On April 9th, I had a session with a group of young ladies from Louise’s Angels. It’s a nonprofit organization that exposes teenage girls to professional opportunities within the field engineering. No doubt, this group of progressive thinkers took well (and fast) the digital medium–and, after a brief presentation, we embarked upon a Doodle Challenge that I would later commit to expanding outward (by inviting a few of my international and fellow mobi-digi artist friends to join in for a final add).
Okay…so here’s how it came together: After a brief fingerpainting tutorial (courtesy of Sketchbook Mobile), the girls created 6 chained doodles (we call this a “mash-up”) inspired by the words: “light”, “sun”, “lamp”, “moon”, “spotlight”, “electricity” and “stars”. Using 1 iPad, 2 iPhones and 3 mini sketchbooks (with plenty of coloring pencils), each girl had an opportunity to draw a word on each device or sketchpad. (I called out a word, and each girl had 2-3 minutes to draw/sketch/paint it on their device/sketchpad before passing it to the right. Then that person would have to sketch a new word on the new device for another 2-3 minutes…and so on.) This allowed for each girl to add at least one doodle to each piece.
Later I sent the digital and scanned sketchbook drawings to a group of artists friends for a final add. Inviting them to FIRST, think of a word inspired by the very last word on the chain (which was “stars”) and then use the new word to inspire their add to the piece.
Now some of them have returned…check it out. (will be adding as they come in 
)
(Mia Robinson, Washington DC)
Original Doodle:
When I think of the word “stars”, my mind instantly goes to night…and the stillness of it all. It’s usually the nighttime hours where I find the most peace. So the word I went with was “stillness” (sometimes, in spite of the stormy weather. )
(Fabric Lenny, Yorkshire, UK)
Original Doodle:
When asked what came to mind when he thought of the word stars, artist Fabric Lenny of Yorkshire, UK, thought of “Children, they are all stars!”, he says:
(Deb McMillion, Phoenix, AZ)
Original Doodle:
When asked what words came to mind when she thought of the word “stars”, artist Deb McMillion of Phoenix, AZ, thought the phrase “It’s full of stars…” and added the following to the above doodle:
(John Bavaro, Erie, PA)
Original Doodle:
Artist John Bavaro of Erie, PA thought of something quite fun and explosive and added this:
(Julia Kay, San Francisco, CA)
Original Doodle:
Artist Julia Kay of San Francisco, CA thought of word “midnight” and added this to her piece:
(Susan Murtaugh, Two Rivers, WI)
Original Doodle:
Artist Susan Murtaugh of Two Rivers, WI thought of the word “my” when presented with “stars”…as in “My stars!” and made this fun addition:
(Russ Croop, Boulder, CO)
Original image:
“When I think of the word stars, the first word that comes to mind for me is ‘infinity’, ” says Artist Russ Croop of Boulder, CO . He also thought of masters Chagall and Jackson Pollock when presented with his doodle. Check out his add below. He also sent a note outlining his process and inspiration!
(Paul Kercal, Guildford, UK)
Original Doodle:
Artist Paul Kercal of Guildford, UK thought of the word “rainbows” when presented with his doodle. Here is his add:
Matthew Watkins (Bari, Italy)
Original Doodle:
Artist Matthew Watkins of Bari Italy used the word “time” as his inspiration (though he says he was also very inspired by the word “stars”). Here is his add to the doodle:
(Jonathan Grauel, Charlotte, NC)
Original Doodle:
Artist Jon Grauel of Charlotte, NC chose to continue with word “stars” as his primary inspiration and created this piece with above doodle:
(Luis Peso, Granada, Spain)
Original Doodle:
Artist Luis Peso of Granada, Spain thought of “Starwalk” when presented with his doodle–and created this piece:
Just received another great one from Fabric Lenny (inspired by his original doodle)! :
Artist Rick Shulman of Detroit, MI was inspired by the word starSTRUCK and created this wonderful work:
(more to come…:-))
Many thanks to the artists participating in this challenge!!!
Like this collaboration and want to see others? Click here to check out another great youth collab in Hoyland UK!
And here are links to a few other fun collaborations among artists:
The Fingerpainters – The Fingerpainters do a fun mash-up!
10 Stroke Challenge – 10 fingerpainters, 10 strokes only
1 comment
Deborah says:
Apr 20, 2011
I love doing these and admire the freedom of kids’ work! Julia Kay’s night version is a terrific contrast, too. “it’s full of stars” is from Arthur C. Clark’s 2001 Space Odyssey. Somehow I forgot wish upon! Thanks for the challenge!