Whoo-hoo! Off and running with the 30 Paintings in 30 Days challenge. If you saw my post from yesterday (and if you haven’t then stop right now and check it out) you know that I’m doing this on my iPad because I’m too lazy to clean the studio a brave digital adventuress. Yes, I AM all that and more.
I’m also rambling so let’s just cut to the chase and show some art.
Here it is, Digital Daily #2, AKA Women in Red # 2.
As always, if you like what you see please share with your friends. And do tell me what you think in the comments below. Because I care what you think, I really do. But mostly because comments are right up there with chocolate.
Been playing with the iPad tonight. Whoo-ee. Playing, okay…because I DON’T KNOW what I’m doing. But I decided it’s time to learn.
So I checked out Magic Painter. As painting apps go, it’s pretty basic. You have a choice of brush effects, sizes, colors and background colors and textures. You can erase. And you can go back one. That’s it. Works on the iPhone too.
Oh, and it’s FREE!
Seemed like a good place to start. When it comes to all things digital, I prefer the easy learning curve. At least in the beginning.
Disclaimer: These are all quick ‘n dirties. Ten minute practice pieces. Don’t judge the app by the quality of what you see here.
Okay, so first I decided to mimic the technique I’ve been doing with acrylics lately. But the canvases I work on are MUCH larger than the iPad screen.
And the paintings are MUCH better. Then again, I’ve been painting for years. And they take longer than 10 minutes.
This is the second. After this one I decided to just go to sketch mode. Which isn’t an actual mode on the brush menue, it’s a brush called ‘rope’.
This took less than 30 seconds. Probably more like 10. Looks like it too.
The last thing I did was a combination of background ‘sculpting’ and sketching.
I like the feel of this one the best. The feel of the line. I can see doing some sketching this way, black and white. Exploring this style further. Reminds me of pen and ink.
So that’s Magic Painter.
Cons: It’s simple. Basic. Colors are limited with different brushes. Brushes are more special effects than actual brushes, which could get old real fast. No layers.
Pros: It’s simple. Basic. Easy to learn. And you can’t beat the price.
A few days ago I posted about my day job. Three days a week I teach mixed media at an art center for developmentally disabled adults. Been working there nearly fifteen years and it’s an amazingly rewarding job. If you didn’t read that post please take a few minutes to read it now because what I have to say will make more sense if you do. Here’s the link.
Go ahead. I’ll wait. Matter of fact, I’m going to put the tea kettle on.
Back? All caught up? Good. Because now I’ve got a video to share. Please, please PLEASE watch it. It’s less than ten minutes and I guarantee it will challenged any preconceived ideas you have about autism.
Watching this video I saw my client. The gestures, the behaviors, the ability to use technology despite her outward demeanor. I wish you could see her eyes, the light in them when we connect. There’s intelligence there. She KNOWS…
She made this painting on a day when I could get her to paint…there aren’t too many of those. She copied the poem from a book. I’m going to quote it as best I can and hopefully give the author’s name correctly. If anyone recognizes it and can correct me, please do.
“…My mind is like a big yellow bird/the bird is trapped in a world of people/and he dreams of leaving to another world…” Oscar Hanah (?)
She picked the poem herself. She KNOWS…just as I know there’s an iPad angel out there somewhere.
If you have the time, I have one more video for you. A 60 Minutes segment Apps for Autism.
And here’s a link to Carly Fleishman’s blog, the girl from the video at the top of the post. She’s come a long way for a girl who doesn’t talk. A long way….
Before you go, would you do me a favor, please. Help me scatter those iPad seeds out into the universe. Like this post on FaceBook. Retweet it. Share it on your wall. So maybe some day the yellow bird can fly freely into THIS world.
The first time I walked through the doors of the Neighborhood Center of the Arts I was blown away. Totally blown away. Over the years I’ve watched other visitors have the same reaction. Because the art created there is raw. Authentic on a level you won’t find in an art school.
It is amazing.
I started working there shortly after that first visit. I teach mixed media three days each week. Been there nearly fifteen years.
I’m not there because of the money, trust me. This is a nonprofit that serves developmentally disabled adults, people who were either born with their genetic wires crossed or who suffered a life altering injury before their eighteenth birthday.
I’m there for them. Because I’ve learned to see beyond their disabilities. I’ve learned to see their abilities. I’ve learned to see them as people, like you and me.
Unfortunately, the rest of the world doesn’t see them that way. The state of California sees the most vulnerable among us as the most expendable. Our budget has been slashed over and over throughout the years.
We make due without raises. We scrounge for supplies. We’ve learned to make art out of damn near anything.
But there’s one client I haven’t been able to reach. I cannot tell you her name or show you her photograph due to confidentiality restrictions. But I do want to tell you about her as best I can without stepping over the privacy line.
She’s a young woman. Autistic. She spends her time in my class on the floor, half under a table. I put paper, paint and markers next to her on the floor. Somedays she’ll write on the paper, copying words from whatever reading material is handy. Some days she’ll paint. But none of this activity lasts longer than ten minutes. And that’s on a good day.
If I’m lucky. Some days she won’t do anything.
One day, in desperation, I pulled out my iPhone. I have it loaded with art apps because, well, why not? I’m an artist. I handed it to her and she immediately began exploring the apps. I was amazed at her intuitive grasp of the programs, some of which I haven’t even figured out yet.
The iPhone kept her busy for over an hour, until it was time to go. I was amazed. Totally. These are a couple of designs she made with an app called Type Drawing. She had to type the text, pick the colors and draw.
A few weeks later I brought in my iPad. Same reaction. It was as if someone had flipped on a switch. She lit up and immediately began exploring the possibilities. She wasn’t the woman hiding out from the world, she was a young woman interacting with something outside of herself.
It was an amazing transformation, one I’d dearly love to see continue. Because something like this can change a life.
But an iPad is completely out of our budget. I know, I’ve put in the request, spoken with the powers that be. So now I’m putting the seeds out into the universe. If any of you have a connection to Apple, or belong to a service organization looking for a project or want a tax write off or just have an iPad lying around that you’re not using…well, feel free to contact my boss, Amee M. ncadirector@nccn.net (530) 272-7287.
Because you never know where you’re going to find an angel.
