Not with the stars — dance with the shoes

Over the years as I have taken various art workshops, I have learned how to short-circuit my internal editor. You know, that peckish creature inside your head that shoots down any ideas you might have for a new piece of work.

My secret? Pick my subject matter in advance of the workshop. Doing this allows me to focus on learning a new process or technique without agonizing over the content.

The images above are from a series of monotype and collagraphs I did during a summer workshop taught by Penny Barringer of the Art League School in Alexandria, VA. A coworker had been taking dance lessons with her husband, and the design studio where I worked at the time had a book of photographs of shoes, which had been the subject of a museum exhibit.

Voilà, shoes became my focus for the duration.