The first thing action made me think of was movement and I wanted to share 3 different dance videos inspired by the action people are able to create with their bodies:

 

Best of Favorite Dance Moves Compilation
(Ed travels around the world and asks people, “Can you teach me your favorite dance moves?” These are so fun to watch! :))

More inspiration below--here are some of the pages we have been creating in our sketchbooks lately…

"For ‘urban’ I was inspired by paintings my friend does. She creates beautiful beautiful cityscapes (among other themes) in gorgeous colors and I was thinking of her when I took my caran d'ache crayons and started drawing buildings on a river. I've been feeling a little confined by the smallish (8.5 x 8.1 inch) sketchbook I chose for this year. I think I would have had more fun with the crayon buildings and would have been looser with this idea if my arm had been free to make larger, longer lines. But I'm going to stick it out with the book I've got  because I think the challenge of the constraint also has value!

 

For ‘duality’ I was inspired by handprint paintings my granddaughter has been creating. I tried one version in gray juxtaposing my handprint with my hand outline and then thought I'd try the same thing with white on a black background. However, when I outlined my hand with gel pen over the pearly black background I liked it just as is so I decided not to add the handprint!

 

A second idea of "duality" involved sprinkling an ice cube with green and bronze metallic pigments and letting it melt to see where the pigments flowed. So it was the dual state of solid and liquid. I ended up manipulating the paper a bit to let the water move on the page since it seemed to just be sitting there in a puddle in the middle!" - CLAUDIA

"I thought about ‘wanderlust’ and as #1 on my bucket list is "get to Pompeii" I watercolored a Roman road heading off into the distance and then penciled in some ruins or stones along the road. All pretty basic. I think if I tried this again I would have a better sense of perspective. Maybe consulting a photo would be a good idea!

 

For the SSUS warm up music prompt I decided to just listen once and paint or create as I was listening for the first time and only for the length of the piece which was I think 4 minutes or less. First I grabbed a pencil then I grabbed gesso and made dots and silver craft paint and made dots and then I covered the gesso with alcohol ink dots and in the process I got blue ink all over my hand which still hasn't come off entirely haha. I did discover that I like the way the gesso and this silver paint retained its form and thickness on the page and didn't absorb - so I had these little dots that look like those candy dots you can peel off the paper.

 

For the single mark I used that silver paint again and just poured it on the paper in a squiggly shape. I do like the way it kept its 3D thickness on the page." - CLAUDIA

“I struggled a lot with duality because many examples came to mind but none I could connect to. Until I decide to look at the duality of myself as an individual and came up with this abstract piece of me, I guess maybe could be a kin to a self portrait and although it's simple in composition and color I can see myself and the juxtaposition of my different traits and likes. Its a bit hard to explain but I'm satisfied how it turned out.

 

I'm still new to color pencil, my hand is still too heavy, but my wanderlust is airy and free, like a #luftballon. I saw hot air balloons while we were vacationing in #kiel. The contrast of green scenery and the setting sun at sea was something magical. I would like to someday ride a balloon." - SABRINA

"Wanderlust: watercolor with lots of water to blend. I watched an Instagram video for inspiration, so it was an experiment of sorts. Bacon added his contribution by walking across the wet paint. I used so much water that it seemed through the tape, so the lines are not clean.
 

Duality: I watched another video for inspiration. I'm not super happy with the result, but it was a good exercise." - MITZI I love Bacon's contribution!

I am finally caught up! Urban: inspired by graffiti, murals, and street art. Tried to capture the energy and hustle and bustle of cities. Here's a short process video.

 

Duality: played with dark and light colors, positive and negative space, random and planned. I used the papers I had on hand and it happened to match Sabrina's duality colors :) Here's a short process video.

 

Wanderlust: I used photos I've taken on my road trip to create a map then used embroidery thread to create the path I have driven. Here's a short process video.

 

SSUS - See What You Hear Warm Up Exercise: I listened to the song while making my first set of marks using an ink stick. Then I listened to it again while adding gold and a final layer of black acrylic paint. The repetitive string instrument sounds as well the melding of all different instruments and vocals really inspired my mark making. Here's a short process video.

I'm still thinking about how I want to interpret action but will try to settle on something soon so I can get to work! I hope you have a good week ahead and talk to you Friday for the next SSUS prompt!