Thursday, January 1, 2015

Happy New Year!

Have you made art goals or plans for 2015? Do they include making bad art?  Or allowing yourself just to play without concern for a finished product?  Giving yourself time and materials to explore without goals?  How are your art goals framed?  What do you count as "success"?  What constitutes a "good" day in the studio?  What would be your ultimate ideal art day?

My bench mark of success in the studio is showing up and making marks.  Really.  If I show up and put some marks on a surface, it counts as a good day.  Whether good art or finished art shows up is another matter, and doesn't enter into this particular equation.  In art making, quantity breeds quality.  This is the basis of my 100 Drawings class, which has just got underway (another iteration starting in September), and it seems to be the case in my own art practice.  It's a working hypothesis anyway.

I posted last week about the black and white pieces I'm doing. They are really about mark-making, getting variety in the quality of marks.  I began another dozen of them today, and plan to keep working on them for a while to explore this non-color vocabulary.

Here is a video of me working on these black and white marks:

And these are some of the pieces at various stages of the process.  They are in no particular order, except the first and second images are the same piece.










Thanks for visiting!  Don't forget to play.

21 comments:

  1. WONDERFUL, Jane! I love your definition of a successful studio day! It takes all the pressure off in making art......

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  2. I'm an art teacher who doesn't get into the studio much these days. Thanks for sharing. I'm definitely inspired. I'd be interested in know your preferred papers for this process.

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    1. Hard to get studio time when you spend so much time teaching! See "Favorite Materials", link in right margin.

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    1. He has no grounds for his tough criticisms or complaints. I do NOT force him to make art, as I do with chickens.

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  4. Nice to see more layers added to your original black and white. Yes, watching your video and watching the process really helps free up. I have done NO art four 4 months. I have been taking a drawing class once a week which has helped free me up with putting pencil to paper which should be a positive thing when I pick up brush again. I do have a method to my madness, looking forward to your class Jane. Ciel

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  5. love watching you in action Jane...........it gets my juices flowing!

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  6. Fabulous video! Mark making is my 2015 get going focus. I think you need to come to Australia for a working holiday!

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  7. Oh, how I've missed watching you make art, Jane! :-) So excited for class to start this week. Yay!!

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  8. And off you go to Australia... why not.. they too need to have your energy... and thanks for the little pep talk on showing up and making marks....xxo

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  9. Love watching your videos Jane. Your thoughts on making art and success are wonderful-such good advice! I have become so much freer with mark making etc. because of you .Thank you, and Happy New Year!

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  10. Hi Jane,
    I love to watch your videos-very inspirational. Thanks, I will try and do some"bad"art this year.
    Carmen

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  11. I love your energy! You make me smile.
    ....Raine

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  12. great work and a really good definition of successful time in the studio. thanks!

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  13. Inspiring as usual. I agree with you about 'just turning up'.

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  14. Great hand movements and expressive brush strokes! I love to watch you make marks, and I like the idea of just "showing up and making marks." I'll remember that! Thank You.

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  15. It's such a joy to watch you "messing-up" and seeing the freedom in "playing". Glad I watch this post today - a reminder that I too can do this! :-)

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  16. VERY PROFESSIONAL..!!!!CONGRATULATION!!!!

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