Serendipity
SERENDIPITY … an aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident.
Artists can’t help but listen to that beckoning within; often wooing us away from family, friends and business simply to sit at an art table or computer screen, stand at an easel, or wrestle with some three dimensional medium. Like the lyrics in the song “Rainbow Connection” from The Muppet movie. “I’ve heard it too many times to ignore it. It’s something that I’m supposed to be”. It is there, in the throes of creativity, that serendipity can be expected and fully appreciated.
Maybe artists get there after a 40/50 hour work week, or nightly after the kids go off to sleep. It is then when we finally get to our kitchen/table/basement/garage/bedroom/art studio, pick up that pastel, brush, pencil, brush or clay tool, and mentally and spiritually experience our “happy place”.
“Think about how many times you were attempting to create using some form of art medium only to discover a new technique completely by accident. The secret is making serendipity your partner in art so that you may recognize when something good happens either by accident or circumstance.”
Ooops! … Oh Wow! … Cool!
Years ago when working on my sculpture titled “Predator”, I wanted to soften the clay around the feet of the coyote. The clay I was using was a 45 year old oil- based clay that I made in college. I lit my propane torch and started to soften the clay with mild heat… Ummm … yes I said “oil-based”, and yes, of course, it burst into flames. The flames rose up past the coyote’s tummy and I began frantically blowing out the flames before it could ruin the sculpture. The smoke billowed and the smell was terrible. My wife, Sandy, yelled down the stairs to me, “what are you doing down there? That smells awful!” As the air cleared I looked at the coyote’s belly to make sure there was no damage. Returning to what I was originally trying to do, I noticed that the ground around the coyote’s feet was … AWESOME!!! As the oil burned out of the clay, the wax in the clay boiled and made a beautifully-textured surface. The accident became an often used technique, regardless of the smell and being relegated to the garage by my wife, based upon a serendipitous result.
Serendipitous Sneeze
As an art teacher for over 30 years, I literally have experienced hundreds of serendipitous moments in the classroom. Eileen, one of my adult students, had worked for several weeks on a beautiful super-tight pen and ink barn scene. The student at an art table to her right suddenly sneezed, sending a spray that landed directly on Eileen’s beautiful barn. Recovering from the super grossness of what had just happened, we both looked in horror as the water-based ink she was using began running into the little droplets. I quickly handed her a brush and a cup of water, and that became the birth of the “ink wash” lesson, one of our very popular techniques from that point forward. The “ink wash” lesson was this simple … create a pen and ink with a water-based ink felt-tip tech pen, and carefully wash it with a brush and water. The inked lines remain dominant, but the water washes about 20% of the ink color into beautifully-shaded brush strokes. No sneeze required.
Years ago one of my college portfolios was soaked in a basement flood. As I was sadly throwing out each piece of art I came across this pen and ink that I did of a Gibson Girl. The water washed over my ink lines similar to our “ink wash” lesson and … I loved it !
When serendipity arrives I have learned to recognize it, and seize the moment. 
Love your insight, and web site!
Very neat article post. Really Cool. Wakita