Monday, March 23, 2009

Serious Play

It has been so long since the last post- the late winter illnesses really threw me off more than I ever thought it would.   Also, the transition of the toddler to the toddler bed and the 3:30 a.m. crying fits have made me a bit less productive as well.  Happily, spring is coming, the lingering colds are getting better, and I now have a high chair that reclines in my studio!



I don't know why I didn't think of this before- he can eat, draw, play with his cars, and sleep in the high chair while I paint.  I was spending so much time in the cafe downstairs from my studio while Phin ate and now I can stretch canvas and the like while he eats in my studio.  Fantastic!






I also painted my studio floor and did some general cleaning to better accommodate the toddler in my studio rather than a baby.  The pack n' play just isn't cutting it for him anymore- he needs to roam.  

OK, so the work.  I stretched a canvas today and realized that I used stretcher bars that I had just taken a painting off of because it was warped.  My lord I am an idiot.   Phin was asleep, so I decided to work on what I had around.  I had quite a few things I had done as demos for my Intuitive Painting class, so I put them all together.  I'm going to have to get a piece of wood to adhere it all to and work on it some more.  It's 3 pieces of cardboard, a plastic ping-pong paddle, a cd case, and a shirt sleeve.  I used to be really snobby about acrylic paint, but I love it now.  It holds everything together plus I can put wax, salt, and sand in it for texture.  

I am really enjoying the collage because I really, really don't know where I am going with it and have a level of (productive and healthy) fear and confusion about it that I haven't had in a while.  We're getting ready for a parent workshop at work next weekend addressing nurturing creativity in children  (it's free for those of you in Chicago- pre-register here by calling).  I've done a lot of thinking about how easily children assimilate multiple mediums into one piece of art.  I guess I'm trying to knock down some learned barriers and just make art out of anything.  Here is the piece so far:




Be well and I promise the next post will be soon :)
-melanie