What is Intention?

To me, intention is what we may call “subtle direction”. It is a way to guide our creative energy into something that is more or less controlled, more or less structured and - most important to me - meaningful.

How can it be useful?  

These days, I am interested in deconstructed compositions, mark making and abstracted interpretations of the world, being based on reality or inner emotions. I don’t want to rely on ‘happy accidents’ to create my art. I consciously decide on subject matters or concepts that speak to me. I also try to feed the unconscious, to bring up something unexpected but relevant to the whole process.

How to set intentions into our work?

I believe that our creative minds need to be informed of what we are trying to achieve.  These are practices that I have adopted over time:

-Warming-up: it is helpful to start any creative session with quick studies, to be less precious about materials and surprise ourselves. Here, it’s to practice on setting intentions. I suggest you choose a word that embodies an idea, a state of mind or even an object (you may blindly pick it out of a favorite book or the dictionary). For example - light, horseman, fury, mountain, fusion … Keep it beside you, refer to it before starting each small study through one session. How does it impact your choices or work flow?

-Meditating: you don’t need a yoga mat for this one, just sit in front of your blank canvas (or works in progress) and reflect on what you want to express – is it a specific emotion, a theme or concept? Take 5 to 10 mtes to embrace this in your mind. You may even close your eyes at some point. And then get into action. See what happens with your choices, marks, energy level! 

-Journaling: keep notes as often as possible, as inspiration comes to you but also as a way to sow ideas into your unconscious mind. Beside writing by hand, you can also doodle or glue cut-out images. Don’t edit or doubt yourself! At this stage, there are no ‘bad ideas’ nor ‘bad inspirations’. You will see over time what sparks your imagination, what inhabits your artistic soul. These influences will resurface into your work in more than one way and become intentions that you may guide as you wish.

 And may your art be rewarding!