Starting point

A year of selling a house, buying a house, and moving cross country kind of put me in artmaking purgatory. And I wondered how to jump start my studio practice again…or whether that was even the right question. I recognize that I work best when I am researching a theme, writing about it, drawing a bit, reading; but I have been questioning the motivation behind what I see as my, sometimes, pointless creating.

Cutting out squares

After noodling through a bunch of ideas, I came up with a challenge for myself. I would cut up a banner from an old show (my name, the show title, the dates, the gallery, etc….in big black letters on thick white paper). I saved the banner for sentimental reasons, even moved it on the big trip. But there it was, sizeable, rolled up, and leaning against the wall of my studio. I decided I would cut squares out of it, 8 in. by 8 in. (12 of them), working from the back side so I wouldn’t know what was on the front until I turned it over.

Then I would use whatever letters, numbers, or bits that showed up as a starting place for each drawing. Two “blank” squares are below:

Two “blank” squares ready to draw on

Here’s what I’ve finished so far:

Six little drawings done with powdered graphite, collaged paper, and tape

What I like about these drawings and this process is that letters and numbers get to be characters with a little personality. And it answers my interest in separating them from context, as if they have a different role to play outside of predictable meaning. Maybe if you can’t go forward, go sideways.