What's your default?

[Mim Golub Scalin]

Because my friend Matt asked me this the other night, I had to think about it. His is painting a blue sky and some clouds, then he waits to see if anything more comes. His skull for Skull Appreciation Day was just the blue sky & clouds cause nothing else came to him. Well, I thought about it and decided that my default is: a piece of colored paper, a letter or number, and a circle or lately, some Washi tape. No droughts with a default. So what's yours?   see Matt's work here.

[McFloozy]

I'll be interested to watch this. I don't think I have a default. Unless it might be "Look at mailart365.blogspot.com, and try something modeled after what you see there." My default usually involves a glue stick and scissors. I'll think further about this.

[Mandy Fariello (FarStarr)]

Hmmm...I  mostly start with a gesso and paint or vintage book pages on recycled pizza box. I don't think I have a "formula". I like to think people can recognize my cards even when they aren't similar.

[Laura P (spopod)]

I think my default would be the color pink. If I am painting for a background, it is happy color and I can  always find images I like to go with it. The other thing I would do is pick up the scissors and start cutting out images, that seems to get things flowing eventually.

[mabb]

Not sure I have a default, if you mean what do you do to get an idea.  I start by stopping the conveyor belt of ideas that always seems to be running in my head, at 100mph, where the inspiration feels strongest, then start paging thru mags, or using an image already cut that is staring at me from my desk.  Scissors, glue, pen take over from there - usually don't end up where I thot I would.  Sounds fortunate to have a head full of ideas, but it's a curse in some ways.  The conveyor belt is on ALL DAY, whether I am at my desk or not.  Hard to engage in conversation when I am watching it go by in my mind, and thinking about what I want to do with those ideas!  Does anybody else have this mania in their heads!?!?

[Mim Golub Scalin]

Mary-Alice, I don't think you're alone with that. I found this question interesting. It's computer tech talk, for one thing, but it made sense. Like my friend, using a blue sky and clouds as a jumping off point. Check out his site. He's a very interesting artist with two distinct styles of work, and one of two artist that I know who makes a living for himself and his family through sales of his artwork. He doesn't have a teaching job, or other "day job" as I call them. That said, I'm liking this idea of a default and I'm going to offer it out to the people who attend the workshop that I'm leading tomorrow, for teachers. I think that your default is seeing an image and going from there. My husband's is looking at all the bits and pieces he's collected that are in his studio or looking through books about artists he likes.

[Katerina Nikoltsou (MomKat)]

For the past 6 months or so, my default is definitely: sandpaper!

New series of sandpo developing into Summer Sandp Greek Islands: