Responding and Being in the Moment

I always finish our 8 week pastel sessions with a group project. This time, we had been working hard to get out of our comfort zone, looking at things in a new way, and striving to work more intuitively. So, we finished up with a "painting in the round" sort of exercise. Each student (10) was given a blank sheet of Wallis and was instructed to make some marks with no intention; any color, any style of mark. After 2 minutes each student handed their sheet to the person to their right. That person would then respond to what was on the paper. This continued around the table until the paintings ended up back with the person who started it. The experience was freeing. No ownership. No intention. No wrong or right solution. Each person had his or her own dialogue with what was presented at the moment. Most found it exhilarating and a confidence builder in trusting their intuition. These are a few of my favorites.