the theme of sas colby's workshop in taos last month was LESS IS MORE.
not as "simple"...as it sounds.
we were given some words to ponder, and among them these from David Jauss, Haystack Mountain School:
"We are done when our focus shifts from curiosity about what the work could become to Recognition of what it is. If we continue to work on a piece after curiosity fades and self-consciousness takes over, the result will be a work that is OVERdone."
well said, and i'm learning to step away when that SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS takes over.
one of the first activities of the week is posted here. as the week continued, we each found our own form and expression.....but, in the beginning of less is more, we each chose a black and white copy of a photo, and were given only scissors, tape, and black construction paper.
we cut pieces to create the positive image on the wall, using the tape.That's on the left. then we were directed to use the scraps and create another image beside it on the wall, and that's to the right.
afterwards, i took the second image and glued the pieces to a large white piece of paper, adding charcoal and matte medium to create a new composition. THEN I COULDN'T STOP...and couldn't FIX the "overdoneness of my self-consciousness".
AM I MAKING ANY SENSE?
but, THERE'S always the 8 fold book, and that is what became of my "product", it went back to process in the form of a book. It's quite magical to take a large work that you're not quite sure about, and turn it into smaller abstracts that continue to tantalize our minds(and it's not QUITE finished, but almost!!)
i'll be careful to STOP often. and i know i won't add much. some text? maybe. color? probably not.
Good point - less is more. I like the piece to have a bit of space. And I like you black and gray book.
ReplyDeletewell done! I love your work. I love the quote, is that a Sas quote? I think it is interesting that that point where curiosity stops is different for everyone! who knows then what is overwrought or overdone as you said? only you know that!
ReplyDeleteYour piece has so many layers and dimensions, but it isn't overworked. It is gorgeous and I'm quite certain you'll know when to stop.
ReplyDeletewell.....blue/eliz and cat, i'll post the piece before i folded it up into a book.....it was pretty dark and heavy...but happy as a book. thanks for your support!! yes, we know when to stop, if we listen to ourselves. and cat, the quote wasn't one of sas's, i'll look to see where she found it.
ReplyDeleteNeva - you captured the art activity well. Thanks for posting the state the David Jauss words to ponder. Who true they are. Think I'll go copy them down into my little summer book. xox! Me
ReplyDeleteDavid's quote says it all- I will have to save that one!!!
ReplyDeleteI love what you created!
Really interesting experiment here. Less can definitely be more and this post is a good reminder of that. And I can see why "my" workshop reminded you of "your" workshop!
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