There are many names for these unique patterns, patterns that individuals both perceive and make, and it’s a type of human behavior that can occur below the level of awareness. (See review of Gladwell’s Blink below for others).

We recognize and produce such patterns quicker than we can consciously know. We recognize an artist after a glance at a painting, or maybe even a sample of brushstrokes, never before seen, or we name a composer after just a few bars of something never before heard. Birdwatchers refer to the ability to identify a bird never before seen as recognizing its “giss”, its essence.

When we produce such patterns, it’s not like the old idea of Freudian slips. Such unawarenesses need not be dark material, repressed because it’s so unacceptable. It can just be upwellings, bubbles of half-processed stuff, like eggshell bits showing up in homemade compost. Some is what critics call style, like the pace of your working, choice of color palette, sizes you work in, the way you handle presentation of your work. These may all be at quite a different level than the choices you’re conscious of in your image-making.

Psychologists love to study this stuff but you may not be much interested in lifting the veil so see how you unconsciously make such choices. You may not care that your ability to discriminate the color “rust” from “brick” may be related whether or not you had the Crayola 64 pack as a kid. But on the other hand you might. It’s up to you to figure out when more awareness will improve your art and when you do better just letting the patterns emerge.
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II. Energy Management: Translations from the Psych Research Lab, the Board Room and the Shrink’s Couch  
Gladwell, Malcom. Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking. 2004.

Gladwell takes us on a delightful romp through many regions where we make connections and choices without being aware of how we do it. Sound like making art on a good day?

Gladwell unfolds the mysteries of how we make snap judgments and how they can work for or against you. His analysis of speed-dating underlines the benefit of not being confused by too much information but also reveals major rifts between what people say they want and what they actually pick. It had me reflecting on how the fast viewing of many slides for art shows might actually be speed-jurying, with the same benefits and problems.

Even more to the artist’s benefit are ideas on how to “structure for spontaneity”, using the tricks of improvisational actors, military commanders, and first responders. Time pressure, anxiety, and biases interact: e.g. choices made for a deadline you’re anxious about are likely to follow some stereotypical patterns you’re unaware of rather than being maximally creative. If you keep your own process of creating in mind while reading, you may make some changes in how you work so that your “blink” decisions can be more creative.
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III. Friends in Print: When you feel like reading

Stevens, Mark & Swan, Annalynn. De Kooning. 2004.  de Kooning’s first teacher in Rotterdam, said, “Draw without ideas! Draw what you see, not what you think!” This may sound spontaneous but, as deKooning’s early days are described, you come to see that this was in the context of a strict four-year curriculum where the student might spend a whole three-hour silent class working on four square centimeters.

You may not be up to all 600 pages of this recent biography, but dipping into it for just such telling descriptions may be worth your while. It is a thorough work without a lot of psychological interpretation so that readers can follow their own ideas of how certain life events unconsciously affected de Kooning’s body of work.
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IV. Creative Links

www.slmm.org. The Society of Layerists takes a holistic approach to making art. As you look through the site and the art of the members, many emphasize how layers are used to make connections and heighten spiritual awareness. They are trying to be uncommonly aware of, and articulate in describing, how they make their art.

www.touchdrawing.com I’m re-referencing this site since touch drawing is an approach where you’re not even visually aware of marks as you make them because they are under a cover sheet. A great approach to encourage unconscious styles of mark-making.
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V. Coaching Opportunities
New Telecoaching Group: Building Confidence In and Out of the Studio.
Six one-hour telegroup sessions.
Wednesday mornings at 9 PST, beginning September 7th.
Build confidence in yourself, your goals, strengths, and styles with the support of a coach and a group. The group telephone format is one of the most affordable ways add creativity coaching to your life. The fees are lower than individual sessions and you never have to get out of your pajamas.

Sign up before August 31^st for a 10% discount. Click here for details.
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VI. Newsletter Info
E-mail changes. To change your e-mail address, subscribe, or unsubscribe please e-mail connect@dianereardon.com. If you use a spam filter, please add this e-mail address to your list of approved senders. This material is included on the breakTHROUGH Creativity Coaching website (www.dianereardon.com). All material is copyrighted ©, 31 July 2005, Diane Reardon. All rights reserved. Visit the website for back issues and details on scheduling a complimentary one-hour coaching session.
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