Play, Observe and Ponder
When I first started my newsletter, I called it Art POP - Play, Observe, and Ponder. A technique to try, art to observe, and words to ponder. It was a way to share some of my favorite artists, techniques and thoughts.
Growing up, I never went to an art museum, and there was no art education in school past elementary. Round’ here, unless you have cultured parents or you are like me and obsess over art by sticking your nose in ALL the book you can find, it’s unlikely that most individuals have a well rounded understanding of our history through the arts past the household names like Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Georgia O’Keefe etc.
Today, in the spirit of appreciating the intimate mirror artists hold up to humanity, here is a technique to try, art to observe, and words to ponder.
Play: Drawing Paired with Visualization
A useful tool I picked up as a child is daydreaming.
I used daydreaming anytime I felt bored to spice up whatever reality I was living in, make it richer, more exciting. While drawing and painting, I try to work with one foot in reality closely studying my subject, and one foot visualizing a new fantastical element to this reality.
Sometimes I’m dancing while drawing, or pretending that my subject is floating underwater, or made of a different material. I ask myself questions like, what kind of marks make up a tree if it’s dancing underwater? How can I get some of my daydreaming magic into this drawing?
Try it! Grab a pencil, zero in on a subject, and try designing your marks while thinking about another world.
Observe: Louise Bourgeois
I love the way Bourgeois uses metaphors and symbols to give meaning to the happenings and people in her life. This is the sculpture she’s most famously known for - Maman, and an edition of it lives at Crystal Bridges, Arkansas.
“Maman” references Louise’s own mother with a spider metaphor of spinning, weaving, nurturing and protection. Her mother spent her time repairing tapestries.
For a very sweet, short biography of Louise Bourgeois, I would recommend the reading of this children’s book, “Cloth Lullaby” - It’s a whopping 6 minutes long, and I guarantee, you’ll leave with a new appreciation and understanding of her work and want to run to the fabric store!
Ponder: Words to roll over in your head…
Pain does not frighten me as
long as it is an enrichment but I am so afraid
to use my strength for nothing I feel time elapse elusive
and so fast that I am afraid.-Louse Bourgeois