We Does Draw (with Kids)

We Does Draw is a non-profit group originating in Trinidad & Tobago. Our growing organization is a meet up of young artists who link, think and sync up all in the name of art. The Facebook group “We Does Draw” has attracted over 330 professional, amateur and aspiring artists. The online platform provides a space where work can be shared and peer-critiqued. Through regular events, members are encouraged to meet face to face to exchange, create and collaborate.

The group has grown in leaps and bounds, gaining more attention and venturing into public structured environments, engaging in events such as The Trinidad Street Festival held in Woodbrook in April 2011. We Does Draw 9 was held in June 2011 on the corner of Maraval Road and Warner street in Newtown, Port of Spain and involved the creation of a “Juiceman” themed mural.

Our tenth event “We Does Draw 10: The Kids are all right” is carded for Saturday July 30, 2011, at the Shalom Centre at the St. Dominic’s Children’s Home in Belmont, Port of Spain. Shalom is an activity centre that provides a safe, uplifting environment for the children, ages 4 - 16. 

A preliminary workshop was held on Monday June 25th at the venue to engage and warm the children up to the idea of partaking in mural creation. The response to the upcoming event has been overwhelm ing. We expect a turnout in excess of 60 artists accompanied by 50 children of the home. 

Our goal is to create, educate and execute a facelift for this worthy cause. This is the first in a series of events we have conceptualized in line of our core principle of fostering a spirit of community goodwill through artistic talent. To learn more about our group or our events check us out on Facebook.

Stick With It

Some insight into creativity and discipline. I know I am notoriously awful at it.

We Does Do Stuff

Yesterday was a groovy day out of the house and hey, I even got sunburnt. Hooray I don't look like a pallid lump anymore! I was apparently disillusioned by the lovely cloud cover (sneaky sneaky), and or was so enamoured by Wendell McShine painting his mural piece. Don't worry we all have artist crushes on him. You should too.

As mentioned many times before, the We Does Draw group, an amazing collective of young artists, is undertaking a project that's bigger than anything we've been doing before. Woo! St. Dominic's Children's Home is letting us have a go at some of their wall spaces and we're going to cover them.

Yesterday's session was a preparatory one, so never fear there's still time to get yourself ready if you're interested in participating. I probably should have painted, but I did not. Instead photos were taken and I think it was a good idea, since I probably won't be able to take as many at our official event on Saturday since I'll be painting. I am sure we'll have a plethora of photographers though.

What we still need is paint. People have paint, they say, but are not dropping it off. Check out our flyer! It's easy peasy lemon squeasy!

A Garden Walk Photo Series

Awaiting, A Garden Walk series, photograph, 2011

Hello darlings. I have launched a new photo series on a new photography portfolio. Feel free to leave comments here or send me an email (I like those) I'll still be photo blogging over at Inspiritus, but the portfolio will contain selected works and series. Enjoy!

Illustration Friday: Perennial

Tracey Chan, Perennial, Digital Illustration, 2011

Love is a seed, that when planted well, is undying, and spreads wildly. Love begets love. It's awesome. Today in all the heat I decided to do a wee drawing for Illustration Friday.

Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom. - Marcel Proust

Iam: Cake

I am Cake, 2011, Digital illustration

I started one thing, and then it turned into something else. Mmmm cupfairycake (someone will be miffed if I did not make that correction). Omnomnom.

Forming

Tracey Chan - Forming, 9.5'x9.5", Digital Illustration, 2011

This is a preview of a new series of digital illustrations. Not sure when I will be launching them just yet but if you're interested in prints and merchandise let me know.

Freud

Creative Habits: Drawing Part 2

This is the continuing series of a Creative Habits challenge where I grow and develop my art practice. I hope you're following my journey.
The universe had been sort of slipping me a few hints here and there but my spirit wasn't quite there yet to catch up. My buddy Annand finally got me past my confusion point a while ago and alerted me to Tony Orrico. Holy moly. This has brought me to another level of thinking about the work that I'm doing, or not doing. I share it with you because it is pure genius.

I continue to be floored, fascinated, awestruck, i.e., screaming fan-girly about his work. I feel deeply connected because I remember the feeling of being in that state of creation while doing work that is large, overwhelming and exhausting. It is a great unforgettable high. I love the performance, the meditative quality and the sacred ritual of it all, at least in private.

This reminds me of brilliant shodo work and the live performances by calligraphy artists. Shodo is the art of Japanese calligraphy, an art of meditative movement. It is rich, profound, and spiritual. This is from the Art of Calligraphy website and is Prajnaparamita - The Mother of all Buddhas by Nadja Van Ghelue.

take a deep breath

and reach out for the one line.

from emptiness bring it

down to the paper

without hesitation.

concentrate your whole being

on writing.

draw the line

and let it go back

to the empty space.

on the white paper

the one line conceals

emptiness.

the way this happens

cannot be put in words.

it can only be seen
with the heart.

Meanwhile Shodo Girls is a film about Japanese school girls competing in a modern Shodo competition. Modernize that. I do love contemporary versions of shodo as well like this guy, Kotaro Hachinohe. Really beautiful work.



It seems that I want to continue this. I have never been a performance artist and never had plans on becoming one, however, it seems I am interested more and more in expressing myself in this way. We'll see how that works out.
That sort of creative space is heavenly to say the least. I've only had some experience of it, doing live collaborations with my friends (Hackett and detnator) and an audience. That was a very intimate setting, so transitioning to a more public setting is a unique experience. Public murals aside, I am seeking a different sort of audience/performance, and some cathartic connection. I am returning to my scroll for more analysis and because I want to start another series based upon it. Either that or I will be writing more about it, analysing it and moving forward.

Mental Vomit, 2007, installation

My current plans and experiments include music, drawing and video. Maybe not so much like this guy below. I've got no energy for that.

Creative Habits: Drawing Part 1

As part of my Creative Habits Series I swore to the artgods that I would be drawing; then I moved; everything went awry immediately and I've been delayed since. That's the short version.

Drawing, ink on paper, 9"x 12", 2007

The plan
Essentially I am sending myself back to school. I'm starting over. Sometimes you need to have a bit of a reset in order to move forward. I've been stuck for a while and I really need to move on and develop serious work. I've been "warming up" for a long time. I have not drawn in yonks and I feel guilty about that. I went through some of my old art school drawings and felt even more guilty.
I really need to draw again. Why then am I sitting here writing about it? Vicious cycle.
Improving your drawing skills also involves actually doing it, but also research. With this comes with reading and having a good foundation. Books help a whole lot. Research is a very intrinsic part of art life, so if you're an artist who does not read, it's potentially uncool for you. It's not just about making alone. Practice, yes, without a doubt; you definitely need to expand your horizons and learn something.

Little Things: Flow Series11: 09, ballpoint pen on paper, 2.5" x3", 2010

These are a selection of the books I will be using, hopefully thoroughly. I've only just gotten The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain: A Course in Enhancing Creativity and Artistic Confidence by Betty Edwards, which I've meant to read for ages. Experimental Drawing is one of my treasures that I found in school through a lecturer. It's quite a fabulous as a start to a great contemporary drawing practice. The Practice and Science of Drawing by Harold Speed is newish and it looks to be quite useful to say the least.My anatomy books are Louise Gordon's Anatomy and Figure Drawing and Albinus on Anatomy by Robert Hale. You can also buy them from my handy dandy Amazon store. If you've got any other favourites or suggestions, make sure to comment and I'll add them to my list.

Media

I plan to use the materials I have, bond, drawing, Kraft, construction and watercolour papers. I also have some other random surfaces which will be fun like wood and canvas. Since my art supply reorganization, I realise I have a ton of materials, some of which I have not really used. I have a variety of inks, oil pastels, graphite, pencils, and whatever else. Some of the new things to try include Sumi-E and other calligraphy techniques. I'm excited and intimidated but it should be fun.

Creative Habits: Rituals

Kalamezhutu being performed. Photo by SK Mohan

According to our friends at Wikipedia you can define a ritual as:  a set of actions, performed mainly for their symbolic value. It may be prescribed by a religion or by the traditions of a community. The term usually excludes actions which are arbitrarily chosen by the performers. There are many other definitions and applications of the word; they range from religious acts to anthropological studies.

I'll keep it simple though. Since I spoke about creating routines yesterday I think it's important to consider part of creative life as a ritual. For example, drawing every day for 1 hour. That's a nice ritual to adopt, heck, one that I'd like to adopt. It would improve my skills, keep me grounded and disciplined to a routine, and offer some measure of spiritual and mental fortitude.

I find myself needing to connect with my spiritual self in this process of becoming a creative being. Since I'm going to be doing a lot of reading and research, I'm going with Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity (Inner Workbook). This I hope will help me develop both spiritually and creatively. It's something that resounds deeply because I am not religious. Art is my religion I suppose.

Gisele Jacquenod's Awesomesauce mug
(I love it and want one pleaseee!)

Currently my main ritual is tea. No tea. No work. Just as birdie says defiantly; but a tea ritual is just part of my story. I have decided to start a new life routine/challenge which is slightly separate from this creative habits plan, but intrinsically linked. It involves yoga and meditation, the latter of which I have been ignoring for some time now. I know it's ultimately important to my creative well-being.

In this Art:21 episode, Janine Antoni (Bahamanian by the way) and Gabriel Orozco speak about rituals in their work. On another note I think I should start every day watching Art:21 and checking out the education section. It is a totally plausible ritual.

Watch the full episode. See more ART:21.

I'm not sure what form my artistic rituals will take, but I have a fair idea that I'll be using a mixture of media, be it video, drawing or an exercise from one of my drawing books, and well, tea. You can't take that away from me.

Creative Habits: Routines

Apparently routines produce creative magic. Yay! Changing my routine has proven quite difficult now that I'm back living with my folks. To put it in a nutshell, it's utter hell. I now find myself trying new things, things that conform with how the household works. I have to shift.
My body usually rebels against change and since the move it's been rough. I had a great routine before and now it's been swirled around a bit so that's got me irritable. I am like a baby; a rebellious baby who doesn't want to miss out on anything.

Right, so where do I start? I surely do need a change. I've been stuck but that's part of the process; and yes I'm getting off my ass. I am excited by the concept of a new routine, but somehow skeptical. I get bored so. damn. quickly with routines, especially if I am working in a prison office. I function somewhat well by them.

Dictionary.com's first main definition is: a customary or regular course of procedure. I have tried many methods of self-imposed disciplinary action, but I start slowly ignoring its existence because one thing offsets me and everything goes to shit.  My notebooks and index cards have had the brunt of these well thought out "perfect life" routines (very colourfully illustrated), even down to quarter hour blocks of time. Hah! Clearly that does not work for me, else I am really undisciplined.

After so many years, I've learned that being creative is a full-time job with its own daily patterns. That's why writers, for example, like to establish routines for themselves. The most productive ones get started early in the morning, when the world is quiet, the phones aren't ringing, and their minds are rested, alert, and not yet polluted by other people's words. (Twyla Tharp)

This is true for artists as well. I quite like the silence and the freshness of the day. Righto, so that means waking up at ass o'clock if I want to get anything productive done. According to the mundane routine article, in order for it to be effective, my routine must be:

• Unique - something (or a combination of things) I don't associate with other activities, otherwise the effect will be diluted, i.e. something eccentric.
• Emotionally intense - the kind I experience when really immersed in creative work, i.e. zoned out.
• Repetitive - the more times I experience the unique trigger in association with the emotions, the stronger the association becomes, i.e. Pavlov's theory.

That is wonderful to think about, and harder to put into action. For instance, this is a sample of how I might like to function. Perfect Life Routine (I would have this perfect life and all that)

5:00 am: Wake up

5:10 am: Yoga, meditation,shower etc

7:00 am: Brekkie

7:30 am: Email, Daily online checks

8:00 am: Work (be creative!)

10:00 am: Break/stretch
10:15 am Work
12:00 pm: Lunch
12:20 pm: Email, checks, random crap

1:00 pm Nap/free time

3:00 pm Work

5:00 pm Break/Stretch
5:15 pm Chill. Surf, Random crap
7:00 pm Dinner

7:20 pm: Free time

8:15 pm Prep next day's work, planning, extra stuff

9:30 pm Sleep

Strict right? I probably need it. I have also done plans that separate tasks into days. For instance; Sunday for blogging for the week; Monday for painting; Tuesday for sorting stores and so on. I'm still gawking over the routines of artists and other creatives. It is fascinating insight but I also sort of wonder if some folks bothered to have social lives. I'm going to read Twyla Tharp's The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life. That should help me along a bit better. Perhaps you should too if you're struggling.

Feature Friday: Warren Le Platte

Warren Le Platte, Sun Goddess, 2010, Digital Illustration

Warren Le Platte is a graphic designer, who dabbles in illustration, photography and cartooning. His day job is a paginator (slave) for a local newspaper (salt mine) and teaches part time at the School of Business and Computer Science (SBCS). With a degree in Carnival Studies, Warren is a very well-rounded artist. He is the director of a design company, Zigwa, and says it's the reason he is still relatively sane. He loves comics, manga, anime and gaming, aka "all that good geek shit". That's usually a recipe for a funny, wildly fantastic imagination.

Warren Le Platte, Farmville spoof character design, 2010

Warren Le Platte, comic, 2010

I asked Warren to share some of the work he's doing now and boy is it a nice selection. Currently he is working on a T-shirt line called Hunting Season, intended to promote awareness of endangered fauna using imagery of hunted animals that refer to the animals being the hunters and not the hunted. He says, "Apart from being swanky the t-shirts we will also provide some info on each animal"

Warren Le Platte, Print design for Hunting Season T-Shirt line, Tattoo (Armadillo) Edition,2011

Warren Le Platte, Print design for Hunting Season T-shirt line, Caiman Edition, 2011

"I'm also working on the Donkey Eye project with James (Hackett) and a few others. More info on that will surface soon and it'll be exciting." To get a Donkey Eye teaser, you can attend a talk on July 15th at the Reader's Bookshop in St. James.

Warren Le Platte, Donkey Eye Project Teaser

Like most artists with multiple ongoing projects, Warren has a story to finish that started 5 years ago, he thinks. He's back in research mode and work on Kalenda (read bits in his Facebook notes) is continuing. It's an intriguing story that has local folklore and traditional Carnival characters. For him, it's all about entertainment, education and promoting the local. He also has friends who want him to finish. That should be inspiration enough.

Warren Le Platte, Kalenda: The fall of bois, book

In my usual Q&A bit, I squeezed some information from him. It's one of the more fun, entertaining interviews you'll read. I've left some of the dialect for authentic reasons. Readers unfamiliar should still get the gist!

TC: How's your current creative life? How do you balance personal work and a day job? Can you?
WL: To be honest my personal work is the only thing keeping me sane. My day job sucks big, hairy, watery ass! *sigh* One day...one day soon... that's all I keep telling myself... while I work to escape my creative prison.


TC: You're purdy busy - when do you work?
WL: Usually during slow periods, where there's nothing to do I would design something, or doodle... anything to break the monotony, and home of course.

Warren Le Platte, comic, 2010

TC: What's your dream creative life like?
WL: Hmmmm... apart from the cliche "I wanna do what I love everyday", Ii wanna be able to interact with other creative minds, have the freedom to do whatever. Sleep, read, play videogames, create, and most importantly, get paid bitches!

TC: Do you have a plan to do this?
WL: Yeah I do. The first phase is working for myself, or at least where I can have more creative freedom. Hence the big Zigwa push. There are a number of projects in the works.


TC: What are your methods of diversion when you've got down time or you're a bit burnt out/blocked creatively?
WL: The internet is a great tool. I trawl websites all the time, different blogs, video game sites. I love Penny Arcade. They do what I dream to do, like seriously, they influence me quite a lot.


TC: Do you have any specific daily rituals that feed your creative life?
WL: No not really. I should be drawin' more. I think I'll make THAT my ritual; pick up a pencil and draw something every day.


TC: Do you find that your collaborations bring another dimension to your work?
WL: Zigwa has definitely brought great focus to my work. I mean, it is my company so I'm workin hard to make it successful. I doh wanna be stuck in this dead-end job for the rest of my life.

Angel Thing, Warren Le Platte (left) & Tracey Chan (right) collaboration, 2011, Digital Illustration, 

TC: How do you feel about stepping out of your comfort zone re: collabs?

WL: As far as collabs go, I'm all for it... and actually your illustration has been the one that pushed me furthest out of my comfort zone so far. When i first saw it I honestly had no idea where I was gonna start with it, but I'm pleased with the end result (and i think you are too?), so thanks for that. I think I kinda started the "wet up" (digital collabs) trend in the We Does Draw group, something James and i have been doing for over 13 years or so.

Warren and Tracey clowning around at the Bomb Shelter collab, excuse me while I am clobbered for posting this.

TC: Definitely. I have other challenges for you if you're interested. We must paint together as well - another Bomb Shelter shindig will be organised at some point soon. (I'll have a full post on this soon)
WL: I would love to!!! Granted I'm not much of a painter but I'm up for anything. I mean that night in the Bomb Shelter, the level of creative vibes was fuckin INSANE!!!! I was so tired from de office, I was literally just passin' to show meh face so I wouldn't get any ole talk. Next ting is because I have a maker in hand, duttyin people wall. I wish I could experience dat everyday. Soon I will hopefully though, might run outta walls... lol.
TC: That's the crazy thing with these collabs, especially with a group.  The energy gets really concentrated and beautiful. You can be tired to death and then something hits you, wham, and you can go again.

TC: What do you think are the most important or interesting art movements/action/development that are happening in Trinidad art/culture/carnival scene?
WL: Definitely the We Does Draw group. I can't stress how much I love what is happening there that shit is growin by leaps and bounds! As far as Facebook is concerned, it's the most active group I've been in, period. This place has so many talented people, it jus' blows my mind.
In terms of Carnival, the other 5 brothers and I who make up Zigwa are working hard to ensure that craft and creativity come back to mas and mas making, but we prefer to show rather than tell, so remember the name, you'll be hearing it a lot more.


TC: Any words of wisdom for upcoming graphic designers and creatives?
WL: Hmmmm, words of wisdom - yuh doh hatta be wise tuh impart dem kinda ting? 
Read, read, read
Do, do ,do
Use the technology available tuh you
Learn yuh craft and push yuhself
Right now yuh really don't have to be limited by anything, you can do work (design, illustration, photography etc) and have that work sold to someone in Canada, America, Europe, whereever, and get paid, all without leaving yuh house. That is cool.
Market yuhself. I suggest yuh learn a lil bit about the business side of things. 
Learn how to draw up business contracts, because trust me, people may will run you down to get some work done, but then the game switches when you hatta run them down fuh yuh money. A contract can protect yuh from that, so apart from letting people know that yuh serious, they also know that if they try tuh fuck yuh over, it have court in dat, so they know is tuh approach yuh on ah certain level nah.
Know your worth, and make people respect that. A lot of people want quality but not willing to pay for it. It cyar wuk so. As much as possible, try tuh maintain yuh integrity.
I should probably stop before ah start tuh really rant and sound like a bitter ole designer. I should probably go and soak meh teet, Geritol and Red Bull FTW!!!!

Follow his shenanigans, stories, ole talk, and awesome art on his blog and facebook via Zigwa.

Feature: Have a 6x6 Summer!

12 artists. 6 exhibitions. 6 weeks. Interactive. Un-snooty. Holy smokes. Baang and Burne Contemporary presents 6x6 - a series of 6 back to back shows featuring two different international artists at each, PLUS, even more interesting features at the shows. Whoa!

The dynamic ladies of B+B, Kesha Bruce and Charlie Grosso have a friendly, dynamic, approach to art gallery, art life and artists. The shows will run from September 8 - October 20, 2011. If you're in New York at the time you should definitely check it out. This is a prime example of fabulous artist entrepreneurship and collaboration. This should also be an ongoing example to all artists to break the barriers of the current systems, make our own and find our creative paths.

I've had the chance to ask Kesha a few questions about the 6x6. How fun!

TC: How can international artists in developing countries, with little/no resources, benefit from something like 6x6?  What do you hope to achieve after 6x6? 

KB: One of the coolest things about what we’re doing with 6x6 is that it isn’t just a bunch of exhibitions. We’re collaborating with other New York City businesses and arts organizations to offer an amazing set of hands-on, interactive, learn by doing workshops and programs for art buyers, artists, and creative entrepreneurs. 

At the end of 6x6, we’ll able to take the information, video footage, workshop and panel podcast recordings and package it all up into an affordable, easily accessible, step-by-step DIY "How-To" guide that teaches independent artists how they can plan and re-create their own version of 6x6 in their own art communities.

TC: When do you and Charlie sleep, or do you tag team? Two is always better than one, but you must have a brilliant support system!

KB: Well it helps that we work in 2 different time zones on 2 different continents. Essentially our offices are open for business 18 hours a day even though we only have 2 staff members! But seriously, this is why I am constantly preaching about collaboration and partnerships. I couldn’t run Baang and Burne by myself. The only reason this works is because we’ve combined our knowledge, resources, and energy. Also I take a lot of naps.

TC: How has collaborating with other artists (in 6x6 or otherwise) helped with your own practice?

KB: I’ve always relied on other artists to help me do my work. One of my fondest memories from grad school was all the time I spent working in my studio at the Hunter College Time Square studio building. There were always people coming and going and always someone to lend you a second set of eyes and an opinion. I’ve created some of my strongest work based off of the simple passing comments of one of my colleagues.  When the mix is right, a collaboration is an incredibly powerful thing. I say this all the time, because it’s true: When a small army of creative people get together-magic happens.

To read more about 6x6, read Kesha’s weekly articles on art, art marketing, and creativity and to download a free copy of her guide “The 5 Step Art Career Make-Over” visit her blog at www.KeshaBrucestudio.com.

Adios Cy

Cy Twombly, Leaving Paphos Ringed With Waves III, Acrylic on canvas, 2009

Another great artist gone. Cy Twombly. Bow.