Art is Math

Deep into carving pieces of packing foam, to eventually become a bank of snow, I had a light-bulb moment.

Art is Math. That's all it is.... Really.

Hear me out...

Yep, as much as I hated algebra, division, and the like during my school years, I have come to appreciate the mathematical dance I do with all the art I create- Collage, Poetry, Picture Book Writing, and even when cooking a new recipe alongside America's Test Kitchen chefs on Saturday afternoon.

When making a piece of art, I start with a PROBLEM-

I try not to think of the project as a problem, but as an exciting challenge that will lead me to places I never thought I would go.

What do I want to make? How am I going to start?

One hot summer day, as I had my hands in the soil, I felt in my bones how happy the garden made me, and I was sad to think it would end in the fall. I wished that during the coming cold, blustery winter days, I could have a sparkling garden in white that would pop up to lift my spirits.

Here is the poem that became the inspiration for this collage:

Then came the EQUATION.

What is the recipe for this thing I want to make?

Sometimes the equation is simple, i.e., I want to write a rhyming poem about a lemonade stand in dactyl meter. Or, these old paint brushes and seed pods are just the thing I need to make this forest of trees. In this case, I needed to create a garden of recycled materials that would express my words. So, I gathered the elements that might be combined to create my art.

Sometimes the elements didn't work, and I had to modify them or even bring in something brand. new.

Cutting packing foam to create banks of snow.

As I continue to create my new work of art,

ADDITION plays a huge part.

I begin to grab words swirling around in my brain, or ones dictated into my phone for inspiration on weekly walks. Or scour my storage boxes, drawers, files of cut-out magazine images or Kleenex box covers for just the right image, trinket, birch bark, or recycled plastic piece to be formed into flowers or a dock on a lake.

Every step along the way is trying to lead to a SOLUTION.

It is trial and error. Try one combination of words or elements. Sit with it for a while and then try something else.

As Christina Tondevold shares on her podcast:Math Problems With More Than One Answer Episode 121: (Part 1)

The same applies to art. There is more than one way to get to an answer, and it's okay to ASK FOR HELP.

Critique groups are great for this. I have three of them. We share our poetry and stories with each other, and their feedback becomes invaluable. Just like the days when your teacher asked you and Mary Clark to pull your desks together to work on a problem at school. Two heads are often better than one.

Although with this collage, I am enjoying the solitary struggle. I want the challenge of getting that first draft or first arrangement of my collage objects to be mine and only mine. Finding the right word, paint color or object is like working hard on a crossword puzzle. When you finally find the right word, it is so satisfying!

Filmed during a hot day in August :)

SUBTRACTION is probably the most important action in creation. It is where the magic happens.

Recently I have been spending a lot of time creating flowers for my collage " I Dream of a Garden in White." I must say, I have gone a bit crazy making the flowers, but I realized this morning that no creation is wasted. When I laid it out, I could see the need for white space to allow the viewer to breathe. The goal is to create without limits and pare it down later.

If I try to edit every step of the way, it impedes my creative flow. I become too worried about the final result. I may not use all these fun flowers on my final art piece or the 1000 words for my next picture book, but that's ok. It's part of the process.

When my razor blade skims slices off crisp edges of foam, to soften them like banks of freshly fallen snow, or I take a second, third or fourth look at my poem and see words that are not adding to my story and delete them...

This is revision.

This is subtraction.

This is Magic!

Finally, I am back to ADDITION!

It's time to stop shuffling the elements around the canvas and dig in. I take the vines I made of electrical cord, bathroom freshener tops, and ties, and begin to sew them down.

Am I scared? YES! But VERY excited. I know if this solution does not work out, I can get out my "eraser"(scissors) and try another solution. What have I got to lose?

My garden in white is beginning to grow.

I guess I kind of like math after all :)

Please check out this week's host Margaret, at "Reflections on the Teche" to read her lovely poem about silence as well as many others.