As an artist, technique will only get you so far. Claire Benn explains the importance of attitude, purpose and feedback in her latest chat with Fibre Arts Take Two.
Claire Been has been a Friday Feature Artist with Fibre Arts Take Two four times and hundreds of artists have participated in her signature online course Out of This Earth.
If you’re not familiar with Claire, she is an internationally renowned artist and all-round wonderful person. We are excited to announce her new masterclass and mentorship program, Beyond Technique. This masterclass will focus on the mindset, habits and confidence artists need to become the artists they want to be and share their creations with the world.
During our interview, Claire shared more about her self-development philosophies and the course she is set to share with artists in 2025...
Why go Beyond Technique?
Claire’s passion lies in coaching and mentoring artists to help them generate the work they aspire to make, something she has done for the past decade. Her new masterclass with Fibre Arts Take Two stemmed from her growing dissatisfaction with simply teaching technique-based workshops.
Claire began to question at what point artists have enough techniques under their belt and should start focusing on making the art they truly want to create. “What I love the most is seeing people grow and develop, and to see their developing confidence in their ability to make the art they want to make. Going beyond technique means seeking the art you want to make and making it intentional. In that zone, you discover who you are.”
“I think if I'd had access to this type of program, I would have learned much more quickly all about the aims of good artwork, the principles and the elements and the tools or devices I can use to actually make the great artwork.”
Who Should go Beyond Technique?
Beyond Technique is not suitable for complete beginners, but rather for artists, of any medium, who have a reasonable level of familiarity with materials and media.
During the interview, Claire explains that this is for people who have a serious commitment about bringing something into their life that is feeding them in a positive way, and who want to develop their practice as an artist a lot more deeply.
The course is also beneficial for artists who have explored many different techniques but struggle to focus their practice. As Claire observes, "There can sometimes be a tendency for people to develop what I call a butterfly mentality and hop from course to course to learn different techniques.”
“There needs to be a real idea of what you want to do with your skills,” she explains. “This course is aimed at helping people think about what they want to visually communicate in the world.”
“Sometimes you can take a technique course and get so excited, but when you arrive back at home and have distractions going on, you’ll have to rely on discipline and self-talk to understand what you are looking for with your artwork.”
What You Will Learn
You will develop the mindset, habits and confidence of a professional artist. But at the heart of Beyond Technique are three key sections to help people get ‘unstuck’ from their creative cycle:
- Yourself focuses on self-development, helping artists move from a ‘victim’ position to one of ownership over their practice.
- Your Art is divided into two parts, the first exploring the ‘passage of making’ - Claire’s cycle of inspiration, groundwork, making, evaluating and refining. This emphasises the importance of self-reflection and feedback in the creative process. The second part delves into the ever-crucial skill of composition. “It’s such an important topic and you need to develop your ‘eye’,” says Claire.
- Your Audience covers the moment artists choose to release their work into the world. “Until your art is in the world, it doesn’t really live,” Claire adds.
Students of this masterclass will have the chance to apply for a 6 month mentorship with Claire. This mentorship will be made up of an intimate group of 36 students and is an amazing opportunity. Claire explains, “Those 36 people are going to be divided into groups of three, and across a six month period, I will meet with each group of three times, and that will be very much focused as a Zoom call to enable people to put up work in progress or finish work and participate in a feedback, critique coaching session. This is an opportunity to really, really start developing that muscle of giving and receiving feedback and coaching.”
Giving Feedback
A key aspect of Claire’s course is developing the ability to provide constructive feedback, both to oneself and others.
She distinguishes between the ‘observer’ who extracts visual information objectively, and the ‘judge’, whose negative inner voice can hinder progress.
"To be an observer, and I think I use a quote from a lady called Katarina Weslien, which is to ‘see with soft eyes and to simply notice what's there’," Claire explains. "The critical thing is to move away from that observational position, into a coaching position. And the linchpin of coaching is the ability to ask open questions."
Feedback isn’t about basic declarations, it’s about explaining specifically what it is about a piece of work that leads to a particular judgement. As an art student or artist receiving feedback, Claire explains that it’s important to press others for more detail about their response to your work. “It can be about developing these skills when you are engaged in self-talk as well”, she says, adding that there is an example of her giving self-critique in the Beyond Technique masterclass.
Life Coaching + Art
Recognising the importance of holistic self-development, Claire has brought in life coach Elke Edwards to contribute to Beyond Technique. “The skills of coaching apply to anything,” says Claire. “Elka has taken all the learning she's had and very much applied it to herself and transferred it to others. While she works in a different arena, Elke has a lot to share on the front about ‘uncomfortable but valuable’ listening.”
Final Thoughts
“The only way to move out of an artistic block is to do the work,” says Claire. “Go into your studio and just make. The block is only in your head, but it takes courage and commitment to move forward.”
Learning from Claire will give you skills for life, helping you go beyond technique to make the most skillful decisions, and develop the right attitude and mindset that will help you move forward with your art practice and become the artist you want to be.
Now, this article is just a small insight from a great interview with Claire. You can watch the full interview below.
