What Are The Creative Themes You Keep Returning To?

[Dan Goodwin]

In your art, what themes, ideas, concepts, and topics to find yourself keep being drawn back to?

It could be certain objects, or colours or places, or it could be themes like loss or immortality, or forgiveness.

Share with us your themes, and why you feel you're drawn to them...

[Barbara Ann Storrier]

One of the themes or concepts that I keep coming back to is that of the circle or spiral, a cycling around pattern that is discernable in life and in my art. I just realized this morning that I have been attracted to circular patterns for a long time. The circular theme appears repeatedly in my painting, design, computer graphics, bead work, and now in mandalas :)

Books, representative of communication through the written word are another theme that I find has been repeated in my visual art.

I'm attracted to repeating designs, and to symmetrical designs.

[Lotus L Vele]

me 2. circles n spirals. flowers. fantasy like fairies. ; )

[Jules]

CCS

[Barbara Ann Storrier]

I'm attracted to strong contrasts as well. Love the way you put it in your second paragraph, Ben.
It's also the attraction in the colors ... blue against orange, purple against yellow ... when juxtaposed the vivid brilliance of each is increased dramatically.

[Anne Westlund]

Color!

[Hannah]

Disillusionment and confusion

[earthwalker]

Intimacy and beauty.
Depth and connection.

[Dan Goodwin]

Does exploring difficult and challenging themes in your creativity and art help you better deal with them in your everyday life?

[Barbara Ann Storrier]

I write more than I used to, yet I don't consider it art. It's journaling (Morning Pages a la Julia Cameron)
Often it helps me better deal with difficulties and challenges. Other times I can feel good about things in my writing, feel as if I am capable of working things out, and then I do just the opposite later in the day.
I just have to look at it as one step forward, two steps back, and keep trying.

[Hannah]

It practically zaps them into oblivion! Then they come back though.

[Joanna]

I seem to keep returning to the idea or concept of time, or is it lost time. I seem to feel as if my time is running out., as if I have to hurry up and make up for lost time. I have felt that I am trying to take back the years I spent taking care of everyone around me. I think the fact that I work in the medical field and see people dying and the deaths of my husband and father have alot to do with that as well. I find myself often placing symbols of time in my collage work..... an hourglass, a clock of some kind, the wave that errodes the rock on a coastline,..... a race against time........... I am trying to live in the moment, yet I am also facing the reality of my own self aging.
I also seem to be drawn to trees- trees in every season. Trees for me represent not only wisdom, which comes with aging, monstrous strength, but hope, because we always see them come back. gives us something to look forward to, to experience again. I have always been one to have a live Christmas tree in my home, yet, I become ridiculously sentimental when I have to put that tree out on the curb for pickup in January. (Thank you, Oh Christmas tree for giving up your life for me.") These trees that have weathered storms, offered shade, affirm for me that I , too ,have branched out, grown, changed with the seasons of my life, offering a renewed sense of purpose and hope. I think we all need hope.

[Jules]

In another discussion I became aware that I return to Reflections as a theme. In mirrors, or water- or memory...I will have to think of why I return to this theme, now that I am aware of it :-)