August 4, 2011

Of Pencils and Possibilities

There's always a lot of noise in the art world about the definition of art, and who deserves to wear the Artist title and who doesn't -- admittedly a gray area. And it's a title I've been very reluctant to take for myself.

Most of the reluctance stems from the fact that I can't draw well. Even as a 4th grader that was painfully clear. It kept me from entertaining any thoughts of going to art school. And even though I know that drawing is a skill that can be taught (and that there's so much more to art than drawing), so firmly had I affixed the label "non-artist" to myself that it superseded my knowledge of those facts.

So I came to art via a long and winding path on which I studiously avoided picking up a pencil whenever I could. However, this year I decided to face my drawing demons and took on a 365 day Creativity Challenge to do a drawing every day for a year. It took me two years to work up to even thinking I could possibly do it (and so far I remain truly draw-o-phobic.)

So I count it as a great victory that this week I bought a case for my pencils and erasers. Sure, it was only 69 cents, but that was 69 cents I wouldn't have invested in drawing 3 months ago. It has polka dots! So I couldn't resist it . . .and it represents a step.



day 46 of the drawing challenge



I will never be able to draw with photo-realism. I don't even want to. I mostly just hope to improve my ability to see, and increase my artistic self-esteem by slaying the drawing dragon.

I know that practice does not make perfect. But I am also learning that practice does introduce possibilities.

And in art, it's the pursuit of the possibility that keeps us creating.












Susan M. Hinckley
Small Works in Wool

4 comments:

  1. That absolutely blows my mind! How can you think that you cannot draw? Your work is all based on your drawings! Or, do you make a distinction between cartoon-type line drawings and the realistic stuff? I am totally confused and baffled because I wish I could draw like YOU!

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  2. Susan, your art is imaginative, fun and beautiful. You can draw, but just with different tools! I too am just beginning to draw -- taking my first class ever (despite the fact that I've been creating art for a bunch of years now). And it really is all about developing your ability to see, which you've probably been doing intuitively all along...

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  3. Thanks, friends -- I guess it's not being able to draw in any kind of realistic manner that makes me feel like a second class citizen in the art world. I specialize in "charmingly naive" which is fine for what I do, but I've wanted to grow my skill base for a long time. So even though I'm still drawing in my own style, I'm trying to sharpen up a bit on things like perspective, add a little dimension to my drawings, and make sure that when I draw a horse you can tell it isn't a cat.

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  4. Good for you for facing your fear. I have some drawing ability but I admit that I don't sketch often because I'm easily intimidated by the blank page. For some reason, that doesn't happen to me with fabric and thread.

    For what it's worth, a friend recently told me that fear stands for
    False
    Evidence
    Appearing
    Real

    I believe there is evidence in this post that you can draw and have come a long way. Thx for sharing.:)

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