Artistic development: how to develop as an artist, along your own path

Article by Catherine Jo Morgan, from www.cjmorgan.com  -

Empathic responses are by far the most important thing an artist can do to develop. They're more important than practicing technical skills, though practice does matter. Empathic responses are more important than learning art history, studying composition, learning color theory, or any other topic on the art school curriculum. Too bad they're seldom taught anywhere!

We can respond to another person's experiencing either with judgment, or with empathy. When we choose empathy, we open ourselves to let the other person's feeling-experience flow through the center of us. We don't have to hold onto it - make it part of ourselves - just let it flow through so we can feel and accept it as so. Sometime empathic responses to
another person are easy and natural, sometimes difficult. It can take practice and skill.

Similarly, we can respond to any object, any being, any co-inhabitant on earth - with either judgment or empathy. To respond empathically, we deliberately suspend judgment. We may choose to make judgments at another time, but for now, we choose empathy. Any being is worthy of empathic response, and (in my opinion) appreciates it. Artwork, whether complete or in progress, especially benefits from empathic response. Empathic responses are the surest guide to what the artwork needs next.

This looks a little trickier even, than responding empathically to a person. A person, after all, gives us lots of clues - facial expression, tone of voice, body language, words. An object usually just sits there, mute. Hence, writers and visual artists have developed a lot of techniques to facilitate empathy with objects.

Peter Elbow

A good place to start is with what I call "Elbow responses" because I learned them from Peter Elbow's book, Writing Without Teachers. This book offers much help in starting and guiding a writer's group, one in which members respond to each other's work with specific empathic responses. These responses prove to be much more helpful than either praise or criticism.

An example of an "Elbow response" is "take the piece away." To do this, look at your piece of artwork for a moment. Then look away. What do you now remember most about it? What stays in your mind? (I usually jot down a note about this.)

Another Elbow response is called "pointing." Look at your piece. What draws your attention? What holds it?

Another (that I'm pretty sure is from Peter Elbow): Pretend the piece was made instead of something else that was nagging at the maker, wanting to be made. What's the piece like that really wanted to be made?

There are plenty more Elbow responses, for which I refer you to his book.

Playing Smoke

Another important set of empathic responses comes from the novelist John Gardner's book, On Becoming a Novelist. He recommends a game called Smoke. "Playing Smoke" is something you can also play as an empathic response.

To play Smoke, run rapidly through a set of questions like "If this piece were a musical instrument, what would it be?" "If this were a tree, what kind would it be?" "If this were a kind of motion or locomotion, what would it be?" "If this were a famous person, who..." And so on. There are dozens, maybe hundreds, of possible Smoke questions. (The name comes from the question, "If this were a kind of smoke, what kind would it be?")

There are some board games on the market based on Smoke. I lucked into one called Identity in a thrift shop. So I have a big set of question cards I can use to surprise myself as I look at a bowl.

Other Empathic Responses

Over the years I've accumulated other empathic responses to use. Examples include:

"What part of your body does the piece connect with most?"

"Pretend the piece keeps repeating one word or phrase or sentence to you. What is it saying?"

"Gesture draw this piece."

"Pretend the piece is writing a note to you. Three sentences. Write it now."

"Get up and dance this piece. Let your body move to the piece - whatever comes. Just watch."

I have so many that I put them on blank business cards. When I do empathic responses, I can use the list of key responses, and/or draw one of these cards at a time and surprise myself. Soon I'll make these available as a Word document, ready to print out on standard business card pages. If you'd like to be notified when this is published here, just email me.

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© 2004 Catherine Jo Morgan. www.cjmorgan.com

This article may not be used for commercial purposes without written permission of the author. However, it's made freely available to other artists and interested people. Please give credit to the author, with the website address, when sharing any part of this article with other people. Thanks.

Page last updated: March 6, 2004