The art of reaching the next level

I was recently interviewed for the 8th quarterly issue of Subjectiv Journal, an anthology of Pacific Northwest artists and writers. It was an honor to be included among these extremely talented people.

The interview questions focused on my studio practices. I took the opportunity to discuss my challenge/solution process for generating ideas since that’s what I do in my studio. While it seems very natural to me, I forget that pattern-breaking, risk-taking and an appetite for potential failure is very foreign approach for many people.

The interview helped me to reflect, acknowledge and share all. Studio work is isolating. In one sense, it’s very safe because no one else sees the mistakes. On the other hand, many of the minor victories involved in creating a sculpture are not visible in the final piece.

I don’t have many rules in my studio. And those, I break constantly. There is one exception: Each piece must be significantly better than the last by some measure. If, at some point, I don’t see a piece reaching the next plateau, it’s time to step back and reevaluate. The “What if?” process is ongoing. When a solution surfaces that elevates the piece, I continue. Until then, I’ll observe, explore and reconsider. I may need to remove a head, an arm, restructure the gesture. Nothing is sacred except the goal.

This self-challenge/solution process is not something others see. They only see the result. The thing people regard as art is a simple record that this creative process happened. Art is in the making. It’s the process of coaxing, negotiating and wrestling an idea from ambiguous thought to tangible sculpture.

That’s what draws me to my studio every day. There’s always the promise of another challenge and the possibility of reaching the next plateau. It’s like running up stairs. When your rhythm is on, you reach a step or two at a time. You haven’t simply finished a piece, but reached a significant step above your last.

Interview in Subjectiv Journal

In October of 2022, Jubjectiv Journal included a feature “In The Studio: Chas Martin” The interview focuses on my creative process and studio habits. The article appears on pages 99 -106.

Portland Open Studios 2022

It’s Open Studio season with artists all over the city opening their doors to the public. I’ll be displaying many new pieces including sculptures, masks, paintings and sketches. Several works in progress will be on display as well.

Please join me and several other artists in my building between 10am and 5pm Saturday and Sunday, October 8 and 9.

Location is 7830 SW 40th Ave., Portland. Additional parking is available across the street at the Post Office after their business hours.

Additional artists include: Brenda Boylan and Don Brown.

The balance of Shadow and Ego

It is part of Western culture to consider the “shadow” as something dark, evil, dangerous or threatening. Jung saw it as is the portal to the Self. To pass through that doorway is to become who we really are. The shadow, when understood, is a source of renewal, revealing qualities unavailable to us through the ego alone.

Several of many sketches explored before the sculpture was created

It’s a concept that has resurfaced many times in my work and throughout my life. A numerologist once identified me as an eight. As such, I presumably have an ability to see and understand both sides of things. That ability served me well during my career as an art director where I had to see things through the eyes of the viewer. That perspective continues through painting and sculpture as well.

So when the shadow finds its way into a sketch, I usually welcome the opportunity to explore the point and counterpoint of the shadow and ego. I also find working with two figures more exciting than only one. It offers more special prospects and complexity to the composition.

In “Breakthrough” the shadow’s arms are the portal through which the ego passes. Each is dependent on the other to make this transition possible. The evolution of this piece from sketch to final sculpture was an adventure. Finding the relationship and creating the complimentary gestures were interesting challenges.

I have explored this relationship through several of my most recent pieces as well as a couple of other significant pieces of the past 3 years. I am sure I will return to this theme again.