All artists develop a unique creative process that reflects their ambition and personality. Whether you are a chef, an interior designer, a sculptor, or a painter, we have a routine, a set of steps. This installment of Design Moonshine suggests that ‘messy” is an early part of the process for many artists. Messy allows us to reset from the last work of art. Messy is forgiving. Messy is accepting. Messy leads the way to “happy accidents.” Such a revelation can then be consolidated and fit into the future process.
To begin, we pile words on top of each other. We make a mess of our canvas. We brainstorm with our clients, and we put too much cumin into the recipe. From this mess, we step back and create. Imagine, as an interior designer, taking all the elements of a room and simply piling them on top of each other, then pushing that pile over— where from there? That is the magic of a mess. You will find your way to beauty. This is what artists do—we discover beauty.
Things happen for a reason, even randomness. Random creates bliss. Let me share an example. During my undergrad studies, I took a sculpture class. We were creating a bust of ourselves. Yes, lots of mirror glancing. I noticed that the political science major next to me was pinching and pushing clay into his bust in a seemingly random way. He was hardly looking in the mirror. As for me, I stared at myself constantly and figured I would craft my nose to specification and then form my perfect bust from the middle out (Ha!). After about a week, the political science student’s bust began to resemble him. He worked on all the proportions of his entire image messily and then sculpted near perfection. I was amazed. As for my bust, it looked like a neanderthal. The nose was perfect, but the rest…well, imagine if you dropped wet clay. The rest of the bust was fitted around an ideal nose, but nothing great begins as such. Perfection is found in chaos, not carefully calculated nasal proportions. I never forgot that messiness in life leads to beauty.
Another example is from my gallery days. I owned a gallery with a partner for ten years, 2001-2010. We had three spaces that progressed from an off-street gallery to an on-street retail space to a 3,500-square-foot gallery tucked away close to downtown Houston. The second incarnation, the off-street gallery, was about 750 square feet. It was a shotgun ending in a toilet.
We had a photography show on tap, and I was looking at thirty small to medium, framed photographs that had to be hung on one wall. The wall had room for all the photographs. Yes, the stack of framed photographs leaning against the wall was a daunting mess. I looked at the wall, and I looked at the cacophony on the floor. I had not yet learned the trick of laying the pieces on the floor and then transferring that arrangement to the wall, so I just started hanging from one side to the other. At each step, I considered size, compositing, and subject to some degree. With humility, I was amazed at how beautiful the installation was given my haphazard approach. It certainly could have been an ill-fated stratosphere of asteroids slung against the wall. I started with a mess and ended with beauty.
My final example comes from my writing. Poetry! Oh, that mess of words tangled with no “rhyme or reason.” I love a good slant rhyme every now and then, but I don’t like words to rhyme. I find it distracting. I am the same with visual art and art installation. I allow the words to be a completely ineffective mess as I begin a poem. This allows room for magic. This provides a randomness that ultimately gives rise to beauty. I am now comfortable with messiness because I trust my process. Often, I do not know where the poem is going. The poem goes, and I merely follow. My favorite part of writing a poem is the massive, seemingly never-ending rounds of revision, for that is where beauty is uncovered. It is where random becomes reason and meaning takes shape. When an archaeologist finds a neanderthal skull, they carefully unearth the prize. This is my process in poetry and visual art. Slowly, I excavate the beauty and meaning that the poem intends. It’s miles and miles of fun, and it works wonders for art and design as well!
In conclusion, do not fear the mess. Know that you will find beauty if you allow for cacophony and confusion at the beginning. Trust your process. Messy is the magic that leads to beauty. This approach will keep you fresh and unique. Your “hand” will always be apparent in each project you deliver.
