CONTEMPORARY EXPLORER

 

  “Your hands learn to do things it would take you a whole day to write about,” Jessica Stockholder - Play ART 21 Perhaps this is the draw to doing craft. You hands want to express themselves and lead the learning from the experience. I have never been very skilled in the craft area, but still enjoy doing it. It can be frustrating even when you create something of note. Where do you place it, how can you ever photograph it? There is a certain impermanence to it.  Still it’s worth the effort. Sometimes you find an object that urges you to bring forward the beauty. Your hands use tools to make marks. Your memory full of other things you have collected to tie it together. Other times, you might be in an art store and see thread or sticks crying out to be combined with the scraps and tears from other art work.  It all feeds the imagination of the mind. The hands though are what make it all happen. The hands you learn from.

  What possibly could you learn about life from an abstract painter? If the artists name is Amy Sillman, the answer is quite a bit. The very concept of abstract is confusing to many. Abstract art does not attempt to represent an accurate depiction of visual reality. Some like the way it springs from nothing. Others dislike it for the same reasons.  Amy Sillman in her video “To Abstract” in Art 21 discusses the process of making abstract paintings. Along the way, she touches on techniques, philosophy, and ways to turn abstract into a successful work of art. Valuable pointers that can help in finding success beyond art in life and business. Stillman notes it’s the “not knowing” that draws one to abstract art. You are alone with the canvas. The skills and tools gained through time your only resources. It tests your very being. You have to trust yourself in this free space. There is no easy route from a to b, you have to discover it. You struggle to move ahead learning that the ne...