In January I was invited to participate in a group art project online. There are 14 of us (a few I know, most I don’t), living in five states across the country and Saskatchewan, Canada. The directive is fairly lenient: we have a one-word prompt and 60 days to create a 12″ x 12″ interpretation/exploration of that word. Other than that very general guideline, the sky’s the limit. There will be 6 prompts in 2016, the first one was “water”.

Surface     ©2016 Elizabeth Fram                                                                                                          I got my wheels rolling by using stitched resist to sketch on fabric with dye.

There is to be no sharing of ideas or work with the other participants until the specified reveal date two months after the start. At that time finished images are uploaded to a closed blog, allowing the participants to see all 14 pieces. Each artist may choose how much or little to share about her process, opening the door to feedback and dialogue. The overall idea is to foster creativity while developing relationships with other artists.

Spoon in Water     ©2016 Elizabeth Fram                                                                                        I was also exploring aspects of the prompt in my daily sketches. This example studies the apparent shift in an object that is sitting in water when you look at it through glass, seeing where it breaks the surface.

While I have more than enough to keep me busy in the studio at the moment, I jumped at the chance to be a part of this project for a couple of reasons:

• I’ve learned that shaking up my process and working within limitations can create the most fertile ground for growth
• I didn’t want to miss an opportunity to discuss art with a variety of folks I don’t know (yet). I want to be exposed to new viewpoints and a wider range of ideas to consider and learn from.

Tidal Seep     ©2016 Elizabeth Fram                                                                                                 Abstraction invariably wins out; this is my finished piece.  With a subject as open-ended as “water”, it seemed as though any specific image I could think of limited the scope of what I wanted to express. I didn’t want to be confined to a single, visual “snapshot”, rather I wanted to rely more on water’s essence: movement, color, texture, temperature, etc. As this piece evolved, it began to suggest the way that, as the tide moves in, water flows between rocks to create tidepools. I took that idea and ran with it.

This is another great example of how the internet works to break down the walls of isolation for artists, providing a different form of collaboration that is bound to be interesting.

And there’s no denying that a healthy stretch is good for all of us.

Water Bottle     ©2016 Elizabeth Fram

Further reading: It’s wise to embark on any endeavor with your eyes wide open. This article by Brian Sherwin outlines some of the pros and cons of online art groups.