I meditate for about 15 minutes. After that, I spend time writing. I write for an hour, hour and a half, I write an essay each week. After which on prime of that, I additionally write fiction and nonfiction.

And what this does is it invigorates me. It makes me really feel for a second that I’m doing one thing, which is tied to my sense of self. And we spend all of our days giving all of it away. We give away our energies and it’s good issues. We give our energies that we ought to be engaged with work. We ought to be engaged with our households and our associates, however we additionally must recharge the battery. And by permitting an unmitigated connection between you and your artistic exercise, no matter it’s, by the best way, it may be something, for me it’s writing within the morning and within the night, it’s portray. However for you, it could possibly be yoga, it could possibly be going for a stroll, it could possibly be studying a brand new language, no matter it’s, it’s only for you.

And there’s no want to think about as a facet hustle. Like I bought to earn cash from this. You’re already earning profits otherwise you’re doing one thing to earn cash, otherwise you’re attempting to earn cash already. That is separate from that. That is straight engaged with you as an individual. So what we’re gonna speak about as we speak is artistic well being and the way we categorical that. And I’m gonna do that, not solely metaphorically, however I’m gonna do it bodily via a portray. So behind me is a clean canvas, actually the tabula rasa. And anytime you embark into the unknown, there’s an enormous threat that’s concerned. You don’t know what’s gonna occur, however all through the course of this explicit masterclass, I’m going to be recording alongside with you, my very own ideas and emotions and paint, and I’m gonna maintain portray after which I’m gonna cowl it up, paint, cowl it up, paint, cowl it up and on the finish will probably be an artifact, a reminiscence, so to talk, of the method of being within the artistic stream of the second that we’re each in proper now.

So with that, we’re going to start. So I might welcome you to initially, choose up worksheet primary. You’re your biggest design drawback. That is one thing that we frequently don’t take into consideration. But when you consider it as a designer, you spend plenty of time drawback fixing for enterprise and for purchasers. But when you consider it on a macroscopic scale of your life from when you’re comparatively aware, all the best way to everytime you finish, there’s plenty of time in between there that we simply type of like transfer from level to level. And now we have to, in fact, as a result of nobody can completely plan precisely how their life’s gonna go. But when you consider it usually everyday observe, I’m not speaking about like, I’ve to be sticking to a plan precisely that goes out to a sure time period sooner or later however proper now on this second, as a result of the time is all the time now and now’s all because the time. So with worksheet one, we’re gonna take a look at a day within the life.

So what I’m gonna do now is definitely begin to paint out on that factor a day within the life and the type of questions that I ask myself, and I’ll be asking you. So I’m gonna go forward and write out a day within the life. Sort of an homage to the Beatles music A Day In The Life, “awakened, fell off the bed, dragged a comb throughout my head”. So what occurs? Primary, you get up. Quantity two, get espresso. Quantity three, breakfast, and many others. This sounds actually pedantic. And naturally, however the query is, as you undergo and you’re making your schedule for the day, be brutally trustworthy, not like what you’d wish to be doing, however what do you truly do? What’s truly occurring in your everyday life? How are you spending time? ‘Trigger time is essentially the most useful asset you will have. You’re gonna receives a commission each two weeks, for those who’re fortunate, you’ll have insurance coverage, for those who’re fortunate and people are fantastic issues. And having work and having a way of goal is extremely essential.

However irrespective of how a lot you receives a commission, for those who’re doing a job that you just don’t be ok with, otherwise you’re not engaged with, you then’re type of simply working for the cash. And sure, once more, actuality dictates of working for the cash is an effective factor. I don’t low cost that in any respect, however what I’m saying is that along with doing no matter you’re doing, you have to be all the time retaining the issues that you just love in thoughts. In order you undergo and also you take a look at your day, it’s a must to take into consideration what are the issues which are essential to you. So now we have a day within the life. Now what I need you to do at this level, put a pause in your video. Should you haven’t already downloaded a PDF, please achieve this and spend about, possibly 5 to 10 minutes simply going via it and beginning on the very starting whenever you get up, what number of hours of sleep did you will have? What did you eat for breakfast? How lengthy did you are taking? How lengthy did you are taking to get to work if you’re commuting or did you Zoom in, how lengthy did that take it, et cetera.

Break it down minute by minute, hour by hour as a lot as you’ll be able to, together with the occasions that you just spend watching TV, on social media, what have you ever, it’s all okay. There’s no judgment. Nobody’s gonna see this, however you, however the essential factor is that you just truly are brutally trustworthy about what it’s it’s happening in a typical Tuesday or no matter day you occur to be serious about. So when you spend the following jiffy, writing that down, I’m gonna proceed portray. In order I’m truly engaged on a portray, plenty of issues undergo my head, I take into consideration, nicely, I strive to not assume an excessive amount of about artwork historic reference as a result of I heard this actually nice quote by Agnes Martin. Agnes Martin was a really well-known minimalist artists. And she or he stated, the second you begin serious about Picasso, whenever you’re portray, you’re screwed. So don’t, however I can’t assist it. I nonetheless type of take into consideration different precedents. And what’s fascinating to me about abstraction is it got here out of early flip of the century within the 20th century, have the concept that the digicam had made representational artwork considerably out of date. So that they needed to discover new methods of expressing themselves.

Hilma af Klint as just lately been rediscovered as being the primary summary artist of any be aware, earlier than Kandinsky, by the best way, who truly did these superb big work in secret, they’re simply now popping out and being proper now, exhibited on the Guggenheim. So in some methods I take inspiration as a result of my head’s stuffed with artwork historical past and design precedent. However what I attempt to do is after I’m within the second, and I’m serious about a day within the life, I’m serious about, on this case, how the paint itself, it feels a bit like a Franz Kline.

Franz Kline was a summary expressionist painter within the 1950s who was influenced by Willem de Kooning and did these superb black and white work, which had been simply highly effective as a result of what they did is that they took plenty of the type of custom of the Asian arts, Japanese Sumia artwork or ink portray, and utilized it writ giant on a canvas. And what I discovered fascinating about that’s it supposedly the story is that Franz Kline was over hanging out with Willem de Kooning again within the late 40s and early 50s and Franz Kline was caught. And de Kooning stated, you realize, you’re all the time strolling round and doing these little sketches on, you realize, ink sketches on paper and also you’re placing them in your pocket, pull a kind of out, so he did. After which what de Kooning did is he took that sketch that Franz Kline had made and put it on an overhead projector. After which, then projected that onto an enormous canvas and a few Franz Kline goes, “holy crap”. That type of impact I needed to get with the comb the flexibility to love, get this sort of motion was inconceivable to do if I used to be calculating it. Nevertheless, blowing it up, and this can be a design drawback that’s been solved, I can now take the immediacy and urgency of that ink portray, blow it up on this and reproduce it and really feel the identical type of power.

So I take into consideration Franz Kline after I’m portray, I take into consideration most just lately extra modern instance is Christopher Wool who works with enamel and alkyds on an aluminum floor. And it’s a clean floor and a part of his problem was to proceed to make portray related past the truth that illustration has been type of performed out. Now, all arts, nice, any type of artwork that you just do, fantastic. Should you go the onto the web, you’ll just about see everyone going, “it seems like {a photograph}, however it’s actually a pencil drawing” and that’s superb, that’s craft. However the essential factor about something you’re doing, that’s quote “artwork” in a big sense, whether or not it’s writing or music or theater or dance is to do one thing that has which means and goal for you. That’s not simply pure craft, however truly has soul. And the query of soul to me is all the time introduced into the truth that there’s the concept and the Japanese characters of “ki”.

Ki means power or life drive in Japanese. It’s the important thing in aikido, ki as the concept in Chinese language of “chi”. And the concept is that when you’re engaged on something artistic, you need to put that in there. And I’ve this sort of feeling the place I’ve a really sturdy feeling that ki is captured within the second that you’re truly laying down something, whether or not it’s paint or your finger on a keyboard or on a guitar, it’s captured, memorized. The work is memorized by the canvas, no matter state you’re in, in line with Robert Henri of the Ashcan College, who wrote an incredible e-book known as “The Artwork Spirit”, paint captures it. And all the pieces you do is captured usually by the state that you just’re in. There’s one other fantastic apocryphal story concerning the world’s, nicely supposedly Japan’s biggest samurai Miyamoto Musashi, who again within the 1500s stated you sweep and also you rake leaves the identical means that you’d maintain a sword. The purpose being that you just don’t go into artwork mode at one level, you don’t go into design mode. You’re all the time within the state of fixed meditation of pondering creatively. Even for those who’re ready tables, there’s a Zen-like method to the place you’ll be able to truly be one with the factor that you just’re doing on the time that you just’re doing it.

In order that all the pieces that you just do expresses the character and way of thinking that you just’re in. So with that being stated, I’m placing slightly little bit of strain on how this planning comes out, as a result of if I’m within the right way of thinking, there’s no means this portray received’t turn into at the least fascinating as a result of all the pieces I’m speaking to you about, I personally discover fascinating. And I’m hoping that that ki goes in to this work. Huge query that it’s a must to ask your self is “what’s your story?” What’s the story you’re telling your self? We’re outlined by tales. We’re born into story. You’ve inherited tales out of your dad and mom about how life works. You’ve inherited tales from maybe your faith. You’ve inherited tales that you just affiliate with the nation you had been born in, the state you had been born and possibly even the city you had been born in, and these are all good. These are all meant as constructive methods of getting you from level A to level B via life. However at a sure level, the notion of artistic insurrection for me is to not assault.

However query why do I feel the best way that I feel, as a result of these tales have big impact on the way you stroll via life. So this part we’re calling, “what’s your story?”, as a result of we’re going to speak about what it’s you actually wanna be whenever you develop up, however to be able to get there first, I’m gonna check out what my day is, and now I’m going to cowl it up for the second. And it’s essential to appreciate that creativity is a large kind, in plenty of methods, of destruction, creatively, constructively destructing. So what I’m gonna do is one thing that might terrify most individuals after they’re in the midst of engaged on one thing, however it’s essential to do away with issues that don’t serve you anymore. After which new issues mutate out of that course of.

That is white supposedly, however as you’ll be able to inform, it’s going to be the colour that it desires to be. And what’s superb concerning the artistic course of is that after you’re within the stream, it takes you the place it desires to take you and all it’s a must to be is a conduit to that. The arduous factor about that’s that it requires the concept that you’re negating your individual ego, however you’re not. Ego is definitely one thing that will get in the best way of development. As a result of if you consider it, ego is definitely the necessity to join to what’s, and it means you’re change averse since you need the world to maintain functioning the best way that it has been. As a result of we as human beings love stability and that’s good and superb. All of us want stability. However the actuality is you get stability via the embracing of the unknown. It’s via not clinging that you just truly discover the right way to stream with life.

So what we’re gonna do subsequent is speak about what it’s you actually wanna be as an grownup. And what I imply by that, sure, you will have a occupation. Perhaps you’re fortunate that your occupation is a factor you’ve all the time needed to do. Implausible. I assure you there’s issues that had been deferred from childhood. The factor that you just beloved doing whenever you had been 5, six, seven, eight years outdated remains to be in you. It’s a factor that also sometimes comes up in a dialog or comes up in a sense of longing. So I’m actually speaking concerning the crazier, the higher, and what you’re serious about for worksheet quantity two. I need you to jot down down all the pieces that you just ever needed to do or be whenever you had been a toddler, fireman, neuroscientist, astrophysicist, no matter it’s, write it down. And if it’s embarrassing and if it’s actually one thing that you just really feel type of gross about, even speaking about, be sure to write it down, as a result of bear in mind this worksheet is only for you. Nobody has to see it, however it’s good to get it out.

So for me, I discover there’s many issues that I want I may have completed after I was youthful, that I want I had completed as an grownup, however I’m persevering with to attempt to pursue it. Primary, if I’m being fully trustworthy, however all the pieces is, I all the time needed to be a full time artist. Now that’s a broad sufficient time period to the place I can apply it to all the pieces that I’m doing, whether or not it’s portray, actually making artwork, or if I’m truly making a movie, TV present, if I’m writing, that’s all artistic endeavors. So I’m slightly bit fortunate that I bought that, however to be slightly extra susceptible, however what I actually am desirous about doing, I’ve all the time been type of desirous about standup comedy.

And I discover that standup might be essentially the most terrifying factor an individual can do. Actually placing your self on the market on the sting. Something can fail at any time, however you retain doing it. To me is a large metaphor with arise and truly dwelling. And possibly a part of my makes an attempt at my pushing myself to talk publicly is a undeniable fact that I’m an introvert by nature. And I needed to actually discover ways to embrace the a part of me that’s frightened of public talking. And by doing issues like this, it truly helps me break via and never cling to my ego based mostly concepts of what my very own story is. So, however I bought to return and maintain serious about what it’s I actually needed to do after I was a child. So along with that, I additionally beloved Bruce Lee. I all the time needed to be a martial artist.

So I feel it’s essential that you just think about each single factor that was essential to you and what occurs too, and that is a part of the issue of discovering “me time” is that you just really feel delicate pressures, too. There’s the concept that for those who’re doing a full time job, how do you will have time to do, I don’t know, write a e-book. Are you not taking note of your job or are you not taking note of your partner or your girlfriend or your boyfriend or your kids? There’s all the time that unusual undercurrent of strain that occurs. The strangest factor about artistic individuals is that they must undergo a gauntlet. That’s unbelievable. It’s arduous sufficient to create, it’s arduous sufficient to be susceptible, however then you will have societal pressures which are type of like telling you, as you become old, he shouldn’t be actually doing that a lot anymore. You already know, shouldn’t, you type of develop up on this. Paradoxically and paradoxically for those who make it as a musician, for those who make it as a screenwriter, for those who make it as an astrophysicist, you’re instantly honored.

You already know, you go from principally the underside of the barrel to the highest, in working example, a well-known author named Charles Bukowski turned considerably well-known late in profession. Properly, very late in profession. And he spent most of his life working in a publish workplace and was handled like crap had horrible jobs drank an excessive amount of, smoked an excessive amount of, was thought-about by everyone to be a loser. However he wrote beautiful poetry, actual poetry that was from the guts. And everyone who gave him crap instantly goes, Oh yeah, “I used to work with him on the publish workplace”. So all of the tragedy that’s occurring proper now turns into journey. You already know, principally on afterthought, instantly you’ll be able to speak about it. And it’s been talked about you in a means that turns into a part of your legend, turns into a part of your world. So anyway, I might say, it’s good to spend about, oh, I don’t know, give your self precisely 10 minutes to jot down unmitigatedly all of your ideas about what you needed to do whenever you had been simply seven years outdated. Make the checklist, write it down. I feel for me, along with being an artist, being a standup, I’d most likely additionally checklist being a movie director or TV director. Clearly I’ve a theme. I’m like making issues, however that is simply my explicit story that I’ve outlined for myself. Your story is totally as much as you and what you wanna do. Enable your self to do the craziest checklist you’ll be able to presumably do.

So what we’re gonna do subsequent is definitely take a look at worksheet quantity two, which is the one you simply accomplished concerning the craziest stuff you’ve all the time needed to be whenever you had been youthful. Select one. Doesn’t matter which one, simply select one. And what you’re gonna do is you’re gonna write on worksheet quantity three, a brand new day. So selecting that one factor, what’s it require so that you can truly transfer issues round from worksheet primary. So you can begin to actualize the factor that you’ve got all the time needed to strive, give your self one hour a day. It doesn’t matter if it’s within the morning or a night. It doesn’t matter if it’s, you realize, someday at lunch. I truly discover that taking a stroll at lunch and permitting myself the indulgence of serious about what it’s I really like for one hour, one hour out of your complete day, out of your complete life, you’re devoting to everyone else and all the pieces else doesn’t look like a complete lot of sacrifice. B

ut what it’s a must to do is once more, be okay with not being precisely what you need it to be. Should you’re a 60 12 months outdated man, changing into an astrophysicist could be troublesome, however it’s not, it’s not inconceivable. You simply must spend time logging on, assembly teams, getting educated, however for an hour a day, that’s all you do. You give attention to that and you are taking what was earlier than and also you construct on it and also you construct on it. So what you’re seeing right here is creatively taking what was beneath and including to it. And so my serious about what my best day would come with doing the factor that most likely terrifies me essentially the most, which might be most likely arise comedy. Actually, it’s a factor that I’ve all the time admired. And I admired, as I discussed earlier, and in some methods, that is my try at truly performing and understanding slightly little bit of how that may work.

In order you’ll be able to see right here, I’m masking up, however as I’m masking up the previous, and what got here earlier than, the historical past of what’s beneath it nonetheless exhibits via. One thing new is being made. One thing that didn’t exist earlier than is now coming to existence. Whether or not one likes it or not, it’s right here. And the essential factor to appreciate, ’trigger there’s been billions of individuals born and died earlier than you, there’s gonna be trillions. Which are gonna be right here after we’re all gone. There isn’t any competitors. There’s none. Give it some thought. Who’re you competing with? For what? To what finish? Acknowledgement? Getting acknowledged, who cares? However the actuality is it’s a must to acknowledge your self and acknowledge the second that you just’re in and revel in it. I’m truly having fun with this, didn’t anticipate that.

That is type of turning out to be much more enjoyable than I noticed. However the train of speaking to you guys whereas doing that is fascinating sufficient, forcing me to be looser about my artistic course of than I usually can be. As a result of like many individuals I’m too in my head. What now we have to do our workouts to get ourselves out of our heads. So for one hour a day, give your self the posh. So take a look at your worksheet quantity three now. Undergo it. Are you up at 5:00 a.m? Do you usually stand up at seven, stand up at six, no matter it’s, pull it again. Or do you will have an hour at lunch that you are able to do that novel you’ve all the time needed to be doing, Do it! Write it on Publish-it notes. It doesn’t matter, nobody cares. Nobody has to see it. Similar factor with dancing. Should you wanna be a dancer, take classes at night time, take classes on-line, do it within the security and privateness of your individual lavatory. Who cares, you realize, simply do it. You’re right here to create.

The power of life is twofold. One is entropy. Every thing is slowly falling aside. Even the universe is falling aside. It’s a wierd factor, proper? However what works in opposition to that’s life. Evolution. Which truly takes complexity and makes it much more advanced and makes even larger methods extra advanced. Two issues working in opposition to one another, chaos, which then turns into a factor. These are the 2 parts of yin yang that you have to be serious about everytime you’re working in your artistic work. Now we’ve gone via the entire course of. Primary, you will have thought of your day. How did your day go? How does it go usually? How does a typical Tuesday go? Quantity two, you considered the issues which are actually essential to you that come from childhood and also you took a kind of.

And quantity three, you constructed a brand new schedule based mostly upon that. So what now we have in the long run is the inspiration of that thought means of that pondering happening, and what we’re gonna do subsequent is definitely then transfer it from being in a state of black and white, as a result of life just isn’t that means. And what we’re gonna do is then add coloration to it, and add power and add the factor I used to be speaking about by way of ki. So right here we go. That is randomization, however I’m additionally going with instinct, instinct based mostly upon years of getting been a painter, a creator, an artist. And the query all the time is “why that, why that selection? “Why does that occur?” I don’t know precisely, however for those who additionally give it some thought because the Huge Bang, all of the particles on the earth, all the weather on the earth have been coming collectively one after the opposite to make us. To make the place we at the moment are, to make this second occur.

So is that this random? Is abstraction random? Perhaps, I’m unsure. I type of discover it to be unusually formative as a result of I’m a giant believer in the truth that once more, the artwork itself captures the power of the particular person as they’re making it and an excessive amount of evaluation can take the wonder out of one thing. I feel there’s one thing beautiful about the truth that the portray decides to make itself and do what it desires to do.

So one of the crucial essential notions in Zen Buddhism is the concept of the enso. It’s the concept of the circle and the circle represents each the void, mu, vacancy, in addition to the universe. So what we’re gonna do is cap off this portray with the enso and notice that is an artifact of the artistic course of. There’s a historical past of paint, historical past of story beneath it. And what it’s a must to notice, as you paint is that the method of constructing, there isn’t a failure within the course of. There’s solely stopping. And what you wanna do is just remember to don’t cease.

The enso usually is one good circle. I’m going to switch it and make a number of circles of the enso as a result of there isn’t a perfection, as a result of all the pieces is in flux, and all the pieces is already good. And with that, we finish the category on The Artistic Self and the artistic means of expressing oneself via a artistic life. We finish the place we started. Preserve rebelling creatively.