Chalk lines, levels and French Curves, oh my!

My entry today has a lot of heads. I had much thinking to do during my work at the Birch Bay Hostel Monday and Tuesday, where I am painting a Maghreb themed mural in one of the dorms. Linda Diane Taylor, an experienced mural artist from Vancouver BC, and the site manager Ken Lord, have both been incredibly welcoming and helpful at every step of the project since our initial contact back in October.

First of all, I love mural work. It feeds a part of me that is starved for huge spaces, for commitment (murals just don't go away that easily :)) and for the pure power of becoming a part of a room's architecture. It helps me sort out my perfectionist nature, between scaled drawings and impromptu problem solving. It is a mix between construction work and art, with ladders taking me to the height of spiritual growth. The best way I can express it is that mural work is the only work I have ever done which makes the most of my skill set.

The first day was spent doing basic wall repair. A side note for other artists, the walls are in great condition for mural work. A little hammering, mud and primer and it was ready. Even the existing color, a pale parchment white, made a perfect base. I then proceeded to sketch out my design with a paintbrush, working my way around the room as though something else was carrying me. While I usually carefully grid out my designs in order to scale them out to wall size, and I was even offered a projector, I was able to do almost all of it with small brush and some gray paint. I did use pencil for my arches, lettering and the camel riders.

Day two was mostly filled with more painstaking work, in order to draw out the arches which will frame a map of N. Africa. It occurred to me that a lesson in the use of French curves would be a great educational blog, perhaps in the future. I attempted to take some pictures while working on this portion, with that exact intention in mind, and only got frustrated that I was having to balance camera work with measurements.

Yesterday also brought an interesting challenge and solution. We realized we had none of the color to cover where our repair patches had been. Linda brought up that, had we thought the resources, we might have painted the whole room in one light color of our choosing in the first place. We went "shopping" in the paint room to see if there was anything we could mix, but realized we would not be able to find an exact match. So using two colors, one a shade lighter and one a shade darker than that of the wall paint, and her suggestion of a sponge, I washed over two of the walls in varying tones, light and dark and mid. The effect is lovely, and will particularly compliment the oversize map. Way to go Team!

I also went over the two areas of Arabic script with a beautiful, dark, green gray. I love that it is almost black, but has so much more depth than black. This will also be the color I use for the outline, shading and other lettering. The script above the bed, translated in to English below, reads "The good lasts not forever, nor does the bad." I nabbed a calligraphic symbol from artist Nihad Dukhan, reading "Freedom" for the closet door. There is also a beautiful Bedouin quote that will be painted on the door as you enter the room, this will be a final touch though.

A woman has volunteered to do All of the drapery and bedding needed for the rooms. She took me in to her little workroom to review the fabric she is putting together for my room, and the completed curtains are lush heavy red velvet complete with tassels, like something out of a desert encampment.

This all brings me to my next musing, on what separates a positive volunteer experience from a neutral one. The most obvious concept is feeling appreciated and needed. However, the successful match also grows from the work tapping in to the skill of the volunteer. I encountered several other volunteers there over the last few days. We all seemed to feel a sense of belonging, and the gratitude for work which would help us reach our own goals. At the same time, we are motivated by the sense of helping a project which promotes travel, community, safety and a shelter.

Another aspect of this volunteer project which has kept it cooking for me is that I am provided with everything that I need to complete it. Over the winter, much space was aloud for preparation on both of our parts, and there was never an obligatory sense in any of it. I was given the space to do the work because I wanted to do it. As for materials, everything is there. As an artist, what better opportunity is there than having an immense blank canvas, with tons of support from the "clients" and all of the materials provided? We work because to not create means to go insane. So the labor is a small trade for what has already been an immense payout. Even more ideal, the hostel is putting in just as much labor to promote themselves, and so any work done will be promoted along with it. To me, this is community support at its finest!

I think I have gotten everything out of my system for now as to what is happening with this exciting project. I hope that I can be finished by the next post, but we'll see. In any case, I will keep everyone updated.

Adieu!

Firsts, Beginnings and the Budding Possibilities!

For my initial posting, I thought it appropriate to explore the concept of beginnings. Obviously there is no completion without a start point, there is no action with out initiation. We often  procrastinate, neurose and create a number of complications in beginning, and we are always anxious of whether our first at anything will be "good enough."

Chances are, the more emotions involved in starting a project, the more important it really is to us. And the more fear one feels, the more crucial it is to just Start. For me, this sometimes just means throwing down some tone or color on my canvas. For a photographer, it may mean just clicking away. For a writer, it may mean to write a list. For a tradesman, it may mean taking some measurements. Whatever the nature of the project, any action taken will put us one step closer to accomplishment.

In looking at it this way, beginnings require a certain amount of faith, and for us to let go of expectations of what the end product will be. It is an innocent, curious and wide eyed thing to just dive in and allow for our ability to create to take over. It taps in to our visceral child-like nature that wishes to explore, make a mess and not worry about what will happen next.

Below I have posted some artwork from my high school art classes. My teacher at the time, Mr. Paola, created an environment where we had whatever medium at our disposal, while sharing with us his priceless knowledge and experience. By the time I reached my senior year, I was in art for most of my school day, including our lunch hour. I had friends who were just as committed, all of like little green sprouts in his garden. A favorite art friend was color blind, and so would do these huge monochromatic pieces which were, on a certain level disturbing. Another loved graffiti work. I was more drawn to comics, anime and realism. 

Looking at these helps me to remember the joy in experimenting. Most are in colored pencil and ink, as I was intimidated by paint. I now enjoy the expanse of creating large scale paintings in the form of murals. Where I used to always tentatively draft my images out in careful pencil outlines, I began to use looser charcoal strokes, and now confidently proceed with pen or paint. Without a doubt, I am able to map out my intentions without the need to erase.

It feels really good to get there, and I am learning this more and more with each new beginning.