by Jonathan Milne
Isolation is an occupational hazard for artists. It is surprisingly easy to have lots of friends and still find yourself professionally isolated.

There are many different tactics to build connections (reading the TLC newsletter is one of them!). I also recommend a free subscription to the Robert Genn Twice-Weekly Letter. Just go to http://www.painterskeys.com/ and check it out.

Robert Genn is possibly the most generous art writer in the world. His regular letters are a treasure. They are richly democratic and feature input and art work from a great diversity of artists. Although he is primarily a painter his columns have value for anyone who is living and working creatively.

Genn is less concerned with answers than with sharing different points of view. He says “There are as many answers as there are artists.”*

The letters blend discipline and openness. Along with a constant undertone of craft skills there is an intense awareness that we can’t control everything. “Magic happens when orderly processes are disordered.”** So we are taken to the heart of great teaching. Skills are the foundation but they don’t go anywhere until the artist lets go and trusts the magic.

There are two ways to go to the paradoxical place of disciplined freedom. One is to pay attention to other artists and to notice that each finds their own way. It’s like the legend of the Holy Grail where the knights knew that the regular pathways were for other people. They therefore built their knowledge and took it into places where there were no footsteps.

The second technique is to grapple with the poetic imagery that Genn supplies in abundance. Consider: “Art thrives when surprise prevails. Peeling back a Raku kiln is like opening birthday presents. Curious potters gather at the smoky, mysterious shrine. These folks are so nervous, some of them have taken to drink. A shout goes up – there are tears of disappointment, yes, but also tears of joy. All art needs to be such a birthday.”**

Poetry, by its nature, is mysterious. You can’t quite pin down the meaning of a poem, and that is precisely why poetic imagery is such a good tool to deal with paradox. Art is surely the kingdom of paradox, and while physics may help in the mixing of colours it is never sufficient to take us to wisdom.

Behind his extraordinary depth of knowledge Genn has a sharp sense of effective communication. The easy thing for a writer is to tell a story. The hard thing is to open and sustain a conversation. It is strange to feel like a participant in a conversation without saying a word, but that’s what happens. The letters are like fireworks which set off endless flashes of new inspiration and connections. Genn himself thrives on the fireworks of his readers and process builds into a kind of cosmos of ideas.

Genn has a big and loyal following because the letters are rewarding. It’s as simple as that. In the gigantic clutter and clamour of internet communication, Robert Genn consistently delivers something special. There is something for artists, for teachers, for humanity. I can’t help but love an artist who says: “Stuff like planning and research and reference and inspiration and time and the right mood aren’t worth a farthing compared to audacity.”***

*Feb 10, 2006
** April 4, 2007
*** 17 March 2006