Another Great Week At School

What a great week! I knew it would be – it just had to be as we started on Monday morning with a dance / meditation circle.  Timea led us through something similar to Gabrielle Roth’s 5Rhythms (bringing me back to all those years of amazing spiritual movement (YogaDance) classes I loved back in Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia). It felt great to shake off what I didn’t need on every level, to limber up, and to open myself up to more visionary experiences.

Fantastic Creatures:

Monday was all about our Fantastic Creature Painting (1 of 3 pieces for this term).  I must say – Timea is a great teacher! She really listens! I don’t even remember saying anything that would have led her to do what she did, but she did – and it was perfect.  She came in on Monday with a huge piece of rolled up primed canvas and said that I was to take as much as I wanted for my Fantastic Creature Painting.  I do remember saying I really wanted to learn to stretch canvas, but she was persistent about my going big.  Yay!  I found myself on the floor (my favourite place to paint) splattering paint and creating several layers of mirrored images with Golden acrylic high flow paints that she brought in especially for this exercise.  Heaven!  I so missed fluid acrylics! I spent quite a few hours over the next few days playing with it and staring at it.  Our job is pull out images from our abstract background to eventually create a fantastic creature. I was in awe at what other students were able to do, either on their small pieces of canvas or on those we did on paper in a previous week.  I found plenty of shapes, but am still at the point of simply outlining them.  Still, that was a lot of fun and I’ve got some ideas of where this will go. Can you see an owl?  This is just the beginning.

Poetic Landscape

Our second piece this term will be a poetic landscape (object, drapery, landscape).  The idea itself doesn’t necessarily inspire me yet, but I’m still evoking subject matter.  I do want to learn drapery for all those flowing robes on the figures I eventually want to incorporate in my work.  Not an easy task! What did inspire me, though, was a special presentation by Benedetto Fellin.  His life story, talent, and presence made for a wonderful afternoon. He’ll be guiding us through a few drawing / painting workshops this trimester.

Works in Progress:

For part of studio day on Wednesday, I worked on the totem animals on my main oil painting from last trimester.  I do believe they’re finished.  Love them!  I still have lots of work to do on the tree and 2 figures.  But there is progress!

Evoking More Inner Images

Brighid Walks The Land • Helena Nelson Reed

On Thursday and Friday, we had a special workshop with Vera and Kuba (remember, I went to their place in Payerbach for tutoring?).  First, we looked at 4 images that inspired each student, discussing their conscious and subconscious attraction to various subjects, compostitions, colours, and moods.  Insightful!  I’ve already written about some of my inspirations. By the end of Friday, however, I had found another.  I really resonate with the work of Helena Nelson Reed – gorgeous!

On Friday, we were led through a creative visualization exercise based on poetry.  Using a minimal palette in ways that Kuba demonstrated, we then represented our vision on paper.  I loved my vision – a beautiful story about an awakening of consciousness and sustainable logging.

My first attempt at turning that vision into a painting sketch, however, was way too literal.  I don’t want to be a landscape painter. Through discussions with Vera and Kuba, I was once again reminded of how my key will be to turn these visions (figures, etc) into my own unique style. How do I translate such a vivid story into something that looks and feels like my art?  I still have a lot of work to figure that out and I’m trying not to get frustrated or impatient – sometimes more successfully than others.  I’m starting to fantasize about having another year dedicated solely to painting (without the financial or time pressures of shows, sales, teaching, anything really – hey, it’s my fantasy) so that I can take everything I’m learning here and just work and play alone in my own studio until my art naturally evolves into what it wants to be – yes, yes, all the while loving what it is.  I just know I’ll find a unique way to paint realistic elements into my work.  The more I practice drawing, the easier that will be to do.  Anyhow, by the end of the day Friday, I had created a few acrylic backgrounds to play with that concept, but I’m not thrilled with my first attempt.

Grant it,  I was up at 4am (I spent nearly 2 hours on Skype with Deb Ozarko for a podcast that will air at the end of February or beginning of March – a wonderful experience!) By 4pm, therefore, I was tired and needed to remind myself to be gentle and loving – all part of the learning process.

Well, there you have it – another great week.  It’s sunny now, and just below freezing – thinking of going for another hike. After that, I have to pack up as I’ll be moving residence rooms on Friday (this room had already been reserved by the time I extended my stay).  Have a great weekend!