Teaching
I wouldn't have thought it would be possible to teach material like this until I studied it myself. The material is based on the teachings of Choygam Trungpa, a buddhist meditation teacher, as well as an artist in his own right, who immigrated to America in the early 70s. Many of his original students were artists of all stripes and colors— poets, painters, actors, and dancers— who were attracted to his ability to cut through the egotistical games that artists play and help them see the important role that art has in establishing a more enlightened society. The class format is pretty consistent. After a brief lecture, students take part in a variety of exercises that give them an experience of the material covered. Then they discuss their response to the exercises. Some of the exercises involve traditional artist materials like ink and brush, others only require your eyes and something to look at. This approach to art begins with these principles: Coming Back to Your Senses—Before inspiration can strike, the artist first has to actually simply see. This sounds obvious but often we are working with a theoretical knowledge of the world and not a personal experience of it. For example we know red is a warm color, it is a symbol for passion, etc. but have we first just looked at red and personally experienced it? This part of he class often starts with perception exercises that help us quiet our mind and relax into our senses (I am using mostly visual analogies here but this is true of all our senses) Felt Sense vs Thought Sense—We have two ways of knowing the world: with our personal "felt" experience and with our acquired knowledge. But if our art is based on knowledge that does not originally come from our felt sense, it will be dry and lifeless. So we start first with our raw experience, only then can we incorporate our ideas and knowledge that enrich and clarify our experience. Exercises in this part of the class often involve looking at how labels affect what we see, for example, how applying the word "art" to an object will transform how you see it. Space, Form and Energy—these are the three building blocks of art, both process and product. The first task of any artist is to first relate with the blank canvas—and relax with the fact we just don't know is going to happen. Then we make something up from the ideas and materials at hand, and begin to create form out of this space. When these forms start to relate to each other and create energy, something is communicated and the work of art is born. A traditional exercise here are ink and brush drawings (similar to the one above) that are both created and composed along these principles. |
“The Contemplative Painter”
Interested? Contact Tom at 301.530.9586 or at tsemmes@verizon.net. To register, visit www.glenechopark.org. |
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I am scheduled to teach a new class at the Yellow Barn. This is a new endeavor for me. The class is based on one I have been teaching for several years at the Shambhala Meditation Center. It is not an art class per se, that is it does not involve teaching about the materials and elements of art: paint, canvas, and composition, for example. Rather, it takes a step back and looks at the basic questions: What is art? What is the truth that art expresses? Where does creativity come from?