Negative Space

Negative Space amy freeth-rice 2024

#5

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about process- artistic process- and how that can translate to a more fulfilling life. As I’ve gotten older I am more and more interested in withdrawing ever so slightly from the busy-ness of life. I am trying by degrees to shrink things so that I have more time and mental energy for my artistic process. I am lucky in that I have a ‘regular’ job that I love that provides the necessaries- money, insurance, paid vacation time, a good work environment and people that I genuinely enjoy spending my days with. And my job forces me not to be a complete and total broke-ass art hermit which if left to my own devices I might well become. I think, no… I BELIEVE (thank you Ted Lasso), that you have to have some ‘negative space’ in your life from which your art or creativity or craft can draw. I also think negative space is such an important visual construct because it allows room for your own ideas of what you are seeing to flourish- Wikipedia agrees. Per Wikipedia negative space is described thus: “This basic, but often overlooked, principle of design gives the eye a "place to rest," increasing the appeal of a composition through subtle means.” Yes Yes and Yes again. I don’t love a crazy busy life and I don’t love looking at things that try to answer the questions for you. I like the questions to be posed and the ever changing answers to present themselves unconstrained. Anyway, thoughts for the day… -amy 5/22/24