Painting with nondominant hand helps
Art teacher says this helps students tap into inner mojo.
Professional artists come up with unique ideas to get their beginning art students to “think outside their left brains,” and move them more into intuitive impulses. Jennifer Rosengarten of Yellow Springs is a case in point.
“In the gesture phase, or preliminary sketch or mock-up, I try to help them maintain the wholeness or life force of their feelings,” said Rosengarten, who teaches both at the University of Dayton and Studio 14 in Tipp City. “Before they start any painting or drawing, the students need to bring their energy into the work, and forget about the minutia and tiny details of the image.”
Some beginning art students are very resistant to that idea. So how does she help them tap into their inner mojo? She suggests painting with their nondominant hand.
“I had been doing that for many years in my Drawing 1 class, for when the students are overthinking what they are doing,” said Rosengarten. “They usually want to rely on a tight, mechanical process. I also have them use a palette knife instead of a brush that forces them out of that method.”
This process even worked in Rosengarten’s advanced art classes. She had a student named Sara Garchar who “drew very beautifully and had almost a photographic memory for drawing.” Rosengarten suggested she use her nondominant hand.
“Her art grew by leaps and bounds. That process allows you to disconnect from your cerebral, analytical side because you can’t control it as much,” said Rosengarten.
“The reason it works it that our drawing hand is also our writing hand. When writing we are classifying, organizing and naming things — a useful skill when trying to clarify ideas, but it is a hindrance when drawing,” said Rosengarten. “When we name or classify something we are also generalizing, which gets in the way of truly seeing what is actually there.”
One of her art students at UD in 2011 was Michelle Metz, a graphic design major who injured her right hand at the beginning of the semester.
“I was surprised to learn (with using my left hand) I could be less concerned with how perfect each brush stroke was, and feel my way around the painting,” said Metz, who is a graphic designer at the Norman-Spencer Agency in Dayton. “Jennifer’s enthusiasm was really crucial to my improvement of the craft ... and brought out talent that I doubted I had. It was quite the blessing in disguise.”
Rosengarten has recently developed a UD course titled “Color Figure Studio” with Erin Almazon. She also received an honorable mention at the Springfield Museum of Art’s 69th Annual Members’ Juried Exhibition.
Her work will be featured in an upcoming short film, “Drive,” written and directed by Holly Hudson.