Experiential Drawing and Painting Workshops
Ever wonder why we “play” music but do art “work”? Come and practice improvising in this playful, interactive workshop. The ability to be spontaneous, receptive and in the moment is vital in our creative process. In this workshop, through carefully structured exercises, you’ll train your brain to readily engage the spontaneous mode, strengthening it to become an equal partner in your art making. This is a fun, interactive and intense workshop open to all with basic comfort with the materials.
I'm excited to announce the second edition of the JAM handbook is now available from Amazon
See the HANDBOOK tab or click the link below, for a description.
“The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.” -- Albert Einstein
"Art happens in the present, you have to want to be there!" -- Unknown
Workshop Description
Art happens through a combination of intention and surrender. Through an interaction of our skills, knowledge, and goals, and letting go and allowing the painting to paint itself. This workshop is about practicing surrendering. Through carefully orchestrated exercises in pastel and mixed media, you will set aside your thinking mind and immerse yourself in your experiencing/perceiving mind.
Focusing on the process of painting, you’ll move quickly through a series of evolving exercises very carefully constructed to allow you to set aside thinking and lose yourself in what you see developing on your paper. There will be minimal demonstration but detailed instructions to follow. You’ll leave with few “finished” pieces but with many to further develop in the studio and with a new understanding of how our thinking brain and our experiencing/perceiving brain integrate.
This is a fun, interactive and challenging workshop open to all artists with experience at a standing easel and comfortable with the materials. No two workshops are exactly the same. I plan each new workshop with the participant list in mind and in coordination with the workshop sponsor. Many students have participated multiple times always experiencing something new within a familiar format. If you have any questions about whether this is a good workshop for you, please don't hesitate to contact me.
Workshops are by sponsorship or invitation. My workshops developed through a combination of my own experiences experimenting with drawing and painting, and my work as a psychotherapist which exposed me to fascinating new information about how our brain functions. All kinds of music are used freely so potential students who are sound sensitive should contact me. Should you wish to sponsor a workshop or be placed on a mailing list for a workshop in your area, please contact me through this website.
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Feedback on the JAM:
"wild, crazy, fun..loved the music and joy! The emphasis was on less talk and more action!"
"It's just the best! Egos are gone so its all about the creating and play."
"I have not attended any workshop so oriented toward exploration and experimentation - even exercises that encouraged this process...so often this is addressed but not experienced"
I think this was one of, if not the, best workshop experience I've had. It was much more than art. I felt inspired, empowered and thoroughly satisfied."
"This one gave me an opening for freeing my own work."
"Completely different. .lots of energy and excitement charged all 4 days. I really had fun and am still jazzed about it and working to complete several pieces."
"Best I've ever attended across the board. Very little out there that's similar. Most teaching focuses on technique within certain mediums. This workshop had the perfect balance of structure/explanations and freedom to explore and work within that structure. Amazing how you created the perfect working environment, balancing instruction with the freedom and encouragement of each individual to explore their own path."
Workshop Background:
There are two essential modes of attention in the creative process: the intentional, deliberate, goal oriented, problem solving mode, and the intuitive, spontaneous mode. We generally first decide what we want to do and how we want to go about it using our fund of skills, knowledge and ideas. And then at some point in the process we may slip into “the zone” where our intuitive side takes over and “the painting paints itself”. We weave back and forth between these two modes in the creative process (as in many other activities.) It’s pretty easy to describe what’s going on in our analytical mode - what skills and theories we’re considering. It’s less easy to describe what’s going on when our intuitive side takes over. That is a mysterious place we slip in and out of often not remembering what we did after re-surfacing. Both modes are important and research on the brain reveals that BOTH benefit from practice!
In this workshop, the focus is on practicing our intuitive mode of attention to help it become more readily available, a more integrated, fluid aspect of our painting experience. Which brings the question: how do we intentionally practice something that by nature is beyond our conscious control? I decided I wanted to see what would happen if I attempted to work with no agenda - no goal in mind. Over time I identified three qualities of this mode of attention. 1) It prioritizes perception over conception. That is, our focus is out on our paper or canvas watching with receptive, expectant attention and is not in our minds conceiving our next move. 2) In this mode we are completely in the present moment without concern for what has happened or will happen. Whatever intent we began with or goal we had in mind is temporarily irrelevant. And, 3) in this mode we are very much in relationship with – in our case – our paper or canvas. We are in a form of reciprocal communication rather than the Master.
"As we practice and allow the unplanned, the unstructured and intuitive, we are strengthening the right side of our brains and concurrently our ability to perceive the whole, be in the moment, empathize, connect to our body’s wisdom and discover the nuances of what is meaningful to us." Iain McGilchrist
Materials List: (Generic)
Our primary materials will be charcoal, ink, gesso and pastel. You’ll want to work large so you’ll want a sturdy board and easel.
Standing easel (large enough for a large board) Sturdy!
Board (to tape paper to) larger than a full sheet of paper (gatorboard works well)
Black 1" artists masking tape (like Generals, Pro Art “Photo”, Jerrys) you want low tack tape
Paper (A selection of papers of your choice. For quicker studies or for a less expensive option, you might try sketch vellum like Borden & Riley #116 or watercolor paper. Rives BFK 280 printmaking paper or similar is a good choice for longer works, and/or any pastel papers you like. Bring paper or board that will take both wet and dry media and many layers! Both full sheets and half. You’ll need 5-8 papers per day!)*
Vine charcoal (assortment of other charcoals you have on hand)
Compressed charcoal (or black pastel….something really dark!)
White soft pastels
Kneaded eraser
Rags and/or soft paper towels
Sumi Ink – Black, and any brown or walnut ink
2 jars for water
2-3 tins (like tuna or similar)
Gesso, white... about a pint
Brushes (at least two inexpensive 1” brushes – one for ink and one for gesso
Smaller and different sized brushes for different marks with the ink, and larger ones if you want.)
Calligraphy pen (traditional bamboo or holder with nibs, for use with Sumi Ink)
Pastels (You’ll need greys and brights of each hue. Mostly soft pastels, some hard. You don’t need a huge set.)
Scraping tools like old membership cards (very handy!), blades, etc.
Small spray bottle for water
Small hair dryer (op)
Baby wipes!!
*Since we are not about "making paintings", theoretically you could do the whole workshop with cheap paper but you'd be very frustrated. Since most of the time we'll be using wet medium as well as pastel, the printmaking papers or your choice of pastel papers work best for all our longer studies. Even our quick warm up drawings often become under-paintings for later works so students often find themselves using a heavier paper for every exercise. The Borden & Riley #116 Artist Sketch Vellum is a lovely smooth surface, takes wet medium as well as pastel and is inexpensive. Feel free to contact me with any other questions about paper or any of the supplies. You will use everything on the list.
