Pumpkins and incarceration

It occurred to me recently when I was trying to describe free association to a student that we make very strange connections in our mind that although outwardly absurd, reveal a distinct strategy. In this particular case I was demonstrating how one might think around the idea of Halloween and I started with pumpkins, and then went to face paint, throwing eggs, vandalism and finally incarceration. It was a tidy narrative, even moralistic! Drawings are also associative in that they are the summative combination of various ideas that may be related only by their cooperation in seeking a form. It is a confusing task to teach drawing and creative problem solving to budding artists. You want them to own their work but a significant truth lies waiting to be understood. Drawings, like our unfettered thought processes, cannot be tethered to some notion of control and ownership. The bad cliché ‘if you love something let it go’ is almost accurate. Just be careful you know what your drawings are saying behind your back.