MO HAMILTON

artist


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The 100 Houses Project

The image of home is a powerful, archetypal symbol for finding our truest self, or soul. We all have this profound longing to find home, a place of deep belonging. To come home is to find a place where you can truely be yourself and to be home is to have a refuge from all the outward expectations and be in a place where you can listen to your own heart. When we are in touch with our our inner selves home can be wherever we are at that time. This is the premise behind my present creative endeaver called The 100 Houses Project.

The 100 Houses Project that I am working on is a long-term project that began with the question “What is home?”. The idea for this project started with a profound dream I had when my family and I were leaving a home that we had lived in for ten years. This was a place where I had given birth to both of my children and where my husband and I grew from being a couple to becoming a family. Unfortunatly,  it wasn’t economically viable for us to stay so we chose to leave because my husband got a steady job up north. I had packed  all of our belongings  into a moving van and we had our last sleep  in our empty house. That night I had a dream that I was living in a house on a bridge. I thought the dream was such a profound visual metaphor for what I was experiencing in that moment because I was no longer staying in this home but I wasn’t at my new place either.  I was in that in-between place. This got me thinking of the home as symbol for the soul and how the only steadiness we have is our inner strength. In The 100 Houses Project  I use the symbol of the house as a way of expressing the steadyiness of our inner homes or selves as we head out on our life’s journey.

My plan for The 100 Houses Project is to create 100 different lino-cuts of houses in a unique setting or circumstance. Each house has  an edition of only twenty.

This is a small sample of the houses I’ve created so far and all of my houses are on my etsy site.


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Healthy Collaboration

As an artist I am often asked to collaborate on different creative projects with other artists, poets or musicians  but how does a person gage whether a collaboration is working?

Here is a list of questions and answers that can help you to decide if your collaboration is working well.

Is there trust?

Trust is a key element in a healthy partnership. It is not built on words but through actions and evidence. When there is trust partners are more able to address issues as they arise in a respectful way.

Is there consensus?

In any partnership or collaboration conflict is to be expected. Conflict is different than a fight as fights tend to be personal and emotional. In a healthy partnership  conflict is dealt with by discussing differences and then coming to a mutual consensus that is beneficial to the people involved and the project you are working on.

Are you  and your partner able to embrace change?

One thing you can count on is change. When changes need to happen it is important to be clear with your communication so as to help your partner understand why the change is necessary.

Are you self aware?

It is really important to be clear on what you want and need from your partner. Also it is essential  to understand that how we see ourselves may be different than how others perceive us.

Is there structure?

Without structure things go into chaos. Having the right amount of structure is important but try not to have so much as to stifle innovation.

Are decisions being made?

It helps to delegate different roles depending on the variety of strengths and skills each person bring to a partnership. Some decisions are independent and some our collaborative but a decision is better than no decision. One of the most important decisions is picking a collaborator that you can trust and respect who also has respect for you.

Is there recognition?

Recognition validates people’s creativity, strengths and inspires both partners to do there best work.

Is there open communication?

Continuous communication bonds people together and brings clarity to the group project.

Are you learning something?

We all want to learn and grow and the best learning comes from having experiences. We even learn something by not having a good collaboration. It is valuable to continue to collaborate with other artists etc. as you can create amazing projects that you wouldn’t have been able to do alone.

I hope  this is a helpful guide when collaborating with other creative folks and I encourage you to find people you can work with to create wonderful and imaginative joint projects!

Behind you

Looking Back, Mo Hamilton

 


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‘Out of Hand’

When I am in the evaluation process of painting and taking a moment to observe what I have made, I find the paintings I appreciate the most are the unselfconscious ones. These are the paintings that look less controlled or ‘out of hand’. I wish I had a secret formula that I could follow to create art that is less self conscious but all I know is how to recognize when it happens. Because it feels like magic! The only secret I know is…………. the more frequently I am able to spend time in my studio painting the more likely this magic will occur.

'Out of Hand'

‘Out of Hand’


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The Inner Critic

When I am in my studio painting and everything feels like it is working well then I feel good about my choice to be an artist and in my studio happily painting away. I truly feel like I am following my bliss. But there are always those days where nothing feels like it is working well and then the inner critic appears. I find when the inner critic is present in my studio that my ability to create and take risks becomes constrained. When I am painting this is the worst time to think about what gallery owners, curators or art collectors think about my art. Because making good art is a solitary affair, I try to be alone in my studio and therefore it is important to quiet the voices of the inner critic. I simply tell my critical voice it is not welcome here and show it the door. Making good art initially requires playful intuition and trying things just for the sake of doing something new. It is not until the painting is getting closer to completion that the evaluation process is needed. Then I can look at my painting with more scrutiny and ask myself what is need to make this work of art the best it can be in this moment.

Mixed Medium 9x12 Mo Hamilton

Mixed Medium
9×12
Mo Hamilto


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Feeling lost with abstract painting.

Making abstract art is very different than painting something with a representational image. First of all abstract painting is more about mark-making, color, patterns, design principles and creating differences and then responding to them. Metaphorically the process is more like walking in a thick forest and having an idea about where you would like to go but worrying that you might be lost rather than walking a path with a set out starting point and a destination. I find when I am working on an abstract painting there is always a moment when I look at my painting and I am not sure what to do next, or I think it looks like a horrible mess and then I wish I had taken up nursing instead of being an artist. This is when  I try something and it makes things worse rather than better. I find this is the time to take a break and go do something completely different like go for a walk, have a cup of tea, make lunch or read an art book. I find when I step away for a while and try not to think about my painting invariably I get an idea on how to move forward with it and it begins to turn a corner. The more paintings I create the more I realize this is part of the painting process but even with this realization I still experience that moment of anxiety that is followed by panic but I also have learnt to trust that an idea will come that will help me to resolve it.

Mixed Medium 16x20 Mo Hamilton

Theater Mixed Medium
16×20
Mo Hamilton