Artist Date: #62 Safety in Smallness.... 7.9.2015

Official start of the final I Ching painting

About every three weeks… or so, I get together with my friend, fellow artist/photographer, Bridget, for an informal drawing session. The sessions grew out of a desire to simply hang out with like-minded artists to talk about all aspects of art: history, business, techniques, shows to see, art films to check out, and, above all, to draw together.

It is during these sessions that we share our most recent work and listen to each others advice and/or suggestions on tricky art problems. It was during such a session in which the suggestion to use a gray Sharpie to address the issue of how to show more definition with more complex Celtic Knots was first mentioned (Thank you, Bridget! The effect worked wonderfully!)  and allowed the final I Ching Paintings to evolve even further.

One of the most difficult things we had to do when were decided to initiate these drawing sessions was to locate a safe environment in which we can set up and draw for a minimum of two hours as neither of us have studios big enough for two artists to work in at the same time.

Preliminary Celtic Knot design completed during this Artist Date

The majority of our drawing sessions have been held at the McDonald's on Pelham Street in Methuen, MA. We picked this location, after a bit of trial and error, because it was family-friendly and, after 7:00 pm, it is pretty much empty.

Also, the manager at the Pelham Street location has been very accommodating and extremely understanding and has allowed us to work in the restaurant. Over the past couple of months, we have had several interesting interactions with our fellow customers, most memorable being with the children whose endless curiosity about the drawing process is infectious and endearing. During one drawing session, one extremely curious young man drew a picture for Bridget.

Our August drawing session was, for me, momentous - it was during this session that I completed the  design for #47 Exhaustion (the Chinese character and the ink layers were added at a later date) and began the 64^th and final painting of the I Ching Project: #62 Safety in Smallness:

One set of Celtic Knots are filled in with a gray Sharpies

The majority of the biomorphic shapes were added during another Artist Date, this one at Lake Masabesic in Auburn, NH

Design prior to blocking in biomorphic shapes

Final design for #62 Safety in Smallness

The final three I Ching paintings: #47 Exhaustion, #59 Dispersion and #62 Safety in Smallness prior to final in layers which were added on 29 August, 2015

#62 Safety in Smallness prior to final ink layers

How do I feel now that the project has been completed?

I believe that I have mentioned this before: I am a great planner. I have dozens of projects in various stages of completion, but up until now I have never able to complete them, or, in some cases, to start them. This is the one project that I have been able to see from start to finish... even if at the beginning of this project, I was skeptical of actually finishing it.

The object of the I Ching Project has always been to simply to play. To explore the idea and see where it will lead me. I feel that even after 64 paintings, there is still much more that can be discovered and ideas to be pushed further still.

There is so much more to simply explore and to PLAY with that I am now working on a new project, still untitled - and, no, not quite as large, that will push what has begun in the I Ching Project even further. I can't wait to see what this evolves into.

I have loved working on this project and feel that I have grown more as a person and as an artist during this past 30 months than I had ever thought possible. I cannot thank everyone enough who have supported me and I Ching Project throughout this entire process. Without them... without the assistance of the occasional drill sergeant, the cheerleaders, the much needed reality checks and valuable suggestions, this project would not have been completed.

THANK YOU SO MUCH, EVERYONE!!! I COULDN'T HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT YOU!!!

Jenn White
White Rooster Studio