I think sometimes if you can forget what the name of what you are looking at is, you can learn to see things anew. Our minds are conditioned from when we are young to identify a concept with an image, a sound and written text, but if we can just let go of that for a while and see differently then the world takes on a new view. Artists are trained to see shapes, line, texture, volume, and color. When I am working on a particular art piece and I step out in the world...that is all I see everywhere. When I was teaching small children about art elements we would often start with shapes. We would look around the room and identify all the shapes things were made of, from the tables to the ceiling tiles. It was amazing to see their eyes light up and see the world as if for the first time. I taught them to draw that way as well...if you can see the shape you can draw it.
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| Door with mirrored Image by elizabeth gordon |
When I go out in a city my eye is caught by interesting details. I love the contrast of shadows and light on a fall day. In Asheville there are many old buildings that dot the downtown. When these shadows caught my eye, I saw them only as art elements of line and shape and texture with contrast. I did not think door or sign. Try going out one day in your neighborhood or city and just think about simple shapes, texture, and line...try not to think what the name is of the item that catches gets your attention. I think you too will be amazed at how you can learn to see your world a bit differently!
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| Square on Brick by elizabeth gordon |
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