Abstract Explorations

January 28-30, 2022

On January 28-30, 2022, Dory Kanter led a three-day workshop in Portland titled Abstract Explorations.

We started the workshop with a great group discussion about the flow state – what it feels like and how to get there. All of the comments resonated with each of us. To help usher in a creative flow state, we tried our hand at Blackout poetry and Book Spine poetry. These found poetry forms coaxed our brains OUT of the thinking mode and INTO the intuitive mode.

Students often found that the spirit of their poems slipped into their paintings. We coaxed in the intuitive brain by starting with a layer of paper napkin collage randomly placed on the paper. Imagery surfaced rather than was imposed. The results were magical.

Andrea Baker's handout about black out poetry and book spine poetry is here.