Carmen Torbus,

in her book, THE ARTIST UNIQUE, encourages everyone with the impulse to create to REACH.  Reach beyond their comfort zone. Reach beyond what they know or think they know…and explore what MIGHT BE.  That is an impulse that has motivated artists through the centuries.  Picasso was famously quoted expressing that if he knew what a thing was going to be before he made it, why would he bother making it?

A good question.  Inspired by Carmen’s book…I wondered about creating a POD of artists willing to press their comfort zones.  I asked Carmen if she’d like a small group of professional artists to use her book as an inspiration to create.  But!  (you may object) YOU are professionals.  Art is easy for you.  Ha!  A misconception if I ever heard one!  Art.  Making art.  Creating.  It takes courage to step into any mystery and muster the courage to discover a new thing or behave in a new way.  Art is no exception.  And being a professional artist just sometimes makes it harder because the bar for something “looking good” is raised.

A small band of courageous souls:  Carmen, herself.  Me.  Liz Kalloch.  Christine Mason Miller.  Christen Olivarez.  We all said yes to picking a method or artistic expression with which we were little familiar.  Or not familiar at all.  Explore it.  Create something…and give it away.  That was the structure.

Carmen’s book is a buffet table of  yummy artistic options. I picked the one that I’ve resisted all my life. The expression that made me most uncomfortable and the one I had the least experience with.  Dimensional work: Polymer Clay.  I didn’t even have any.  I had none of the tools. This was a fresh effort and the first foray into it was dismal.  So clunky I was reluctant to take a photo of it.  Ah.  But I did.  Because documenting failures along the path is an excellent way to imprint the truth that Edison freely shared: there are no failures, just a bunch of ways that lead to a solution.

If you were to pick something about which you have an interest or curiosity but no demonstrated skill or talent: what would it be?  Featured today is one of Carmen’s lovely works.  Pictured on Monday will be my first effort at understanding how to work with Polymer Clay.  Reach!  Reach a little today.