STOP, LOOK AND THINK #10

Dear Reader,

This is the tenth blog in a series written to offer another way to experience art. Try to give yourself several minutes to do this activity. One of my paintings is below, followed by a set of instructions.

1. STOP, LOOK AND THINK before you scroll down to each section. There are no right or wrong responses.

2. Here are a few facts about my artwork: Title: “Immigration” – Size: 8: by 8” by 2” -Medium: archival ink and pencil - Created in 2019. This may or may not verify or affect your first response. Now that you have some added information, compare your thoughts and feelings to your first response (image only). Is there anything about the title and painting that clicks? Did you notice more things knowing the title?

3. Here’s the story. I do not preplan when I begin a piece. Materials (paint, tissue, ink, photograph) and surface (board, canvas, paper) and music are the fuel for the adventure to come. Part of the ritual is collecting what I need to get started. Not being famous is a distinct advantage, because no one expects anything from me. I can fail miserably and succeed fabulously, usually in the same hour. Accidents are invited, problems in color or design are welcome. “Immigration” came toward the end of a series using ink and pencil. I began with circular shapes to find a mood. The upper left-hand circle caught my attention, and my pen took off, drawing a person not static but in motion. Where are you? Where are you going? Then came a wall. Yes, you are leaping over the wall. At that early moment, I recognized this was going to show the immigrants’ struggle. The media supplied stories and images every day, so my brain was not starved of sources. Global migration continues to churn today, while nations come up with policies to divert disaster or increase it. My circles became planets. Traveling to the lower left, another person ran over a checkboard surface. Running, running, running. Next circle – someone flails in the water while we watch. Next circle, Icarus tumbling out of the sky because he dared to fly too high. At least, that is what was going on in my mind. I hope that you can see and feel different things because once an artwork is out there, it’s yours.