Why is the creation of art interesting to watch? Surely many of us have come across someone whether in a museum or in a park doing some kind of sketching or painting. It catches our attention. We stand behind them, trying not to disturb this mysterious process that is taking place before our very eyes.”I wish I could do that?”
(working with Steve Haas of World Vision at an AIDS summit)
We’ve always had a fascination with the creation of art. The first time we scribbled with a crayon on the wall of our house, watching magically how the color would leave the stick and remain on the surface in whatever form I intended…until of course mom came around and washed it off. Or maybe you are one of the millions of people who have seen the Bob Ross painting. He truly is an experiential artist! Cheesy, yes, but it’s enjoyable watching him create happy little trees in happy little forests? He makes it look so easy! I’ve met many who actually went out that day and bought oil paints because they too wanted to create some kind of nature painting after watching him.
Even if bad art is being made people will watch. What about those guys at the country fair or city street corner that make the spray paint universes? Not anything great, but it draws a crowd. People are amazed at the process.It is the process that draws us in. And being an artist, I can say that the process is the best part of the art experience. Very few people ever get to see it though because we are a culture of finished products. We see finished art pieces hanging in galleries. We buy polished music records which have been worked and worked on until they are considered worthy to be packaged and sold at the local music store. Sure you may see a “making of” program on TV or on the special features menu option on your DVD, but most people never get to be on the creative process of making art.
What is this process? In my opinion, the creative process is the activity, the mental thought and physical movement, that brings about an idea or concept into the physical realm. This activity is special on it’s own. No story is complete with just the ending. The journey is the story. Same with art – the musical or the physical. The making of (“the journey”) is the most powerful part of the creative process, because somewhere during all the activity, the viewer makes some kind of attachment to the piece. It no longer remains just an image, but it symbolizes an experience.
There is great potential in allowing others to make that emotional attachment. Great potential to gain their attention. Great potential to inspire and make an impact on a person’s life. Great potential to enhance the “encounter” aspect of public performances. Great potential to aid others in their pursuit of doing good in this world.Our goal is to bring the creative process to the public audiences. This happens in a number of different ways. We work alongside musicians in the live setting…. attempting to visually depict what they are audibly creating. We work with a number of non-profits in multiple venues… using live art for awareness and for advocacy. We work in churches bringing about the lost culture of the Visual Word. And there are miscellaneous other events that we participate in as well.
The Transpire Project - Live Painting 