Process of Art = Art

My favorite childhood activity was asking all of the artists in my family to draw so I could watch. My dad was the best at horses and my great aunt sketched all of the Winnie The Pooh characters with her shaky hands. My favorite participants in the game of "you draw, I watch" were my older siblings. They'd return home from college and I would chase them around the house with a pad of paper and a pen begging them to draw something. Fascinated by their different techniques, I'd memorize how they held their utensils and the speed at which they drew. I'd always keep the final picture, but I wouldn't hang it up. I'd draw it...over and over and over again...until I was able to pester them into drawing me a new image. I eventually learned, by imitating their steps, things like how to quickly draw an ellipse and that starting with the eyes of a person is best. It completely captivated me. It was the same fascination I had with my sister applying her makeup and my brothers playing the piano. It wasn't the final product that intrigued me - the done-up face or the sound of the song - it was how many times my sister swiped mascara on each set of eyelashes and the face she'd make while applying her concealer. It was watching my brothers' thumbs and pinkies stretch between octaves and noticing when they decided to press the sustaining pedal with their feet. It was the act. It was the process.

While I'm a fan of many works of art, I am a bigger fan of the process of art. Perhaps that's why I chose Printmaking as one of my degrees, which is ALL about the process -> intaglio, lithography, relief printing -> etching metal, grinding stone/applying chemicals, cutting blocks of wood, etc. The process of making the art becomes art in itself.

My mom sent me a video yesterday; she called me and told me I had to watch it because it made her immediately think of me. She knew how impressed I would be by the mesmerizing techinique.

It's a video from Ukraine's Got Talent. The contestant's name is Kseniya Simonova and she is a sand animation artist. This particular performance is about Ukraine during World War II. Not impressed yet? You will be. Watch.

until next time,

g