Following joy
This week I am playing with Louise Fletcher and thousands of others in her Find Your Joy Taster Course. I am grateful for the reminder to PLAY with my art. Her simple but rich prompts make it easy to do.
I added tape to the paper above and painted across the whole page. Then stripped the tape off and discovered the 6 little squares. Another case of cropping making a piece that much more dynamic and engaging! Then I added a little more on top of each square based on what I felt they needed. The black and white are the most obvious changes you can see.
Last year I took a workshop from Jennifer Mercede that was also about art and play. I will always remember how she encouraged us to do what was FUN while we were painting. If we made a mark and it sparked some joy in us, then keep making that mark. All across the page. When it stopped being fun, stop making the mark. So simple! But it can be so easy to get caught up in your thoughts and in trying to make a “good” piece of “art.” Nothing could bring us further away from play. Following what’s fun is one of my guiding principles now.