Translation to Teaching

One of the most important things I learned this week was to focus on play and “playing with purpose” both in my creative process and my teaching. Both the sketchbook and printmaking class had an element of mystery. The enthusiasm, flexibility, and transparency of the teacher(s) created an attitude that everything is possible, and reminded me how exciting it is to remain curious and constantly explore the creative process. I hope to take this attitude back into my classroom. The exercises that enforced this playful and exploratory way of drawing were the “mystery object drawings” (touch drawings) and the memory drawings. Both pushed me out of my comfort zone with drawing. For the mystery object we had to touch an unknown object and translate that sensation into a drawing. Usually when I draw I aim for realism and get frustrated if I can't reproduced the correct proportion, texture, or angle of the object. By not looking at the object we were drawing I could not get stuck in my desire and expectation for realism. I loved how Lauren walked us through the memory drawing by asking us to mentally recall a family portrait and our favorite dress. I typically rely so heavily on observational drawing, I feel like I can’t draw it if I can’t see it. In these exercises I learned to mentally picture the image or object and focus on that while I was drawing. With the dress drawing we closed our eyes for much of the process so the end result was an abstract and wonderful surprise. We could then work back into the image making choices and changes, but I really like the initial image because it seemed so "free" and "unrestrained." I think I will use both these exercises to give my students a new connection to drawing. It made me less fearless and forced me not to “over think” my work. Many of my students get nervous about drawing so I hope by adapting these methods to my printmaking classroom I can introduce my students to a new approach to drawing that is focused on playing and being open in the creative process. I plan also to try the blindfolded partner drawing and one-minute sculpture figure drawings. In the past I have avoided my student’s fears of drawing by allowing them to trace images, but I realize now how freeing drawing can be and how it can be a truly unique tool for expressing the self.

Peer response

I left this comment on Dawn's Found Drawings, but I wanted to repost it under the "Peer Response" title too.

I think these are great! Not only did you transform a ridiculously bad situation, like your hotel catching on fire, into a refined, sleek image; but you’ve made me curious. From first glance I can’t quite figure out what the image is, I can’t tell the scale or even the material. I am attracted to the black and white composition and I love what you’ve done to the blue color. Repeating the form and cropping the shapes really alters my expectations. I think these are really strong works and I would like to see them very large. Nice Job!

Project Book

For my project book I carried on with the theme of 'Time.' My ideas connected to the research I mined from the Altered Book project. I started with a variety of experiments using transfer techniques of images of the tracks of subatomic particles. I also created wax resist drawings of clock parts and used watercolor to abstract the drawings to give them a more organic quality. I explored the pendulum in relationship to time and movement by creating a pendulum out of found metal pieces and attaching a brush. I swung the pendulum over my paper for varying amounts of time creating interesting drawings. I also videoed the pendulum in motion which gave me ideas for slowing down or speeding up the pendulum in recorded time. Photographs of the pendulum in motion became ghostlike and transparent in the most surprising and beautiful way. I composed these experiments into my project book and generated several ideas for how to make this "play with purpose" into an exhibition. I considered variations in scale, material, time, methods for installation etc. I am very excited with the process and direction of the project book and can't wait to continue developing my ideas.

Here are a few of my favorite spreads:

Altered Book

My book was originally about "Time" which I found very inspiring and interesting. I enjoyed "mining" the book for images and research; I plan to carry on with this theme for quite awhile. Throughout the pages I allowed myself to visually explore this theme through shape, line and color. I am happy with the resolution of most of the pages; they have already informed my subsequent project book. The images below are my favorite spreads.

25 Donut Drawings

For this exercise we did some careful yet quick studies of a donut and explored our associations/ memories. To complete the exercise we had create 25 sketches of the donut; each one informing and inspiring the next drawing. At first the task seemed overwhelming but after a short while I got into it and enjoyed the process.

1 Minute Drawings

For these quick figure studies we partnered up and each got a prop. We had fun exploring the possibilities of our props and selected a posture that we could hold for 1-minute as our peers drew. We also gave the poses fun titles. It was a very interactive way to make figure drawing fun! I normally HATE drawing the figure but with this exercise I was able to focus on the prop and the most important aspects of how the person was interacting with it. Limiting my focus allowed me to relax and get some likable drawings. From left to right the titles of these poses are "Provided For," "Wrap it up," "Substitute," and "Stepping on the Peak."

Found Drawing, Kferrell

Prompt List

1. Monkey Business
2. Hide and go Seek
3. Pick Pocket
4. Paint by Numbers
5. Pledge of Allegiance
6. Double Edge Sword
7. Like Riding a Bike
8. Wishful Thinking
9. Perfect Storm
10. Drawing a Blank

KFerrell, Paper + Tape

For this assignment we were given two sheets of paper and a roll of scotch tape and told to make a book. After playing with the tape I decided on a conventional style book with the tape for pages. I like the texture, transparency and grid created by the overlapped layers of tape.