Improvisation

Improvisation is the act of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever is available. All the arts, and some non-artistic fields, have forms of improvisation.  In writing, it would manifest as stream of consciousness, in music I would say jazz is the mothership.  Our lives, in general, oftentimes are improvised.  No matter how we want to control or pre-plan, sometimes the Universe has other plans, as in a pandemic,  and we adapt, we improvise.   

Improvisation is an essential part of my art process. As a matter of fact, I love listening to jazz, and all ramifications of jazz, when I draw.  It puts me on the road to creative freedom. I've tried so many other genres of music to create, and I come back to jazz.  Most days I live stream WBGO from morning to late afternoon, listening through the Blues Break.  Whether it be the improvised sounds of Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, or Miles Davis,  the percussive beats of a Latin jazz jam, or scat singing by greats like Ella Fitzgerald, there is nothing like jazz to set me free.  For me, drawing and writing, or any creative act is an act of self-expression, freedom of expression, surrendering and allowing the authentic self to be heard, seen, and acknowledged.  Improvisation, or allowing the 'flow' of the self to reveal itself without censorship or editorial input, is where I spend much of my creative time and is the reason I choose jazz to accompany me in the journey.

2019, five minute study on 6 x 6 paper

Hovering, 2021, pastels on 19 x 25 Indian paper

Searching for the sun, daily portrait, 2020, oil pastels on 11 x 14 paper

My abstracts are born 100% from a place of improvisation and stream of consciousness.  They start with one line, followed by one color, and the rest reveals itself as I let myself flow.  I get out my way.  Sometimes, the ego "I" wants to be included, and I sense it like a cloud over my head. I acknowledge it, and wish it well in its journey.  

To get into the flow, just like a musician, I rehearse, I practice, I experiment.  I may do five minute studies on 6 x 6 paper tiles, (see example on left) or a series of daily portraits with oil pastels (see below, center).  Whatever comes out is useful for my creative process.  For example, the five minute 6 x 6 abstract I did in 2019  led to the large abstract work I finished this year, Hovering, a work also born out of stream of consciousness. 

In addition, I journal daily. Like writer Julia Cameron  pointed out in her book The Artist's Way, much is revealed when you practice something consistently.  What she termed, "morning pages," is a tremendous resource for any artist. Writing on paper, the act of writing, is a powerful stream, if one just lets it flow.

The lesson I learn from all of this is to show up.  Show up to your daily practice, whatever that is, without judgement, and simply start.  Then watch, what writer Elizabeth Gilbert  termed, the "Big Magic" happen.

​AMO