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Chick Chickadee, Chick Chickadee, Chick Chick Cheree (The Family Tree series)

Gallery | Posted on by Tim Kuefler

Sharing is caring.

At least that’s what the old adage says.

It’s an indication that you are choosing to share something, whether physical or otherwise. But recognizing that you care about the person enough to volunteer something to them, to willingly give without hoping of receiving anything back in return, but knowing that when that feeling is reciprocated, it is all the sweeter of a bond.

That’s probably why my mom pushes us so hard to participate in the family Secret Santa gift exchange we hold each Christmas eve. The intention of the exchange is to draw a name and then make something for another family member on a limited budget. I think the reason she enjoys it so much is that it’s important to her that we do something special for each other, its how she shows love and also the way she feels the most love from others.

It took me a lot of years to realize that fact about her.

Commercial VS Personal

Which is why today I’m going to share one of my most dearly held theories with you.

The theory that there are only really two kinds of art to be made out in the wilderness.

Art that is primarily focused on it’s message or which comes direct from the author, and sometimes  is known as fine art.

The alternative, and this is not a bad thing… is art that is primarily focused on realizing another’s vision and which is paid for by another party upfront, also known as a commission or commercial art.

You see dear readers, you can either make art with the intention of getting paid first or about making a statement first, but you cannot do both. And it is possible for both components to be satisfied, but whatever path you choose will determine the pace of which each component is nurtured first and most. In other words, you can be a successful artist which path you choose, but it takes time to grow that tree.

Kickstart My He(art)

Which is why I made the choice long, long ago, that all of my art would have intention first and be about making a sale second. That was my decision to make, and mine alone, but every creative thing I have made since that decision has been far more rewarding for me and has led to some fantastic opportunities in other areas of my life.

It’s where I came up with the phrase “start with heart, then you’ll make art”

And now the tie-in.

I started this post writing about our family Secret Santa tradition because in 2016 I finally got an opportunity to fulfill a wish for my mom. To build a tree which would support her chickadee drawings that I made for her over six years ago. My mom loves chickadees and the last time I drew her name for Secret Santa, I made a group of them to represent our family.

So over the course of a few weeks this past December, and with a little luck, I was able to sneak into my parents house, borrow her chickadee drawings and determine how best to construct a tree for them.20161213_194924

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After I measured everything, I quickly determined that this project wasn’t going to be done in time no matter what I did. You see dear readers, by deciding what to do with the tree, I had effectively created a theme and an artist statement to go along with it, which made the project incomplete no matter how I resolved it.

The Family Tree

As I later wrote down in a handwritten card to my mother, this tree now represents her and the chickadees on it are her immediate family.

My dad, my two brothers, my sister, myself, and now my brother’s fiancee. So the project may be complete, and yet, it isn’t. As each of the children grow and potentially come into relationships, we’ll add more chickadees to the tree for her to support and love. And as grandchildren show up, there will be even more chickadees to fill that tree. A testament to her strong roots and protective branches, nurturing us with the leaves and berries that grow up and outward.

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So as you can clearly see, and as I have already mentioned, this is a project that while now completed, really has no end in sight, but the intention makes it all the more meaningful. And on top of that, as you are beginning to see, all of my artwork is related to conceptions of identity self-imposed, self-reflective, self-directed, etc.

I hope that this post has inspired you for yet another week out there in the wilderness, creative cuties. I’m out of theories for now. I’ll see you on Sunday with an interview preview, featuring a friend of mine named Byron.

Tim!

Art House, Portfolio

To Be That Which Never Was (Sehnsucht Fernweh For Pseudokinds series)

Gallery | Posted on by Tim Kuefler

It’s that time again friends!

I want to share something with you. Something special – Specifically to remind you that you don’t really need to shape the aesthetics of your art for anyone other than yourself. You know this already, but it’s always a good reminder when someone who is also making art gives you a hug and let’s you know that everything is going to be okay. That you can make it.

Besides, who doesn’t love a hug?

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This theory is something you should always hold onto and know in your heart of hearts. Not the theory of hugs, though that’s super valid, but the theory that you should make art for yourself.

Having written that out, and now that I’ve given you a moment to reflect upon your own awesome skillfulness, I’m going to tell you a not so secret secret dear readers – Sometimes you can find a way to have your cake and eat it too. Sometimes you can make art for the people and art for yourself.

You see, whether you make music for a living, perform in a theatre or make visual art it is completely legitimate to prepare separate bodies of work to keep yourself motivated and allow your mind to wonder from time to time. And let’s be honest, you know I’m willing to list a multitude of creative professions to make the point that art is not only for musicians, actors, and visual artists. But I won’t do that in the essence of time.

Art For The People

A couple of years after I finished university, I had this brilliant idea with my girlfriend at the time. No, not that idea. The idea was that I actually could make artwork that referenced where I came from and what I grew up with, and that fit inside a commercial ideal, without boring myself to tears.

You see creative cuties, there is this silly notion out there that you should paint (insert other appropriate art form) what you know. But as a white, CIS, sapiosexual, heterosexual male who grew up in a big city, but didn’t really follow the typical tropes of hockey, farming, construction or oil fields that are attached to that city, I didn’t really have much ground to work with. Well, at least that’s what I thought.

The thing is, it’s pretty easy to use your ethnic background, childhood, ideologies or any number of personal artefacts to inspire your art. And then it hit me. I know nothing about either of my parents small town upbringings, but much like looking through old family photos and having a sense of nostalgia for that which we never experienced, I could capture that through a series of photos about rural Alberta.

Sehnsucht Fernweh For Pseudokinds

Thus I began to produce a series of work that predominantly features trains – because bitches love trains. And while I do plan to expand the series outward to feature other farming implements and anchors like fields, grain elevators and the like, I’m a man of simple means sometimes, so patience is a virtue with me. You see friends, I have a pretty heavy German background, according to my most recent ancestors, though I suspect it’s a lot more diverse than that.

And yet, somehow that’s an easy identifier.

My goal with this series, as I mentioned, is to put work out there that offers some insight into my own feelings about my imagined sense of identity (a potentially heavy task for those who didn’t go through an academic ringer like I did). You see, though I have no real ties to this story I’m developing, I make work about it, because my chosen art form is a visual language and provides commentary on the subject. I can easily share and sell the work and feel no sense of less, and yet, as I continue to make it, it becomes more of a piece of my identity, much like participating in a family heritage assigns it a part of who you are.

The series is called Sehnsucht Fernweh For Pseudokinds, which loosely translates to “nostalgic longing” of “far off places you haven’t visited” of pseudo “kids.” All taken from the German language, a good reminder of where I’ve never been.

As mentioned already, I’ll continue to expand upon this series over time and share more works with you, but as always my creative cuties, I encourage you to make your own work, find ways to make that which makes you happy. Whether it has a conceptual framework or not.

Of course, one last bit of consideration, if you are interested in commissions, prices of the work I’ve included in today’s post, or if you want more information about the series, please leave some comments below or email me at timotheories@outlook.com.

And lastly, please follow the blog to get even more awesome content in the future. I’m out of theories for the week, please have an excellent weekend friends, and I’ll see you on Sunday with a preview of this months interview! It’ll be a fun one.

Tim!