Just what IS accidental art? Doesn’t everyone who paints or does mixed media or art quilts or other art forms have to plan everything out ahead? How can it be art if it is not “designed?”
Have you ever watched a child creating art? Children don’t plan their art. They just start making lines and marks and coloring all over the page and generally using their full imagination. There is a freedom and spontaneity that you cannot help but enjoy, even if you are a professional artist or person who doesn’t care for art. It reminds you of some part of yourself that many people lose as we grow older and have to deal with the everyday issues of life.
This is my favorite form of art. All of these pieces were created in a matter of minutes, often pulling scraps from my friend Jamie Fingal’s fabric scrap can or my own, and using a glue stick or pins initially to put down whatever pieces I found. Honestly, none of these are planned. They just came to be born as I allowed myself to go into my childlife, just playing and having fun. They are all in various stages as I was making them. The flowers with the frog were from my boob prints, and so much fun to play with. I don’t think any of these took me longer than 15 – 20 minutes to create in whatever forms they are here. There is no attempt to “match” anything, to be precise, and even the stitching that comes later on to finish them is just wherever my hand feels like guiding the machine. I don’t need to put colors in the “right places,” or worry about whether it looks like it is “supposed to look.” The striped “cat” below was just a scrap of fabric I found in exactly the shape it was. We used to give little blocks like this to friends who perhaps hurt themselves in a fall, or maybe had surgery. They just become something as we go along, but there is no thought given to trying to create any particular thing.
All in a Day's Breath 
I seldom plan my paintings either… sometimes it works better than others, but every time, I enjoy playing 🙂
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Me too, Sue. It works best if I get my mind in a place where I am absolutely tabula raza and then start working intuitively. Things just seem to come into form then and it feels right to me. I don’t like to plan a lot. It really seems to limit my creativity. Wouldn’t it be amazing if our minds worked that way in everyday life too, but perhaps we do need some planning I guess.
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Opening yourself to that intuitive state is part of how we work, Anne 😉
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Jackson Pollock didn’t do too badly with his “accidental art”. One of his paintings sold for 140 million! What you’ve done here is expressionism at its finest; straight from the soul. I love it.
Love the blue person with the tie-dyed shirt!
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That is very true. Yes, I agree. I am happy to find you so knowledgeable in art. Very nice to talk with still another soul sister. Yes, and it is purely funny how that piece began to come together with just the kite piece. I had no idea where that was leading me! It is a very wonderful feeling to just play like a child and see what happens. I always seem to make my accidental art pieces in really bright and fun colors because it does allow me to get into my childlife. Thank you very kindly!
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Woah! Soooooooooooooo beautiful! I can see your passion and love in each! Truly a talent given by God to you! So talented and just breathtaking pieces! 😥 ❤
I had a few art fails before lol and it didn't turn out that bad after all.
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All of them are amazing! Accidental Art is the best as it is spontaneous, without planning as you said. It makes me want to try!
By the way, it is written in your Bio that you have written a book, right? Where can I buy it?
Have a beautiful day Anne.
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Hi there and so glad you appreciate it. I have so much fun when I allow myself to play like a child. There is something very freeing for the mind in that. Having no expectations and just accepting whatever happens without the thought of needing to correct something, etc. The book is called Artful Alchemy: Physically Challenged Fiber Artists Creating, and it is available on Amazon KDP both in Ebook and in paperback. I am one of the 23 artists, and I do not have a physical challenge in the normal sense, but when you see what I write about physical challenges, you will understand why I put myself into the book. I am currently trying to update my Pumpkin cookbook with folklore, history, everything about planting and pumpkin types, canning and preserving, and yes, even recipes, and it is the 3rd edition. I have had a tough time trying to upload it because Amazon KDP made some changes in their system – they used to publish only Ebooks, but now they took over doing paperbacks as well – previously Create Space did the paperbacks, and it is odd, but Create Space is owned by Amazon KDP. Perhaps it is more financially doable for them.
You have a beautiful day too. You ARE a beautiful person in your spirit, and remember that is the most important quality we can have. We all grow old sooner or later (hopefully later – I am 77 now) and we become covered with roadmaps and age spots, etc. but it does not mean we cannot be beautiful still outside as well as inside. I saw a video about a wonderful lady, Iris Apfel (née Barrel; born August 29, 1921) an American businesswoman, interior designer, and fashion icon. She and a bunch of other wonderful ladies in their 80’s and 90’s and living I think in New York, became fashion mavens, and they even have had fashion shows with some of the big name fashion designers because the designers recognized that women who are older can have their own truly unique and imaginative fashion sense, which is outside anything going on in the fashion world, and very individualized. You might enjoy that since you are so good with beauty and those types of things. I love that in women, being truly empowered in whatever is important to them in their lives, be it fashion and health, wrestling (I LOVE to watch women wrestlers because they are pretty, intelligent (even though sometimes their chat on TV doesn’t sound very intelligent – it is scripted), and the fact that they are out there doing something that is not considered a female thing and doing it VERY well. I lived through the women’s evolution I believe in the 1970’s, and now I am seeing something very different and I really love it! Cheers, Anne
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My Dear Anne, thank you so much for your reply. Living in Europe I hope to find your books: the one you participated in, and the one of the Pumpkin recipes (I love Pumpkins, do you remember that alternative rock band in the 90’s: The Smashing Pumpkins ? Since then I love that vegetable !).
I know Iris Apfel, she is a fantastic Lady and she is such an inspiration to all Woman of any age.
Have a nice day! Cheers! Zénaïde
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Hi Zenaide, So glad to hear from you. The Pumpkin book is not quite out yet, but should be now that I am getting what I need to for the formatting, so should be out soon. Oh yes, I sure remember The Smashing Pumpkins. Wonder what happened to them. That is so cool that you know Iris. I love her sense of style and how she has so much fun putting together her costumes every day and taking good care of herself. Yes, she is an inspiration for all of us empowered women! Have a wonderful week!!!
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