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...

[Barb Kobe]

One of the strongest, magnetic themes for me has been creating and working with shadow energy and images. I find the work rich, deep and extremely thought provoking and potentially healing. I ask more questions and demand more of myself in the realm of shadow. And yet, recently I've been thinking it might be time to look for more light, find compassion and love....and happiness in my work. I guess the overall theme would be going within and transformation. Many of my dolls have openings in their centers, like shrines.

[Hannah]

For me it's hard to really create art, to use it both to explore and come up with conclusions of some type, without which you just have therapy, something that's not art but something just begging for an answer, not the answer itself. I know questioning is part of the art I admire most (and this can be optimistic and pretty, too -- it doesn't have to be angsty questioning, it can be questioning the angst! and coming up with something beautiful where most people see something ugly or just mundane) but it seems to me that's sort of just semantics when talking about it -- it might bring up questions or challenge questions but either way, they're not really questions, they're sort of answers.

[Barbara Ann Storrier]

My experience lately has led me to create what appeals to me, without trying to pose any questions or answers, just please myself. The questions and answers may come after. I used to feel an overwhelming desire to create something meaningful for others. That just led to not creating anything at all, so I had to let it go.

[Barbara Ann Storrier]

Barb, I'm just beginning to realize that there are shadow sides to most things. I hope you do find compassion and love and light ... it's there, too ...

[Zoe Tan]

I am always drawn to writing about negative emotions, the pain, guilt I am going through. Because, whenever I pour my heart out writing them....i am kinda healed....emotionally released :) And in a way, I captured that moment which I might not be able to have again.

I am seem to always write about life, spirituality recently. About how God, heaven seems to be....it seem that there's a place in me that knows it, feels it, sees it. And i wanna share that with more people.

My drawing is always very kiddish...cartoonish...like a 4 yr old...i guess, that's my 4 yr old inner child that's not grown up yet hahahaa ...:)

[Dan Goodwin]

Let's hope she stays 4 years old forever Zoe!

[Zoe Tan]

hahaa....Dan...i hope she grows up from her indulgence in pain, and keeps her innocence & fun !

[Dan Goodwin]

I've realised lately that trees come up very often in my writing. I'm really drawn to trees in real life, they represent security, growth, hope, life, calm. My favourites are silver birch, weeping willow, and a Japanese maple with tiny red leaves...

In writing I'm called to use trees as metaphors often, and I've only just realised it : )

[Maureen]

Dan, I love weeping willows and weeping cherry trees! I will have to take a photo of a weeping cherry for you -- they are in bloom here now. We have a corkscrew willow, which is very cool, and even a Japanese Maple :-). It is very tiny though -- a new little tree. It is raining today, but I'll still try to get some photos for you.

[Dan Goodwin]

Oh that would be beautiful Maureen thank you. Yes I love cherry blossom, how could I forget! In fact cherry blossoms come up a lot in my writing too, whereas I don't talk about specific names of other trees... They're somehow symbolic of love or fallen love or falling in love I think for me...

For example one of my fifty word stories >

Destination Home

She knew they could have been laying beneath the moonlit shadow of the mighty snow dusted Canadian Rockies, in the torn former grandeur of a back street Parisian hotel, or amongst fallen cherry blossom petals in old Kyoto.

All that mattered was they were home, together, in each other’s arms.

18.01.09

[Maureen]

Wow, what a beautiful word picture you painted there!

Have you ever seen a weeping cherry tree? It's branches hang low, like a weeping willow, but bloom with cherry blossoms in the spring. I will sneak onto my neighbor's lawn and get a pic today :-).

[Barbara Ann Storrier]

There were two beautiful trees in full bloom in the back yard where I cleaned today ... a deep pink one and a white one. By next week maybe we'll be seeing the flurries of petals as you captured in your video and photos, Dan. I keep forgetting my camera ... I've gotta fix that!