The Process of Creation: Ms. Swain and Her Relationship to Art
By GRACE LI ‘20
Ideas happen sporadically; inspiration can hit at any time, even when, say, you’re waiting for the T. Capitalizing on the spontaneous nature of ideas, Ms. Swain, an Upper School art teacher, begins her pieces with little preparation, so that she can add an aspect of “playfulness” to the process of creation. With sculpting and painting as her main media, Swain uses both to convey realistic elements of the environment while “enhancing the structure and exemplifying the materials.” More specifically, she paints portraits and cityscapes while creating more abstract figures sculpturally. By looking at her process and her sources of inspiration, we can implement aspects of Ms. Swain’s creation process into our lives to live a little more freely.
One of the pieces she is currently working on displays this process--the sculpture of a female figure made out of metal rods welded together. She also uses cardboard to add another dimension to the piece and to create a sense of irony: the fire used to weld iron burns the paper of the cardboard. The conception of the idea to merge both cardboard and metal came from the resurgence of the MeToo movement and constant reporting on the topic of sexual harassment and assault by media sources. The newspaper articles that she read inspired her to incorporate the paper element of cardboard into her work with the sculpture; she sees the sculpture of the woman as embodying strength and courage while breaking out of her chains. Swain initially envisioned that there would be newspaper clippings that came out of the MeToo movement attached to the headdress the woman was wearing to bring attention to the topic of sexual harassment and assault.
About a year has passed since Swain started the project, but since the incorporation of cardboard, the artist has come to question her decision to incorporate newspaper clippings, asking herself if it might be too literal a representation of the events. The “ebb and flow” of ideas inspires her to continue expanding on a piece and to look at the subject through different lenses. The continual adjustments made to the piece can cause some to wonder when an art piece is “finished.” Taking the advice of a mentor, Swain says a piece is finished when she no longer has the motivation to continue to make the piece better. Whether the piece is good or bad, the piece is done because the excitement to work on the piece is no longer present.
Finding inspiration in the movements of both inanimate and animate objects, Swain experiments with different styles of movements in her work. Once a yoga teacher before teaching art, Ms. Swain experienced the creativity that can be sparked by movement. Whether the motion means the micro-movements of her brush or the movement of her feet in order to notice details that would have otherwise been missed, there is always an area of experimentation present in her pieces. With the expectation that experimentation will pay off, you won’t always be satisfied with your result. But if you’re too scared to try, you will never fully unlock your potential because, as Ms. Swain says, “you can’t make [something] if you don’t start it.” The ideas are more important than the technical aspects because although techniques can be learned, ideas can’t. Marked by serendipity, Ms. Swain’s process demonstrates the importance of experimentation and of following your ideas without the fear of failure.