CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM "Visual Aids 3," above, is one of Ojile's works.

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Releasing
creative arts

Overlapping themes of
martial arts and painting
pull the creativity thread

DO you work in a cubicle all day, pushing pencils and feeling boxed in? Are you a writer or artist suffering a block? Or maybe you're just groovy and love to experience the art of living. Come one, come all, to "White Mist, Black Smoke," a workshop that tugs at the common thread of creativity in all of us.

"White Mist, Black Smoke" When: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday (April 24) Where: Academy Art Center, 1111 Victoria St. Cost: $100 Call: 532-8741, to register

The ability to create is as inherent in the office drone as it is in the painter, insists artist Timothy P. Ojile, one of the workshop instructors. Yet most people grow up disconnected from their intuitive selves that can access inspiration.

The problem, as Ojile sees it, is a lack of support for the arts in our society.

"Few people have enough art in their lives. Sure, they go to the ballet class or take a summer course at the academy. But there is no dedicated learning to support creativity in the arts. I think art history should be (mandatory) through 12th grade," Ojile says. "People really want to be creative. They really want to do creative things."

"White Mist" offers the art-starved Average Joe the chance to reacquaint with their intuition.

OJILE teams up with tai chi instructor Stuart Robson for "White Mist." Ojile, a lifelong artist, learned tai chi from Robson. Robson, a tai chi practitioner for 25 years, was a student in Ojile's painting class. Overlapping themes in martial arts and painting led to discussions, and the idea of the workshop was born.

"The approaches of martial arts to living is similar to my 'intuitive painting' class," says Ojile. "Martial arts try to unblock things to create more balance in the body. Intuitive painting is about unblocking intuition."

"White Mist" is about assisting students in "opening up channels to be creative."

The workshop is divided into seven themed sections ranging from "Self Portrait: How to Describe Who We Are" to "Illuminating the Microcosm: Our Place in the Bigger Picture." The sections include tai chi exercises by Robson, discussions and painting with Ojile.

Robson says he employs tai chi techniques of movement, breathing, meditation and balance "to relax people physically and mentally into a space where they can be creative."

Ojile delves into the regenerative and transformative capacities of the act of creating, illustrating the concepts through painting.

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CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM Artist Timothy P. Ojile, left, and tai chi instructor Stuart Robson say their two disciplines have a lot in common. They'll be conducting a creativity workshop Sunday.

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In one exercise, Ojile incorporates the tai chi discipline of breathing into brush strokes. "Every breath has a life; inhaling brings energy, exhaling releases energy. Each breath is a mini-life. Likewise, each brush stroke has a life.

"Asian brush painting has to do with realizing that the line you create has a life of its own," Ojile explains. "There's a time period when it's alive, in that moment when you're putting it on paper. ... So we breathe while painting the life of a brush stroke."

The workshop begins and ends with self-portraits, which Ojile says illustrates to students that the way they view themselves changes during the course of the class. An exercise in visualizing the interior body, for instance, sets the wheels in motion.

"We go inside and enliven organs, bringing health into the body," Ojile says, providing a tai chi-esque explanation. But more important for the workshop, the exercise offers students "a larger sense of who they are and a larger sense of their creativity. It gets them in touch with their creativity and makes them more secure about it."

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CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM Artist Timothy P. Ojile will be a teacher and coach to those who want to tap their creativity.

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AS FACILITATORS of this process, Ojile and Robson are required to wear as many different hats as there are students in their class. After all, both men agree that the workshop is "for everyone." So they switch to and from painter, tai chi practitioner, philosopher, teacher, even life coach, as needed.

"For those who have no background in tai chi, it's an introduction. Those who have never painted get introduced. If someone's done both, they can enhance their skills. But it's all about getting in touch with the creative side," says Robson.

"I go wherever a student wants to go. I'll help them with any kind of painting. Some people are into creating a better brush stroke. Some don't even use a stroke," Ojile says. "Sure, there's philosophy involved and sometimes students want to talk. Others are quiet. Some even drop out because it's too intellectualized or talkative for them."

That's OK with Ojile, too.

What matters most is that the students who do stay are able to immediately connect with their muse. "We teach them techniques to 'let go,' to rely on their intuition," he says.

And while the class utilizes tai chi and painting specifically to lead students along the path of creativity, its lessons are universal ones that serve people from every walk of life.

"It's a matter of releasing tension in the baggage of your own life," Ojile says. "The workshop proves that there are ways for everyone to be creative in their daily tasks."