MONIQUE SLIEDRECHT: Boredom is the creative space we need – don't fill the canvas
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Northern Drift by Monique Sliedrecht
Today it is raining, but I don't mind. A good dose of sun helps us all to get through the rainy patches, and the spells of wet weather bring deeper appreciation of the gift of sunshine!
I seem to be making up for the last couple of years when it comes to meetings, travel, and seeing people. There were times during these last weeks where I hit moments of so-called boredom between appointments or during the long road journeys.
It was in these times that new ideas and things started to happen. Instead of reaching for my phone, I made sure to have my notebook and camera on hand, went for a walk, or stayed open to a potential conversation. You never know where boredom might lead!
I am carrying that principle with me into the upcoming days, to keep the spaces in my life a little more open to the unknown. That can be scary. But strangely enough, without boredom, I believe creativity and a life of inspiration might just pass us by.
The richness in stopping to smell the wide variety of flowers on the roadside (bluebells, lilacs, gorse...), paying attention to the birds (I have been hearing the cuckoo lately!), and pausing to view the landscape is second to none.
The three-dimensional world is fresh with the layers of vibrancy and life. Therein lives the "dearest freshness deep down things" (Gerard Manley Hopkins).
Recently my former painting tutor, Paul Martin, died. You can read his obituary in Sunday's Guardian online. Paul was a brilliant teacher, as much a philosopher and thinker as he was an artist.
He used to talk to me about the depiction of layers and depth on a two-dimensional surface. He explained ways of bringing volume, expansion and life to a painting through colour contrast, perspective, the movement of paint on the surface, along with pure expression. He spoke of the physicality and essence of a thing – painting the "treeness of tree" (Kandinsky coined this phrase in relation to Cézanne and his work) rather than focusing on specific details.
All this was ultimately achieved by allowing space between objects through the various layers, marks and colours on the surface in balance with leaving areas open. The process would involve concious decision-making to allow the piece to shimmer and sing.
After all these years I am only just now beginning to understand this process of depicting space on a flat surface. And I need a little boredom to help me stretch my imagination…
One of the problems of the internet is that it never allows us to get bored. Endless algorithms are created to keep us entertained and distracted. We end up filling all the spaces available and there is no room for random reflection.
While I realise the internet has its place in the sharing of other cultures and world news, there is a time to switch off – perhaps more often than not – rather than moving to the default position of checking our phones or social media.
Let's go with the boredom. Let’s inhabit space fully – live in full colour and dimension – beyond the screen.
The other day I took a break from the desk and decided to step out in the fresh air despite the sudden spells of rain. Droplets fell, even in the short time that I was outside, but then suddenly, there it appeared before me – a vast rainbow bursting with vibrancy, suffused in colour and light.
It stretched long and wide over the bay and gradually vanished. I felt enriched and energised on my return to the desk. It reminded me that, rain or shine, it's important to experience the three-dimensional world in all its fullness.
- Monique Sliedrecht is an artist, blogger and podcaster based at Freswick – www.moniquesliedrecht.com
