IMAGINATION AND REALITY WORKING TOGETHER

    A major enjoyment of having 4th level students is observing the numerous ways they have learned to create their own work, experiment with procedures which bring out the results they have envisioned, and the ability to evaluate their successes and needed improvements.

The work presented here represents unusual thinking, very good spatial relationships, great color presentation and growth in personal style and interpretation.

In most abstract art, each viewer could describe a personal interpretation that most likely would differ from others. That's really a wonderful thing! Sometimes we are awed by an artist's ability to so accurately present imagery we can immediately identify. With abstract art, we have to work at "meaning" a little harder. And that's a kind of freedom of thought to be treasured.

This first painting may ask us to consider where we are going, or the struggle of exiting from one aspect of life to another. The ladders may be leading to or from heights or depths, or be the means of traveling in a life filled with twists, turns and bends. Notice the one place of colorful peace in the upper area? What might be some of your thoughts here?

Now this second painting has an interesting theme. What images do you see? I would suspect you might guess that there's water, and maybe some fish moving about in very colorful motion, with one of them having a dominant top fin. Or, maybe not. At any rate, the painted dabs suggest movement, and the shapes are nicely placed in proximity to each other. Have your idea yet? Well, the answer follows---later.

O.K. The last painting is a bit easier for image identification, but even so, those stairs would be a challenge to navigate. Thoughts of buildings, industrial components or a factory might come to mind. It has numerous angles and simplified geometric forms with cubistic stairs that seem to defy gravity. Perhaps the stairs that seem to enter from the sides and do not connect suggest a place one would not care to stay.

Oh yes, about the 2nd painting? Well, it's about an eye-- eyelashes, nerves, tears, and the images it sees.Look closely into the white center part!

These students went beyond the "processes" of abstracting. They wedded them to thought, and that's the main idea. They are able to depict more depth having a better background and experience in perspective, color placement, and general compostional arrangement. And of course, being a little older, they do have more "life experiences" for resources.