June 13, 2015
Vancouver Island School of Art Newsletter

Why do people give up on creativity?

I came across some boxes of student files with "inactive" written across the top. This got me thinking about what makes a person become "inactive"?  I have witnessed the first steps to giving up. Students sign up for a course and after seeing the results of their first homework assignment, they are immediately ready to give up. Or they take an introduction to painting course and because they didn't make what they considered to be a "good painting", they decide never to take another art course. The focus is on the result rather than the process.

As a person whose life has been incredibly enriched by art, I always encourage people to give their own creative pursuits a second, and even a third chance. I have seen many lives changed by art. The study of art is not just about making pretty pictures; it is about developing an intense engagement with life, with history, with culture and with many other areas of human interest and research. Art teaches you how to be in the world while learning about the world at the same time. To quote Marcel Proust, "only through art can we get outside of ourselves and know another's view of the universe."

So if you are one of those who quit because you didn't like the first thing you made, I encourage you to come back and try again. As Elizabeth Gilbert said her very well-viewed TED Talk, creativity starts just by showing up. It might not even be to an art class, it might just be a matter of showing up to your studio or your kitchen table and sitting in front of a blank piece of paper with a pen. Show up. Make a mark. You will be surprised where it takes you.

As director of an art school, I have had several opportunities to give up and choose an easier path. I have stuck with it for two main reasons: I believe that all individuals no matter what their background, or level of so-called "talent" could benefit by a creative life, and I know that Victoria is a better place with VISA. The biggest challenge in running an art school is that society at large does not support the visual arts. In terms of ranking the types of organizations to which people donate, visual arts organizations always appear at the bottom of the list. People don't consider visual arts worthy of support because they don't see how art can change lives. They think art is mere pastime, aka, a way to pass time. They don't understand that visual art offers a wonderful way to understand life, the world, and the universe itself. If you are interested in reading more on this, here are some excellent books on how art helps you to live a more engaged life: Art as Therapy and Looking at Mindfulness. It is vital and imperative that art, whether the making of it, or the looking at it, is an active part of our consciousness.

Both individuals and society dismiss the importance of art is because its life-changing aspects are not immediately visible. The result of engaging in art goes way beyond the actual physical object at hand. Your brain gets changed when you are making art; this change takes place whether the work is good or bad. The prevailing attitude is if the result isn't immediately visible, then it can't be worthwhile. Its not like taking a new kind of drug that gives you immediate pain relief. You have to be patient with the creative process. Your efforts might end up looking a mess, but do not underestimate what your brain is learning through the process of making your so-called "failure". You will take the information learned to your next creative endeavour and it will be better for it.  However if you don't show up, it will never happen.

So if you have begun an art course but never finished, or you have a desire to be creative, but you don't know where to start, just show up and see what happens. Let yourself make the ugly drawing or bad painting a hundred times. Eventually if you keep showing up you will make something really great.  
Our Razzle Dazzle Garden Party is TONIGHT
Sat June 13 at 5pm


Tickets available at the door!
Party is located at 2938 Tudor Ave in Ten Mile Point (only 15 minutes from downtown Victoria)

Over the last few years VISA has relied mostly on tuition for its revenue. No educational organization, however big or small, can survive only on tuition. Fundraising efforts are essential for our long term survival. We invite you to support us by coming to our fabulous 1920s themed Razzle Dazzle Garden Party. What better way to spend a warm summer evening?

More info and tickets: visaturns10.

However if you can't join us at the party, won't you please make a
tax-deductible donation?

Your donation will help keep VISA alive and well.



 
NEW!  VISA Art Lecture Series presents
 
A Closer Look at the Poetics of Space 
with Jessa Alston-O'Connor from the Vancouver Art Gallery  
Wednesday, July 17 at 7pm

 

How can we explain the roles and meanings of space in our daily lives? In art? How have artists approached the challenge of space, at once a concrete concept but also as an abstract idea? Art educator Jessa Alston-O'Connor will take a closer look at the Vancouver Art Gallery's recent exhibition, The Poetics of Space, featuring key works of historic and contemporary art from their permanent collection.  Works from notable artists including Lawren Harris, Emily Carr, Jack Shadbolt, Rebecca Belmore and many others will be considered in questioning how we strive to represent space visually and as an abstract idea. A range of works from abstraction, to modern sculpture, performance and contemporary photography, will be discussed with a focus on how each artist approaches space in the 2D and 3D, in the homes we live in, and in mapping the open cities and natural surroundings where we build our lives. The possibilities of representing space in art are rich and complex, and are a challenge artists of the past and present are continuously faced with. How does space factor in to your art practice?  Join us for a thought-provoking lecture and discussion.

Jessa Alston-O'Connor is an art educator and independent arts writer from
Vancouver. She holds a Masters in Art History from Concordia University with a concentration in Asian Canadian Art, Identity and Food Culture in Contemporary Art. Over the past ten years she has taught Art History at the University of Saskatchewan, and worked in public art galleries and collectively run art spaces across Canada, developing and delivering programs for meaningful connections between art and diverse publics. She is an educator in Public Programs at the 
Vancouver Art Gallery and instructor at Emily Carr University of Art 
and Design.

Admission fee: $5.00
All proceeds earned go towards the cost of this lecture and future lectures in the series.

Lecture takes place in the Slide Room Gallery Wednesday July 17 at 7pm


Abstract Mark Making
Sunday June 21, 10am-5pm
 
This is a drawing-focused workshop in which you will get to explore a range of mark making techniques and approaches. The term "mark making" refers to the myriad of lines used to create texture, space and structure in a work. This is a great workshop for people interested in working in a more abstract way and for those who want to develop their vocabulary of marks to give drawings new excitement and expressiveness. No experience necessary.

Wendy Welch
Tuition: $135 (6hrs)
All materials included
To register
Artist Talk Jessica Ziakin-Cook
June 24 at 7pm, Slide Room Gallery


Jessica will talk about the work in her Diploma of Fine Arts exhibition, "...sit like a sparrow, solitary".

"Starting from the premise that my heart is a room, I lift buildings and architectural spaces from Western art to examine what this room might ideally look like. In this series I have alit on the 'gloriette,' a gazebo-like form popular in the Middle Ages and common in illuminations of the Annunciation. The structures found in illuminated manuscripts lend themselves to my work because they are imagined buildings. They are composite forms created to elaborate the meaning of the miraculous scenes they housed."

Panel Discussion at AGGV, Saturday, June 13 at 1pm (TODAY)
(Note: VISA instructor John Luna will be part of the panel) 
For more info: The School of Jock



VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

Do you have a few  hours a month to help out your favourite art  school? We need volunteers on an occasional basis to help us out with various events such as our annual Open House, Pub Nights, Artist Talks and Lectures and other VISA related-happenings that occur on- and off-site.

Its a fun way to spend some time with like-minded people as well help support a great cause. Please contact the office if you would like to be part of our Volunteer Committee.


VISA UPDATE

We are delighted to announce that we now have a block transfer agreement with Vancouver Island University in Nanaimo. Students who complete the Certificate of Visual Arts at VISA can transfer these credits to the first year of the Bachelor of Arts, Major in Visual Arts, at VIU.

 
Applications to VISA's  Certificate of Visual Arts program are accepted on an on-going, first come first serve basis. It is recommended to apply before July 30 in order to ensure availability of courses.
For more information contact Melissa in the office
Diploma of Fine Arts at VISA transferable to University of Gloucestershire, UK Diploma of Fine Arts + 8 months at the University of Gloucestershire = BA in Fine Art.
Vancouver Island School of Art | | [email protected] | http://vancouverislandschoolart.com
Vancouver Island School of Art
2549 Quadra Street
Victoria, V8T 4E1