We know God has a sense of humor because He says 'be anxious for nothing' and then he gives you kids.
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Gouache experiment.
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Perched between silence and song, the blue jay waits—half mischief, half mystery.
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What happens if you really only look in the mirror, and not at the paper?
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No peaking, and the experience is more valuable than the product.
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Sometimes a bench to sit down on after a long hike is just enough for that part of the journey.
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observed in a moment
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An attempt at organizing my 'why' for making drawing the center of my curriculum, and selling the idea to my students. Suggestions for refinements welcome.
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The lake was busy with light, the grasses busy with wind, but the boat sat quiet against the shore. There is a gift in this tension: to be held still while everything moves, to be carried without effort, to find rest in the very heart of motion.
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Watercolor and pen
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Kierkegaard said we undersand life by looking back, but we must live life forward. On a trip to the Chicago Art Institute with a group of students, I penned the students behind me and then I penned the rapidly moving images I saw through the front window of the bus . I still do not understand life except that perhaps it is full of energy and art and love.
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As I reflect on my past experiences, I am accutely aware of how often I have spoken from opinion rather than from experience. I have made mistakes. This makes me think of the Mark Twain quote -"Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement." Let's go out and get some experience, shall we?
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Pen over pencil with contemplations that hint at child development and parenting strategies. A very wise person told me that it is our life's work to forgive our parents. Another wise person told me that sometimes there is no forgiveness, just forgetting.
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Prudent ponder.
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What is your relationship with a Higer Power like? A friend of mine mentioned to me that a Rabbi Friend of his suggested that God likes a good argument. I thought that was funny. The self portrait is G2 .o5 on bristol board with marker for the added color.
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The mall is busy. Kids are shopping. I am hiding in a chair, drawing a chair.
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Quick sketches for the processing of incomplete thoughts. Everything is created twice, first in thought, second in form. I am still thinking and still forming and still being formed.
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Church sketch
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An exercise in observation - quick sketch. I was told that if I made a drawing a day for 365 days, that in a year, I might have a couple nice drawings.
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It has been a delight to share with my students the incredible resource of people. Over the years, I’ve had the great privilege of connecting them with inspiring individuals such as Lois Ehlert, Dave Nice, Gregory Martens, Colette Odya Smith, and—as seen in this “Behind the Professor” sketch—Dr. Gaylund Stone. There’s something powerful about the presence of someone who lives their craft with humility and depth. In moments like these, my students are reminded that more is often caught than taught.
Hello, my name is Dean C. Graf, 
