[-art, process, tutorial-]

by Nancy S.M. Waldman

Time:
• 10 minutes or less

Materials:
two standard sheets of printing paper torn in fourths
marker, crayon, pen or pencil

Before reading this article, do one drawing each for 8 of the following words. I’ve given you more than 8 in case you prefer not to deal with some of them but, of course, do them all if you like. The drawings must not be representational. No pictures or symbols that represent anything. Stick to abstract lines and shapes of any thickness or type. Think about the word for only a moment and then begin to draw. Make them small, make them quick and don’t think too much.

peace/tranquility
anger
nervous energy
joyful energy
hope
depression
illness
fear
loneliness
femininity
masculinity

Done?
Now here’s another thing for you to do. Take a moment to decide which one of the two shapes seen below should be named “takete” and which one should be “maluma.”

I’ll explain what these shapes represent at the end of the article.

Words dominate our worlds, and even more importantly, our thoughts. We can’t even think about thoughts without using words. This dominance of the word is one reason art, craft, pure design and music are so vital in our lives. We need the balance that wordlessness can provide. Marks—the kind that you used to do your drawings—communicate on a non-verbal level.

This little exercise is meant to increase your awareness and give you the experience of the fact that non-representational marks carry meaning that can be *read* by others.

Below is a series of drawings that roughly correspond to the ones you did. Scroll down and look at each one. Notice the energy or lack of it, the placement, direction and movement of the lines. Think about how it makes you feel or what it reminds you of. Look for similarities between your drawings and mine. Then scroll back through them and try to match them up with the list of words (some of them are used twice).

peace/tranquility, anger, nervous energy, joyful energy, hope, depression, illness, fear, loneliness, femininity, masculinity

Here they are with labels (on top):

anger	loneliness
fear	anger
tranquility	depression
nervous energy	femininity
illness	hope
joyful energy	masculinity

The interesting thing about these simple drawings is that they tend to be so similar between people. Betty Edwards in Drawing on the Artist Within shows many examples of these drawings done in her art classes. They are not all the same—we wouldn’t expect or want that, would we? And, that’s not the point. The point is that they are amazingly communicative.

You might disagree with some of my labels—maybe what I call hope looks more like femininity to you (I was interested that my joyful energy and femininity looked so similar ), or my nervous energy might look like your anger. Come to think of it, my loneliness looks pretty fearful. I trust, though, that you can look at these and at least narrow the choice down to two or three. Sometimes we don’t communicate that explicitly when we’re using words!

If I did these drawings on another day, they would likely be different. If I were feeling especially lonely or fearful or angry, the marks would be even more communicative of that feeling. The fact that my loneliness drawing incorporates a feeling of fear is interesting to me. I probably am fearful of being lonely. That it came out in a drawing that took less than thirty seconds illustrates my point in a way that my words cannot.

I’ll be posting more about what you can do with simple non-representational drawings, but in the meantime, I suggest that you play with lines, marks and the expression of emotions.

In terms of other art that you do, remember these tiny drawings. Placement on the page, the energy and speed with which lines are drawn, the direction of the lines, whether they are straight, sharp, angular, wavy, curvy, upturned—all of these things and more carry information to your viewer. Whether you work in paint or clay, fabric or pencil, make sure that you know what non-verbal message your art is delivering. Harness this information so that you can use it in your work and in viewing other people’s art.

Most of my understanding of R-mind thinking, the meaning of marks and much of the rest of what I’ve come to understand about creativity was informed by the books of Betty Edwards, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain and Drawing on the Artist Within. I consider them essential so do consider looking more closely at them when you get the chance. (I’ll be posting a full review of Drawing on the Artist Within soon.)

So what about takete and maluma, the drawings at the beginning of this article? These nonsense words and two similar drawings were used in an experiment done by Gestalt psychologist, Wolfgang Kohler in 1929. 98% of respondents labelled the angular drawing “takete” and the curved one, maluma. This was strikingly similar across cultures. We can project why this is so (the letters of takete are more angular, the sound is sharper and so on) but it continues to be a fascination that there is this kind of brain universality associated with abstract shapes and sounds when so much of what human beings have trouble with is communication. According to Wikipedia it is known as the Bouba/Kiki Effect

Other posts about Marks:
Mark my Words - a graphic reminder
Making your Mark - essay about self-promotion

[-graphic reminder-]

Other posts about marks:
Making your Mark - essay about self-promotion
Marks have Meaning - art tutorial

All such Graphic Reminders are the playful fault of Nancy S.M. Waldman
© 2007 all rights reserved

[-essay, self-evolution, process-]

by Nancy Waldman

I make marks, therefore I am.

Durham Dr. & Center St. (Houston, TX)

Originally uploaded by Mr. Waldo.

Since the days men lived in caves, human beings have demonstrated the need to make their mark on this world.

From those cave paintings, to the tick marks on a prison wall, to Kilroy was here! during World War II, to graffiti through the ages and up to today, making marks is a way to say, Look at me! I was here! I am special! I exist!

Making these kinds of marks is pure self-promotion.

I picked this illustration of a lively painted Waldo by Mr. Waldo out of the Practically Creative flickr pool because it is a wonderful photograph (from a city I lived in and know well) that illustrates perfectly this rather strong desire that people have to make their mark.

In common language, we also talk about “making your mark” as meaning gaining success. Whether that means being famous, getting rich or being respected in one’s field, it is often referred to by this artistic metaphor. This metaphor not only works with the achievement of success but also with the process of seeking it.

Self-promotion is a necessary part of gaining any kind of success in the arts. It’s also something that many creative types do badly or not at all. We’re often uncomfortable putting our work, ourselves, out there. We all know people who are natural self-promoters. Sometimes these people over promote themselves. Everything they do self-generates a spin that makes that endeavor the best, the most, the tops. Whether it’s deserved self-congratulations or not, these super-promoters often grow tiresome. Because of this, the rest of us may come to think of self-promotion as the last thing we want to be associated with. But this is a mistake.

When the graffiti artist (please note the emphasis on artist) makes his mark on the storefront wall, he is putting his work out there. It’s a step way beyond doing art in his school notebook or in his room at home. He’s self-promoting just by the act of creating. When the artist takes his portfolio to art galleries or the photographic journalist to a newspaper or magazine, it is necessary self-promotion. When the writer sends and re-sends (and on and on) her short stories or novels out to agents, publishers, new markets, she is self-promoting.

Once we admit this to ourselves, we may also want to admit that other kinds of ‘marks’ may be admissible and helpful. Having a web presence is a perfect example. Those of us who were around long before there was an internet grew up believing that we needed permission from someone with power before we could call ourselves artists. Because of this, there can be sheepishness about claiming space on the internet. When you buy your first web address—yourownname.com—you may feel that it’s not quite proper for you to have a personal web-site because you haven’t published anything yet or you don’t have gallery representation or a record label.

Get over it! It’s a new age. The web is littered with self-promoters who’ve garnered well-deserved attention that would not have happened under the old system.

Make your mark whether it’s exhibiting in a local art show, entering a contest, getting a myspace account or making your own fabulous web-site.

And if your thing is public art, perhaps you can, as Mr. Waldo has done, make your mark all over the globe and become a legend just as Kilroy did.
Thanks Mr. Waldo for letting us use your photo.

Please click on Mr. Waldo’s image to see more of his work.

See these other posts on making your mark:
Graphic Reminder
Art Tutorial

[-photography, process-]

Originally uploaded by tejana.

This beautiful macro taken at a beach, by tejana, reminds me of the impermanence of … everything.

Sand is one of the most malleable of substances. It’s constantly altered by the tides, the wind, even the small beings living within it. Whether a large wave, a sprinkle of raindrops, or a human foot, each causes a rearrangement and a new design.

Our lives, our creative efforts are no different.

If I had finished my novel last December, for example, instead of waiting until now to do it, the words I chose would have been different. I’m subtly rearranged from the person I was when I put the writing aside. Therefore, what comes out of me now, will be altered from what it would have been then. This isn’t a bad thing, but it is something to acknowledge. It might be a (well-needed ) reason not to put things off if we can help it.

Each new day, we need to attempt to put our mark on something in order to capture what and who we are on that particular day - the way tejana so beautifully preserved the sand’s essence in this spot on this day.

Thank you, tejana ~~~

Here are some links to articles about paying attention to the marks we make:
- doodles by Maureen Shaughnessy
- marks have meaning, about self-promotion
- marks have meaning, an art tutorial
- mark my words, a graphic reminder

Procrastination articles:
- Suze Corte - Mind Space
- a PCQ-QCP - The Imaginary Deadline
- a Practically Mperfect article - Collecting Dust

The other side of NOT finishing things:
- Karen Hatzigeorgiou - You, Me and Leonardo da Vinci

Originally published in the original Practically Creative blog, February 2006

[-art, doodles, essay-]

What is a doodle? Read the rest of this entry »