"What I Did On My Summer Vacation" ...(part of it)

"On my summer vacation I took a drawing class."
I chose to post this drawing because it was so unlike most of my previous work. It testifies to the fact that I did a lot of risk-taking in the class this summer. It was not about showing what we already knew. It was about learning and trying new things. I was really outside of my comfort zone!
We drew with ballpoint pens! * I don't use those for drawing.* We worked for a great deal of the time from our imagination. * I typically work from observation.* Our mark making was supposed to be light and loose; *neither of those is my style either.*
But oh did I learn a lot! And was I exhausted! And my work changed a bit too! I expect it to continue changing. I expect I will continue to try to incorporate these new concepts (and many more that we were taught) into my work.
What made it all work for me? Having an open mind I think, and being willing to try (and yes sometimes "fail") what I was being asked to do. I drove too far for that class to not try!
So this drawing was supposed to be a creature, made in the general likeness of a figure. It was supposed to be fun, a fantasy image, and mine had to be made using only spheres, or parts of spheres - using a ballpoint pen! It is about 10 x 12 inches, on white drawing paper. (Other people had different forms to use: cubes, ellipses etc.) We had an hour to create them. I did not finish in that time so I had to put in some extra work to finish. Is it my "best" work from the class? No. But did it challenge me? Heck yeah!
For those of you who have not yet gotten my point... for those who need to have it clearly written out for you: "Be open to new ideas and ways of working. Be willing to try new things."
I have more to show you but most of that will come in class. I don't want to influence your ideas too much before we begin.
Come into class ready to work. Have your mind open and ready to go. Be ready to work, but be ready to PLAY also. A playful mind can come up with some pretty interesting things.
Someone once said (something like) "We're all about as happy as we make up our minds to be."
Something else I read this summer said that if we are fully engaged in the present, what we are doing at this moment, becomes our purpose for being. Both of these ideas can work well together.
You may have to change your ideas about a few things, but change is good; it's a constant in life.