EL PATIO DE MI CASA
ART 4 BREAKFAST
The Power of Discipline, Mediation and Art Making
New York City, March 30th 2020
6 Artists find themselves at the beginning of Isolation due the Covit- 19 Pandemic . During this new reality in time while looking to discover the new normal they all agree to an art making project : Art 4 Breakfast , start the day by feeding your creative soul by dedicating 20 minutes to the act of creating. You can draw, paint, film, perform or simply talk.
These are the stories of their artist journeys and their experiences
Guidelines:
For period of 14 days every morning before doing anything dedicate 20 min to create something.
Document and log not only the process but your experience.
Engage with your community: invite them to participate, Go live and talk about what you are doing with them
U the #art4breakfast to document your process
MEET THE ARTISTS
JESSE NG
Starting the early morning with the intention of an artistic output was initially an
intimidating proposal. My studio practice is often a careful and methodical process -
color, technique and imagery are carefully considered before completing a formal piece.
I’ve realized throughout these 14 days that diving headfirst with pencil and paper in the
morning warmed up an element of my practice that was rarely exercised. This quiet
meditative space allowed for a more raw and immediate expression and I felt a mental
shift of deeper contemplation when engaging with a physical and creative activity so
early in the day.
This quickly became an automated ritual. After making coffee I’d quickly grab my
blackwing and mechanical pencil, small ruler and rhodia sketchbook and sit in the
kitchen where the light was best. Each morning felt a bit different and it would also
stylistically shift. A few mornings could be abstract diagrams, pulling from my own
library of symbols and marks which felt familiar and comfortable. When I was feeling a
bit frustrated, the straight lines from architecture and window views would set me right.
Trees were my favorite component - there's a satisfaction in setting their loose fuzziness
against the hard lines of buildings. When it was a lazy morning, observational drawings
especially with dense textures became my subjects allowing my mind to linger and
wander through dense lines and shading. I had also discovered the simple joy of
recording my physical space and my everyday objects. And by being quarantined at
home for such a long period of time never have I been so aware of my surroundings
and the things that I own. When feeling especially inspired I would also record recent
memories, and when at my joyous they were whimsical with confident simple lines. In
review, these pages acted as emotional markers and more importantly they were a
catalyst for a creative mindset for the rest of the day.
Isolation and trauma has certainly made this small space in time a precious and
healing restart. The dynamic of internalizing the external trauma of the news and world
needed this balance. I am grateful for this challenge for allowing this simple outlet and
connection to myself along with my other fellow artists. It’s pleasant to know that we
would all have a meditative and peaceful moment each day together but apart.
FLORENCIA ALVARADO
Coming soon
ALISON CAUSER
Coming soon
DANIEL DJURO-GOIRICELAYA
Coming soon
OSVALDO PONTON
At the very beginning to the pandemic, newly quarantined I was approached by Daniel to participate in a very simple project, something that had already been a part of his practice. Every morning, for 14 days, before doing anything else, dedicate a small amount of time to create something. Initially I was skeptical, I was anxious and nervous about everything happening around me and didn’t know if I could really focus or commit on a project that demanded daily input.. However that invitation wasn’t only for me, other close friends were invited to participate as well and the idea of doing an activity together, at a distance, made the whole thing a lot more appealing.
By day 3 I was hooked. Doing the project gave the right amount of “push” to get my days started when otherwise there would have been no real reward to getting out of bed. It also allowed me to start my day, not with the depressing and worrisome news but with a rewarding activity. Seeing what my friends were doing through social media also kept me energized and made me feel we could all still create and find a bright spot in the middle of the chaos. Knowing that the project had no financial or immediate institutional ties also made it “stress free” I didn’t feel the need to create anything that had to read any certain type of way or please any certain type of audience. It was very much a create for the sake of creation type of moment.
My project ( A small embroidery hoop) ended up taking a little over 14 days, Again, there was no pressure to finish it in time, it all felt like loose guidelines. And by the time I was done with it there was a great deal of satisfaction. I had also used the same energy and discipline that I was starting my days with in order to start a daily Yoga, exercise and meditation practice. When the project was all done all of the participating artist met on a Zoom chat to discuss the experience, which was also quite helpful and healing at a time of isolation.
Overall this was a really great way to create work at a time where not all of us were in the default mindset of doing so, and the community aspect also was crucial for us living in near complete isolation for those initial weeks/months.
TYLER SMITH
“I create the best when confined by a system of rules, which might seem counter intuitive but if you first give yourself a box, you can find the best way to fill it out. For Art4Breakfast, everyday I took a small scene from my apartment and sketched the details of it. The next day I would find a spot and continue a line from the original box until eventually filling out all the panels. At the beginning of this project, quarantine was more or less just beginning and we were all still coming to terms with what it meant to be confined to a small space for a prolong period of time. The daily ritual of creating something first thing in the morning combined with building on the previous day’s work allowed me to establish a continuity. Sitting down and creating first thing in the morning wasn’t necessarily an easy process, at least not at first, but as it went on and stretched, it became necessary. It became wanted.”