The whole is understood as something more than the sum of the parts.
When a student is learning to paint murals or to draw, it is wise to tease out the elements of design and consciously practice them separately. Once understood the elements of design can be re-assembled to create a polished artwork. This ongoing process means that the artist will build a repertoire. With this toolbox at the ready any muraling assignment can be approached with confidence. Used simultaneously, quickly and intuitively, the elements come together to create an integrated aggregate. We often refer to this final piece as a 'statement.' I suggest that the artist use a visual journal daily, so that the process is manageable. See Training Your Creative Self: Five Tips for Ultra-Creativity. By Angela Booth.

Gestalt Psychology formulated several laws of perceptual organization. Artworks take on a life and meaning far beyond the simple elements of design, and the perceptual stimuli that make up the sum of the parts of the composition.

When we look at objects we don't really see them. See Draw What You See. Adrian Ludwin. This can make learning to draw difficult. Rather than see the whole object the mind does a form of visual shorthand. We see our environment through the filter of the interpretation of our mind. This is a survival mechanism. If we did not have this mechanism we would be overwhelmed by the ammount of sensual stimuli that enters our visual field at any given moment of the day. There have been many testimonies made by blind people who have had operations to enable them to see. They say that at first the sudden overwhelming entry of visual stimuli allowed them to see nothing but a blur because they had no skills with which to interpret them. To overcome this problem human beings develop a type of visual shorthand. We learn to group visual stimuli into a bundle and then interpret it - verbally. Please note that I said verbally! This means the information is interpreted by the left side of our brain, which is connected directly to the rational, logical, ordered, literal side of our thinking mind.

The premise is simple. "We need to reclaim our ability to see." A habitual process of looking at our subject matter in a manner that will reveal its structure, and the structure of the visual processes that influence the way it appears, will help us reclaim this ability. So for example take a topic like negative space and examine it in its entirety. Examine it on its own as a separate issue. Look at aspects of drawing individually before recombining them. You do not need to be absolutely conversant with the each aspect of drawing before putting the parts back together again. On the contrary, make a habit of examining each element separately and then using them all combined. This is a continual process of dissolution and solution. This helps the artist develop a comprehensive way of seeing.

I suggest that in the initial stages of learning the process has to be very artificial, consciously disciplined and systematic. By this I mean that the artist can choose to focus on one aspect of visual perception at a time, over a sustained period of time, in a systematic manner. So that the subject matter and visual influences that operate on it are apprehended comprehended consolidated as personal knowledge made accessible to the intuition of the artist included in a repertoire of tools and techniques that are understood in depth and habitual in application.

The beauty of journaling on a regular basis. In her article Booth alerts us to the idea that, the first 10 minutes of the time we devote to our creativity will be impeded by mental resistance to entering the subconscious state of perceptual receptiveness. To be able to overcome this resistance it is necessary to become aware of: the triggers that take us to this state how to befriend these triggers to enable arriving at that state more quickly After the creativity session is over (routine investigation time) it is

"The Whole Is More Than The Sum Of The Parts." We bring to any artwork we perceive a ready-made bag of perceptual and emotional triggers. Emotional Science. "While the neocortex understands words and ideas, the amygdala does not, but is one of the centres of emotion. In evolutionary terms, the amygdala is much older than the neocortex. In contemporary terms, getting these two together not only creates new neural pathways in the brain but also produces more choice."

As artists we can widen our choices by learning about which emotions are being triggered when we view colours, shapes, forms, lines, images and combinations of them. That is why drawing is called visual literacy : because it is a language that we can learn. It is an unlimited language which allows us unbridled access to expression. This is because it is linked to the right-hand side of the brain and thus to imagination, reverie, fantasy and the like. Verbal language limits the scope of our thoughts because that is its function. It reduces our need to literally interpret sensory perception so that our thought processes remain manageable. (It has to be managable when we are doing tasks such as the banking and creating a timetable.) Visual language liberates because it has access to all that is possible and encourages wide interpretations. How rich the dialogue once communities enter this realm of liberated thought. Co-creation - The Courage To Follow A Vision. So by accessing our emotional language through visual and sensual stimuli we can use that knowledge to influence our environment by creating decor that triggers relaxation and other conducive emotions. A very clear example of this is Feng Shui. But even the simplest attempt at interior design is an attempt to influence emotions and feelings via visual language. Fish tanks are often placed in doctor's surgeries to calm patients.

And so I am sure that you are coming to some idea of what I mean by Gestalt. The sum of the parts fit together to make a much more powerful statement than the techniques we originally set out to learn. By learning techniques separately and thus by being able to portray any type of image choosen the artist has entered into a powerful language that can enables engaging dialogue. Fanciful imagination can take flight and spirit the artist quickly to a place unexpected surprise. Creation is a delightful experience.

The way we interpret art is influenced by which emotions are triggered by the images, signs and symbols, portrayed what learnt interpretations we bring to the picture in our symbolic representation storehouse these will be different perhaps for different cultures

Would you like to finish this discussion by offering an interpretation of the pictures linked at the bottom? It is always interesting to see how someone else views the same artwork. If you would like to talk about the feelings these images evoke for you - join us in the discussion area. Dave's Rose by Rachel 'Ray' Steffes. Tree Frog

About the Author

Jo uses her skills as an mural artist, a writer and a teacher to build community. Marketing is an essential part of this process so that communities can flourish. She enjoys an artistic healthy approach to life both online and off.