and now for something completely different...

A few weeks ago, at our co-op, TECAC, we had a fun meeting where our mosaics artist, Dotti Stone, gave us all a  chance to experiment and experience her medium.  In her typical uber-efficient manner, she carted in everything needed including plastic plates to carry the finished pieces home in.  The lesson was to assemble a design on paper then transfer it onto the adhesive prepared tile.  However, you are sitting in front of all these dishes of yummy bits of color!  and listening to the sound they make as everyone sorts through them! Large and small, reflective, iridescent, organic, and so cool to the touch, I was completely distracted away from the objective.  Intellectually, I understood that I needed to fit the tiles together, but artistically, as a painter, I couldn't understand how to use pieces of color in this kind of physical way.  It was a real brain-teaser.  I wound up randomly selecting colors and tossing them like dice using where they landed as my design guide.  I found there is a lot of dexterity and finesse needed to manipulate these tiles and an ability to work in abstract as well.  It was a lot of fun to pick up something I had no real understanding of and get pushed out of my comfort zone. I believe it is good to be a novice from time to time to remind myself of how far I've come.  It also helps me to free up my thinking and find fresh perspective. It was a good day.