Students were introduced to this artform as a way of tapping into their subconscious mind. They were guided through an online demonstration of the process which stimulates new neural pathways and is a great combination of both art and psychology.
This provides students with the tools to help reduce stress and anxiety. Students often comment on how they find the process calming and relaxing because the process allows students the opportunity to process and experience their emotions.
They then turn the paper over and they allow the connection with pen and paper (or movement on their chosen digital platform) to create lines and movement, using their whole body to make marks on the paper that move around.
When students are satisfied with what they have created, they then need to make sure there are no loose ends which are dealt with by joining them into another mark or helping them to move off the page.
Now students start the process of joining together any marks that have crossed or joined by rounding the corner.
It is during this time that time disappears and students can process their thoughts. They can then colour individual areas anyway they wish. This is when you can vary the degree of skill required and even make it a shading exercise.
Below are some student examples:
They can still do this digitally or manually. Digitally, we worked through Word using the ‘draw’ function. This way they can work over the top of an image changing the transparency to map the contouring changes on colour and texture.
When completed the mapping they simply take the transparency to zero. This allows students to master a technique with great visual outcomes. They can of course still do this manually by holding their image and paper to a window or computer screen. They are encouraged to map background shapes to create interest and or use pattern to ‘fill the space’.
Here are some student examples:
