WCAGA DRAW 4 DAYS (Day #5): Clean up, reception, and gratitude for art community and transformation

TRANSFORMATION THROUGH DRAW 4 DAYS.  "What if" was a common question I heard asked over the past few days at the WCAGA drawing marathon. One of my neighbors in the Furhter Polycontemporary Gallery, Marie Weaver, asked me, "What if Wandjina (the character on the right here), began to change?" In response to her gentle questioning, I thought that I would like to invite some transformation into my image making once again. I must proceed with caution as my images are symbols of my psyche. Was my psyche interested in the "play" with transformation? I had done it before at other times but Wandjina always melds back into Wandjina with little variation. Hallelujah for the invitation! So this morning I nudged myself to see what might appear. (art by Hallelujah Truth)

Hallelujah for marathons with fellow artists! Hallelujah for working in close proximity with other creatives, seeing them work and hearing them talk! Hallelujah for transformations!

PACKING UP DRAW 4 DAYS

"Draw 4 Days" is winding down. Yesterday, most artists packed up their tools and media, crated tables and supplies out to cars, and bid farewell until the reception tonight at the Further Polycontemporary from 6:00 to 9:00 pm. How absolutely wonderful these shared days of drawing and painting have been! 

For some of us involved in the WCAGA drawing marathon, finishing up our images is on the agenda until 1:00. Then all drawing must stop in order to prepare for the reception! Please come and celebrate with us and see our the results of our marathoning!

As I continue to reflect on what has occurred for me in the past few days during "Draw 4 Days," I am so deeply thankful for an organization like WCAGA and the democracy of its members. We are all equals even though we have different levels of training and experience in our artmaking repertoires. There are several themes I would like to celebrate today: telling stories about our images, talking and listening to other artists, artmaking as prayer and meditation, and transformation.

PRAYER AND MEDITATION
To watch an engaged artist contemplating their work is transfixing. What are they thinking? What will they do next? Is there love present? Or the opposite...dissatisfaction? What courage it takes to progress through the unknown of creating a work! Oh to see an artist in action!

MEDITATION.  (photo by Hallelujah Truth)

PRAYERFUL WORK.  (photos by Hallelujah Truth)

CREATION STORIES CRAFTED OVER 4 DAYS
During "Draw 4 Days," I heard the crafting of several stories concerning artists' work. In my special corner of the Further Polycontemporary Gallery, I heard my neighbors repeat explanations of their work each time another artist came by to inquire or guests asked questions. As the days progressed, the stories were told with more efficiency and skill--they became even more powerful than the first time I heard them. I noticed that my own "creation story" became clearer and more confident each time I told it. Experimenting with content, I provided different explanations, edited some things out altogether, and felt happier with my oral account of my images. 

LISTENERS.  (photos by Hallelujah Truth)

There is something so essentially human about telling stories to witnesses, to being heard! Hallelujah!


TRANSFORMATION
In conclusion? Transformation has occurred in my SOUL, in my CORE, and in my community! I have connected, created, and communicated. Listening and being listened to are transformative acts! I thank all the dear sweet artists I worked and played with this past week. You have given me the gift of an extended community. Many of you have validated my experience as an artist and urged me along my path. Thank you a million times over!

TRANSFORMATION TAKING BABY STEPS. What does it mean for me to integrate my animus figure with my Hallelujah self? I don't know. But it is fun asking, "What if?"! (art by Hallelujah Truth)

TRANSFORMATION CAN BE EXHAUSTING. By day 4 of "Draw 4 Days," many of us were feeling energy challenged. Callahan Pope McDonough takes a moment to stretch out on the floor while fellow artist Jes Gordon documents the event in black paint! (photo by Hallelujah Truth)

That's Coffee with Hallelujah! SOUL BLOG with me about your art community! What have you learned or shared with one another. Have you been transformed?

GREAT EXPERIENCE. How fun to spend days making art with my buddy Callahan next to me! (photo by Loretta Paraguassu)

NEW FRIENDSHIPS FORGED. What a fun discovery it was to meet Loretta Paraguassu! I know that we have a future collaborating on something. I just know it! (photo by Hallelujah Truth)

WCAGA DRAW 4 DAYS (Day #4): Reflecting on social connections while creating in community

FINDING OUT WHAT DRAWING CAN BE. During "Draw 4 Days," I have been influenced, impacted, smacked with BIG LOVE from other artists! Hallelujah! What is drawing? Well, well, well.... (art by Hallelujah Truth)

Hallelujah for OTHERS! Hallelujah for WCAGA developing a communal place for artists to create and to have sincere interactions with one another and visitors outside the studio.

WE WANT VISITORS. Our event, "Draw 4 Days," is open to everyone. Please come see us. Draw on our chalkboard, floor, or your own notebook. Chat, look, and discover for yourself what drawing can be. (photo by Hallelujah Truth)

Today, August 21, 2014, begins the last day of drawing for WCAGA's "Draw 4 Days." Be sure to attend our opening at the Further Polycontemporary tomorrow night between 6:00pm and 8:00pm. I promise you will have a good time and a visual treat!

So far the communal drawing experience has been delightful, intense, and life altering--in just 4 days (including Sunday, the prep day). What will today bring? Ha, ha, ho, ho, ho! Let's not get ahead of ourselves. I would like to reflect on yesterday's IMMENSITY!

MY CORNER OF THE GALLERY. At the far right are my images and my precious work table. This event is the first time ever that I have drawn with other artists. The experience has been thrilling! Good fortune located me right next to my friend Callahan Pope McDonough and two women, Marie Weaver and Kate Landishaw, whom I have become better acquainted with. In fact, we feel so special we have dubbed our corner of the gallery, "Glitter Corner." (photo by Hallelujah Truth)

DELIGHT RESULTING FROM EXCHANGES

WHAT DO YOU THINK? Look at the far back of this photo where Barbara Rehg and Kate Colpitts are discussing Barb's piece. As the wife of a geologist (my wonderful Chiboogamoo, aka Tony Martin), I have looked at so many rock outcrops and listened to geologists interpret the Earth's machinations while staring at the rock surface for long periods. How wonderful to see this behavior of curiosity and exploration replicated in my life in the Further Polycontemporary Gallery with WCAGA members and their work in progress. (photo by Hallelujah Truth)

WORKING IN CLOSE PROXIMITY. (photo by Hallelujah Truth)

ALLOWS FOR GENTLE LOOKS AND WORDS. Spending lengths of time creating art next to one another over days, gives everyone a chance to slowly interact in supportive ways. (art by Hallelujah Truth)

THINKING DIFFERENTLY. During "Draw 4 Days," artists have asked me about my cast of characters. Would I like them to move? To tell a story? And my characters (a reflection of parts of myself) have started jumping up and down with excitement. They want to know how to "play" with lines. They want to know what drawing is and if it is possible to BE MORE or BE SOMETHING ELSE through exploration of line.  (art by Hallelujah Truth)

LIFE-ALTERING TALKS
Over the course of three days, I have intermingled with the OTHERS--something new for me in relation to my art making, which has been a private process for me. I broadcast my images on this blog, Coffee With Hallelujah, but I haven't been open to talking about my work at its CORE. That is, if the discussion meant someone telling me to change what I am doing.

These women DO NOT TELL YOU WHAT TO DO; instead, they ask gentle questions like these:

Where do you want your work to go?
Can you see your work going big?
What would that mean for you?
How about randomly selecting 10 of your images, organizing them, and writing a story?
What about a book of images?
What about animation?
What do you know about the project Living Walls?
 

WISE WOMAN MAGGIE DAVIS. I know that Maggie would not really want to be called a "wise woman," but I just have to call her that! This fascinating artist has cultivated wisdom and knows how to gently share it--subtle like her painting. We don't have to limit ourselves with definitions anymore she said to me. Art? Artist? Genre of painting? (photo by Hallelujah Truth)

Then there is the amazing Callahan Pope McDonough. She brings me canvas, archival paper, and asks what else I need. She opens her entire supply of media to me. And when I ask for feedback about a piece of mine, she looks me squarely in the eyes and replies, "So you want me to tell you what I would do?" clarifying my question. RESPECT!

CALLAHAN AND BILL (photo by Hallelujah Truth)

These kinds of interactions feel important to me, life altering in ways so profound I can't express the HOW of the CHANGE right now. I feel energized and validated. How WOW-ZA is that!?
INTENSE EXPERIENCE

INTENSITY OF WORKING IN PUBLIC. In InterPlay, an artform I'm training to be a leader in, we have lots of useful ideas. For instance, "Change your life, change your practice." Well drawing in public and having these kind of deep talks with other artists is a VERY BIG CHANGE for me. And it feels life-changing. Another InterPlay expression is "Easy focus." Although I have some concerns about being criticized or judged while I am in the process of drawing my figures, I decide to shift my focus, releasing my worries to the larger universe.  (photo by WCAGA Member)

WORK IN PROGRESS.  (art by Hallelujah Truth)

That's Coffee with Hallelujah! SOUL BLOG with me! How might you connect with community in support of your creativity? I hope that you have gained something from being part of my creative community by reading this blog entry today.

WCAGA DRAW 4 DAYS (Day #3): My subconscious goes bigger through support of fellow artists

HALLELUJAH MAKES IT ON A CANVAS SURFACE. Painting in close proximity with Callahan Pope McDonough means thinking in new ways. Her flury of artmaking is contagious and her generosity for sharing knowledge boundless. She has provided me with new surfaces on which to make my art. Here is the first piece I have ever painted on canvas, a substrate I have avoided because of my own proclivities. (art by Hallelujah Truth)

Hallelujah for continuity of creative practice. Hallelujah for journeying with like minded pilgrims supporting one another in their art making!

WCAGA's "Draw 4 Days" is proving to be a miracle in creative practice for me. How delightful it is to be in the company of kind, energetic, and idiosyncratic artists. Women making art in the communal space at Further Polycontemporary Gallery on Bennett Street in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, is nothing short of a brilliant meteor shower with the accompanying "ooooohs" and "ahhhhhs"!

My second day was filled with the joyful ease of a cat napping in close proximity of other cats! As I must depart soon for the third marathon day of drawing, I will post photos here and write some descriptive captions so you might share in my catnapping joy! 

MORNING OF DRAW 4 DAYS, August 19, 2014. Day #2 of Draw 4 Days begins with posting the event more widely to ensure the public knows they are welcome to journey inside the Further Polycontemporary Gallery, where we are conducting our marathon. (photo by Hallelujah Truth)

MORNING WORK ON DAY#2.  (photos by Hallelujah Truth)

An important moment for me was when Paul Light Jr. took time to talk with me about the images I had made during Day #1 of "Draw 4 Days." He was drawn to my art, asked questions, and went deep into discussion with me. Since I am an artist who works at home and primarily shares my work here on my blog, "Coffee with Hallelujah," it was very meaningful to have another artist connect with me, asking me wonderful questions about the "where" and "what" of my work. Then, the best part? Paul wanted to show me his work in the studio across from the Further Polycontemporary Gallery. Wow!

PAUL LIGHT JR AND HIS WORK. Paul felt there were similarities between my work and his. It was a new way of seeing my images in relation to another artist. The connection is more through ideas and emotions. (photo by Hallelujah Truth)

What a thrill! Artists, visitors, and children kept asking me the "what" of my art. Barbara Rehg, the organizer for "Draw 4 Days," asked me to write down the influences behind my images. If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know that I have elaborated on this topic for years and developed a "Cosomology of Hallelujah Truth," guide. I decided to make a new one today. Here it is for your viewing pleasure!

GUIDE TO THE COSMOS OF HALLELUJAH.  (photo by Hallelujah Truth)

Another layer added to my day during "Draw 4 Days" was how Callahan showed me to use a varnish on the surface of my watercolor on canvas. She shared her media and time with me.  Being mentored unexpectedly during this drawing marathon has been such a huge surprise. Thank you Callahan, you are supporting profound change in me as an artist!

WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIEND. Callahan graciously assisted me in my creative journey. Lots of love here. (photo by Hallelujah Truth)

GOD BLESS THE CHILDREN. One of the most things about "Draw 4 Days"? The visitors in the form of these art drawing children! I had the most delightful exchange with the boy. He has a notebook of his dragon drawings, which he showed me proudly. He asked me about my drawings with Wandjina, whom he referred to as an alien.  I said he was a part of me. He talked about his dragon and knight being a part of him so I asked him what that image would look like combined. He answered with a drawing of a dragon in shining armor! How fun is that! Humans interacting in meaningful ways. Art and social interaction equals change. (photo by Hallelujah Truth)

MY WALL OF ART END OF DAY #2. (photo  and art by Hallelujah Truth)

ART MAKING NEIGHBORS DURING "DRAW 4 DAYS."  (photo by Hallelujah Truth)

That's Coffee with Hallelujah! SOUL BLOG with me. Tell me what you are doing to support your creative practice. What is your creative community like? Who are you compatriots when making your art?

WCAGA DRAW 4 DAYS (Day #2): Beginnings of the fabulous marathon touching my wild woman soul

DRAWING ON TOP OF THE CRETACEOUS. (art by Hallelujah Truth)

Hallelujah for WCAGA! Hallelujah for Further Polycontemporary! Hallelujah for the drawing the SOUL! 

As many of you know, I am Hallelujah Truth, and I consider you, my reader, as fellow pilgrims on the most amazing journey--the cultivation of our BEINGS. I am filled with such gratitude to have the opportunity to be in the company of talented and energetic women in a drawing marathon here in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. 

Take a look at just some of the colorful and imaginative beginnings of the drawing marathon: 

 
Drawing in amongst these WCAGA members, I ask myself that persistent question: WHO AM I?

DRAWING ON TOP OF THE CRETACEOUS 2. Here I am drawing on top of a print out of a photo that my Chiboogamoo (aka Tony Martin) took of a Cretaceous outcrop of invertebrate burrows. (photo by Callahan Pope McDonough)

This question leads me to another universal question: DO I UNDERSTAND MYSELF BETTER IN COMPARING MYSELF TO OTHERS? In this case, what my drawing "is" or "isn't" in relation to these other artists?

I return to the mantra I collected from Natalie Goldberg, "Not good. Not bad. Just is." My art making is my PRACTICE, my lifestyle, my way to anchor myself to this world from my center, my gut. 

DRAWING ON TOP OF THE CRETACEOUS 3. Here is another drawing on top of a print out of a photo that my Chiboogamoo (aka Tony Martin) took of a Cretaceous outcrop of invertebrate burrows. This time, I have drawn Wandjina and Mother Snake on the substrate. I delighted in the presence of the centimeter scale in the way that it invites measurement of physical space. And I want to also invite the question of deep geological time and the layers of stories that accrue in our individual and collective psyches. (art by Hallelujah Truth)

My work feels visceral. At times, my artmaking feels STUCK. So I repeat. Repeat. And repeat again. An artist came up to my table on the first morning of "Draw 4 Days," looked at my work, and announced, "You've done that before. I've seen it." 

I gulped. I felt shamed, and then I realized that we are all working with our own definitions of WHAT ART IS and WHAT DRAWING IS. New, old, artful, pretty, ugly, devoid of colorbook lines...? Great questions!
 

DRAWING ON TOP OF THE CRETACEOUS 3. Another photo that my Chiboogamoo (aka Tony Martin) took of the Montana Cretaceous badlands. I'm in the photo for scale in a post lunch stupor. At the same time, my SOUL is awake and playing. Psychological soul time meets geologic timeI. (art by Hallelujah Truth)

I have continued my love affair with Clarissa Pinkola Estes and am now reading her first book, Women Who Run with the Wolves.  This Jungian analyst and cantadora calls the relationship we have with the soul, the "wild woman," "the river beneath the river," "the light from the abyss," or the "wolf woman."

Well as I prepare to leave for the second day of "Draw 4 Days," I invite the "wild woman" to be present today so that I can sing my song out in the lines that I am called to make. 
 

DRAWING ON TOP OF THE CRETACEOUS 4. Here is another print out of a photo that my Chiboogamoo (aka Tony Martin) took of a Cretaceous outcrop, but here a rabbit has made its home there. I marvel at the layers of our existence. We are part of this deep past standing on the tip of the iceberg of time. (art by Hallelujah Truth)

That's Coffee with Hallelujah. SOUL BLOG with me. What stories does your SOUL want to tell? What might you know after you have told that SOUL STORY? Do you agree with me that we are all so much happier and healthier when we are connected to that CENTER PLACE OF BEING?

WCAGA DRAW 4 DAYS (Day #1): The Set Up at Further Poly Contemporary

ANNOUNCING THE DRAWING MARATHON, AUGUST 2014.

Hallelujah for artists and the arts! Hallelujah for the state of Georgia and the women who comprise the Women's Caucus for Art of Georgia (WCAGA)! Hallelujah for Further Poly Contemporary for hosting the drawing marathon, "Draw 4 Days."

On Sunday, August 17th, WCAGA members gathered on Bennett Street's Tula Art Galleries in Atlanta to set up for the "Draw 4 Days" event. I arrived early to capture artists' arrival, unloading, and gallery preparations. Here are some of the photos that capture the event:

ARRIVAL

(all photos by Ruth Schowalter)

GETTING INTO THE GALLERY

PAUL LIGHT JR. with BABY LIGHT. Owner of Further Polycontemporary Gallery unlocked the doors and let WCAGA members into the Tula Art Gallery space. (photos by Ruth Schowalter)

GETTING THE GALLERY READY. Exhibiting paintings had to be taken down and floors prepped before WCAGA members could move their supplies in. (photos by Ruth Schowalter)

PREPPING THE GALLERY

PROTECTING THE FLOORS. (photos by Ruth Schowalter)

CHOOSING SPACES TO WORK. (photos by Ruth Schowalter)

JES GORDON'S SPACE. (photos by Ruth Schowalter)

FINAL PREP AND MEETING.

ADJUSTING THE LIGHTS. (photos by Ruth Schowalter)

SHARING IMPORTANT INFO. (photos by Ruth Schowalter)

How exciting! We are starting the adventure today! Who knows what we will create! I am open to the possibility of creating something ordinary or something fantastic. I am present to discovery who I am when drawing in public. 

That's Coffee with Hallelujah! SOUL BLOG with me about your Hallelujahs and your love of the arts! And your own artistry! I believe we are all artists to whatever extent we have opened our tool kit to express our individual imaginations!

ARTISTS IN WAITING. Here I am (second from left) with awesome WCAGA members waiting to get into the Tula Art Gallery, Sunday morning, August 17, 2014. (photo by Bill Pope)