Attentive in the Way of a Conversation

I spent the morning as a guest at Mount Vernon Unitarian Church on the occasion of their Ode to the Earth Service.  It was lovely to enjoy the music of the service, the readings and especially the time for quiet writing and reflection that led to beautiful sharing by the congregation.  In the quiet, members were invited to write an ode to the earth.  During the sermon time there was time to come forward and read.  It was a lovely celebration of creativity all around.

After the service I led an arts workshop exploring the connection between making and mindfulness.
As I prepared for the workshop, a quote from a book I have been reading really jumped out at me.

"Getting it right demands that you be attentive in the way of a conversation rather than assertive in the way of a demonstration."

-Matthew B. Crawford in Shop Class as Soul Craft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work

His quote really spoke to the kind of invitation I hope to offer people in working with materials.  It is an invitation to conversation with materials, with mark making and with color, shape form and texture.  It is also an invitation to conversation with others through the shared experience of making.

The best part of this workshop was the intergenerational gathering of makers and the way the sun room quickly took on a quiet meditative studio quality.  The dining room and buffet table were home to more energetic making by some of the younger kids and to more of the conversations about making.  It served as an entry way and introduction, allowing the sun room to be quieter and more focused.  I loved watching people making in ways that were personal and meditative but also happened in the setting of a group.  See below for some of our makers working on their creations.

The last person to finish was very immersed in her process and expressed an interest to continue at home as well.  Before she left, she shared more details of her process with me, sharing how the image she created changed during her making.  She began with an intent to complete a center spiral connected to a heart button she found.  When the felt for the top pieces would not cooperate, she adapted to an image she found in the remaining pieces.  The image of the chalice emerged from this process.  Her story was a lovely example of a conversation with materials where things happened she never imagined or intended and she was open and willing to welcome them and let them speak to her.

Art Day at Roslyn Retreat Center

On April 18 I attended a full day art retreat led by Bishop Goff at the Roslyn Retreat Center in Richmond.  We met in the picnic pavilion pictured below - a great open space, perfect for a mild spring day.

Here's a view of the inside of our studio for the day.

Tables were set with all sorts of materials - scraps of wood and wooden objects...

...many different kinds of paper including different designs, textures and images...

...and a table full of recycled containers and other bits and pieces (imagine a huge junk drawer)...

there were also many kinds of glue, hand-held power tools, books for inspiration, wire, metal, paint, a rich selection of open-ended found materials. 

For the morning I enjoyed the invitation to walk around and find something that spoke to me and then just to play with putting materials together.  In the photo below the lower piece of wood was the first one I picked up.  I liked how it sort of suggested a screen and buttons but in a very low tech way.  I made the screen part into a colorful collage and added additional buttons and collage elements.  

The second round piece of wood was a sort of decorative plate.  Here I returned to a familiar theme and created a color wheel using buttons I brought along for the day. 

The introduction to the retreat included an invitation to bring an object to work with - something from an attic or basement or thrift store.  I brought along a wooden wine box, thinking it doubled as a nice carrying container for materials and might be fun to decorate.
For the afternoon, I worked with the box, adding decorations and a door to create an Art Box.  My neighborhood had two Little Free Libraries within walking distance and a nearby neighborhood plans to install additional sites.  I have been thinking for a while about something similar for an art exchange.  That was the inspiration for the Art Box.

I added one of the pieces I began in the morning to the side for decoration.  The door was the most difficult part.  My initial thought was to wait and make it at home but that felt a bit like procrastination.  Finding hinges seemed to be a good sign I could improvise something so I decided to challenge myself to fashion a door out of what was available.

The sheet of plastic had been rolling around the back of my car for about 6 months, the wood scraps were almost the right size and the metal rulers proved just stiff enough to offer horizontal support while light enough to not add bulk.  In the end it was a good exercise in sticking with a problem and working with what was available.

The inside of the box is still empty.  I plan to add the color wheel mounted in the back along with some small shelves and a note encouraging people to participate in an art exchange.   

It needs a bit of work to be ready for mounting and will live under the covered portico at St Aidan's for starters.  As I tell people about the idea, I get different questions - Does it have to be finished art? What about bags of supplies for kids to take home and make something?  What if someone takes everything?  How will you know who got what you put in?  How will people know they can participate?  

Clearly I have some details to think through but I look forward to trying it and will share some of the stories of what I learn in a future post. 

It was lovely to be in a space as a maker with other makers.  Our reflection at the end focused on the nurturing energy of sharing time, space and materials for this creative work.  I was honored to hear the stories others shared about their creations and to get to share my process as well.  

A Week of Collage with Emmanuel Preschool

I spent a week in March at Emmanuel Preschool working with teachers and students to explore collage.
This was a great follow-up to the hands-on training workshops I did with the Emmanuel staff in the fall.  Fall workshops gave me a chance to get to know the staff as makers, to appreciate their willingness to jump in and get hands messy trying something new and to be part of planning ways to bring a more process and practice based approach to art back to their students.  

One part of this planning include my week as an artist in residence.  Over three days, I got to work with all the students and teachers in the school in small groups in the studio.  I was amazed and delighted by the calm and openness of the teachers, the smoothness of transitions and the richness of conversations that occurred around observing the children and their creations.  

The first day, three year olds worked in an exploratory and energetic way.  They experimented  with placement of objects, layering and glue.  Some moved toward patterns and representational images.

The following day progressed to longer sessions and more involved work with the four and five year olds.   These makers shared strategies and stories, with many working to create representational images, stories, patterns or built 3D environments.

Moving from work with four and five year olds to studio time with two year olds was a good reminder of the vast difference in development in preschool ages.  The youngest makers were half the age of their older peers; they approached the studio experience and me more cautiously.   This group particularly enjoyed painting with the glue.

Exploring ways the glue will drip off the brush.

Lots of glue!

Exploring sticking different shapes and textures to the glue - fabric, button and paper.

I also gained a new appreciation for how challenging it can be to stay the course in following what is developmentally best for very young children.  We do not feel disappointed that a two year old does not ride a two wheeler.  It seems the very definition of two-year-old-ness to ride around on a push toy.  In the same way, a two year old collage that consists of mostly painting glue is an indication that a two year old is just where they need to be developmentally.  Painting glue and feeling it's stickiness on their hands is what will allow them to form patterns and images later just like getting a sense of balance and motion on a push toy will allow them to be ready when it is time for a two-wheeler.

Continuing to Explore Art as Prayer

Back at St Peter in the Woods for an evening as part of their Lenten series, we continued to explore art as prayer. 
Once again it was wonderful to see people play and stretch and interact - with materials and with each other. Stations offered doodling as prayer, collage, mandala drawings, and decorating prayer candles.  
To start us off I shared my belief statement about studio work:
A studio is a sacred space - a space to explore and form relationships with materials, with others and with a deeper sense of self. The act of making quiets the mind, invites us to be fully present and opens us up to connections. Moments of connection spark curiosity, wonder, gratitude, and the urge to share what we discover. Sometimes we leave traces in images and objects we make; other times are more fleeting and leave their mark in new ways of seeing, empathy for another or a feeling of groundedness and connection to something greater. Community helps hold and tend this space - a creative and spiritual home for solitude as well shared experience.

Looking at the pictures, I am reminded how sharing materials around a table can feel similar to sharing a meal around a table. There is a sense of fellowship that develops in this gathering. We had more time to dig in to the materials tonight and participants were able to move around to try different materials. Some work was more social while others worked silently. Having others trying something new around you can support a personal practice and help hold the space. Artist, Ann Hamilton uses the phrase "alone together" and I love this description for group art-making because it does create spaces for solitude and deep personal reflection within the setting of community.

Family Art Event at St Aidan's Episcopal Day School

Great family art event yesterday at St Aidan's Episcopal Day School.
I begin with this photo from our blocks set up in the children's studio space.  The blocks out on the table invited parents and children to build and then to draw designs inspired by their buildings.
I begin with this image also because an important part of our afternoon was another kind of building - building community through creating together.

Our collage station included inviting mixtures of recycled papers, fibers and small objects.  Glue in shallow containers with a small brush offered optimal control for young artists.  A drop of blue paint in the glue gave it a bit of color and surprise.
Putting out materials for art reminded me of setting a table for a meal - for each material there is a place setting with specific tools and utensils as well as shared items.  In the case of collage, individual artists choose their own base paper and then share in communal collections of paper and objects.  The small pots of glue placed around the table can be used individually or shared between a couple of makers.  Setting things up so that supplies are shared (similar to setting the table for "family style" service) is a key part of facilitating community art.

At our stamping station, artists were invited to explore different everyday objects for printing with paint.

This printing was extended with an opportunity to work more communally on a larger piece of paper at a group stamped mural.  

These two stations worked together for community sharing and inspiration.  Some artists were more comfortable trying things out on their own paper before joining a group creation.  Others enjoyed being part of the group creation and getting ideas from what they saw there before creating an individual piece.  

To take advantage of the nice day, we had a bucket of recycled CD's outside for designing on the grass. These young artists made trails and tracks with the shiny CDs.  For great CD art inspiration, see the website of artist Bruce Munro.

Stampers at work ...

Busy hands of collage artists...

And a growing group stamping mural...

One of my favorite aspects of community art is noticing how strategies are developed and shared.  After watching artists make dots and drag lines with the comb, it was fun to watch this artist use the side of the teeth to stamp grass to begin his image.

Community art is also a great chance to see many developmental stages of making side by side.  This older sister explored representation and symmetry with her butterfly created from stamped shapes.

At the same table younger artists explore shape and color with repetition and energy.  Sharing space  in mixed age settings allows for great sharing of ideas in community.

At another table, older siblings began making 3D collage creations using strips of paper. 

This grew as others joined in, finding many inventive ways to twist, tie and curl paper to make architectural creations.

The arches below layer and parts build on other parts.  In the same way, it is fun to watch strategies build on each other.

Finished community art works took two forms: below a collage quilt allows varied individual pieces to come together to create a group piece.

For stamping, the community art was created in layers with artists working with and around other artists to add to a group mural.  It was fun to watch this one grow and change as artists filled in spaces left by others and added new shapes, marks, and patterns.  Can you find the word art from the beginning photo at the top of the page?



Many thanks to all who participated and the many hands that helped with set up and clean up.  It was great to watch people collaborate around tables.  Reflecting on our afternoon, I noted great individuality in invention and creativity.  There was also a sense of calm and intention as artists worked in the different spaces.  I enjoyed the energy of the makers, the sharing of ideas and the wonderful color and invention of our new creations.

Mobile Making - Using Drawing to Plan and Reflect

In our mobiles class this summer we built with wire, paper, recycled objects, string and ribbons. The challenge for young artists was often as much in figuring out attachment strategies as in creating a design. Tape became a popular media as did bendable pipe cleaners and wires.

We used drawing throughout the 3 days as a way to plan, to reflect on our creations and to think of new strategies and ideas.

Below, the artist arranges found and recycled materials on top of the plan she has drawn for a space-themed mobile.

With the addition of wire attachments, the mobile hangs as a sculptural creation.

The next 4 drawings show an artist using drawing as observation and reflection. The sculptures are shown first followed by the drawings created at the end of class to record our creations.

Notice the different shapes used for different parts and materials on the mobile.

The spy gear goggles seen here are drawn again below.

The goggle plan (below) proved helpful as other artists wanted to create their own gear.

In the sketches below the sculptor depicts the curve of the wire and then the individual beads arranged along it to create this unique small sculpture. In addition to reflecting on his creation, this artist gives us clues as to how it is constructed.

The artist below was careful to match the colors and metallic luster of her materials in recording her sculpture with a drawing.

Finally, this diagram of a moving sculpture with gears inside begins to function as a diagram, adding arrows and views inside to the moving parts. The artist/engineer begins to show and share his understanding of how the device works as he reflects on it through drawing.