0ld Ice Dreams

Inspired is a feeling I wish I could tap into more often. We were feeling inspired one day last winter and came up with these great ice sculptur-esque creations. I like how the shapes suggest the boats in the background.  This fall, I'm wonder what initiates that feeling of inspiration?

Maybe it is spending time with ideas or in the company of creative people. Sometime that can seem intimidating too though. I'm often inspired by students as they are struggling to acquire a skill, they are experimenting and open to ideas I can sometimes grab hold of...one thing for sure though, is that you have to make time for it and be open to the having fun.

Inward to the Bone: Georgia O'Keefes Journey with Emily Carr

"Black on canvas, I dreamed in colour"

"Last night I dreamed the blood
ran in my vein like skeins of thread
each thread a different, shimmering colour
as my heart beat scarlet
chartreuse, cerulean blue."

"If I were a singer, I would sing in an ocean choir
where the scene overhead hums fog,
the cry of gulls, eagle mew.

Here is a baseline beat of breakers, melody of waves.

runnning glissando to my feet
Deadheads float like dark notes
scribed on green ledger lines of sea.
Pebbles in the sand whisper grace notes, ready
and Emily's world is a hushed
as the moment when the conductor raises her arm
and motions us all to begin."

Heat and silence and space are the drugs I use
to travel closer
to the heart of things."

Georgia O'keefe

I just like this and want to save it

Lines that Complicate

L ine is one of the fundamental components of art. Using pen and ink, I've recently been experimenting with a variety of line drawing, some of which are attached. Its easy to see the connection these type of drawings have to developing graphic arts ideas. In my effort to think of ways to become familiar and comfortable with the use of line, (to practice using line)  I'm trying come up with or collect as many friendly projects that are simple in their execution but open the possibility of of further experimentation. These are still ideas in progress so if you see a way to build on them or connect with some other content area, I'd be super excited to hear about it. Enjoy!

My Mandalas

T hese are a few of my favorite mandalas created last year while I was waiting to find out about my job. Since then my interest in the project has waned but I'm still interested in general and really enjoyed preparing these to be posted. What colours would you use to fill them in? I'd love to see what combo's you come up with! (You can click on the image to get a printable screen)

Teaching Art to Children

I recently attended a Provincial Intermediate Teachers Association (PITA) conference where one of the members recommended this book as an excellent resource for teaching the fundamentals of art education. It's still too soon for me to have tried it out but I have browsed through it and know that it highlights many important points in a nice, straightforward way. In addition to being excited about finding this resource, I was also really excited when I searched for more information about it and found Using Drawing with Children, which is a chronicle of one parent's experience with the book.

While this site was great to reference, it also had links to other art with children web sites like Art & Learning to Think, -which is a bit more on the philosophical side but sound educational thinking for any subject, Homeschool Printables by Donna Young, -which has Blackline masters for many subjects including art, and Art Projects for Kids, which is wonderfully broken down into age appropriate levels and clear and simple instructions. All these great finds on the web have me wondering if I really need the book after all ... but then again there is something unique about being able to flip through actual pages.

A great source for primary art project ideas is Deep Space Sparkle. Can't wait to try some of these ideas out.

The Way of Water

The supreme good is like water,

which nourishes all things without trying to.

It is content with the low places that people disdain.

Nothing in the world 

is as soft and yielding as water. 

Yet for dissolving the hard and inflexible, 

nothing can surpass it.

The gentlest thing in the world

overcomes the hardest thing in the world.

That which has no substance

enters where there is no space.

This shows the value of non-action.

All streams flow to the sea 

because it is lower than they are. 

Humility gives it its power.

- Tao Te Ching                                         

                                     

Something about the above painting always reminds me of the Toa Te Ching so today I decided to go through and see if I could figure out why. Certainly the carved walls of Johnston Canyon speak to the powerful forces of water over time; nevertheless I can't help remembering the roar of water that didn't seem to have anything to do with softness or humility. Maybe the fact that the painting is very serene despite its lively subject, is what makes it interesting.

Je ne sais quoi! Adrien Deggan

These lovely images from Adrien Deggan caught my attention partly because of the beautiful colours he's used and also because of the glimpse of BC coast I see in the first one. I can almost imagine that I know that tree down by the shore. The other thing I really like is the french quotes under each image. The idea of creating imagery for some of my favorite quotes seems like something I might like to do someday and being in french seems to add a little to them as well. Thank you Adrien!

You can also check out other work by Adrien on his Stamps blog!

Andy Goldsworthy's Creativity on the Backburner

Many thanks to my wonderful friend who connected the dots for me this week by sending me a link to Andy Goldsworthy's Art.  I had seen some of his books previous and admired his beautifully inspired natural installations but never paused long enough to investigate. Believe it or not, I'm pretty sure one of his books nudged the idea for my large scale sand mandala's into reality. I just love the idea of creating something with what nature provides. Its free (!) and remains out there for the world to enjoy if they come across it.

 As part of my investigation, I came across a video clip of Andy describing how working on his projects helps him reconnect with himself and awakens a sense of amazement.



Listening to the birds in this clip reminds me why I love spending time in the woods and how important and creative thoughts are able to simmer on the backburner while a person is engaged in this manner. Remembering those feelings leads me to conclude that part of why I'm fascinated by Andy's art has got to somehow be connected with what Richard Louv is witnessing is his book, Last Child in the Woods.

I'd love to hear from any, and everyone of you as to your own experiences of nature and your thoughts on its connection with creativity and connectivity. Cheers!

Don't Drink and Draw

  

This isn't a post about drawing under the influence. Actually I just wanted to show my progress in a little experimental project I've recently undertaken. It started out as a pen and ink study of how light reflects off of glass, -it was just a coincidence that the most interesting glass shapes were mostly in the form of liquor bottles. Funny that they were all the mini ones!

 

Then I discovered that I could colour...well, of course I could colour but the really cool thing I discovered was that I could really easily copy on my printer and thus have a image to colour while keeping the original b+w in case of terrible mistakes.

 

Using the same copy technology and a little old school cut and paste I created a little repetition  and then finally as I was digitizing my images I had a little fun with computer technology helping me see things in different ways. As it turned out it was all pretty easy and encouraging for the creative experimenter in me. 

In Bloom

 

It's not mine, I just really like it!