The Lardner Report

Unleash your creative superpowers!

Embracing Chaos: My Happy Place

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Honestly, I’ve been super stressed lately — working on multiple projects — navigating Covid angst, and examining that need to re-define what we do and who we are. My sanctuary is my little art studio — no matter what threat level of chaos I’m handling. On this day, I was cranking out “scribble sketches” (more on that another time) and got lost in the Byzantine patterns of marks and scratches.

My husband walks in and says, “Why are you stressing?” (He can usually feel it in the next county.) I say, “I’m a bit overwhelmed.” Josh says, “I see. But from where I stand, the artist-at-work and the artist-at-play look very much the same.”

I just got grateful. It struck me that I am one of the lucky ones. No matter how many tasks I face, or how much pressure I feel, I get to bathe in creative expression. It’s something I never appreciate enough, and pray I’ll always have.

 

The Year Ahead: Think Like An Artist

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LEAP 2012 New Year 4tlr

(Pic #1) Lonnie Lardner leaps into the New Year – with purpose. (Photo by Josh Kaplan)

Bend it, Twist it, Make it yours

It’s funny, I’ve been asked more times this year than in any other to share my New Year’s resolutions. I don’t know if it’s a coincidence or my generation is starting to really care about its accomplishments and impact.  But one thing is clear to me: if we live our lives as artists do — everything we do will be better.

Consider this. Typically, artists:

de la Torrepg

(Pic #2) Acrylic and thread on paper by Raul de la Torre, an L.A. based artist who lets his paint surprise him (note bottom drips).

1) Thrive on happy accidents. Just watch an abstract painter slap an overloaded brush onto his canvas. The unexpected drips and rivers of color can invigorate, inspire, and lead to even more exciting work — but only of we are willing to trash the need to control every drop (See Raul de la Torre’s painting in Pic #2).

2) Know your passion is your purpose. You would be hard pressed to stop an artist from creating. Her mission runs so deep to the core that NOT making art isn’t even an option. Inspiration comes from the soul, and nothing is more authentic than that.

3) Genuinely savor every moment. This is crucial. If artists stopped observing and therefore stopped creating visual commentary, we just might find ourselves in a colorless, spiritless society. By examining the world around us, and feeling what we are supposed to feel — our lives are enriched.

My good friend musician/producer Andre Fischer (multiple Grammy winner and drummer for Rufus) once told me that his father, (jazz great) Dirk Fischer set him straight about the value of time, at an early age. Andre was late to meet his Dad, and Dirk told him to look at the second hand on his watch, because “every second you live — you die. And I hope those precious seconds of my life you wasted we’re not spent in folly son, because every second counts.”

In 2013, I hope to do things differently. I want to step out of my comfort zone at every opportunity. I want to appreciate more – and whine less.  And like a great artist, I want to embrace what I can’t control. The surprises could be spectacular.