Report on Session one with Eric

One of my goals in working with Eric is to create more personal work. While my work is a statement on our environmnet, I don't feel I am revealing myself enough in the work. Don't get me wrong I a not dis-satisfied with the body of work I have created. There is just something more I want to express. During our discussion, the first assignment he gave me was to move away/stop using my current artist statement regarding my work being about man's relationship to nature and how we separate ourselves from that which we are. Uh oh! We are already in trouble; this is the foundation of the imagery from which my work flows. Still knowing if I am going to learn anything from this, I said "okay." Like this was going to be as easy as deleting a sentence on a computer. Didn't realize what a tail spin this would come to until later.
His next suggestion, y'all are gonna love this one, no more leaf quilts until I finish our time together. There goes my career down the tubes, but I said "absolutely,sure not a single one." His point being that if I continue to work in the same way I have the danger of falling into a cliche of myself. It is obviously too easy for me to do this, almost as if there is a formula that I can't help but use. As a matter of fact, I am not to speak to nature as subject in any of the work.
Suggestions: put myself in a non-obvious place ( still thinking on that one)
Can I be more personal for a three month period?
Not that there is anything wrong with beauty but can I find a voice that is more experimental, edgy and avoids mechanical abstraction? And at the same time avoid production line work?
Finally how to be in a more painterly tradition in an art form that is traditionally based on cultural icongraphy?
I am to spend as much time drawing, painting, sewing as possible? When I told him I travel 18 to 23 weeks a year to teach....obviously, looking for a way out of this. His immediate reply was "I don't buy that for one minute. You can find a pencil and paper anywhere." Talk about not cutting me any slack.
He comforted me by commenting that I was going to feel very uncomfortable and loopy while working through this. As a matter of fact, he wished me many loopy days with great glee. Also in a gentle, kind way, he prepared me for the fact that I just might end up with some really ugly or unsuccessful work (moi, say it isn't so?), but to keep on pushing beyond that...the voice would come.
This is the Reader's Digest condensed version but hits the main points for this week's session. Our next session is 17 January before I leave for Australia.
My apologies for such a long post but want to close with what happended yesterday when I went to the studio to start my assignment. I will try to be brief..merrily I go off to the studio, prepare to do some work with acrylics ( not wanting to commit anything to fabric until these sessions are over). Got all my supplies nice, neat and ready to work and was immediately filled with self-doubt....first, I am still unsure what it is I am trying to get to and second, why should I change from the new work I have started?
I was so uncomfortable in my own studio I could only do three quick acrylic sketches and then had to get out of the studio immediately....practically ran down the hall to get away from the dreaded room.
Day proceeds as normal...grocery store, cooking, got out a piece I am quilting on seeking a place of comfort....and then suddenly, when the house was quite, everyone tucked safely in bed....a break through,I pulled out the sketck book and started putting lines on paper. Not caring if it was good art just comfortable to be working. There was a flow that has been absent in the morning studio session. I still haven't clue what I am doing or where this will end up taking me but maybe just the tiniest spark has made it between my ears.
Sorry to go on so long, if you have direct questions since I did skim over our session fairly fast, please email me, I would be delighted to discuss more of his approach with you. Hope this explains some of the aspects. BTW, I am energized about getting to work today so something is afoot.