Life and Art

Sue's digital art, original photo taken by my daughter.

I am at a temporary lull right now in my own painting while I teach a 3 day art class for middle schoolers. I am missing my own painting. My daughter's portrait keeps calling to me but I don't want to paint it in fits and starts or try by squeezing it in a tiny little time slot. I like to paint when I have the time and space so if (when?) I get into the zone I can run with it. Its frustrating to try to fit creating into small time frames. I could do that with watercolor but not acrylics or oils. Hmmmm, not sure why. Creating takes time and the space, don't you agree? I think that is why a spirit of creativity can not be tamed so much as directed. Creativity resists too many restrictions.

My theme for the next few days is 'do no harm'. I am teaching a middleschool art class on painting. My goal is to encourage and build up so the kids feel like they can continue to do artsy things on their own after our time together but once again I feel like I am fitting way too much into a short period of time and they will walk away frustrated. I hope not. I am realizing again art is not something that fits neatly into little boxes. Art kind of settles in and encomposes like a fog rolling in when given the chance. Thats why time, space and opportuntiy need to converge in people's lives to allow art to develop. It doesn't so easily just fit into one little time slot or box. So my hope for today is to show the kids its okay to experiment, its okay to not aim for perfection because in creating, the process needs to develop and grow. Sometimes there are ugly duckling stages and that is okay..... the beauty is in the doing.

I will be back to painting portraits of people and animals soon...

to see finsihed work go to http://www.suesteiner.com/