This past week marked the end of the second round of the online Journal Project that I am participating in this year. As a quick reminder, we are a group of 14 artists across the US and in Canada who are creating a 12″ x 12″ interpretation of a one-word prompt every 60 days. You can read more about the project in my post “Creative Yoga”.
Flight of Hand ©2016 Elizabeth Fram
This latest challenge was “hands”. My contribution integrates a shadow puppet with American Sign Language (the signs at the bottom of the piece represent “b”, “i”, “r”, & “d”), inspired by watching a sign language interpreter at our annual Town Meeting in March.
I have included images of my hands off and on in my work since college. In many ways, I identify with them as a more apt representation of myself as self-portrait, than I do my face. After all, I only see my face when I look in the mirror, but I watch my hands all day, every day, as they express the core of who I am through the things I make and tend.
Below are a few of the pieces in which my hands have stood in for me in one way or another, pointing toward issues I was moved to express at the time.
Beneath the Layers © 2001 Elizabeth Fram
Crossroads IV, Detail ©2002 Elizabeth Fram
Knock on Wood © 2013 Elizabeth Fram
No question, hands can be a huge challenge to draw. But I found Jon deMartin’s article/lesson in the Winter 2015 issue of Drawing Magazine to be very informative and a big help. You can buy a back issue, in either in paper or downloadable form, here.
To end on a humorous note, enjoy these links on the subject of hands: You can tell a lot about a woman by her hands and Irish Hand Dancing…or something
Great post….I’m putting a link to this blog on the “Project” blog….There may not be a lot of us, but I’m sure that a good number will check the link.
Thanks for sharing it with the group Pam; I appreciate your ever-present support!
Again fabulous. I love your statement about hands being the core of who your are. This topic could be a wonderful show as you have stunning pieces. Perhaps toss the subject out to the VT SDA group.
That’s a good idea Dianne. I’ll see what the others think.
What an inspiration to participate in a communal Journal Project. It forces you to take creative chances and the resulting art is the surprising payoff.
Hope you will post the art at the end of 12 months…. Love the self initiated project!
The nice thing is that the format is small enough that these pieces don’t have too great an impact time-wise on our “regular” work, but I am surely seeing that the interaction with other artists and the self-imposed regulations of the project are indeed opening the door for new ideas and the “surprising payoff” you reference.