Lending Hands: Act I
This piece was a collaboration between my kids and myself in the studio. The intention of the piece was a direct action to link the activities I do with my kids and those in my art practice. Utilizing Vegan finger paints (made of various natural food dyes) my kids could safely handle them. Placing the sheet on the floor was an intentional move to activate art historian Harold Rosenberg's notion of the the canvas being an "arena in which to act. What was to go on the canvas was not a picture but an event."
Lending Hands, Act II
Upon completion of this first act my daughter felt very proud. By collaborating with my kids, I not only got the opportunity to create connection with them, but I also got to learn how others may approach a blank canvas. For my kids, they got the benefit of engaging in the arts which stimulates creativity, builds neural connections, develops fine motor skills, cultivates problem solving skills and helps them understand themselves and their world better.
After allowing the experience of making this piece with them settle, I thought about how I could contribute to the piece while maintaining the integrity of their work. I decided on a simple geometric division based on the sublime triangle (or golden ratio) which was executed using a red chalk line. By doing so it provided color and shape contrast to the very organic flow of the of yellow-green, green, violet desert colors brush marks. It also became a structure (or container) for the collaboration between the three of us.
