Week 4 - Grit and Grace Recap

Well that's a wrap!
How quickly 4 weeks have passed. It's been a wonderfully frenetic, artFULL, maybe even life changing, month. Thanks Miss Katie!

So what have I learned, you ask? 

1. Without setting the right intention ..."right" being ANY... be prepared to flow against the grain. Occasionally good art will be made but that will be the exception rather than the rule. By taking the time to get in touch with myself, become body aware first, only then will the creativity flow effortlessly.
2. Warming up is just as important in creative endeavours as it is with physical ones. And there are so many juicy ways to warm up! 
3. Journals are my friend. For so long I've been intimidated by the words "Art Journal". When I see other artist's gorgeous pages filled with amazingly beautifully composed works I begin to doubt my ability. Two things from this ... A) they are choosing to show you the best and B) so what? Comparing myself to other artists is such wasted energy. Finite Days, Jen. Finite Days!
4. Paint. Just paint has opened a channel like no other medium I've ever tried. Go figure. [this is kinda vaguebooking and I apologize. perhaps someday I will go into it. more likely in my newsletter than on here. forgive the plug.]
5. When my direction is random ...when I am not listening to my inner voice... my colours go dark. The irony is not lost on me. 
6. I have fallen hook, line and sinker for water soluble graphite. Just. Swoon.
7. I have also fallen for painting BIG. This could prove to be difficult given my current, rather crampe, quarters. I'll figure out how to make it work. Because B.I.G.
8. Nothing is every completely finished. Though never too concerned with end results, I might've opted to ship stuff out before fully exploring all the options. Remember to stay firmly in the moment, in future. (Think if I only ever paint on one canvas for the rest of my life. Imagine the layers and heft that thing would have?!?)

That's all I can think of right now.
I'm sure more will come to me as I ruminate. In the meantime, here are some works from this past week. Ironically, I haven't touched my big painting at all. I'm savouring it for next week I think!

This was a painted over canvas. No faces, as was the exercise, but it felt really good to just re-use something that's been sitting around waiting for months. Further, a delightful discovery, when scraping through the top layers all that hidden goodness underneath shows up. Love that!

Journal Excavations ... I am so digging this practice. My current process, glue shit down. Overlay some white gesso with a credit card ... makes the best textures! Mark making. With charcoal. With water soluble graphite. With ink. With stamps. With whatever! Then paint. Such randomness.

 

I'm going to end with this piece. The exercise was Metaphysical House ... to divide a wood substrate into 3 and determine, through whatever medium, one's basement, main floor and attic and what that meant to us. I had music on and just kinda closed my eyes and went for it. The paint is thickly applied right outta the tube for the lighter attic portion. It feels very portent of where my head is at ... struggling through a mired past up into the light. If I do nothing else with this class ...THIS... was worth it. Can't ask for more than that.