Ants = Cooperative Work + Collective Sustainability. Emergent Strategy + Zentangle Drawing = Connective Tissue

The interplay of light, shadow, wind, water and tidal currents at Crane Beach in Ipswich, Mass. were enthralling. Noting the patterns, l thought: l feel a Zentangle drawing workshop coming on. 

Fractal Life

Oh yeah. Nothing like lesson planning.  The basis of Zentangle is awareness of patterns, so I strive to connect my real world pattern observation with artistic practice.  

Human Impact

The day after the beach I noticed a human footprint on a sidewalk anthill.  Waves, ants, footprints (carbon or otherwise) led me to create a theme for the workshop based on the ideas presented in Emergent Strategy, adrienne maree brown's book that provokes to us unite, learn from the natural world (biomimicry) and create a just and healthy future for all.

Just a Start

adrienne maree brown encourages us to understand that in the way one dandelion seed can create a meadow of beauty, a single positive idea for change can spread far and wide.

Bird's Eye

Here is the collection of patterns I wound up teaching at the workshop.  Various dots within circles echo the eye of the gull.

Fountain of Hope

The morning after the workshop, I was delighted to notice a trio of ant hills that evoked the central pattern in the drawing.

What's Going On?

Then l went to photograph the ant reference in Emergent Strategy and found three more circles, circled in black, like we drew. 

Ants:  Cooperative Work.  Collective Sustainability.

No accidents!  Thank you adrienne maree brown for provoking thought.

More on the Emergent Strategy from Akpress:

Emergent StrategyShaping Change, Changing Worlds

adrienne maree brown (Author)

Inspired by Octavia Butler's explorations of our human relationship to change, Emergent Strategy is radical self-help, society-help, and planet-help designed to shape the futures we want to live. Change is constant. The world is in a continual state of flux. It is a stream of ever-mutating, emergent patterns. Rather than steel ourselves against such change, this book invites us to feel, map, assess, and learn from the swirling patterns around us in order to better understand and influence them as they happen. This is a resolutely materialist “spirituality” based equally on science and science fiction, a visionary incantation to transform that which ultimately transforms us.

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

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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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On the Advantages of Photographing in your Backyard

I am thrilled to be part of a group photo show!  The theme of this second annual juried art exhibition organized by the Greenfield Cultural Council is photographs of the town of Greenfield. Opening reception:  2/6/14, 5-7 p.m., Greenfield Community College Downtown Center, 270 Main Street.  These images of mine will be on display:

Sunrise from the Ridge - 2007

I moved to Greenfield in 2006.

Church and State - 2008

Photographing where you live means you can come back when the light is right.

Bricks and Windows - 2009

You can document change.  (This building at 30 Olive Street is now a net-zero apartment/office complex.)

Intimations - 2013

And gain hope for the future.

Bricks and Windows and Intimations are in-camera multiple exposures from my Reality-Based Abstraction series.  Click to see how I create images like these.

The show will remain at the Greenfield Community College Downtown Center, 270 Main Street, Greenfield, MA, through March and the building is open M-F, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.  It is also open at night when classes are being held.

P.S.  I also teach the relaxing and easy to learn Zentangle® method of drawing at Base Camp Photo, located in... Greenfield.
 

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Happy New... Day! (Applying Photographic Compositional Principles to Reducing Home Clutter)

Instituting a new routine or making a change for a whole year sounds daunting.

That's why my greeting is:  Happy New... Day!

Hmm, reminds me of the Zentangle® drawing aphorism:  Anything is possible - one stroke at a time.

My intention (for today) is to reduce clutter.

Intention

Subject and light hunting near a mall in Hadley, MA, I captured this sunset a few days before the winter solstice.

Behind the Mall

I am not sure if I like this photograph.  However, I attempted framing the image and choosing elements in a manner new to me.  I invite you to try this approach someday.

Monuments

Speaking of seeing differently:  How about getting low and tight to turn wintry car debris into something grand?

Impressions

As the sun set on one of the year's shortest days, vivid colors drew me and others.  A mother and daughter toting iPhones snapped images.

"We need a camera like yours," said the older woman.  I doubt my photograph is what she might have expected, as I moved the camera during the long exposure (1/4 second) to intentionally blur the image.

Through my camera's lens, I look at the clutter of the world and endeavor to make clean and appealing compositions.

I intend to bring this artistry and care to reducing the clutter around my house!

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Learning by Drawing: Portraying Reality with Abstract Paintings and Black and White Photographs

I am a huge fan of using sketchbooks to learn about art.

Figure 1 - Before

I sent some postcards of one of my Reality-Based Abstractions.  The Cubist painters inspired these in-camera multiple exposures.  I stuck one of the postcards in my sketchbook. 

Figure 2 - After

Inspired by woven mats I saw in the Oceanic collection at the Peabody Museum at Harvard, I cut another postcard into strips and interlaced them.

Guidelines

About a month later, I absorbed the Picasso Black and White exhibition at the Guggenheim.  Using pen and pencil to draw this painting allowed me to really look and linger.  I noticed the artist's initial drawn outlines that delineated the areas that he later filled in with tones.

Form

Using just pencil to create planes and values, I labored to recreate "Figure".  Notes jotted in my sketchbook:  "Ironic, that at points, I felt I was not recreating a Picasso perfectly.  A Picasso!  An abstraction!  Of all things."

Balance

After relaxing by leaning into and laughing at my fears, I drew this imagined ball rolling on a tightrope. 

Fruits of Labor

At the end of the afternoon, nearly dizzy from art overload, I drew this profile.  Looking closely at the Picassos taught me to look closely at reality.

Classwork

I relayed some of these observations a few weeks later as I taught a Zentangle^® drawing class.  In most cases, with Zentangle, we draw with black pens on white paper, adding shading with regular pencils.  In this class, we reversed the formula.

The discussion of black and white led one student to recall the futility of looking at art history books during the era when such books were printed solely in black and white.  Another described how they felt that black and white photographs portrayed the reality of a situation better than color photographs.

Time Marches On

Interesting, this idea that black and white photographs are more true to reality than color ones.   I believe that portraying a single subject from multiple perspectives simultaneously (like the Cubist painters) can depict reality more clearly than a "normal" painting.  What do you think?

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"Best Faculty In-Service Day Ever" - Teaching a Zentangle Workshop

“Will there be any competition?” the Director of Athletics asked me just before I began teaching a Zentangle^® workshop at Stoneleigh-Burnham School, a college preparatory boarding and day school for girls, grades 7-12, located in Greenfield, MA.

“No,” I replied, “this about the whole group coming together.”

“Two teams?” he asked hopefully.

“Sorry.”

My workshop was the afternoon session of a professional development day held just before classes resumed at the school after winter break.

Zentangle is a relaxing and easy to learn method of creating beautiful images from structured patterns. Students draw on 3.5 inch squares of fine art paper referred to as “tiles”. The term “tile” stems from the unifying ritual of combining artworks completed in class to form a mosaic.



                  “The best meeting ever - no one talked,” quipped the Director of Instrumental Music, as the participants assembled the first mosaic and closely examined each other’s art.

An English teacher exclaimed, “We should do a whole school Zentangle.”

"We should exhibit these," an Administrator chimed in.

A Spanish teacher noted how quiet the room was while the faculty and staff members worked on their creations. “We had been talking about the need for “quiet” in the lives of our girls. So this really set a great tone.”

“Did you find any competition?” I asked the Director of Athletics at the end of the workshop.

“Only what prices these different pieces might sell for,” he replied, gesturing towards the mosaic of freshly drawn Zentangle artworks.


I later heard via email from the school’s Director of Communications. “I just wanted to write to thank you for leading us in Zentangle yesterday. I think everyone was really excited by it - I saw two Facebook posts by faculty members showing off their work. The title of one Facebook album was "Best Faculty In-Service Day Ever."

I just thought you should know that you've engaged the SBS faculty with a creative process and inspired us to look to the world for pattern and rhythm.

Personally...I was able to melt into the ink for a few hours and escape the deadlines and tough work schedule that I have on tap for the next 10 weeks."

Mosaic #1:

The "tiles" above are the first Zentangle artworks ever drawn by the workshop participants.

Since I taught a set of structured patterns, unity exists between the creations.  However, since each person approached the patterns with their own style, each artwork is also unique.

Click for more information on Zentangle.

Thank you for your interest -
      - John Nordell, M.Ed. & Certified Zentangle Teacher^tm 

P.S. Big thanks to Hank Mixsell at Stoneleigh-Burnham for taking these photographs!

Mosaic #2:

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Reverse Evolution - A Return to Drawing with Berries and Feathers

Several years ago, my monkey alter ego Chuck Darwin produced a prize winning video that explained the technical nuances of digital color management:  The Theory of the Evolution of Color Management.  The primate scoffed at primitive humans that once used berries for ink.

Free Ink - Berries by the Roadside

Well, in this video, I risk Chuck's censure by mashing and using Pokeweed berries to make ink for drawing with a feather. 



I loved the imprecision of using the feather.  Occasionally, a chunk of mashed berry would become lodged inside my quill, leading to thick, explosive lines. 

Tactile

Nothing like homespun art supplies.  I have stockpiled pine tree sap to use in lieu of glue for an upcoming printmaking project.  Stay tuned! 

P.S. If you find yourself inspired to mash and draw, please keep in mind that the Pokeweed berries are toxic. 

© John Nordell

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From Ink and Paper, to Thread and Cloth, to Light and Pixels

      I met Susan Garfield-Wright
when I taught a Zentangle^® class at the Cancer Connection in Northampton, Mass.  I taught the class while researching the correlation between participating in a Zentangle class and well-being.

     Zentangle describes an easy to learn and relaxing method of creating beautiful images from structured patterns.

     It was Garfield-Wright's first Zentangle class.  At right, is the artwork she created.

 
     Self-described as an art quilter, Garfield-Wright realized during the class that "these designs are meant to be quilted on things.”
  


     So she headed over to A Notion to Quilt in Shelburne, MA and used the longarm quilting machine to experiment with "drawing" Zentangle patterns with thread.

     I enjoyed discussing with Garfield-Wright her explorations with the mixing of mediums, as well as the ways she plans to incorporate Zentangle concepts into future quilting projects.

     When creating as a photographer, I often shoot multiple exposures, that is, taking several pictures in succession of the same subject and then programming my camera to layer the variations into a single image.

     My goal with this process of abstracting reality is to portray the inner essence of a subject by presenting multiple views simultaneously.

    From ink and paper, to thread and cloth, to light and pixels.

    Note:  This fall I will be teaching the Zentangle drawing method at A Notion to Quilt.  The classes will progress from learning Zentangle fundamentals to applying these creative concepts to the world of quilting.  © John Nordell

    

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The Art of Frontloading Seeing

Waiting for the Rain

      In my classes on Visual Literacy, I used to ask students to identify their visual diet, as what you look at affects what you see.

     Now, after studying Visual Culture concepts while working on my Masters of Education in Arts Education, I will add this question:  "Why do you look at what you look at?"

     On a morning bike ride, this roadside storm  drain beckoned my attention and I grabbed a shot with my cell phone.

     The grid of boxes with shadows evoked for me the variety of similar patterns found in Zentangle® artworks.  Many of these designs are based on deconstructing the patterns of human culture.

     Ahh, the glorious cycle of life imitating art imitating life imitating art.  But wait, what is art?

Storm Drain

     Each pattern used when drawing with the Zentangle method is called a tangle.

     The names of these tangles, clockwise from top left:

Drupe

Cadent

Beeline

Cubine

Click for more on Zentangle.

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