Draw, Bake, Repair, Fabricate... Whatever. The Act of Creating Conjures Creativity

I acknowledge my limitations as a draughtsman.  However, I am a firm believer that the act of creating, at whatever level, whether drawing, making, repairing, baking or fabricating, leads to enhanced creativity and enjoyment of life.

How did I get here?

Engaging in the creative process of refining lesson plans for teaching Zentangle workshops, I have been drawing combinations of abstract Zentangle patterns.  With my sketchbook open and pen working away, I also began a series of character drawings.

Not sure why, but I think I'm going to cry.

The pen in my hand brought me into the moment. Suddenly, out of nowhere, my characters had sentient thoughts.

I'm waiting for Pablo Picasso to paint me.

So, back to my original premise:  the act of creating fosters creativity.

Something feels wrong with one of my eyes.

I might be the only person enjoying these visual musings... but my new friends crack me up with their insights.

Bet you wish you had hair like mine.

I impress upon my students the necessity of taking risks to jump start artistic growth.  Well, I sure feel exposed and vulnerable publishing these drawings. And, when I spend time drawing, my skills increase.

Flash light person.

I hope you will join me in risk-taking and creating.

John Nordell teaches courses in the Visual and Digital Arts Program at American International College in Springfield, Mass. He blogs about the creative process at CreateLookEnjoy.com  Instagram: @john.nordell

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Redefining Boundaries: Shedding the Parenthesis of Normal Existence

Usually held at Community Yoga in Greenfield, MA, Alexander Technique teacher Lisa Harvey guided us via the Zoom portal to slow down and notice how we use our bodies.

Explaining how it is possible to become one with a tool by extending our nervous system beyond typical and limited boundaries, Lisa set us free to explore the concept.  I immediately went for my camera.  On this website's About page, the first line of text states, "I love the feel of a camera in my hand."

Eco-Friendly Packing Material

I prowled around my house for a few minutes seeking light and to merge mind, body and spirit with camera.  

Multiple Exposure of the Packing Material

Amazingly and wonderfully, for her exploration, pianist classmate Julia played a Beethoven sonata, providing a lyrical and emotive soundtrack.

Spice it Up

Minutes later we reconvened in our Zoom squares.  Amanda shared the revelatory nature of the experience as she was able to break through her trepidation of singing into a microphone.  

Intentionally and Specifically Out of Focus

Lisa encouraged us to redefine boundaries, to shed the parenthesis of our normal existence.  Look forward to our next out of this world class!

John Nordell teaches courses in the Visual and Digital Arts Program at American International College in Springfield, Mass. He blogs about the creative process at CreateLookEnjoy.com  Instagram: @john.nordell

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The Glory of "Mistakes"

 This image was a mistake  It should not look this good.

Bark Snow Branch

I reveled in the pre-sunset light on a ridge above Greenfield, MA.  I thought my camera was set for automatic exposure when I captured the multiple exposure above, layering three shots on top of each other in the camera.  However, since the camera was actually set to determine the exposure manually, technically some of the layers were underexposed, which happily allowed for a smooth blending of textures.

I am Light

I later captured the same three subjects with the proper exposure. However, unlike my "accident", the result looked like mush. Running the file through a serious Photoshop filter fortunately made for this pleasing result:

Black Sheep

The image below records my footsteps as I captured the images.

Photographicus Americanus Tracks

I teach the Zentangle method of drawing. We use special pencils that have no eraser,  a physical reminder that there are no mistakes. Life does not come with an eraser.

Perhaps this spiritual artistic training allowed me to continue reveling and creating, rather than berating myself for making an "error".

John Nordell teaches courses in the Visual and Digital Arts Program at American International College in Springfield, Mass. He blogs about the creative process at CreateLookEnjoy.com   Instagram: @john.nordell

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A Beach in Winter - Probing for Essence

Sand whipped off the beach at Sandy Point Reservation at the tip of Plum Island in Ipswich, MA.  The brilliant blustery January day enlivened my mind, body and creative spirit.

Surf's Up

Listening to my gut brain in post production, these two photos beckoned to be joined in a diptych.

Taking Off

With my Reality-Based Abstractions, I often take a "sketch" photo before combining multiple exposures to capture a multilayered view of reality, a process akin to a painter drawing before getting out the oils.  With the sketch, I check exposure and lighting conditions.

Sketch - Better Than the Final

With the image above, I wanted to show a lost lobster trap in situ, before treating it with multiple exposures.  However, in this case, I like the sketch better than the final product.

Vision Not Realized

Waiting for liftoff: I stalked this bird as it poked around barnacled rocks exposed by the tide.

Homage to Koudelka

Driving to the beach I had listened to Jaymi Heimbuch's podcast on 6 Surprising Resolutions for Conservation Photographers. She extolled the importance of capturing a moment that evokes an emotional response in a viewer over perfectionist technical striving.  Her idea emboldened me to try my hand at bird photography.

John Nordell teaches courses in the Visual and Digital Arts Program at American International College in Springfield, Mass. He blogs about the creative process at CreateLookEnjoy.com  Instagram: @john.nordell

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Stop and Think: What Does Your Front Door Look Like? - A Mindfulness Exercise

Without looking, write a list of all the details you can think of that describe your front door, or the entryway to your abode.  Here's mine:

1.  Light on left.
2.  Gold handle - outer door.
3.  Metal railing.
4.  Three concrete steps.
5.  Wood sticks out.
6.  Front door color is bluish grey.

Then go and take pictures of items on your list.

3. Metal railing.  4. Three concrete steps.  5. Wood sticks out.

My imagined list was spot on, except for the color. Bluish grey was the door color of a house I moved out of 14 years ago!

1. Light on left.

In my defense, I always use the side door.

2. Gold handle - outer door.

Taking pictures for me is a form of mindfulness.  I try to use all my senses to become attuned the present moment conditions.  This approach helps me see clearly and creatively.

The initial concept of this exercise was to test my recall of everyday encounters.  However, photographing details of a common sight led me to see it in an uncommon way:

Culled Vision

John Nordell teaches courses in the Visual and Digital Arts Program at American International College in Springfield, Mass. He blogs about the creative process at CreateLookEnjoy.com  Instagram: @john.nordell

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X-Ray Mirrors: Visible Unseen Identities in Photographs

As a college professor, I have been scrambling to generate projects that my photography students can complete at home. The photomontage below is my test run of a Windows and Mirrors assignment, inspired by an excerpt from Sytze Steenstra’s book Song and Circumstance, about the work of artist and musician David Byrne, of Talking Heads fame.

According to an already classical distinction, proposed by John Szarkowsky, leader of the Department of Photography of New York’s Museum of Modern Art, photography can be approached “as a means of self-expression (as a mirror),” and “as a method of exploration (as a window).” Bryne freely combines both approaches, and casually erases the distinction:

Inside Looking Out and Outside Looking In

"Windows are mirrors through which we see ourselves reflected. Our view is colored by our prejudices, history and class.  We see reflected our perceptions of the landscape, the skyline, the people on the street, the weather, and what they mean to us.  Photographs are also mirrors.  In them we see reflected our own internal biases, our own assumptions, our own presuppositions. [...]  What we don’t see is a reflection of our face, we see instead a reflection of our interior.  An X-ray mirror."

I want to grow as an artist and take things less literally.  Obviously, this was not the case here.  However, Bryne's ideas conjured up an assignment that students could photograph at home and a device for me to teach Photoshop techniques.

Perhaps this incomplete draft allows for more viewing ambiguity:

Open Windows - Incomplete or Completely Better

The other day, I looked through a prized possession:  the exhibition catalog from a retrospective of painter Lyonel Feininger.  His works make me swoon.  One painting, Mill Windows, changed my life by sparking my Reality-Based Abstraction series.

Dotted among the paintings were photographs by, and of, Feininger.  The black and white images brought me back to a different aesthetic and time.  Looking up from the couch, I saw this cloud and wanted to capture it in black and white.

Portal to the Past and Present

Feininger sketched scenes before painting them.  He also sometimes took pictures.  I have previously described how I usually take a single frame as a sketch prior to layering a series of images into an in-camera multiple exposure.

The above window can thus become:

Digital Prism

Until now, I considered the image combing to be complete in the camera, rather than additional after the fact manipulation.  However, likely informed by a recent spate of teaching Photoshop techniques, I combined multiple versions of the above image by flipping and flopping it:

Reflections on the Inner Light

Bryne asserts that what photographers include and omit in their frames inform us equally about the creator's identity.  Along these lines, I love this quote from portrait photographer Richard Avedon, "My portraits are more about me than they are about the people I photograph."

John Nordell teaches courses in the Visual and Digital Arts Program at American International College in Springfield, Mass. He blogs about the creative process at CreateLookEnjoy.com  Instagram: @john.nordell

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Priming My Neurobiology - Robin Sharma's 20/20/20 Formula - An Antidote to Tough Times

I set out to document how I follow Robin Sharma's 20/20/20 formula.  Spending an hour engaging in a variety of specific activities first thing in the morning sets up my neurobiology for a positive, productive and exciting day.  20 minutes of sweating/exercise.  20 minutes of spiritual reading, journaling and meditation.  20 minutes of learning.

Sytze Steenstra's Song and Circumstance book about David Bryne of Talking Heads Fame

Engaging in this practice during these tough times helps me cope.

Run

As an ode to David Bryne, these images are intentionally not chronological nor linear.

Meditate

Journal, Read Sally Kempton's Awakening Shakti

Hydrate

Learn Spanish with Duolingo

Run at Dawn

John Nordell teaches courses in the Visual and Digital Arts Program at American International College in Springfield, Mass. He blogs about the creative process at CreateLookEnjoy.com   

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Teaching Art to Art Teachers

Personal practice: What you create when no one is looking. That is, art you make by choice.

I love attending conferences for art educators.  The air is filled with excitement, creativity, deep reflection, nurturing and possibility.

It was a double bonus for me at the 2019 Massachusetts Art Education Association conference as I had a chance to present my workshop: Art Lessons: Personal Practice, Healing and Joy 

Photo by Amanda Correia of Mr and Mrs Drew Photography

My jitters quickly calmed as my peers responded positively to the material.  The necessity of covering more ground led me to sometimes cut off robust pair shares.  And, in the end, I probably covered just a quarter of my prepared material.

Photo by Amanda Correia of Mr and Mrs Drew Photography

However, taking a risk to vulnerably share my personal art practices that lead to healing and joy resulted in a meaningful experience that was, well, filled with healing and joy!

After the workshop, one participant wrote, "It was helpful to take time to reflect on one's personal practice within a community of art educators who understand the challenges of fitting it into daily life. Presenter's examples and suggestions were useful." Another wrote, "So interesting."

Creative Process - Planning a Protest Sign

I related some of my creative endeavors relating to social justice issues, whether climate change or race and stereotype.

The Oxygen Cycle at a Student Climate Strike

I explained the importance of just taking time to make art, even if it is not perfect. (see above)

I talked about the importance of filling one's creative well by visiting museums for inspiration:

After presenting these explorations, I prompted the attendees, who were paired up: Please discuss with your partner any social issues or political causes that interest you, along the possibilities for related creative expression.  Practical solutions were shared out to the whole group.

Blind Contour Drawing at the Movies

As a way to squeeze creative expression into a busy life, I noted that I sometimes bring my sketchbook to the movie theater.  See: Drawing in the Dark - Capturing Captain America with Pen and Pencil

I packed my visual presentation with images and videos.  However, the resulting large file size precluded uploading.  Here is an abbreviated version that includes definitions and prompts.

Art Lessons: Personal Practice, Healing and Joy from ProfessorNordell

How do you jump start the creative process in your life?  I invite you to comment below.  Thank you.

John Nordell teaches courses in the Visual and Digital Arts Program at American International College in Springfield, Mass. He blogs about the creative process at CreateLookEnjoy.com   

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Permeation and Permutations - Printing Poke Weed Berries in My Sketchbook

ddd

Freshly Harvested Ripe Poke Weed Berries

Press Firmly on Sketchbook Cover

Overnight Under a Box

A Week Later

Juice Transfer Complete

The Heart of the Matter

Impressions Seeped Throughout the Sketchbook

Dots of Leopard Spots

Fish Contours

The Pastel Electromagnetic Field of a Heart

Watercolor Hybrid Animal with Snake Companion

Professor John Nordell teaches courses in the Visual and Digital Arts Program at American International College in Springfield, Mass. He blogs about the creative process at CreateLookEnjoy.com 

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