It inspired me to give it a try as I can see this as something my grade 6 or 7 students would enjoy. At times I wish I was still an elementary classroom teacher as I would use this to inspire creative writing (do the art first and then look at it to see what story comes to them).
First create a line doodle and then start looking for images to fill in. My first photo is the original doodle and the second is the completed piece. Click it to take you to the larger Flickr image. I used B2 sized paper (500mm x 707mm) and marker. There’s also a simple video below showing the stages of development.
I was inspired by this video to try something new with my artwork (thanks Craig R for sharing it). Though it is good to develop personal style, I find myself doing the same thing over and over. With time on my hands I gave the technique a go a few days ago.
The premise is to be influenced through music to explore creativity. I chose “In Sickness and in Health” by The Legendary Pink Dots from their The Whispering Wall album. I had no plan in mind and simply went with it, playing the song over and over for about an hour until the work was complete. It’s harder than it sounds and I doubted myself throughout the whole experience.
My goal was to simply break out of my comfort zone and explore new possibilities and various techniques that I usually don’t use. I used graphite, pastel, ink, coffee, charcoal, gouache, watercolour and collage.
The final piece itself is not a work of art, but a document of an exploration process, something newer art students may struggle with. I recorded the process in the video below and sped it up reducing it from fifty minutes to approximately three (you may also click the photo to take you to the Flickr page).
We are about 2 months into school now. I don’t know about you, but I am BUSY. Swamped actually. Every year seems to grow and get busier and busier. More stuff gets added but it feels like not much is taken out. With this, I ponder if I continue to challenge my students out of their comfort zone in Art. Are they challenging themselves or simply giving me what I want for assessment purposes? Do I encourage them to experiment enough or do I rush them?
I was flipping through some bookmarked videos and stumbled across this one again (video below). Not fully related to what I am writing but it made me wonder if I am understanding my students. I can’t remember who passed it on to me, so apologies. It’s in Japanese with Korean and English subtitles. Some food for thought.
I got this idea over at the Drawn blog and thought I’d give it a go. It’s a series of stills set to music of all the culture that has influenced me and my work. Of course, as soon as I was finished, I remembered a few more.
It’s kind of late in the school year, but save this for the beginning of the next. Give The Brainstormer a spin to help generate topics for drawing, writing, cartooning or for improving. What can be created for something like “letting go/intergalactic/volcano” or a “self-preservationist/cannabalist/golf course.”
My previous post reminded me of an activity I did with Olivia Gude a few years ago in a workshop. We were given a photocopied sheet of ink blotched onto paper similar to that of the first picture (note: coloured paper works better).
Using coloured pencils, we were asked to find images within the smudges and blotches by rotating the paper. Next, we did a gallery walk where we gave ‘psychological’ titles to the works of the other participants. The activity was geared towards inspiration and simply letting go of traditional drawing methods. It may also be extended by attempting to incorporate the images into a painting.
Click on the images to see an enlarged view. Feel free to use them in any way you see fit.
It is an advertising campaign for Panamericana School of Art and Design and encourages people everywhere to test their creativity.
The objective is to draw as many things as possible that originate from X’s or O’s.
I have decided to try it with my students at the beginning of the next school year (or during a PD presentation). Feel free to use the PDFs if you wish.
Focus on the Three C’s. When it comes down to it, there are three major groups of things we need to do to succeed at whatever it is we want to do. We need to Create, we need to Connect, and we need to Consume. Or in other words, we need to produce/share, build and nurture relationships, and keep ourselves savvy in our field. An imbalance in these areas will stagnate our progress. If we’re always consuming, but never getting our ideas out there, we won’t make any progress toward our goals. If we’re connecting without creating, we’ll have nothing of value to share. And if we’re creating without continually learning, we’ll become outdated. Defining a focus of one of the Three C’s helps us stay focused on our purpose for the day. It also helps us realize that spending time on Twitter and socializing is just as important as creating. It’s all about balance.
If you like Beethoven, you are probably smart. If you like L’il Wayne, you are uh…dumb apparently.
Hey, don’t get angry at me! This is according to SAT scores. Have a look at how your favourite musical artists could get you labeled and stereotyped here.
“If you really want to do something, you’ll find a way; if you don’t, you’ll find an excuse.”
And since we’re on the topic of music, here’s a bit of a promo teaser for the Gorillaz documentary coming out soon. I wonder where they fit on the intelligence spectrum? WARNING: The video contains an expletive around the 36 second mark.
I loved the following video of Chris Piascik drawing found via the Drawn! blog.
