Shared Lines

What I Learned In Class This Week…

Another strange and wonderful homework from my drawing teacher this week. He asked us to create a drawing where all the lines were shared. I guess he saw the completely blank stares of many of my classmates, because he proceeded to explain and draw an example of a dog’s face connected to some kind of bird, etc… The point was to make a picture with little or no blank space on it and the lines that made up each piece be shared with all those surrounding it.

When a classmate asked me if I understood any better, I suggested she Google some M.C. Escher to see how he connected things. I also did my own search for “shared lines drawings” and little or nothing matching our teacher’s example came up. However, a bunch os other great images passed by and I was inspired to take advantage of the loose directives for this project.

As I was doing it, I heard my teacher’s voice saying to spend at least 3 to 4 hours on this. Everytime he says that in class, I cringe. I never time my artwork. It takes the fun away and distracts my process. Well, while I was doing it this time, I got an aha moment. He’s purpose in giving us complex and elusive homework is to force us to practice drawing. Or so I believe… this week.