Link to recording of demonstration may be found here

A link to a study guide may be found here

Thinking art is another way of describing conceptually based art, or artworks that begin with ideas and themes. Today, many artists conceive of their art in terms of the materials and methods they use to create, for example—oil painting or charcoal drawing. Also, art classes often focus on developing technical art skills using specific media. While this is essential to developing an art practice, compelling art expresses an individual vision and helps viewers see the world from the artist’s unique, personal perspective. 

This presentation will first introduce the conceptually based art practice of Deborah Kennedy to illustrate the creative processes she uses to create visual art from ideas. The second half of the presentation will consist of playful experiential exercises to advance your own unique creative visions. These exercises will give you tools to generate your own personal concerns, themes, materials, and images to inform and inspire your artwork.

To prepare for these experiential exercises please bring these materials to the class: A topic area (for example: a modern take on a mythological tale, a family stories, the plight of bees, social support among friends in difficult times, etc.); find text related to your topic (from articles on the web, poetry, your own writing); find images related to your topic (printed from the web, from magazines, your own photography or drawing). Please also bring several large sheets of paper (18" x 24" is ideal) pencils, colored pencils or markers, scissors and a glue stick. If you don't have time to prepare, just bring paper and pencils! See you there!