seeing / perception
looking at the world
through an artist's eye
Essays by Ann O'Hanlon
ann o’hanlon’s writing opens up the world, in all its richness and detail, to artists and non-artists alike.
Seeing / Perception examines the creative process through a continuous exploration of ideas, materials, and images. O'Hanlon's writing is fresh and provocative. In our busy world it makes you slow down, really see what you are looking at, and what you are doing during the process of creating. In her words… "For over forty years I have been learning about the creative spark in people and in myself, first through the job of teaching, then through the privilege of teaching, and then the suspicion dawned on me that I should not be teaching at all, but should be listening, and asking, and exposing, and perhaps nudging, and above all perceiving objectively the works of people and the world of nature."
through doing
perhaps the first reward for the opening consciousness
from a monotype / rubbing / scribble or freely done drawing
is the essential being of each segment
in its own right
that a squiggle may have the same energy
…as a whimsical piece of driftwood
that a dot or splotch may have the same charm
…as a random pebble the eye chances to pick up
Essay by Ann O'Hanlon from "Seeing / Perception."