Skip to main content

Processing Change


When I signed-off for the holidays I did so not expecting to have the time nor energy to make much art during the holidays. It appears I was mistaken on both accounts.  When the need arose, my mind would not be still and I had to make the time.


Emptying Nest - 12/2013
At the end of the Fall 2013 semester as my interns prepared to leave, I began a small reflection piece that began on one page and soon expanded beyond. Using watered down acrylics and a watercolor brush my focus was on movement. Soon enough I had the basis of what was to become Many Faces. This seemed to be my theme this month: a desire to move paint. To break out of my careful pen doodles and piecing together of small bits.  



In Emptying Nest, long smooth motions eventually came together in a nest-like form made of hair. These were in vast contrast with the short strokes of the background, which is dense and layered. Applied quickly and with a spatula knife scraping the surface.  Each application taking me back to the weeks’ events and the weeks before that. After the time spent on mark making and the nest I was “done”. Drained. Eventually the face remained face-less. A wash of shades.  


Then, early December there was a loss at work; a colleague passed away unexpectedly.  Processing through this made me return to the aforementioned piece. Only this time I did so with a pen. I didn’t know what to do. For the next few days I opened the journal and stared. I felt an overwhelming blankness.  This is the final piece showing a form separate from the ‘rest’, it has changed but it remains the same.   


Many Faces - 12/2013



What felt like an eternity after, I used parts of the documents presented at the memorial in a piece solely dedicated to her [since it has her image and name I will leave it out of the blog].  It wasn't a particularly beautiful piece, I wasn’t in the sugar coating mood. The pen marks that completed the piece could be felt through several sheets and coats of paint. However different the mood was between that piece and the next there were undertones in common.  


The Spring 2014 semester began with caution. Stability seemed no longer a destination but more of a sunspot that comes through the window, it keeps moving and moving. Determined to make some sense of it I dove for the squirly stashes of materials, I searched through my journal for found bits from the holidays, from all the driving and visitations.  Ch3 Unit Stresses took several hours (and I mean several) to complete and I did eventually. I had to make the time and I’m glad I did.



Unit Stresses - 1/2014




More will be posted on Unit Stresses to the sister blog: Mandala Exchange. So stay tooned.

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Capturing a Moment: Gelatin Printing

Lets just get right down to it, you've either tried it and loved it or you're currently wondering what I'm talking about. Gelatin prints that's what. A few years ago a student introduced me to the wonders of using homemade gelatin as a printing plate (sugar free kind). As it turns out it is a very versatile work surface that brings an element of intrigue and play into the work space. When my clients first hear I'll be bringing in gelatin, they seek out napkins and forks and eagerly away the obviously tasty snack. The sound of dreams shattering as I pull-out the gelatin plates is audible (if only short lived). Soon everyone is poking and wiggling the gelatin and wondering what we'll be doing with it. Play is an important aspect of what I do. So is creativity and genuine interest. These things are however harder to come-by in adults than their younger counterparts (who jump-into explorer mode instinctively).  Sometimes I have to coerce these attr...
1 comment
Read more

Stress Relief Recipe Book

Found some time this weekend to de-stress and what better way than delving into one of those “for later” piles. This particular pile consisted of a menagerie of brown paper bags (and the envelopes they were mailed-in). They were accompanied by notes, quotes, dyed papers, hand made paper, ribbons, and on and on, etc.   These bits of mail have been coming-in at wonderfully random intervals for maybe 2 months. Now it is time to bind the collection into the Stress Relief Recipe Book it was meant for. To the bag full of bits of mail I also added: ruler, pencil, x-acto blade (and scissors), ice-pic, elmers (and other glues), thick string, wax candle (used it to wax the string), thick-blunt needle, and cardboard. *for anyone trying this out for the first time - go ahead and make your life simpler by having the inserts all be the same measurements (or close to it). First there was extensive Pinterest and Google searches for DIY paper bag books, but those mostly consis...
3 comments
Read more

Layered {Response} Art

Inchies in process of being stained. I recently read artist Seth Apter ’s post on a question we artists are often asked: How long did it take you? The following blog post will be my response to his thought provoking post which I found rang a few bells for me. Seth’s post for October 20th, 2014 can be reached via this link: The Surface of my Work So, how long does it take to create? ...the art therapist’s perspective. I will give voice to some accumulated thoughts on the particular topic of response art. I feel it is important to make the distinction between response art and other artwork I may engage-in for the purpose of “creating something pretty”. Response art to me indicates a creative process (and/or artifact) that seeks to process an experience; usually to do with intense experiences encountered as a part of carrying out the duties of our profession [for more on response art in art therapy see Fish, 2006, 2008, 2012]. Beginning. When the creative bug cal...
3 comments
Read more