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Darlene's Philosophy
of Teaching Art
Darlene believes that painting with vegetables
can be of significant benefit to children from
9 to 12 years of age. This is the time in
their lives that many children become frustrated
with their inability to produce realism and
hence lose interest in art. Psychologists
are convinced that by stimulating the right "creative" brain
these children can revitalize their artistic
development.
She has found that painting with vegetables
induces children to explore and experiment,
which they inherently love to do.
Since vegetables are familiar items with irregular
shapes that produce unpredictable results,
children are not fearful of making mistakes,
but learn to accept and create from them. The
result is often a textured finish that enhances
the natural appearance of trees, bushes and
ground surfaces.
Darlene uses vegetables
to rouse the right brain. She believes that
two mental processes occur when a child or an adult paints
with vegetables. First, the left brain (logical
side) which has no experience producing shapes
and form with vegetables allows the right brain
(creative side) to take control. Second, since
neither the right nor left brain expects realism
from vegetables, the shackles of anxiety are
removed and painting is allowed to become spontaneous
and fun. |
Darlene's Technique:
How Darlene Developed the Process
Darlene is an avid hiker and takes advantage
of the solitude by thinking about art. During a hike over a decade
ago, she contemplated about what she could do to make her art
look different from the works of other artists. She wanted to
come up with a technique that would be original. Her mind kept
drifting towards thoughts of food because she was hungry and
did not pack a lunch.
The idea of painting using vegetables popped
into her head. Painting with nature's tools to create scenes
in nature appealed to the naturalist inside her. The inspiration
led her to explore the different effects various vegetables make
in painting trees and foliage. She was very excited about the
way her vegetables simulated the natural spontaneity found in
nature. Ever since she has expanded and refined the art of painting
with vegetables.
Interview with Darlene:
Her environmental Philosophy
"When I hike the open space and parks
I am intently aware of those who have trekked
in my same footsteps. I think of the gifts that the
lands have provided for our ancestors who used
the lands' bounty for food, medicine, shelter
and tools. Then came the artists who by sharing the
aesthetics of these places raised the spiritual
consciousness of the world. Today's artists still
flock to these sources of enlightenment to tap
further into the voices of these great lands.
Although the famous mineral water of Alum Rock
no longer attracts the throngs who visited in the
1900s,the creeks still exist. In my Silence
of the Land painting, I am saying that some day the
mineral water may rise again and erase the markings
of today's visitors.
In my work
Fletcher's Tribute to C.R., Fletcher is bounding
down a path at the Pinnacles washed in wildflowers
offering their healing support.
- Darlene Carman |