The Art of Life is to Show Your Hand

This post's title is part of a larger quote by E.V. Lewis in which he comments on the value of being candid instead of deceptive. I've taken a portion of his quote -- to literally mean 'show your hand'.

Wendy MacNaughton is an artist, illustrator, visual columnist for the NYTimes, and an author. She is also the Creator and Drawer-in-Chief of DrawTogether, a participatory drawing show for children, and Grown-Ups Table, lessons and a community for drawing-minded adults delivered via Substack subscription. I've just recently signed up and have been able to access some older articles.

In her Nov 5, 2022 piece about how to look at art as an artist, she profiles two inspiring artists one of which is Bisa Butler, an amazing fiber/quilt art designer and maker.

See Bisa Butler's Portfolio here

As part of the article, Wendy included a fun audio exercise of using torn paper to create a hand from your imagination (palm, fingers, fingernails). I love fun ideas so ran with it and created a bright-colored one on black paper (see photo below).

It looks a bit Halloweenish, but it is more than that. That's because it looks just like my hand wearing a wrist brace -- that I've recently been able to discontinue wearing as an injury has healed (see what wearing it looked like in photo below).

Isn't it interesting how symbolic our work can be when there is no planning involved in the doing? Are there times when you see this happening in your own work? Do you know what has prompted those instances when you look back?

Comments

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Cay Denise

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