Why Make Art? A Personal Reflection
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It’s absorbing, intriguing, calming, energising, fulfilling, frustrating, joyful, irritating ….. and so on and so on. These are many of the words that come into my head if I think about how I feel when I’m making art.
In my early life at school, art classes were my 'happy place' where 'Miss Hardy' was encouraging, and implied I should aim for Art School. Unfortunately, family circumstances meant that didn't happen; I left school before taking A-Levels and followed a different path.
This is as near 15 year old Kate got to life-drawing - plus a clear sense of drama when painting!
But I suspect making art has a lot to do with my own feelings, particularly now I am freed up from a very different career to focus a large amount of my time on art and my degree. This is also such a privilege - being able to ‘indulge’ myself in this way. So where do the feelings come from? Why do I feel very motivated to create art and many of my friends just don’t? Maybe one explanation is one of genes.
Art was an early influence in my early life as my grandmother painted extensively, mainly in watercolours. Unusually for women in the 19th Century, she went to art college and then became, I believe, the first ‘Arts and Crafts’ teacher at the newly formed Roedean School for girls. As was the requirement then, she left teaching when she married but continued to paint throughout her life, usually land or seascapes, and our house was filled with her paintings. She died when I was only five so sadly I have very dim memories of her. It would be great to be able to quiz her and compare art college experiences!
My grandmother, Alice in 1957. One of Alice's watercolours
I'm 2nd child from the right (ruining the pose!).
Now, as I immerse myself in the fine art degree, I’m moving beyond how those instinctive feelings alone motivate me and am beginning to focus much more on interesting subject matter and therefore what I might express through making art. So this year I am beginning to combine two loves - art and music - and am currently exploring how the two might ‘meet up’ through visual art. The malleability of oil paints appeals the most, offering opportunities to express movement and bring about the ‘colour’ found in music.
I’m looking forward to seeing how it works out …..