What is it we are thinking about when we make the first mark on a page? What impels a person to commit a creative idea to paper with a mark? What is our intent?

First marks are often not beautiful, not elegant, often not saved, are drawn over, honed, made finer. Often they are private. They can quickly record an idea to develop later. They are filled with possibilities, are fecund, contain memories and ideas. They are not art in and of themselves, though they can be the start of art making. They are satisfying.

They are hard to make sometimes, and paper is more often than not left blank out of fear.

A first mark is a commitment to an exploration. In this blog I hope to explore how we make the first mark and how we can avoid those blocks that prevent all of us from having an artistic exploration in our lives.