For artist Megan Edwards our online art course Poetry & Place with Eva Kalien helped her find her own artistic voice and overcome a number of challenges.
Megan has taken a number of online art courses with Fibre Arts Take Two, but her first was Poetry & Place, The Language of Mixed Media with Eva Kalien where she embraced the unique experience the course provides, and explored deeper meanings and connections and found her own rhythm in creating mixed media artwork.
Megan is a retired academic and a lifelong creative, “From a small child, I have always embroidered, knitted, woven, patchworked and quilted,” she explains. “A hand injury sent me looking for new avenues of creativity, and I discovered printmaking and bookmaking. A course with the then International School of Colour and Design reinforced my love and understanding of colour and introduced me to basic design principles.” What followed is Megan’s exploration to enhance her art practice and find her unique voice.
Megan’s approach to art has now changed dramatically because she now allows the work to grow organically rather than to strictly adhere to a set of self-determined rules or preconceptions.
It was only after retirement that Megan was able to focus more on her creative practice and she recognised her need to expand her skills in a more experimental and abstract way. To extend on her existing printmaking skills. In addition to this Megan also found herself taking inspiration for her work from the work of others, rather than letting an artwork emerge from her own ideas (something we think might resonate with many).
Megan also recognised that the voice inside her head was at odds with the advice of many of her creative friends. She also lacked the confidence to let her own creative voice take centre stage (again, something we think many will relate to). Megan made that important realisation, “In reality I was holding myself back through lack of confidence in my own work.”
Megan had been aware of Fibre Arts Take Two for some time, but it was a Facebook post that piqued her interest in Poetry & Place. “When I saw Eva’s course, I investigated her artwork further and thought it would be a great course to try,” explains Megan. “I loved the freedom and organic nature of her creations.”
Megan was tentative at first due to her lack of confidence as an artist. “I must admit that my initial expectations were somewhat along the lines of, ‘Who knows what I’ll learn and how this will play out’, but you always learn something. Now, after taking a number of courses, my expectations are still, ‘Who knows what I’ll learn and how this will turn out,’ but in capital letters, exclamation marks and with eager anticipation and great enthusiasm!”
“WHO KNOWS WHAT I’LL LEARN AND HOW THIS WILL TURN OUT!!”
There are a number of moments during Poetry & Place that were particularly impactful for Megan. “I think, amongst many such moments the most important takeout for me from this course was that through Eva’s teaching and attitude to her own creations, I gained the self-confidence not to be too precious with my work. To just start and continue by seeing and listening to what the artwork needed next. By doing this…
I am creating work with my own creative voice and not being influenced by others.”
“I am thrilled with my newfound sense of confidence,” says Megan. “That doesn’t mean I can’t see faults or be disappointed with a piece, but I have the confidence to acknowledge that and move on knowing I have the tools to move forward. I know this is very real, as many of my friends in my printmaking groups have commented on how free my work is and that I seem to have finally found my own voice."
Overcoming Challenges
Since completing Poetry and Place, Megan has overcome a number of challenges. “By both working in a series and starting a new work by breaking up the blank substrate, that somewhat terrifying moment of, ‘Where do I start?’ is diminished to, ‘Let’s just close our eyes (literally), start here, move on, and explore what is emerging further,’” says Megan.
“I seem to have finally found my own voice.”
“Also of great importance for me is the confidence to now say I’m not sure what’s needed next and to put an artwork aside until inspiration comes.”
More specifically, Megan feels she now has the ability to allow her work to grow organically rather than to adhere to a set of self-determined rules or preconceptions. She explains that she is now “Looking and considering what is needed next, rather than what should be next. By working in a series, one seems to be more spontaneous and less critical of each step in the creative process. Working in a series is liberating and I really can’t explain exactly why, but the student community all agree with this.”
Following Poetry & Place with Eva Kalien, Megan has completed 6 more of our online courses, including Visual Narratives with Sally Tyrie, Art & Design with Tara Axford and Finding Fragments with Shelley Rhodes. She also continues to incorporate and explore mixed media through her printmaking and bookmaking, “but with a much greater personal sense of this is where I need to be and this is what I want to say."
“I now have the confidence that my own ideas are worthy of expression, and I will continue to exhibit with newfound confidence.”
Poetry & Place provides a unique experience for artists of all levels who are looking to explore deeper meanings and connections and find her own rhythm in creating mixed media artwork.
For Eva, poetry is the basic structure of art, but this course is not about writing poetry, in fact, there is little writing involved; it’s about sensing, feeling and listening to your art whilst being guided by Eva’s poetic tutorage.
In this online course, you will…
Most importantly, you’ll learn to silence your inner critic and let intuition be your guide.
Want to build your confidence and creativity as a mixed media artist? Register your interest in Poetry & Place with Eva Kalien.