Though I'm passionately addicted to words, and no doubt grievously under-developed otherwise, I'm aware that there's a whole other world out there. A world of color, shape, texture—all sorts of visual playfulness and exploration—awaits the would-be creative person. To learn more, I recently interviewed Nita Leland, an artist, teacher, lecturer and juror of art exhibitions, as well as the author of The New Creative Artist: A Guide to Developing Your Creative Spirit.
Q: You've spent so much time developing cool exercises and ways of thinking to lead would-be artists (and anyone else) into new territory. What I wonder is if you're able to surprise yourself anymore. If so, when would that come about? I guess I'm asking if it's possible to keep developing one's creative spirit or is it ever fully "developed," and then what?
NL: I'm constantly surprised at what I can do if I keep my mind open to possibilities. I spent so many years of my life as a traditionalist in everything I did that I never thought of myself as a creative person. When I began teaching watercolor, I realized that most of my students had that same mindset. I needed to convince them of their creative potential before I could teach them to paint, so I began to collect ideas for activities that would jog them out of routine thinking. I began to do more playing myself—much as I played with my kids when they were small. I still play—maybe now more than ever—as I get older. The creative spirit is always evolving with another challenge or interesting experience just down the road.
Q: I'm especially interested in the state of flow, when time seems to stop because one is so fully engaged in one's art (or any activity). Do you experience that and do you do anything in particular to make it more likely to happen?
NL: I have experienced creative flow, as well as the "aha" moment, many times. Both are more likely to occur when my mind is relatively free from stress or activity, so I find I need to consciously put myself into a frame of mind where I let go of daily concerns, relax and see what happens. I can't force it, but if I, say, putter in my studio and organize my collection of rice papers, I might very well feel inspired to begin a collage using them.
Q: The New Creative Artist contains such an array of things to try and to think about, from design decisions to realism vs. abstraction to new mediums and methods. Do you have a preference for any particular activity?
NL: My favorite drawing activity is the two-hand drawing. With a different colored marker in each hand, I draw an object moving both hands simultaneously on opposite sites of the object. My hands move together and create a rhythmic, pleasing line that seems playful and more truthful than a studied line drawn with one hand. I also enjoy torn-paper collage from magazines, using words and images to explore themes.
Q: Have you used all the exercises yourself? I ask this because in my own book Writing in Flow, I asked some major novelists and poets for their favorite exercises, which they mostly offer their college students. But I myself never use exercises, preferring to work on the thing itself. Or are your exercises actually new ways to think about the thing itself?
NL: Sometimes I do mind-mapping in conjunction with a project, to explore different ways of looking at it. When I group tasks around the main idea, I have a better picture of how the art or writing might develop. Once I get rolling, though, I tend not to follow a plan slavishly. When I was younger, I was much more rigid about that than I am now. I like to look at the overview, then see what happens. I use the exercises more with my classes than I do in my studio.
Q: Are there some contemporary artists that you especially favor and whose careers you watch?
NL: The list is so long, I wouldn't know where to begin. I'm not knowledgeable about the Art Scene, per se. I tend to be more aware of artists who work in water media and/or collage. Edward Betts has been an influence in my design thinking, Bing Davis in creativity, and many artists in watercolor techniques. I'm impressed with Skip Lawrence's development from a traditional landscape painter to consummate colorist. I'm also amazed at the growth of many artists who've taken my workshops and those of other artists and have continued to grow and develop professional careers. These are the artists I look at when I'm searching for artwork for my books.
Q: I'm curious: when you first began doing watercolors, did you dream of being a "famous" artist? Or were you always happy to create, teach, write, and have fun with the materials?
NL: Watercolor painting began as a hobby for me, but I was surprised at the passion it aroused in me. I didn't have "goals." I just wanted to paint. But I seem to have teaching in my DNA, so I began to teach and that was a great way to share my excitement. I entered many local and area shows and had some success in exhibitions, so I suppose I did have an idea that maybe someday I'd work my way up the ladder to national organizations. Only in the meantime, I began to concentrate on color and creativity and wrote my books. At that point I realized that I had to make a choice, as I couldn't do justice to both. I chose teaching and writing. I still love to paint, but I do it for myself and have no desire to compete. When I'm writing my art instruction books, I feel myself connecting with others who share my passion—and the e-mails I receive from my readers make me feel it has all been worth the effort.
- More about the artist: Nita Leland has taught hundreds of art workshops in color, creativity, design and collage, and she is the designer of the Nita LelandTM Color Scheme Selector, as well as featured artist in a video series, "Exploring Color Workshop," a color course for artists and teachers. In addition to The New Creative Artist, she is the author of additional art instruction books published by North Light Books: Exploring Color Revised, Creative Collage Techniques, and Confident Color. Leland's artwork (the images on this post are all hers, by the way) has been juried into numerous shows and won awards, including first place in transparent watercolor in the Western Ohio Watercolor Society spring show, 2006. Check out Leland's Exploring Color and Creativity Website which includes her interviews with several other artists. She also writes a blog.
