News from the Pickle jar

The Idea
Been staring at this big beautiful oversized pickle jar on my counter...
calling out to me for a use other than housing giant dill pickles...
a vase ? ...no already have enough vases...
more storage for homemade preserves? ...I'm not that talented in the preserve-making department



all labels and potent garlic aromas carefully removed... I knew this jar had a purpose... a calling
or rather it was calling out to me... it's been too long since I put brush to canvas... my problem is I'm aways dreaming up grandiose themes for art ventures, then overthinking them to death... literally... I have more beautiful ramblings, sketches and thumbnails that are just taking up space in my studio... in folders in notebooks, on bulletin boards... I decided it was time to forego that planning process and add a little chaos, an unpredictable element and random direction into creating new artwork.

so I took my newly refurbished pickle jar sat down with a few weeks worth of headlines, word, phrases from the Globe and Mail and voila! instant art project...

The Rules:

• begin when I have time (the kids are off to school... so this creative project is off to a running start...)
• with each new headline, word etc.. that I pull from the jar I will create one new piece of art
• I cannot put that headline back in the jar or trade it in for a "better" headline
• I must create one piece of art based on my interpretation of the headline
• there are no limitations on the type of art I choose to create
• I will not stop until the pickle jar is empty
• I can continue to add to the jar as long as I like as long as I create one new piece of art from each headline

What I've learned so far:

• I have a new appreciation for the media's talent for developing interesting & attention-grabbing headlines even if they are writing about the most mundane of subject matter
  
• this little creative exercise is fun & infectious - my daughter has created her very own "pickle jar" containing headlines and images from her collection of Owl magazines... and vows she will pull an idea from the jar and go create something to stave off pending boredom

What I hope to gain:

• freedom to translate an idea, that has been separated from it's original context and subsequently to create an interesting piece of art
  
• test my memory to see if i can recall it's original use was that phrase "soul-searching" really referring to a the new CEO of a financial services firm?!
• to increase my creative reflexes and increase my ability to think on my feet and creatively problem solve
• an understanding of how we as humans translate, filter, and ultimately use and integrate the vast amounts of information that bombards us daily