What's Your Question?

This week for my creative practice I used Ben Breedlove as my inspiration.

Ben Breedlove 18 made a YouTube video on December 18, 2011 in two parts titled: "This is my story" where he opens up about his heart condition and the impact it has had on his young life.  He shares three near death experiences he had.  Each of his near death experiences he describes seeing a white light, at the end he ask: do you believe in angels or God?  He responds as "I Do"

After seeing this video I decided to make my own version.  I decided to ask a question, much like Ben did.

I think this creative exercise could be used bed side in the hospital.  I can see using this to send someone a good wish, to raise awareness and a place for a patient to speak even if they think they can't.  The simplicity of the video that Ben made speaks so loudly, even without words.


Here is my video:

Week 2/3 Creative Practice

My week 2 creative practice went into week 3 as well.  I began looking at this painting:

Painting Title: Autumn Landscape 1885
Oil on Canvas, 64x89cm - 25x35 inches (approx)
Vincent van Gogh 

About the Autumn Landscape Painting
The Autumn Landscape is one of Vincent van Gogh's earlier works, where he was painting in more of an impressionist manner, with more details and less color than his later works. Van Gogh was pleased with the results of this particular painting which he talks about in a letter to Theo below.

Van Gogh wrote about the Autumn Landscape painting in a letter to his brother Theo van Gogh in 1885, saying 

"I think that I am making progress with my work. Last night something happened to me which I will tell you as minutely as I can. You know those three pollard oaks at the bottom of the garden at home; I have plodded on them for the fourth time. I had been at them for three days with a canvas the size of, lets say, the cottage, and the country church-yard which you have.
The difficulty was the tufts of havana leaves, to model them and give them form, color, tone. Then in the evening I took it to that acquaintance of mine in Eindhoven, who has a rather stylish drawing room, where we put it on the wall (gray paper, furniture black with gold). Well, never before was I so convinced that I shall make things that do well, that I shall succeed in calculating my colors, so that I have it in my power to make the right effect."

This quote really struck me both as a personal artist and as a arts facilitator.  At what moment do we have the "ahaa" moment and realize what we are marking is good and valuable, where is our stylish drawing room.  In what way can I facilitate and create a "drawing room" for the people I work with.

The painting is so stunning, the more you look at it the more you discover.  As my creative practice I challenged myself to draw trees, when I first started it took forever and I wasn't getting any progress because I was so concerned with "the tree" first off I am not a talented drawer so why I thought I would be able to draw a tree was bizarre to me.  I decided to close my eyes and draw that way, I got lost in the paper, when I opened my eyes there was no tree.  But there was such a clear tree in my mimd like I could touch it.

I journaled about this, how once I let my mind let go I could create the tree.  I revisited my free writing a few days later, which I don't normally do.  Often when I free write I don't return to it, but this one I did.  I went through and highlighted some words and phrases that stuck out to me.  After reflecting on this and the quote and painting I did some improv and pieced together this, it is a combination of both improv and choreography.

REFERENCE:
http://www.artquotes.net/masters/vangogh/vangogh_landscape.htm