LAW 137: Looking for America, part 4

Nope, no politics, although that would be easy to do; simply the fourth signature from one of my newest projects, Looking for America. Looking for America is my newest art journal project. I created the pages out of city maps found in the index of the 1954 edition of Hammond's Ambassador World Atlas. This is intended to be a daily work project. The formal structure hinges on two questions, have i been here? Questions answered with stream of conscious writing. Could i travel by water in my EV Tesla's Revenge, with zen doodle pen and ink drawings which play off the gird of the street maps.

page 25, 8.12.17, Salt Lake City

The beginning of the 4th signature.

Page 26, 8.29.17, San Antonio

 With the following two pages i made a significant structural change in the drawings; i started with an eyes closed gesture, crossing the page a few times to create the 'skeleton' on which i would build the rest of the drawing. Most of the other drawings in this series respond far more directly to the maps themselves.

Page 27, 9.7.17, Philadelphia

 Today, as in the last few days i have begun with a blind gesture drawing. I actually laid down 3 separate gestural lines, and yes, of course i looked in between gestures.

Page 28, 9.9.17, Phoenix

Today the initial mark making combines blind gesture and 'deliberate' mark making. It is always a challenge to find an ending place. Sometimes it feels as if i could on until the entire page is a solid, dense black, my fingers usually give out before then.

Page 29, 9.12.17, Pittsburgh

This is intended to be a daily work project, although with three major projects and life, that's just not working out so well. Today i decided to be a little more structured, more formal if you will. Today's lines were all deliberate responses to the underlying grid, with only a repeating parallel line as pattern.

Page 30, 9.18.17, Portland, Maine 

 Yes, those repeating parabolas are meant to represent the Gateway Arch, and yes, it does indeed sway, or vibrate back and forth. Once more i used only repeating parallel lines.

Page 31, 9.19.17, St. Louis

More parallel lines; this time connecting and changing until like Ouroboros they came back to connect.

Page 32, 9.20.17, St. Paul

This is a very soothing, rather meditative project, something that i think we all desperately need in the turbulent times we are living through. Find something for yourself to keep calm, and of course, make art!

More later,

gail