Exercise Your Mind The following is a series
of very simple exercises that were inspired by my recent trip to the Mass
Moca. *The exhibits and artist's names are noted in the parentheses.
The
Work Generator
Take some charcoal and your
journal. Do 50 thumbnail drawings of abstract forms. Play with
contrast, shape and composition. Do the drawings very quickly, without
thinking about making good work. Use your fingers to rub the drawings
if you feel inclined. The important thing here is to produce a large
number of drawings, you will have several that you respond to in the end.
Slow
Down
Take an everyday task.
Something like ironing, washing dishes, drinking tea, cleaning, sweeping,
etc. Perform this task VERY slowly, at least half speed.
Portable
World
Take a vessel or a vehicle
of some sort and use it as a basis for designing your own portable world.
First decide what you would like to use it for, example: a day trip
to the museum, an overnight camping trip, a day spent collecting found
objects . You might choose to fill a backpack with a sketchbook and
watercolours for painting in a field, or you could outfit your bike with
a mini library for doing research outdoors. Maybe you would like
to examine wildlife (binoculars, journal, pencils, food). Include
one object that is precious, (a favourite pen, or a collaged box for collecting
things.)
Pushing
the Comfort Zone
Come up with a list of small
things you can do to push you out of your comfort zone.
Inmate
Inventiveness
Take the following items:
Use them to create an invention or a piece of art. One
Object
Choose an everyday object.
Recreate the object using several different mediums. Explore different
techniques. (I'd like to try a little house) Start by drawing
several sketches of the object.
Keri Smith is a free-lance
illustrator and native of Toronto. A graduate of O.C.A. she
has a wide following of clients in North America and Japan. She currently
resides in a “magic” cottage in Flesherton, painting, illustrating, creating,
writing, and living out loud. Her new book "Living Out Loud -an activity
book to fuel a creative life" is now available from Chronicle
Books.
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