I is for Inspiration

It starts with an impulse to draw something -

As an art teacher I constantly think about ways to bring new ideas and techniques to my classes. I like to offer my students many alternatives for expressing their ideas. So we work in lots of different mediums and experiment with many different approaches.

The other day, as I was looking for a recipe in my Polish cookbook, I was instantly inspired by the beautiful paper cut patterns that decorate the pages.I had an idea.

In my classes, everybody likes to work with markers, and we have a good collection to work with in both places where I teach, so, instead of cooking, I grabbed my PrismaColor markers and played with the paper pattern ideas.

No matter what my intent, I find that working with markers always result in patterning with lines - before I knew it - I had a page filled with leaves and flowers -

Aa is for Another (Zentangle) Abstract

How fun is this? I started with the idea of a symmetrical floral-ish design I found among the zentangle patterns - but, never one to follow the rules or the recipe, I soon adjusted it to become a flower.

All the zentangles I have seen so far seem to be black lines with color added. Really stunning and strong. What I especially like about them are the varied patterns that surround the main pattern.

So, though I chose to work in color, I followed overall idea by extending the flower lines (fractured images come to mind) and filled each area with a different color scheme and pattern. I love doing this. This is the art of my childhood, the doodles that filled my notebooks and my ongoing obsession with lines and florals all rolled into one fun art form. I am going back for more. So, watch this space tomorrow to see what appears.

D is for Drawing and Design (aka Doodling)

I go through phases where I do not have the energy or inspiration to paint. These may also be the days when I am not at home, or simply don't feel like messing with paint. However, I almost always have the urge (or the need) to do something creative. These are the days that find me I standing in front of my shelves of art supplies waiting to see what calls my name.

Often when I am feeling like this, the simplest, least messy and most portable option is my box of color markers. I have a great collection (thanks in part to cool garage sale finds). I have Sharpies in thick and thin points, and a great set of Prismacolor two sided markers that remind me of the big boxes of crayons I loved so much as a child. I love to just pick of a marker and doodle a line across the page. This suggests another line, and soon a design begins to take shape. Instead of coloring the shapes and spaces though, I love to fill them with lines - thick or thin to create a pattern and add depth. Sometimes I treat the lines as threads in a woven cloth. Whatever I do, I find these designs fascinating, fun and relaxing.

The one above was all about straight lines. It is 9x12 inches on watercolor paper.

In name only

Name Game

I have been very busy lately. My weeks seem to fly by -  filled with planning and teaching and taking art classes.

My Saturdays have been fabulously filled by a painting class, Dynamic Abstracts with Illa Guttman at PCC. This class is six hours of feeling like a fool followed by the elation of actually creating a painting. Some weeks are better than others - and it is wonderful to be part of a group, and especially, to have such a wonderful teacher.

I am also planning to teach an abstract painting class for kids next week, Spring Break. I am ready - bursting with ideas to share and things to do. I find myself poring over books of paintings in the library and visiting galleries - just looking at how abstract artists work, thinking about ways to express what I want my students to know. All of this causes me to think of about lines and color and shapes in different ways, and to experiment with varied projects to see what results.

I will be teaching my students to create abstract images with tempera, and I use acrylic in my PCC class, and frequently in my own studio, yet, I often find myself returning to these line drawings. They are fun to do, relaxing, more accessible than paint and far neater, and they are a different way for me to explore flow, color, overlap, shapes and ... some kind of grace - maybe the unexpectedness of finding shapes and forms I do not plan - which somehow feels to me like the very heart of abstract expression.

This image is based on a painting project I did earlier this year - the lines are my name, written in different sizes and directions, always crossing, forming new shapes. It is 9x12 on watercolor paper, done with fine tip pens.