Seeing Hands: Coordination, memory, visualization

Activity

Media

Drawing

Materials

8 1/2 x 11 in. paper, pen, pencil, or marker

Download This Activity

PDF | Word Document

About Open Studio

Designed by practicing artists, the Open Studio classroom activities aim to connect high school teachers and students with key ideas and issues in contemporary art. See all of the Open Studio activities.

Assignment

I think it is important to understand that the “work” that ultimately communicates best, or that we develop a particular liking for, is not necessarily the one that involves the greatest deal of craft mastery, or even conscious control (i.e., a drawing done with your eyes closed might be your favorite versus one you struggled to make perfect).

In the process of making art, the artist is also interested in being “surprised” by his/her work or process and interested in learning about themselves in the process of pursuing their art, rather than just being interested in reproducing the visible world.

This drawing activity focuses on eye-hand coordination, memory, visualization, and what constitutes a work of art.

Part 1

1. On a piece of paper, draw your left hand with your right hand. Then draw your right hand with your left hand.
2. Trace your left hand with your right hand. Then trace your right hand with your left hand.
3. With your eyes closed, draw your left hand from memory with your right hand. Then draw your right hand from memory with your left hand.

Part 2

1. Line up the resulting three pairs of drawings of your hands on a large, flat surface or pin them up on a wall.
2. Look at your drawings and consider different aesthetic and formal qualities, such as rhythm, composition, spatial relationships between line and background, etc.
3. Choose a pair of drawings (left and right hand) that you think best represents your hands.

Part 3

1. Line up the pair of chosen drawings.
2. Look at the drawings as self-portraits.
3. Write a short text (two or three paragraphs) introducing yourself and talking about the kind of creative practice (visual art, music, dance, cinema, computer programming, acting, architecture, design, etc.) you would pursue if given the chance.

Part 4

Couple your chosen drawings with the text. Now consider the drawings and the text as the project’s culminating piece of art. The work speaks of who you are, how you see, and what you would like to do in the future.