Inspirations along the path
Ummah Wide Inspirations Series
There is a saying that when making art, the skill should reside in the artist, and not in the tool.
For me, creating art is all about simplicity, being in the moment, and about creating from an open mind. It’s a tool for self transformation as much as a way to gather people and create a healing, joyful space.
Simplicity.
You can make art out of anything. It was a semi epiphany at the time- I was an art student, working part time in a Mauritanian/Moroccan restaurant in Montreal. My boss gave me a bucket, a plank, and a bent nail and asked me to create a shelf for the restaurant. When I replied I needed a budget to get some supplies from the hardware store, he asked, “aren’t you an artist? Come up with something!” He explained that a desert person can create beauty out of the simplest of means, that that is the true essence of creativity. He showed me some huge tent hangings his sisters had made out of reclaimed fabric, and some images of really beautiful mud murals from West Africa.
It was a good summer- we ended up collaborating on a big mural project on the mosque/community centre next door, encouraging neighbours to bring their old cans of paint. People of all ages, from 5 years old to elderly residents of the area, came by to contribute and enjoy the art. We didn’t have to spend anything on materials! As artists, I think it’s really important to use our creativity to reuse materials and learn to make our own paints from natural pigments and plants.
Travel.
Travel shakes you up and pushes you in new directions. Forces you to re examine the way you are thinking. A few years later, I was living in Amman Jordan, studying traditional illumination in an art school, while painting huge murals with kids and teens on the weekend. It was like being at two ends of the spectrum simultaneously.
While my style was just to go out in the world with raw inspiration, energy and a large paintbrush, using whatever was at hand, and hope that my art skills and gestures would communicate what words failed to do. On the other hand, the women illuminators at the Institute for Islamic Arts and Architecture were spending months and months working on tiny, intricate swirls of gold and lapis lazuli on painstakingly polished paper. I got to see the importance of a squirrel hair brush, and came to love the process of creating finely detailed work, too. They weren’t just painting. They were meditating, every breath carrying a prayer, every brushstroke improving upon the last.
Meditation
I think the most beautiful art is one that combines ingenuity and freshness and is executed with meditative attention to detail in the present moment.
Allowing creativity to flow.
One of the reasons I have become so fascinated with geometric art is that the tools are ultra simple, the actions repetitive and meditative. All one needs is a compass and straight edge- yet the results can be so complex and profound. Peter Lu, a researcher in quasi crystalline geometry at MIT, was mind blown when he went on vacation to Uzbekistan. Right there in front of him, made by craftsmen from the 15th century, were the patterns MIT researchers had just “discovered” with cutting edge technology. Just a hint of the amazing connections possible with art.
Nature
Being in nature is also huge part of developing or “allowing” creativity to flow. For me, nature is a place of oneness, of being truly in the moment. Of complete presence, of quiet alertness. We can learn so much from just watching how it works. There is no waste. Everything is perfectly harmonious and rebalances the body and mind. Letting go of worry, of need for outcome and letting our hands be guided to making new connections. Watching a child encounter things for the first time is a prime example of the complete open mindedness from which springs creativity.
Community.
In my early twenties, I was on an exchange program in a small village in Senegal, living with a local family for a few months. People spend so much time together, and take care of one another. The only way to really get to know someone is to spend time with them, face to face. This was the case in the Middle East too where I lived for a few years afterwards. I was (and still am) an introvert, and was so used to hiding behind text and email- but people there are all about face to face conversation. They don’t want to go ahead and do a project or a business deal unless they have had some time to sit and drink tea and talk about family and life first, the things that really matter.
I think I got to see a lot of the potential there of just getting started a project, creating a village vibe and working together.
Tribe
Sometimes you find a village in the most unexpected of places. Going to London was one of the best experiences of my life. I was welcomed with open arms by artists and poets, healers, designers and musicians. I realized I’m part of something much bigger- an international tribe of artists spreading positive vibes through their arts and actions. Rumis crew-Sarina-Lateefa,Michelle,Sukina. It’s so important to connect with people who inspire & uplift you.
Letting go of ego.
I think one of the paralyzing things as an artist is the need or desire to want to achieve something, to “be” someone. For me, the truth lies in flipping that completely upside down. When you stop trying to be “someone” you can finally just be yourself. When you stop trying to “do” something, to force a direction for your work, you can finally can relax and allow the present moment to guide you, turn off the self criticism and just enjoy the process. That’s when the really beautiful and original stuff comes.
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Iona Fournier-Tombs is a painter and muralist currently based in Vancouver, Canada. She holds an MA from the Prince’s School of Traditional Arts.
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This article is part of the Ummah Wide Inspirations Series. As artists we all have our inspirations that drive our work, in this series we are looking to feature artists of all different mediums to answer the following question — What are 10 things in your life that inspire your art? They can be other pieces of art, scripture, family, film, whatever. What makes you do the art that you have been called to do? This should be around 10 to 15 inspirations, with your own work interspersed throughout. To make a pitch to be featured in this series email dustin@ummahwide.com
