Monday, July 27, 2020

Experimental Sketchbook Class: Time & Space to Create




Some of my work during the weeklong class.
It was perhaps the best art class I've ever taken at University. 
We were encouraged to experiment.
Push out of our comfortable ways.

I started getting scribbly & messy (not shown here)
so it was a relief to do some minimalist drawings.
Zoom grids became an integral part of my experience.
I wandered out of my familiar box.
I cut up one of my watercolor "still life" grids
and pasted fragments into a booklet.
And then, relief, back to the familiar~ 
except with a bit of a grid.
A grid containing The Tiny Fears of Rita
Les miniscules craintes de Rita
We tried a wax resist/ink wash/charcoal layering technique
that Maine artist, David Lewis, uses.
(His drawings are very sophisticated & refined...) 


We collected shadows by tracing actual shadows.
Some of the students turned their results into imaginative
imagery, unrelated to the original subjects, and then 
turned them into handmade books.
I loved my Swedish Ivy design & didn't transform it,
except to put it into an accordion format.

Last class exercise: Do 20 versions of the same object, 
using various papers & drawing materials.
I got 3 done in our half hour allotment...

But THIS is the idea which I most want to continue
at the moment...20 objects? 50? 100? 
Maybe they would be painted and drawn, then,
hand sewn together into a paper quilt that folds 
into a book. We shall see...

The beautiful thing is that I have SO many wonderful
inspirations & directions with which to continue.

Thanks to my instructors & to the class, composed of
young undergraduates, graduate students,
& some oldsters like me. 
So much inspiration,
& this is only the tip of the iceberg...

7 comments:

  1. Hello,
    It looks and sounds as though this course was wonderful for you. Loved seeing each of your pieces. They certainly have a loose sketchy feel that is fun to look at. Thank you for visiting my other/photography blog.

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  2. Fabulous work and post. I love everything!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  3. This looks like just the best class. I would love this. I need to work out of my comfort zone (and sometimes do, a little!) But to create like this and get the instruction -- oh, it sounds like perfection. I love seeing your pieces. I've never done anything with a grid.I'd like to learn more about that.

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  4. I love seeing your artwork! Thanks very much for sharing (it helps to remind me to take time for creating myself...though at present creating is a bit of knitting, some gardening, some cooking for the freezer, and bits of sewing here and there (not counting sewing masks.)).

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  5. Interesting work...Good for you stretching out of your comfort zone..

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  6. I just found your beautiful blog. Is there any way that I can subscribe to follow? Couldn't find a link. I am getting back into painting and would love to receive your posts when they come out. Thank you!

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  7. Wow, fabulous!! Love seeing all these. . . and love that you are always stretching, learning, sharing . . . xxxx

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Thank you for your comments! They mean a lot to me!