Fall Fearless and Fly - Third Challenge

Fall Fearless and Fly with Jane Davies! 

playing with circles in black and white

Headline Prompt:  Triumphs and Defeats:  What do you see as your greatest triumphs or defeats?  What have they taught you?  Which have you learned more from?
Color Prompt:  Black and white
Quote Prompt: Not in the clamor of the crowded street, not in the shouts and plaudits of the throng, but in ourselves, are triumph and defeat.  Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 

Welcome  Jane Davies!  Thank you Jane for sharing your experiments with us! 
Jane: Color as been a central component of my work throughout my art career - from brightly painted pottery, to licensed designs to abstract collage paintings, it is part of the subject of my art.  Getting colors to work on each other, draw attention, resist attention, advance forward, sit back, express emotions and moods - this is a large measure of what drives me.  

paint, wash, collage

So what happens when I take color out of the mix and work in black and white and shades of gray?   Am I leaning on color like a crutch?  Am I ignoring, or failing to explore, the expressive potential of other elements?  

Playing with squares

It turns out that I LOVE working in black and white!  What a fun opportunity to focus on line, edge, texture, volume, solidity, pattern, atmosphere, and lots of other things.  I'm finding that working without color, or without strong color, has made me more sensitive to these other aspects of art, and has helped me use color more judiciously.  

oil pastel study

Jane Davies is a full time artist working in collage, painting, mixed media, and encaustics. She offers workshops at her studio in Vermont and nationwide, focusing on helping people to find a personal and playful approach to creating.

Author of Adventures in Mixed Media and Collage Journeys, Jane's new dvd - Scribble Collage with Handpainted Paper, can be ordered here.  Jane believes that making art is a journey with very few hand-holds and only a general road map. Each participant has to find his or her own way, while at the same time remain open to learning from others. While Jane may teach a multitude of techniques, her focus is on the back-and-forth play of spontaneity and intention that characterizes the creative process. She offers great tutorials and has beautiful galleries of her work, and has her extensive teaching schedule on her website and blog.

Thank you Jane, for your beautiful and insightful take on this challenge!  
Everyone who links up their take on challenge #3 by Sunday, November 11 will be entered to win 6 Dylusions spray inks.  Thank you Ranger!  

What will you do in response to the third challenge?  Here are the rules:

• You may participate in one or all of the challenges.
• Use one, two or all of the prompts.
• Use any media -- art journal, scrapbook, canvas, watercolor, quilting, you name it!  This is "Anything Goes" as far as your creativity is concerned.
• Link up by Sunday, November 11 to be eligible to win 6 Dylusions Spray Inks!
• You may link up to 2 times, but please only link up to work prepared for this challenge.  If not, we will remove your link. Please post the url of your blog post or flickr page that's specific to this challenge, rather than a general blog address.  And please tell us how your work relates to the challenge!
• Each time you participate, visit at least 3 other links and leave loving words!
• All challenge participants are welcome to join our private Facebook group as a place to talk about your journey and whatever is coming up for you as you work on the challenges.   As it is private, just request to join and we'll give you access. 

To recap, here is the 3rd challenge:

Headline Prompt:  Triumphs and Defeats:  What do you see as your greatest triumphs or defeats?  What have they taught you?  Which have you learned more from?
Color Prompt:  Black and white
Quote Prompt: Not in the clamor of the crowded street, not in the shouts and plaudits of the throng, but in ourselves, are triumph and defeat.  Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Congratulations to  Susan Being Snippy- the lucky winner of our Fall Fearless & Fly challenge #2, chosen by the random generator at Random.org!   Please email your address to acolorfuljourney at gmail dot com for your prize!

And on Monday, November 12, check in for Challenge #4 and the winner of this challenge!

Looking forward to seeing your wonderful work!
Carolyn Dube and Jessica Sporn