Blind Drawing of Five Chairs

When you take a flower in your hand
and really look at it, it's your world for the moment.
—Georgia O'Keeefe

Don't look at your paper. Keep your eyes riveted to the object. Try to replicate reality without seeing reality. You'll need to gloss over the imperfections, the subtle turns, and the intricate workmanship. Perhaps chair legs will float and a tea spout will be detached.

When I tried to draw a glass vase its shape turned into a replica of an eggplant. I returned to chairs.

My chairs lacked legs or backs or gained arms and shared legs. Later—I gave some of the lines additional depth in an attempt to discover a form.

To really see something requires patience and a hand that moves slowly—seductively over the contours, the spaces, the unseen places.

To really see something you need to wait and see it at all hours, to observe shadows and the way light alters lines.

To really see something means forgetting what you think something should look like.


drawing based on prompt from "The Art of Silliness" by Carla Sonheim