Being more fearless

‘….In the spirit of raku, there is the necessity to embrace the element of surprise’ - Paul Soldner 1973

Paul Soldner, (1921-2011) an american ceramic artist who trained with Peter Voulkos and was well known for his experimental approach, particularly with raku. He developed new techniques beyond the traditions of the 16th Century Japanese methods that became known as American Raku. He threw pots off centre, upside down and dropped them on the floor to find new possibilities in shape.

This playful and fearless approach to creating is something that most of us seem to lose as we grow up. Frightened of making mistakes. What if it doesn’t work? , What will people think? Picasso famously said that all children are artists, but the problem is to remain an artist once we grow up. He was talking about a freedom of expression that young children have that is not effected by making a mistake or fear of judgement.

I have been trying new approaches in order to develop my own work recently. Experimenting with new techniques for making and some new mindsets to try and break down those self-imposed boundaries. Being more ‘Paul’ to see where the work takes me. Weirdly it’s not that easy to do! It takes work to stay in the right frame of mind to not pre-judge something or tell myself I can’t because nobody else does it that way. It has also felt liberating and exciting to allow myself to work with much more freedom. I haven’t dropped my work on the floor yet to find new forms but never say never!

The experiments in the studio have led to a new series of sculptures which I’ve called ‘Running Out of Eden’. It is still about our relationship with the Earth and the natural world, but in this series I am focussing on ideas around climate change and our need to transform to new ways of living that involve harmony and respect for our planet.

I feel like I have unlocked a sense of freedom in my creativity that I had been holding back. Going forward, the challenge might be to maintain that mindset of allowing my creativity to bear no limits. Crossing comfort zone boundaries is, well, uncomfortable but nothing exciting is found in comfort zones, right?

To find out more about ‘Running Out of Eden’ click here.