#1: A Finder x Four
#1: Looking with a Finder, Four Times
Getting started with looking and making things.
Instructions
Make a "Finder"—a piece of cardboard or stiff paper with a small square cut out.
Find a thing to look at. Set a timer for one minute and look at it.
Take a piece of paper and make a big-ish square, and divide it into four smaller squares.
Set your timer for one minute, look at one detail through your Finder, and draw it in one of your small squares on your paper.
Do that three more times with different views on your object.
What the Huh?
The artist Corita Kent was a pioneer in art education, and often had students use what she called "finders" (empty 35mm slides or paper with a square or rectangle cut out) to hone their seeing.
Image: Still from short documentary excerpt available on YouTube
Corita described it in Learning by Heart:
[The finder] is a device, which does the same things as the camera lens or viewfinder. It helps us take things out of context, allows us to see for the sake of seeing, and enhances our quick-looking and decision-making skills.
An instant finder is an empty 35mm slide holder. Or you can make your own by cutting a rectangular hole out of a heavy piece of paper or cardboard—heavy enough so that it won’t bend with constant use. You can then view life without being distracted by content. You can make visual decisions—in fact, they are made for you.
Congratulations on doing it!
Also, surprise, you did a minute of open-eyed meditation at the beginning. :)
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