The Art of Reflection

 

I was pleased to see on BBC Breakfast this morning that art gallery attendance is up.  The report suggested that art provides something that our fast-moving, digital society seems to need more of - a space to pause and reflect.

I recently visited the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford with my friend Lisa Cherry.  I wanted to try out an activity that I had first taken part in at the V&A several months ago.  We were to wander around and engage with and sketch something that 'sang' to us (a word used by my tutor, Mary Ann Kernan at City University London, who led the activity at the V&A).  It is a completey silent, 45min exercise which has no rules apart from the ones just mentioned.

We later met upstairs in the rooftop restaurant (lovely place on a sunny day) and shared our experiences.  For both of us, it was a chance to pause and reflect.  By focusing on something physical and external, we were able to connect with the intangible and internal.  The sketch was less important than the process and the ongoing reflection on the experience.

Need time and space to think?  Try this exercise and see where it takes you...

Creative Spaces

(Sarah Greenwood's desk - picture taken at the University of the Arts, London.  Sarah was Production Designer on the Sherlock Holmes film.)

 
I've been reflecting on the last couple of years and my journey through the MICL.  I've come to realise that the space in which I work has quite an impact on my creativity and productiveness.  This in turn has an effect on how I feel.

Whilst tussling with essays, reading academic books and organising my thoughts, I've moved around the house.  I may start off in my home office, move through to the kitchen table and end up in the lounge on a comfy sofa.  At first, I discipline myself with structure, then I make a coffee and create, then I kick back and review what I've written with a cup of tea.  Each seems to take place in a different space.

The climate around these spaces is interesting too.  People, noise, the weather outside and the decor and furnishings in the room all impact on my work.

I've also come to realise that I can't focus in a mess!  Tidying up the workspace prior to starting is crucial.

Here are a few workspaces to look at.  What space suits you?