This was a thought-provoking prompt this week that has really led me to think about concepts of maturity and authenticity particularly in relationship to art and art journalling. However my first thought was that “fake it until you make it” involved the use of pre-made materials. I pulled out a gel print that I particularly liked from my stash. I didn’t rip it up or create any mash up with other papers, I just literally and figuratively “cut corners” by trimming off the white borders (which will be a thing of the past with my new 12″ x 14″ gel press)
I got out my markers and pens to do a little highlighting and scribbled words. This allowed me to think about my discomfort a bit more. I realized there was a bit of a balancing act between maturity/learning, authenticity and ego. Perhaps it isn’t an accident that more women are drawn to mixed media because it is, when you think about it, a collaborative art form. We are creating mash-ups often drawing on the art of others. Women are socialized to be more collaborative. Like the butterflies in our group (and on my page) the art we incorporate carries the page forward in combination with our own. Authenticity is a great value but sometimes we get it confused with egotism (or at least I do) when we feel like our own voice has to speak the loudest. Maturity is being able to step back and let another voice speak sometimes and I think the Dina Wakely message of “I spill make my mark” is hilariously apt to these thoughts.
No comment yet, add your voice below!