A False Duality Revealed

work in progress: Roman Labyrinth

yeah..., so what I seem to find fascinating about doing these drawings is that I'm working within two very simple, structured systems: 1) the labyrinth design, and 2) the light scales. Both go in and out or forward and back in only one way - the labyrinth goes step-by-step into the center and out from the center, the light scales incrementally transition from dark to light and back again.

I wanted to overlay one system upon the other, and starting with the darkest dark at the center point of the labyrinth, follow its path around and out, by following the transitions of the light scale. Even though they were both systems of a type, the light scales were going to work at odds with the symmetry of the labyrinths. I liked the fact that even while all things were constant within their respective parameters, the drawings were unpredictable and looked, well, odd.

Drawing A Medieval Labyrinth

Chartres, graphite pencils,7x7 in.,Otto

...using light scales with graphite pencils,

its the second of a series,

apparently.  

Hey! a DIY Labyrinth Flash

...for what's called the Classical Seed Pattern Labyrinth,

subtype, the Chakra-Vyuha or Hecate Labyrinth

...as found in Mysore, India.

I do think I'm on a roll now!

Walking the Labyrinth at Dusk

digital photo by Otto; labyrinth made by Dan Raven

...in community with the Mandala group

...for the last meeting of the Winter Session.


silence 

          currents of energy

                   metaphors of life 

                                      alright-ness

Inspiration from Demeter & Persephone

Relief of Demeter and Persephone

...via a colleague writing up a workshop.

You know how it is with insights, all of a sudden things come together and you realize something you never saw before, and you're slightly dazzled by it...

and then you kinda feel, well, duh.
I'm somewhere in-between.

But the thing is - I see now how her approach works and how different it is from mine, and how that way of seeing/working/responding would be beneficial to me personally. How cool is that?

My approach to classes/workshops has a particular sensibility and goal in mind, and is guided by my own creative process. But I hadn't perceived the so-called recipe of their essence as I did today in looking at my friend's description - and I need...

Saw an Amazing Film Last Night

Berlin: Symphony of a Great City, a silent film directed by Walter Ruttman in 1927.  Just mesmerizing...

Labyrinth as Light Scale - Redux

Classical 7-circuit Labyrinth, graphite pencils,6x6 in., Otto

Completed...okay, I refined it and then continued until the cycle was finished, going from dark to light and back again.

...using a combo of Creta-color graphite pencils and then some Tombow Mono Professional pencils for the H's.

hmph, interesting because using the light scales morphs the labyrinth into a different form...really sort of disguising it more than emphasizing it...almost 3-D-ing it.

hmph.

An Outdoor Labyrinth

image from Goggle Earth

...is near my house, open to the public, free to use, although not many know about it...

even though it is really huge, the labyrinth can't be seen from the perspective of the nearby street or sidewalk...

it is back a-ways, and is flat on the ground - apart of the ground - sand and bricks...

you only see it when you're there.



(...or I guess from satellite)

Light Scale Labyrinth

...using all the range of graphite pencils.

It's not really complete, as a labyrinth, that is.

Maybe not as a drawing either...perhaps I'll continue with the light scales in reverse - going from light to dark and back again - until it completes itself.

The Labyrinth is Stage 3 or Turning Toward the Journey in the Archetypal Stages of the Great Round of Mandala workshop I've been doing.

You Can Draw

A Flurry of Excitement by Roger Ebert

...and probably better than I can," says film critic Roger Ebert* in his online journal on February 25, 2011.  Roger reveals the mind-altering experience of his unique world of drawing, brought to his attention by a therapist he met over 30 years ago.
 

Words of wisdom fall from his mouth: "I published a book about Cannes that was illustrated with my deeply flawed sketches -- but they were perfect, you see, because they recorded faithfully whatever I drew at that time and that place. That was the thing no one told me about...

When a Name Does Not a Pencil Make

But first, here's a light scale mandala using my new Prismacolor Turquoise Drawing Pencils - 20 of them ranging from 9B to 9H.  

I very much dislike the feel of these pencils -- they're  inconsistent, rough and scratchy, and often mismarked.  

Perhaps they've disintegrated in quality after all the company buy outs.  I can remember them being labeled as Venus, Eagle and Berol Turquoise pencils over the years,  prior to this latest Prismacolor takeover.

Rolling, Rolling

...down a light scale mandala using my Faber-Castell 9000 drawing pencils (6B -5H) from Germany.

Speaking of Rolls

Here's a mandala of light scales using my Tombow Mono Professional Drawing Pencils (6B-6H) from Japan.  

They're my fav...sooo smooth and elegant looking too, the pencils that is. 

Also they have more of a full range from dark to light...although they could use a 5H in the ensemble, don't you think? 

This is Just a Test

Yep, I'm test driving new graphite pencils here...

first up is Cretacolor Graphite Drawing Pencils (9B to 2H) from Austria;

(and might as well do it as a mandala while I'm at it.)

Next we have my new Swiss-made Caran d'Ache Grafwood pencils (9B to 4H)


Both sets seem to go heavy on the dark side and just touch on the light...humh.









More to come, I'm on a roll

Slow Art Day

Vancouver Art Gallery.

Did you know Slow Art Day 2011 is scheduled for April16th worldwide?

In Chicago, you can meet up with a S.A.D. volunteer host at the Art Institute from 11:00 am - 12:30 pm followed by a chat-up over lunch. 

See Art but Take It Slow - so you're inspired, not tired - is their motto.

What Does Your Art Entail?

from Minutiae by Nathan Abels