The Conception of Creativity: Artist Seth Crandall

My goal for this series of guest bloggers talking about their passion was to invite as many different artists as possible, and include different arts and dreams. What better way to inspire someone who wants to write then to read how another writer started in her journey?

And to someone who wants to paint, the words of a painter will offer that inspiration needed to push through the beginning struggles and the day-to-day toils and triumphs.

Such is the case today with artist Seth Crandall, whom I invited to share his path and experience in the creative world of drawing and painting.

In his own words:

 

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“Morph: Creative Change

I started on the creative art path when I discovered some unknown art ability in middle and high school. I quickly grew to love art but did not see it as a viable option as a life pursuit and had no intention of doing anything serious with art after high school. At that time, art was something I loved but was perceived as just a phase that I would grow out of. I quickly realized that the drive to create and build with my hands is closely connected with who I am; to drop creativity and art altogether would negate meaningful being. When choosing a major in college was inevitable, art was the choice.
As a novice artist, I was motivated to make my art look real. My perception was that the more I could make something look like real life, the better the artwork was. The ultimate goal was to make something look so real that one could not tell that it was an artwork. Abstraction and stylized art were a joke to my paradigm—dog poop on the side of the road that someone better clean up.

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As I learned more about art in college and experienced emotional trauma that accompanies young adult life, my art became more conceptual while still keeping a foot on the foundation of realism that was embedded in my psyche early on. Now my art is motivated by an idea or concept that I feel is important enough to share or communicate. I rarely will just draw a picture simply for pleasure or to revel in the ability to make something appear real. If I do not perceive that I have something important to say or express, the desire to make art or be creative is diminished. Consequently, my art is rather didactic and I was frequently criticized for this in collage: my art becoming cryptic. It may appear to be just another parade of sophisticated emptiness, but I have a concrete concept that is driving the artwork.

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Occasionally, I am without a concept that feels worthy of making art about and artistic production slows. This once bothered me, but now I accept it as part of the creative process. I realize that good ideas have to be worked for. When things slow down, I go into a meditative and research oriented phase. I will tinker around with different ideas in my sketch book, review past ideas, or read. At some point I run into something great serendipitously. It is a mixture of life experiences, thoughts, and process, guided by God’s hand of providence, which leads to great art and concepts.

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It is unclear where my creative pursuits will take my life. One thing is certain: being creative will always be part of my life. I will always be producing something. Pushing forward, something great awaits.”

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