New Art Therapy Challenge!!

I like to always challenge myself.

Each month I go to http://nikerunning.nike.com and create a challenge to run a fixed number or miles in a certain amount of weeks. Currently I am running 30 miles by 5-2-2012.

Over a year ago I bought a brand new box of "64 Crayola Crayons", and I gave myself a challenge to do a drawing every day for 64 consecutive days. See older blog posts. In retrospect, it was a lot of fun, but in reality, some days it was frustrating and annoying.  But just because something is frustrating and annoying does mean we should not accept the challenge.

When we tell people about our personal goals and challenges, we are more likely to follow through. This is me telling you.

So, here is my new challenge...

I have discovered a new iPad drawing app called "Paper", and I love it!  I will create and post one drawing per day until the end of my daughters' high school school year - June 12, 2012.  That is exactly 54 days from today.

 Follow me on this journey....

Here is my first drawing done on my iPad with the "Paper" app.

Day 28: Dandelion

Sometimes I choose specific colors to go with my mood or my day.  Other times I allow someone else to choose.  Today I closed my eyes and grabbed a crayon from the box of 37 colors remaining. Each time I use a color I do not place it back in the box.  It is placed into a separate small plastic box - what is left of the original crayon - usually bits and pieces of wax and torn paper wrapper.  I may make a final project with the left over crayons.

My younger daughter came home from Venice Beach today with a Henna tattoo on her left forearm.  This image is inspired by the tattoo.  Because it is yellow, it looks like an elaborately detailed sun.  Today was rainy.

Day 20: Blue Violet

This was created during my seminar in Jacksonville, FL while attendees were making their own art.  I had been teaching them about Mandala Drawings earlier in the day - so the circle shape was in my head.

This was really fun to create. I used a plate and a cup to trace the circles.  I am finding that I really like the darker colors crayons - I can color super dark and then scratch back into it.

Gotta keep this one short because I am in Miami about to leave on a cruise to Jamaica and Grand Cayman Island.  I will try to post daily, but I'm not sure what internet service will be like.  I do, however, promise myself to draw daily.

Day 9: Red

I really like that this one is not as busy as some of the others.  I purposely stopped myself before I thought I was done and I walked away for a little while.  When I came back and viewed it with a fresh eye, I decided that it was done. Sometimes less IS more.  That is outside of my comfort zone, but it does seem consistent with trying to do less, better (monotasking).

I mentioned in another blog post that I like stairs and ladders, while here is that symbol again - without intentionally putting it in.  I think I may spend some time looking up metaphors, meanings and mentions of ladders and stairs.  That is what I tell my clients to do when images and symbols begin to reoccur in their artwork.

I am ascending something - moving towards the future.  The "Bliss" (free floating images) are still in the background as the circles, but now there is a path. A direction.

The red is very dynamic, energetic and powerful.  I have had some emotional challenges in the past few days, and I believe that I am calling on my inner strength for power, direction and stability.  I have to accept my limitations, and understand, and maybe alter, my own response to frustration. I may have to change my role in the family dynamics.

There is a lot of texture that is created from removing the wrapper* and spinning the crayon on it's side. That is how I made those circles in the background.  I purposely broke the crayon into several different sizes so I could get different circle radii.

*When I was a child, it was very easy to remove the Crayola wrapper. All I had to do was open it at the seam and it lifted right off.  Sometimes it even slipped off by accident (maybe that is why they changed it).  But it seems that the wrapper is now glued to the crayon, and in order to remove it I have to scrape off small parts at a time and often my fingernail digs into the side of the crayon - leaving unwanted grooves and gouges. 

Day 5: Cornflower

This drawing took about an hour - longer than the other drawings so far. This is also the first time that I was not alone in the room while I drew - I was talking with my sister, Amy, who is visiting from Marblehead, MA.

Since this crayon is called "Cornflower" I felt, at first, that I needed to draw a flower. That is how it started out, but I was quickly disappointed with what was evolving. This drawing kept changing as I drew one thing, drew over that, scratched out and redrew. I tried using different pressures to create several shades and multiple lines and shapes (IE circles, straight lines and squiggles).

It no longer looks like a flower, but I want to deny that it looks like a lion or dog face, but it does - I have to admit that out loud. Now that I am looking at it, I think it is kind of sweet as a lion-face. In fact, if I were to draw my family as animals (which is an assignment that I often give to my clients) I would draw my sister as a lion. She has long, red, curly hair - like a mane. So, I guess this drawing is an abstract interpretation of my sister. I will title "Amy in Blue".

Day 2: Blue Green

I wanted to use the crayon in a different way, so I decided to melt it. I was getting frustrated because the candle wax was mixing with the crayon wax and I had some difficulty getting the paper wrapper off. Once I decided to embrace the elements that I was trying to avoid (the wrapper and the candle wax), the whole picture started to come together. Once I had melted about 3/4 of the crayon, I blew out the candle and reverted to using the crayon in it's traditional way.

I do not like this drawing. I feels forced and contrived. I feels confused and disjunct.

Usually "Blue Green" would be a calming color for me, but not today. It is early morning, and I feel as if I am in a rush. Also, my 15 year old daughter is ill today and is staying home from school. She has been sick for the past two weeks, and she was getting better, but there seems to have been a relapse. I am frustrated and confused as to how to care for her. That is why this drawing reflects those feelings.

If I learn from this drawing, it may be to allow the outside elements to contribute to the whole picture. Maybe my vision is too myopic right now. I have to include things that I thought were trash and needed to be discarded.

Your thoughts are welcome and encouraged!

New Box Of Crayons

Today I bought a brand new box of 64 Crayola Crayons, and there are so many new colors that did not exist when I was a child, and other colors that have been retired or have had their names changed. I am fascinated!

I have decided to choose one color each day, and allow that color to create a drawing. (See next blog for this first drawing.)

History:

In 1903 Crayola introduced 8 different colors: Black, Brown, Orange, Violet, Blue, Green, Red and Yellow.

By 1957 there were 48 colors: including "Purrsian Blue" which was changed to :Midnight Blue" in 1958, and "Flesh", which was changed to "Peach" in 1962 - partially as a result of the Civil Rights Movement.

In 1971 there were now 64 colors: including "Indian Red" which was changed to "Chestnut" in 1999 because many people thought it was offensive to the Native American people.

By 1989 Crayola was up to 72 colors with the inclusion of fluorescents.

80 colors by 1980 and in 1992 several colors were retired: including "Orange Red", "Orange Yellow", "Raw Umber", "Grey Blue" and "Maize". These colors were replaced with such colors as "Vivid Tangerine", "Cerulean", and "Fuchsia".

In 1993 Crayola introduced 16 new colors that were named by the public: including "Asparagus" and "Macaroni and Cheese".

Today there are 120 colors with new colors like: "Inch Worm" and "Wild Blue Yonder".

Info from: http://www.crayola.com/colorcensus/history/chronology.cfm