I’m spending a lot of time at the moment trying to make the invisible visible in my artistic process. That means spotting assumptions and asking why they’re assumptions. It means a lot of planning and it also means constantly trying to look at the bigger questions about a piece of work and why I’m doing it. Best of all it also means working out what I don’t think I’m allowed to do and proving myself wrong.
Like so many of the zines I’m writing about here, There Is Something In The In-Between Moments Of Making Art arrived in my life at just the right time. Bethany Fortner makes eight pages out of one piece of paper and asks a massive question across the carefully designed, vibrant backgrounds of each;
What if you paid attention not just to the art but the process?
It’s a big question and one Fortner explores remarkably in such a tiny space. This line really popped out at me:
‘I think art can be used by the creator not only as an expression of the thoughts snd feelings inside their head, but also an exploration of the self and its tiny voices speaking between the lines, between the thoughts, quietly so as not to be noticed.’
Listen to yourself when you create. Listen to what you’re not saying as well. It’s very, very hard but Fortner’s welcoming, positive, confident roadmap helped me steer right. I hope it will for you too.
There Is Something In The In-Between Moments Of Making Art is out now. At time of writing Bethany Fortner’s Etsy store is taking a short break but do follow their shop on Etsy to be told when they’re back.