Ruidoso resident, Catherine Alred, is the current artist on display at the Capitan Library till end of March.
Catherine has been doodling as far back as she can
Catherine has been doodling as far back as she can
remember. As a child she always was
coloring and drawing. Recalling one of her
earliest works, she described a piece she created
when she was 10 years old. “I just decided to try to
doodle an actual ‘thing’ and spent hours and
hours drawing a large abstract bird. It’s very interesting to study it now and realize how much my doodling has evolved over the decades."
Catherine’s doodles, however, are not quite the kind of doodles one would
expect when observing someone idly drawing. Catherine’s doodles are
very detailed and intricate. She further illustrates by saying, “My doodles are just a result of me taking a pen or pencil for a walk.
I don’t plan the design; it just evolves.”
People seeing her work for the first time are
often in disbelief and ask,
“Did you really do that?”
The fanciful lines, dots, and curls are executed
in such precision that people often wonder if a computer produced them.
The vast majority of her work is free form.
“Just doodling in a random, free form way is my
favorite way of doodling, but I’ve also doodled
initials, butterflies, paisleys, initials, birds, etc.”
Although she always keeps a sketchpad nearby, at times no piece of paper
is safe from her pen. Her doodling can be found on magazine pages,
calendars, concert programs, and even grocery lists. Noting that she
often cannot restrain herself from picking up a pen and starting a new piece, she added, “Doodling is very relaxing to me. I go into a calm,
meditative state.”
Doodling is more than just an artistic endeavor.
“It helps me concentrate.
I’ve always doodled in meetings and lectures.
Doodling helps me be a good listener.”
She noted the findings of a British psychologist: Doodling or scribbling during meetings or
class can improve content
memory by 29%.”
class can improve content
memory by 29%.”
“That definitely applies to me. Doodles are in the margins
of practically every set of class notes I ever took in college. Give me a handout or an
agenda at a meeting and I will doodle all over it.”
Catherine particularly enjoys sharing her work with others. "I've incorporated my doodles into all sorts of items: bookmarks, note cards, decoupage boxes, framed pieces, even mugs and coasters," she says. At her recent class at CPL, she shared her love, enthusiasm and trade secrets for her art with attendees.
been prominent in her positions.
“I found it such a pleasure to
teach the art of doodling to a large
group of kindergarten children.
It was amazing to see how young
children quickly caught on
and produced amazing drawings.”
(the above article is paraphrased from a 2012 article in the Ruidoso News)
