Back In Massachusetts

I've recently returned to Massachusetts to complete my degree with an internship at a local hospital. I currently work with children afterschool who are diagnosed with mental illness and learning disabiliities. The work these children have done is striking, as I become more aware of the power of art. Unfortunately, I do not have the ethical permission to post their images up here, as much as I would like to share them. Therefore, the purpose of this blog might start to transform into more work completed by me in response to their work.

I plan on posting some images soon from art I did while in Santa Fe. Amazingly, though, I threw out most of my drawings from classes because I did not feel the need to keep them considering I processed the material the art contained. I hope to continue this blog for a while longer, but am unclear as to what it will end up looking like in the near future.

HELLO!!

I have had no time to paint!!! For myself at least, but at the encouragement of my therapist and fellow classmates, and my parents, I have begun the painting process again. However, now I am trying to attempt my painting sessions without guilt, expectations, criticism, etc. We'll see what comes out of this. I will post photos soon....

Tinneburg Abbey, Wales, UK

This is a very small drawing I did of Tinneburg Abbey in Wales, UK. Done from a photo as I have never been there, it's not entirely accurate, but I enjoyed creating it with its vibrant and energetic colors.

AnnMarie Sculpture Gardens, February 2008

My family and I visited the AnnMarie Sculpture Gardens in Solomons, MD during Feb. vacation and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The Gardens is a walking tour through the woods, with sculptures dotting the path deep in the trees or directly off the path. A personal favorite of mine was the search for small tree stumps with tiny reproductions of famous art pieces hidden amongst the trees. Everywhere we looked there would be a new one, and most we could identify as Botticelli, Dali, Stella, Magritte, Picasso, etc. The Gardens are very beautiful and deserve numerous trips throughout the year based on the seasons.

New England Fauvism

I'm back in the drawing saddle again, as I create examples of work for students to gauge their own progress in work and to realize they too can draw like this! I'm realizing that if I want to create art, at least for the time being, a cheap, efficient, and just as effective means would be through drawing using oil pastels...I call them paint in a stick and that's as close as I can get to the real deal!
Anyways, I taught my students about Fauvism and how they incorporated bright and bold colors into their work to express emotions. One of my favorite art groups (and so short lived!), I believe what the Fauves had to offer can still be utilized today for those students whose creativty is blocked by stigma, ego, or low self-esteem. It helps them experiment with more colors than just the normal palette as well as to view the world in a completely different perspective!!
I beleive New England autumns are ideal for such creative pursuits as the changing colors provoke the use of brighter colors and seeing such reds, yellows, and oranges in everyday life can help them feel more comfortable when creating an imaginitive scene.
So, this is my example and I like it very much, however, I'm concerned it might look chinsy? Too colorful, or too cliche? I hope that is only my internalized rationalizations speaking out and not my true self!!

These are two other paintings that were in my show back in May, which I never got to post on here. I do not have these anymore! They are living in very good homes in Carrollton and Dallas, Texas! Both stemmed from similar ideas and came out similarly--- creating the grooved circle and then applying oil pastel on top to enhance the quality of that circle. The top image was referred to as imagery of the "beginning of the cosmos" (thank you Dr. Eaker!), even though it has no defining title! However, I was quite pleased with that comment and cherish it as a compliment!

Still Life Drawing

Even though this is an aside from my usual work of abstraction, I enjoy drawing realistically, if not with a flare for fauvism. I had this still life set up for my drawing classes at the summer school and could not ignore the urge to draw it myself. I oftentimes use too many lines when I create an image such as this, but it is an ongoing process of overcoming this sort of "safety blanket" of too many lines to hide my fear of incorrectly drawing the subject. (And I tend to use too many words to describe it, too!)
Anyways, I was pleased with the outcome, and had fun photographing the details to illuminate the build up of lines and colors that shape the subjects themselves.
Also, I have realized that this swelling urge to draw should not be ignored, as it is akin to the urge to show appreciation for gifts you have received and using them wisely and positively.