inspiration

As I prepare for the upcoming class, Creating Habits I am beginning to realized that much of my art making is about getting my hands and eye to work together to create an image.

We often take these two functions for granted. That is until we start to lose the abilities of either one.

I am learning to appreciate what I can do and to realize it is a daily process to keep and build my seeing and drawing skills. I have to keep it fun.

3 ways to build my seeing skills

1. Look at things from a different perspective – like upside down
2. Pause and notice what is above or below
3. Take a lot of pictures of things I like from different angles

3 ways to build my hand coordination

1. Look closely and “draw” a new font
2. Do hand yoga – gently appreciate the movements
3. Play with loosely holding pens and brushes at a distance

I encourage you to notice and appreciate your hands and eyes and to celebrate your abilities.

If you are interested in exploring hand/eye skills more deeply, then check out the current workshops.

Enjoy!

Making art is about seeing. We use the sense of sight all day, and yet do we really see much?

The more I practice drawing and art making the more I know that it all is based on:

• slowing down
• looking long and closely
• and training my hand to translate what my eyes are really seeing.

I think that it helps to think of seeing as a muscle/athlete in training. It is a skill that can be honed, focused or shaped.

We are so fortunate to live in this world with its abundant feast for our eyes. The challenge for the artist is to edit and find unique focus.

Things that I have been SEEING lately:

• Shapes on roof tops and steeples
• Different fonts
• Autumn berries and twigs

I have complied some of my SEEING practices into a class, Creating Habits. This online workshop will run January 7 to 13, 2022. Check out the details and join us.