For me one challenge after a workshop is making the techniques my own. We’ve all been to galleries where the artist’s inspiration is so evident in his or her work that you immediately conjure up the name of the inspiring art. While it’s fun to come home and repeat what one has learned, eventually it’s more important to allow the art to speak through you and not someone else.
That’s what set Laurie Doctor’s workshop at Cheerio apart. Through a series of exercises and readings, she invited us to reach inside and pull out our own thoughts and ideas. She also challenged us to write or draw every day.
From her inspiration, I made the three previously posted small 5×7 coptic bound books and have been making a conscientious effort to use them daily.
The photos here represent a few of the ideas that manifested themselves when I was able to put aside the worries of a “finished product” and just play.
These are wonderful, Sandy, and good for you for keeping up the everyday work in the journals. Having been with Laurie at Sheila’s for a week, I know what a gifted teacher and artist she is. Thanks for sharing your photos. They do look like your own, and not like Laurie’s. That “just playing” thing, so very important, and sometimes so very hard to get at!
Cari
Thanks Cari. Laurie is amazing. This was my second workshop with her and each time she has taken me artistically to places I didn’t know existed. The best part is trying things in miniature and then expanding them onto larger supports. I’ll try to post a couple of those when I can set up the tripod and get some unfuzzy photos.