from the mouths of babes...

The past two weeks have been spent volunteering at local art camps in central Florida. As I have noticed in the past, I am learning more from these young students that I often can from an adult instructor. Their innocence and fresh impressions impact how I create my own art.

This past week, I displayed a newer painting of mine, Channeling Joan, which measures 54X42 on canvas, to an art camp student, who also happens to be multi-lingual and reads and writes Russian. As usual, I started with language and writing: in this instance, I wrote out an old Ukrainian church hymn, which focuses on doubt and faith, in inks and started painting into it, using my fingers and brushes, thinking of Joan Mitchell's work.

The student could read portions of the Cyrillic letters that were left exposed in this piece, but the astute camper's impression of the piece focused on the entire composition. "I see the face, it looks confused but happy." Perhaps it is time to retitle it Pondering Joan?