I've been reflecting a lot as of late on my desire to create minimalist works of art. What draws me to the simplicity of line, shape, and form with simple palettes and natural finishes?
I haven't always been particularly drawn to minimalist art. In truth, I have been much more attracted to works with a lot of embellishment and ornament. I've always loved eclectic mixes of styles, bold and vibrant colours with a love of jewel tone palettes and gold accents. So what has led me to seeking and creating minimalist works?
It dawned on me the other morning while journaling that my desire to create with minimalism as my prime directive comes from a place of exploring "enoughness." Our current cultural milieu is constantly bombarding us with messages of more, of consumption, of solutions to problems we didn't even know we had until we were brainwashed to believe we did. In this mix of not-enoughness, I've struggled - it's in part why I pulled back so much from social media and basically "went dark" for years. I couldn't seem to find a way to "be" with all the incessant messaging and still feel some semblance of wholeness and enoughness.
The truth is, as an artist and designer, I'm actually more prone to over-designing something, and I can see that it comes from a place of feeling as though what I have to offer is somehow not enough, and so I keep working it, and working it, hoping that a psychological state can be overcome through the process of adding more. I understand that working in a minimalist style is a way for me to assert that I am enough, that the work I do is enough.