Helen Frankethaler, a pioneer of soak-staining and printmaking, emphasized the importance of experimenting when creating. More than simple curiosity, Frankenthaler experimented by drawing elements from her past, her present, her knowledge, her spirituality, her body and her emotions, until the “moment all frequencies are right and it hits”.

“One cliche I use on myself all the time is, the one rule is no rules. And if you have a real sense of limits, then you’re free to break out of ’em. The end.”

The limitations included the artists that came before her and Frankenthaler studied their styles to gain an emotional and intellectual understanding of their work. She would formulate a response to their work by imitating them, but in her own abstract style. Essentially her method of creating art by experimenting required an openness to the unexpected and an intrinsic confidence in her ability to work the unexpected into the piece.

A few of the ways Frankenthaler experimented were:

Iterate
She had continuous dialogues with what she was creating in order to move it in the direction it wanted to go instead of forcing it in another direction.

Try something new
She used different mediums to see what they could do (painting, ceramic, copper, mahogany, tapestry, set design, printmaking,...).

Always question
She challenged the image she had of a finished painting in her mind with “what ifs”. “What if it’s only in black and white? What if I leave half the painting empty?”