Jeni Caruana
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ecoarti

10/7/2018

5 Comments

 
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My daughter Tamsin and I have just come back from a business bootcamp in Frankfurt - which is the last thing I ever though I'd be doing! We are now part of the Climate-KIC start up business programme, organised by Provadis. It was amazing to meet 120 people from 9 EU countires all sharing amazing ideas and inventions to positively impact the environment and help to combat climate change.  
From green rooves to pesticide sensors to street vending machines that extract drinking water from humidity.... so many incredible ways to clean up our world and safeguard it for future generations..... I can only wish them all well. So much brilliant potential! And Provadis is giving us all the advice and support needed to make those dreams happen.
Our idea is not a product at all though - we feel that we need to help address the very basic lack of awareness that is still evident around us. Our dream is 'ecoarti' - inspiring eco-responsibility through artistic ventures; workshops and events to underline the message that seems to have been around for ages but doesn't seem to be working. Our polluted air and plastic filled seas bear witness to the failure of the 3 R's;
1. Refuse unnecessary packaging and single-use plastic
2. Reuse it for as long as possible.
3. was Recycle, but it's pretty obvious that globally we are not coping with the sheer amount of waste we are producing. As ecoarti we will create installations from rubbish and waste materials that would otherwise end up in landfills. Our third R would be aRt - make rubbish into something memorable and perhaps even useful. I don't suppose we'll ever make a fortune by doing this, but there are many ways to feel rich! 
​Our next project is "Bahar taz-Zibel" ("Sea of Rubbish"), working with 70 teens to create a mural 8ft x 52ft to make them more aware of the impact plastic and other debris has on sealife. If only a few of them go home afterwards and take the message with them it will be worth it.
We want to show that rubbish can actually be a resource when used with imagination and creativity. Instead of letting it depress us, let's reuse it to make Art.

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The Golden Hour

7/12/2016

11 Comments

 
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Photos rather than paintings in this blog; the evening light reminded me of something I thought you might be interested in. The Golden Hour.

Many years ago I was the tutor for Malta Art painting holidays, run by Mr Ronnie Channer (the most patient man in the world!).  Having an Army background he was actually able to organise my scatterbrained approach to life, and we ran many successful holidays bringing artists of all abilities to paint in Malta. We had a 50% return rate, not a mean feat with all the competition around. 

​The only reason Malta Art ran out of steam was that, in those pre internet days it was so difficult to advertise widely without spending a fortune.
To launch the venture, Ronnie had the brilliant idea of walking into the offices of the London advertising company in charge of the Malta campaign. They just happened to be looking for a new angle to sell Malta, and we fitted the bill perfectly. Which is how – before we had even advertised or gathered any students – we were asked to appear on the BBC’s Holiday Programme.  This was a peak viewing slot, and our interviewer (and participant) was to be the very well known Anika Rice.
I had been teaching classes to adults for years beforehand, co-tutoring a painting holiday for the Malta University, which is how I met Ronnie in the first place. I hadn’t taught one on my own though, and have to admit I was pretty nervous!
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​Ronnie somehow managed to round up a contingent of locals to be our guinea pigs and BBC stars, and the week began. I have to say it wasn’t easy; being asked to repeat myself with my palette held higher, or find a good view in the director’s choice of venue really was a challenge at times. Anika had just finished a 3 year degree course in Fine Arts using oils, and found watercolours a difficult transition.

The programme was a huge success for us, and launched Malta Art with hundreds of bookings. 
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For me it was a baptism of fire, and I have never really been nervous in front of cameras, groups of students or in interviews since. If I survived that, nothing else could be as nerve wracking!
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​​It was a very interesting  experience though. There was only one cameraman and to film us riding into Mdina on a horse-drawn Karozzin we had to circle the town and go through the iconic stone gate at least four times. Once to film us from the back as we entered the gate, once close up as we went into it, once as we emerged on the other side, and again as we continued over the cobblestones into the town. Ouch.  I remember that when watching TV reality films – nothing is as simple as the editing would have us believe!
I am also reminded of the BBC Experience when the sun is setting and the Maltese limestone comes to life in shades of stunning oranges with violet shadows. The cameraman called it the Golden Hour and he wasn’t wrong. I thought of it yet again the other evening when I was leaving the venue where my current exhibition ‘Arbor Vitae’ is being held. It’s in the old British barracks above Golden Bay (see my two previous blogs for more info on the exhibition and the area) and I couldn’t resist taking a few shots of the amazing light effects. ​

The exhibition is open every day until the 16th December from 10am to 3pm. More details HERE
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The Business of Being Creative

26/1/2015

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Creative people often rely on others to actually market and sell their work. Creativity is a sensitive place to view the world from, allowing ourselves to be totally open to inspiration and the breath of new life. We welcome different ways of seeing, making, hearing, doing things in our own unique and individual way. 


This can be a very fragile state to be in, and the work we produce is precious and personal. Even our more commercial efforts tend to be special to us, and we can be over sensitive to criticism about them. 


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It’s not common for a creative person to excel at business and marketing. One skill usually outweighs the other. Marketing the Arts is best done by those who are not directly involved in creating it. You can’t be over sensitive if you are good in business, and you can’t be insensitive if you are going to create meaningful pieces of art. Business people know how their world works; it is built on things that have worked in the past, proven methods and safe approaches. A good business model is a sound, logical left-brained piece of thinking, with steps to take to reach the goal.
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Business says – it works like this; you do A, B, C, and reach X
Creativity says – I wonder what would happen if I did z, R, h......... ?
The two don’t work together easily.

Creativity and the arts depend on right brained innovation, running on completely different tracks. Inspiration strikes and the ideas come like an avalanche; we may or may not be thinking of the end result, just the interesting way the whole thing is happening as it does.
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 One of the last things we may think of is a happy customer. Putting that into the mix often stifles the flow. That’s not good business, but it’s certainly good for us. We are feeding our own soul, helping it to grow and express itself in its own unique way. 
There are many innovative ways of running businesses now, of course, with the internet so easy to access and use. Creative people, like me, can really enjoy making websites and skimming through hundreds of inspirational images online. I like playing around with the way the pages on my website look, and editing my own paintings. But I know that I fall down when it comes to the promotional and marketing side of it all. I start and then retreat. It doesn’t feel right for me to put ‘BUY ME NOW!’ buttons under my pictures. Feeling isn’t part of most businesses though, is it. What to do??  
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Drawing on your own

14/1/2015

8 Comments

 
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There’s only one you, only one me. You can’t really copy me, and I can’t copy you either, but together we can move forward by inspiring and supporting each other. We can’t really be in competition with each other if we are both following our hearts. That goes against most business models of course, but creativity can’t be contained or restricted, otherwise it withers and dies. 



Copied ideas don’t have the original inspiration or fire behind them, and although art forgers can make big bucks, most people make art because it gives them pleasure and a sense of personal achievement. Essentially we are all unique even if we ‘borrow’ every now and then. When you translate someone else’s idea through your own talents and processes, it becomes your own. That’s different to copying. 

You could never draw naturally in the same way that I do, simply because you haven’t spent the same amount of hours studying the same things that I have, how could you? You aren’t attracted to the same subjects I am, or play with the variety of unpredictable materials that I do, just for the fun of it. We are different, and so our art will differ in the same way that our fingerprints and our signatures do. 
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Epinac, 2013
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For this reason I am happy to share everything I have ever learnt or discovered. All the years that I have spent teaching and encouraging others to discover the joys of drawing have probably helped me as much as my students. Trying to describe the process of drawing in words has clarified and distilled it for me. It has also shown me the simplest ways to teach drawing to anyone who wants to learn. 
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Seascape
8 Comments

Drawing with Help

5/1/2015

5 Comments

 
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For many years, it was traditional to study under ‘master’ artists to improve technique and learn basic knowledge. An apprentice would study for years, helping to mix paint and prepare canvasses before being allowed to paint in the style of his Master. There was no such thing as individual expression or interpretation until he (and it usually was a 'he') was able to start up a studio of his own. Even then, art was commissioned by the Church and the upper classes, and the subject matter and style were dictated.

It's very different today - everyone can paint and draw whatever they like and everything they make can be called 'art'. Those who wish to study techniques (not everyone does) can easily find everything they need on the internet, usually for free.
 
Welcome to more drawing blogs for 2015! I thought I had exhausted the subject and was going to turn to my thoughts on creativity in general, but I really do think that being able to draw can be a powerful springboard into all forms of self-expression. There is something very connecting and connected about being able to study something that is outside you and then recreate it in a different form. We are creations ourselves and creativity amd innovation is what makes us so successful (and sometimes dangerous) as humans. 


Channelling Nature's insatiable urge to grow and flourish into creative pursuits instead of trying to ignore it, or -even worse - using it to invent new ways to hurt ourselves or each other, can only be a good thing.
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Perhaps it’s too easy. There are endless books, YouTube films, DVD’s and online courses about art; some are really helpful, others not at all. The temptation is to read or watch the demonstrations and step-by-steps and not actually DO them. There’s no-one there to guide us by saying ‘just look again at that shape, that curve, that form’. 

We try to be our own tutor and our own student too, and it can be hard inspiring ourselves and keeping ourselves going. It's difficult to even notice your own mistakes and shortcomings, let alone what to DO about them! Bit like life, really......

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 I will be forever grateful for my own college tutors and for every artist I have had the pleasure of working with. I think it’s always a good idea to join a group and/or take classes or workshops to keep you inspired and moving forward. There's nothing wrong at all with being 'self taught', but we all learn and grow by looking at other artist's work that we admire, and learning from their experience and knowledge. 
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Creativity and inspiration are like lighting candles – once you have lit your own you can spread the light far and wide by lighting others. If you keep it to yourself you’ll have no-one to relight your flame if you lose your way!

Here's to a CREATIVE 2015!
5 Comments

Art Worlds

6/7/2014

1 Comment

 
PictureCharlotte's Sofa
For the last 20 years I have worked as an artist in Malta. I have exhibited my work regularly, and taught drawing and watercolour in Malta for around 20 years. I tutored painting holidays with Malta Art for about 8 years. I have represented Malta in many countries abroad. But I have only really worked within the Maltese art scene.

I have often gravitated towards other ‘foreign’ artists, perhaps because of their differing methods, artistic education and approaches to their work. I have learnt a lot from working alongside them. I’ve been inspired to try new things, and I hope that I inspired them too. Creativity is reciprocal and inclusive – it cannot grow in a vacuum.

It’s only recently that I have realised how very differently the art worlds operate in Malta and abroad.

I have often gravitated towards other ‘foreign’ artists, perhaps because of their differing methods, artistic education and approaches to their work. I have learnt a lot from working alongside them. I’ve been inspired to try new things, and I hope that I inspired them too. Creativity is reciprocal and inclusive – it cannot grow in a vacuum.

It’s only recently that I have realised how very differently the art worlds operate in Malta and abroad.

PictureThe Kitchen Garden, Villa Bologna
A common Maltese attitude was epitomised to me once when someone said ‘why do you teach? You are showing people how to take your work away from you!’ That was many years ago and attitudes have changed somewhat with the advent of the internet. Malta is a very small country though, with limited resources and opportunities. The jealous defence of ‘secrets’ continues in some areas.

This does not make much sense in creative spheres. Unless you are a very talented forger, you cannot paint another person’s paintings. And why would you want to? Forging Picassos or Van Goghs may be financially rewarding until you get caught, but copying anything less famous is hardly worthwhile if you want to exhibit and sell it. It also illegal. As a learning exercise this is a time-honoured way of experiencing different techniques and working methods. As long as the results are titled ‘After*******’ it is quite acceptable. But otherwise?

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Epinac, France
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Creativity cannot be tied down or controlled. The best way to keep it alive is to share it. Like lighting candles from one another, the brilliance of inspiration comes from passing on the flames. Each one is slightly different and unique, but each one contributes to the whole. Once we have learnt the basic techniques and know how to control our medium, then our creative adventures can begin. We can borrow and share ideas, giving them our own individual stamp and pass them on. 
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My recent visits to London and Texas were very interesting. Their thriving art scenes are a testament to creative expression that is encouraged and supported at every level. Healthy competition is emphasised through rigorously juried exhibitions and national competitions. Being accepted by a respected gallery or winning a prestigious award is the ultimate goal for thousands of artists. This keeps standards high and rising. Of course there is controversy and endless discussion, and art critics can be devastatingly outspoken, but constructive criticism should ideally strengthen resolve and conviction. Being judged and possibly rejected is a sensitive issue for artists, but no different from writers, actors or musicians. 

My exhibition at Palazzo de Piro in Mdina 
"Music,Dance and Landscapes" continues until the end of August, so please visit if you can. 
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    ​I love to paint - and draw - and help others to discover their creative side too.....

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  • Portfolio
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