From the course: Creative Exercises to Spark Original Thinking

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Fresh approaches to seeing

Fresh approaches to seeing

From the course: Creative Exercises to Spark Original Thinking

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Fresh approaches to seeing

- Sometimes, we get so caught up in proving what we know that our work loses its spark. There's a great quote from Suzuki Roshi that I love to share with my drawing students on the first day of class: If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything, it is open to everything. In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities. In the expert's mind there are few. I really believe this. How can we get out of our own way, putting aside our years of accumulated skills and knowledge? Maybe from this place of not knowing and not controlling, we can produce something even more authentic. To do this, we have to slow down and seek a fresh approach to seeing, moving beyond skill and intellect. My favorite way to do this is blind contour drawing. This is something you can do anywhere, of any subject, and you don't need any drawing experience at all, just a pen and paper. It's blind, because you're not allowed to look at your page…

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