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15 Things You Should Give Up.

I received this article in an email recently.  I found the information to be really helpful and seeing that 1,170,000 Million other people shared it with someone else suggests that the author may be on to something.  I try to actively do a little of this each day and thought it would of interest to some of you.  Enjoy!

"Here is a list of 15 things which, if you give up on them, will make your life a lot easier and much, much happier. We hold on to so many things that cause us a great deal of pain, stress and suffering – and instead of letting them all go, instead of allowing ourselves to be stress free and happy – we cling on to them. Not anymore. Starting today we will give up on all those things that no longer serve us, and we will embrace change. Ready? Here we go:

1. Give up your need to always be right

 There are so many of us who can’t stand the idea of being wrong – wanting to always be right – even at the risk of ending great relationships or causing a great deal of stress and pain, for us and for others. It’s just not worth it. Whenever you feel the ‘urgent’ need to jump into a fight over who is right and who is wrong, ask yourself this question: “Would I rather be right, or would I rather be kind?” Wayne Dyer. What difference will that make? Is your ego really that big?

2. Give up your need for control

Be willing to give up your need to always control everything that happens to you and around you – situations, events, people, etc. Whether they are loved ones, coworkers, or just strangers you meet on the street – just allow them to be. Allow everything and everyone to be just as they are and you will see how much better will that make you feel.

“By letting it go it all gets done. The world is won by those who let it go. But when you try and try. The world is beyond winning.” Lao Tzu

3. Give up on blame

 Give up on your need to blame others for what you have or don’t have, for what you feel or don’t feel. Stop giving your powers away and start taking responsibility for your life.

4. Give up your self-defeating self-talk

 Oh my. How many people are hurting themselves because of their negative, polluted and repetitive self-defeating mindset? Don’t believe everything that your mind is telling you – especially if it’s negative and self-defeating. You are better than that.

“The mind is a superb instrument if used rightly. Used wrongly, however, it becomes very destructive.” Eckhart Tolle

5. Give up your limiting beliefs

about what you can or cannot do, about what is possible or impossible. From now on, you are no longer going to allow your limiting beliefs to keep you stuck in the wrong place. Spread your wings and fly!

“A belief is not an idea held by the mind, it is an idea that holds the mind” Elly Roselle

6. Give up complaining

 Give up your constant need to complain about those many, many, maaany things – people, situations, events that make you unhappy, sad and depressed. Nobody can make you unhappy, no situation can make you sad or miserable unless you allow it to. It’s not the situation that triggers those feelings in you, but how you choose to look at it. Never underestimate the power of positive thinking.

7. Give up the luxury of criticism

Give up your need to criticize things, events or people that are different than you. We are all different, yet we are all the same. We all want to be happy, we all want to love and be loved and we all want to be understood. We all want something, and something is wished by us all.

8. Give up your need to impress others

Stop trying so hard to be something that you’re not just to make others like you. It doesn’t work this way. The moment you stop trying so hard to be something that you’re not, the moment you take off all your masks, the moment you accept and embrace the real you, you will find people will be drawn to you, effortlessly.

9. Give up your resistance to change

 Change is good. Change will help you move from A to B. Change will help you make improvements in your life and also the lives of those around you. Follow your bliss, embrace change – don’t resist it.
“Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you where there were only walls” Joseph Campbell

10. Give up labels

 Stop labeling those things, people or events that you don’t understand as being weird or different and try opening your mind, little by little. Minds only work when open. “The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you don’t know anything about.” Wayne Dyer

11. Give up on your fears

Fear is just an illusion, it doesn’t exist – you created it. It’s all in your mind. Correct the inside and the outside will fall into place.
“The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself.” Franklin D. Roosevelt

12. Give up your excuses

Send them packing and tell them they’re fired. You no longer need them. A lot of times we limit ourselves because of the many excuses we use. Instead of growing and working on improving ourselves and our lives, we get stuck, lying to ourselves, using all kind of excuses – excuses that 99.9% of the time are not even real.

13. Give up the past

I know, I know. It’s hard. Especially when the past looks so much better than the present and the future looks so frightening, but you have to take into consideration the fact that the present moment is all you have and all you will ever have. The past you are now longing for – the past that you are now dreaming about – was ignored by you when it was present. Stop deluding yourself. Be present in everything you do and enjoy life. After all life is a journey not a destination. Have a clear vision for the future, prepare yourself, but always be present in the now.

14. Give up attachment

This is a concept that, for most of us is so hard to grasp and I have to tell you that it was for me too, (it still is) but it’s not something impossible. You get better and better at with time and practice. The moment you detach yourself from all things, (and that doesn’t mean you give up your love for them – because love and attachment have nothing to do with one another,  attachment comes from a place of fear, while love… well, real love is pure, kind, and self less, where there is love there can’t be fear, and because of that, attachment and love cannot coexist) you become so peaceful, so tolerant, so kind, and so serene. You will get to a place where you will be able to understand all things without even trying. A state beyond words.

15. Give up living your life to other people’s expectations

Way too many people are living a life that is not theirs to live. They live their lives according to what others think is best for them, they live their lives according to what their parents think is best for them, to what their friends, their enemies and their teachers, their government and the media think is best for them. They ignore their inner voice, that inner calling. They are so busy with pleasing everybody, with living up to other people’s expectations, that they lose control over their lives. They forget what makes them happy, what they want, what they need….and eventually they forget about themselves.  You have one life – this one right now – you must live it, own it, and especially don’t let other people’s opinions distract you from your path.

With all my love,

"

End of Second Marking Period Missing Work

Just a friendly reminder that all missing work should be turned in no later than this Friday January 25th.  

The Edge

We briefly discussed the idea of the edge yesterday in class.  Please read over this excerpt from moving into stillness and consider how this may be applicable to your art making practice (replace the idea of Yoga with drawing and painting or even broader making any art).

Playing the Edge

A large part of the art and skill in yoga lies in sensing just how far to move into a stretch. If you don't go far enough, there is no challenge to the muscles, no intensity, no stretch, and little possibility for opening. Going too far, however, is an obvious violation of the body, increasing the possibility of both physical pain and injury. Somewhere between these two points is a degree of stretch that is in balance: intensity without pain, use without abuse, strenuousness without strain. You can experience this balance in every posture you do.
This place in the stretch is called your "edge." The body's edge in yoga is the place just before pain, but not pain itself. Pain tells you where the limits of your physical conditioning lie. Edges are marked by pain and define your limits. How far you can fold forward, for example, is limited by your flexibility edge; to go any further hurts and is actually counterproductive. The length of your stay in a pose is determined by your endurance edge. Your interest in a pose is a function of your attention edge.
In daily life, we tend to remain within a familiar but limited comfort zone by staying away from both our physical and mental edges. This would be fine except that as aging occurs these limits close in considerably. Our bodies tighten, our range of movement decreases, and our strength and stamina diminish. By consciously bringing the body to its various limits or edges and holding it there, gently nudging it toward more openness with awareness, the long, slow process of closing in begins to reverse itself. The range expands as the edges change.
Sensing where your edges are and learning to hold the body there with awareness, moving with its often subtle shifts, can be called "playing the edge." This is a large part of what you'll be doing in your practice. Your skill in yoga has little to do with your degree of flexibility or where your edges happen to be. Rather, it is a function of how sensitively you play your edges, no matter where they are.


This is an important idea to understand as we move forward into our new assignments.  The level system we have discussed in class is intended to help you find your edge and to use that as a tool for your artistic progress.  It is just as important that we be honest about our abilities and frustrations (pains) in art making otherwise we risk injury, although our injury is not physical it will likely appear as our  not wanting to make art anymore.  If you find you are experiencing excessive frustration while working at one level you simply need to spend more time developing your skills at the prior level.  Slow and steady wins the race.

Celebrate!

Congratulations to Brianna for her recent acceptance to Maryland Institute College of Art!

Also a big congratulations to Tessa for this incredible pastel rendering from observation.  Notice how naturalistic the form and light appears due to her lack of "outlining".  Great work!

Feldman's Method of Art Criticism *Freshman Review

The Feldman Method of Art Criticism

Describe

Analyze

Interpret

Judge

Step 1: Description

Describe what you see in the art work. Describe

exactly what you see, in enough detail that your

audience could visualize the artwork from your

words. Do not use judgments or opinions.

Here are a few things to consider when writing

your DESCRIPTION:

Size

Shape

Texture

Color

Angles

Perspective

Light Source

Media

Form

Space

Artist, Title, Date

Step 2: Analysis

Examine the relationships between the

Elements of Art by citing the Principles of Design

The Principles of Design

Contrast

Repetition

Unity

Movement

Balance

Emphasis

Balance

Balance is the equilibrium of

various elements in the work

of art.

Emphasis

Emphasis is given to a

center of interest, which

might be the largest,

brightest, or lightest subject.

Repetition

Repetition is the use of line,

color, or a motif in more than

one place in the composition

Movement

Movement can be the

illusion of motion in the

artwork, or the path the

viewer takes starting with

the emphasis.

Contrast

Contrast shows the difference

between the Elements of Art

(Line, Color, Shape, Value,

Form, Space and Texture)

Unity

Unity is the harmony between

all of the visual elements in a

composition.

Questions to ask yourself when completing an

ANALYSIS:

How does the artist visually organize the composition?

What is in the foreground, middleground, background?

How has the picture been arranged?

What colors are used and how have they been arranged?

What shapes are there and how have they been arranged?

Are there any leading lines and if so, where is your eye lead,

Is there any use of contrast? If so where?

Is there any use of pattern? If so where?

Is there a sense of space or perspective?

Are there any special techniques employed by the artist?

Step 3: Interpretation

What do you believe was the goal of the

artist?

What message is he/she trying to make?

What was the artist’s intention?

Is there a mood or feeling being

conveyed?

Use research, Description and Analysis

to support your opinions.

Step 4: Judgment

What Aesthetic Classification

does the artwork illustrate?

Support your decision with

Description, Analysis and

Interpretation.

_____________________________________________

Perceptual

Rendered from Direct

Observation

_____________________________________________

Expressive

Capturing a mood or feeling,

sharing a story or idea

_____________________________________________

Formal

Focus is on the organization

of the Elements of Art

Morandi Documentary

I found this on a wonderful painting site painting perceptions that I try to visit regularly. One of the best things you can do as artist is to continue appreciating other artist's work. Have a great weekend!

A new documentary titled La polvere di Morandi will soon become available. Below are two trailers for “Giorgio Morandi’s Dust”, directed by Mario Chemello and produced by Imago Orbis (Bologna – Italy) in association with the Museum of Modern Art of Bologna. Music for the trailer composed by Paolo Ferrario.

A glimpse on the life of renowned Italian painter Giorgio Morandi, his still life paintings and landscapes as seen through the eyes of friends and critics.

Please visit the site lapolveredimorandi.com for more information – from what I could make out, a DVD should become available at some point soon.

The film will be shown at the big Morandi show in Brazil in Porto Alegre from November 30th, 2012 to February 24th, 2013.

CLICK HERE FOR ANOTHER TRAILER (This one has english subtitles)

Advanced PaintXDraw

Self taught artist Michael Motorcycle recently had a show at Gallery 309 in Philadelphia.  His images would be a wonderful source of inspiration for fully saturated use of color and surreal compositions.  Enjoy! 

CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE

Grades Updated For Interim/Midterm Reports

Don't forget to login via Schoolnet to check your grades.

CLICK HERE TO LOG IN

Monochrome Media

***Open in a new tab and use the view option to zoom in.

Working with Acrylic Media

Here are some of the basics we have discussed in class in a convenient cheat sheet format!  Have a great weekend!

*** Open these images in a new tab and use the zoom in feature under  the "VIEW" tab in your tool bar to be able to read the text. :)

Ai Wei Wei As Promised

If you have an hour or two to spare check out this incredible documentary about Chinese Artist Ai Wei Wei on Netflix titled Ai Wei Wei: Never Sorry

Ai Wei Wei Wiki

AI Wei Wei twitter account for the movie

Artist's Website

Distorting Form 10th Grade HW (Intermediate PXD)

  One of the most exciting aspects of art is changing the world around you.  In charge of the creative process you can bend, twist, and interlock shapes at will.  Throughout the ages, artists have used distortion to express extreme emotions.  Study Edvard Munch's The Scream (1893) or the nightmarish figures of Francis Bacon.  Without the distortion of the human figure, these artists couldn't have expressed panic and despair so well.  Distorted images can also be fun, of course, throwing up new angles on a familiar scene or objects.

Edvard Munch
The Scream
23.5" x 32" pastel on board 1895 

Francis Bacon
Portrait of Lucian Freud
1965

  Objects seen through water appear distorted because of refraction or the bending of light.  When water  is seen swirling around as in this kitchen sink, the effect is magnified.  The broken water distorts the outline of the cutlery and items apear to dissolve into liquid.
  Submerge a few objects (bare minimum of 3) in a bowl of water to try and capture a similar distorted effect.  Complete this drawing in any dry medium of your choice as long as it is monochromatic.

Size: Minimum 18x24

Materials: Open to all dry media (pencil, charcoal, conte crayon, oil or chalk pastel)

Due Date: Wednesday, January 23rd