Irene Ruby ran a lovely calm session on creating a wobbly fantasy house using pen and watercolour. As with many of the sessions, not something I’d usually do — and that’s the point. Stretch, grow, learn new skills.
I used her general design but did mine without looking at the video again, so it’s from memory rather than a copy. I’m pleased with it, although I wish I’d been looser with the colour, and left white space. It feels overworked.
I’ve followed Jane Davies for years so was thrilled to see a class for Sketchbook Revival. I watched the video and was instantly excited. Sometimes a process just clicks.
In the video Jane made 8 collages to work back into. I sat down and filled 3 sketchbooks, or 60 layouts, with the two-piece collages to work back in to.
I’ve already worked back into two of them. On one of them I squeezed a small paint bottle and it exploded (yep, quick change of sweatshirt). I love the mark it made … if I could do it again, I would!
Helen Wells, on YouTube, talked in a recent post about the fallow period between projects where she tries out disparate ideas and gathers information. For her it’s a generative stage; divergent thinking enables her to find connections & interests. Then she moves to convergent action and thinking – focusing in.
I recognise the divergent and convergent stages in my own practice but, for me, there’s another stage. Most, probably all, of my family is neurodivergent. While I don’t actively think of myself as neurodivergent, there’s certainly some pointers! One of those is a strong need to control my environment, particularly when I’m under pressure. There’s a lot happening at the moment, both in the wider world and in my own realm … not least that we take over the grazing block in less than a month.
That pressure manifests in my art practice. I’ve been making small abstract landscapes using collage and mixed media, and love the process. I’ve got 5 days at home to do my own thing over Easter. Am I creating new works? No … instead, I feel compelled to finish anything that’s lying around, from paintings to art journals. Sometimes, while I wait for multiple pages to dry, I clean out a draw or cupboard.
It feels good to complete things and start with a clean state. In one sense, this is solely completion, but in another way it IS an act of creation, because I’m creating the mentally and physical space for new works to emerge.
I recently completed a course by Marabeth Quinn on mixed media collage and intuitive landscape. I’m continuing to use the practice exercise she taught, and find it helpful for focusing in on what I love. Some of my work from the last few days is below.
That set of 24 small pieces on paper inspired me to grab a medium sized wooden panel I’d worked on as part of a series, that didn’t fit with the rest in the end, and rework it. It probably isn’t finished yet, but I’m sitting with it for a few days to see how it feels. Below shows before and after.
Over the weekend I’ve been working on a small handmade concertina journal, with just 4 pages each side. It’s not finished yet, but my work is clearly less controlled thanks to the Marabeth Quin course I’ve been doing.
I’ve used paint, ink, collage, NeoColour II and pencil. It’s dying overnight and I’ll keep working on it tomorrow after work.
Cath Sheard Art 