mark making.

As I scrolled through my facebook feed the other day, someone shared a post on mark making by artist Caren Goodrich. Her post introduced me to the work and thoughts of artist Ardith Goodwin. These posts echoed and enriched long held ideas I have had about the power of mark making on the individual and larger communities.

A few passages stood out-

Caren-
I have become less interested in being a labeled “painter” or an “artist” and more interested in getting paint on the canvas and pushing it into interesting places with simple tools. Brushes can get in the way. Sometimes preconceived ideas get in the way, too.

Amen, Caren. Don't be afraid to try new things and see where they may lead you.


Ardith-

Through the exploration of finding and using different mark making tools, specific marks can often be found to be unique to one artist. As the hand begins to manipulate the tool, the mark that is born can be intrinsically an artist’s own, or it can also be a mark which shares a commonality with many artists. I find the marks that are my own to be the most powerful and transformative, although I relish in all of them.

Art and mark making is as close to a spiritual experience that this guy is going to have:) Mark and pattern making are like meditation to me. The repetition, the subtle changes and imperfections captivate me, whether I am making a small pen drawing or a large scale chalk mandala.

Ardith-

I often consider the impact of mark making through the artistic process, but I also take it one step further: every act we humans make, creates a mark. The mark potentially impacts ourselves, our fellow humans, and our planet. We make marks through the process of living, of dying, of exploring our emotions or lack thereof, and many times marks become everlasting. I always strive to create marks of love, of compassion, of understanding.

I want to leave a positive mark. I want to add beauty to the world. This can be in the form of a charcoal drawing or a painted wall mural. It can also be in the form of teaching and sharing a love of art making with my students, so that they may develop skills to create unique marks on the world of their own.