from those who "can't make art"

I keep looking at these four paintings...

done by medical students whose lives revolve around absolute facts, linear equations, and intense memorization. There is no time for self reflection and creative pursuits.  So it is an oasis for some, risky intrigue for others, curiosity for most who take "The Practice of Making Abstract Art" at Drexel University College of Medicine.   

Their expectations are left at the door, along with "the judge" towards themselves and others, and they enter the realm of intuition, fully, at first.  Hard to let go of "how it should be" and accept "how it is" in their drawings. They can't see what they're doing, they just feel it.  Just feeling?! 

Little by little analytical tools are offered.  The synergy of intuition and logical thought happens as they bring their painting to resolution.

The students have a lot of fun.  They learn something about themselves through a non-judgmental lens, accepting themselves and fellow students as they are.  Intuitive thought and expression inform logical decisions, and logical decisions guide intuition, and back and forth and back and forth... 

What are they doing?

Problem Solving

Diagnosing

Forming Conclusions

Embracing non-judgmental acceptance

Taking risks

Trusting the unknown and the outcome

Looking outside the box

"I almost didn't come to the first class because I was afraid I wouldn't know what I'm doing.  I did not tell any of my friends that I was taking this course.  I had no idea I was going to really enjoy making art"

 "I started this painting with a plan for how it was going to look, and that did not happen at all. I decided to stop and come back the next week with a fresh eye and no expectations, no plan.  The result is much more pleasing!"

"I never made art before this class and was afraid of making mistakes. By the end it was a relief to know I couldn't make mistakes here... the painting was just my own personal expression"  

"I am a very linear thinker.  I did not know I had this in me. Now I know how to have my intuitive and linear thinking work together"