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Join me to reflect on art and life.
The Creative Stretch
This is week one of The Creative Stretch, a 10 week program to explore our core values and how they relate to our art.
For week one, I chose "ALIGNMENT" as the value to explore. To me alignment is all about defining who I want to be and removing the unnecessary distractions. We all have roles to fulfill (and these change over time). My goal is to identify the roles that align with who I want to be. Am I doing things that I feel I "should" do or things that I am passionate about? This all comes back to learning to say "no", which is hard for some of us.
It's not too late to join me and my arty friends over at The Creative Stretch. Registration closes on October 11th.
https://minette.teachable.com/courses/the-creative-stretch?affcode=828010_-bajo8be
July creative challenge
A new month and a new challenge…
One thing I hear over and over is that people want to be creative, work in their journal or paint a canvas, but just don’t have the time. I get it. Many of us have so many demands on our time, it’s hard to get even the necessary things done. This month I want us to make progress towards bringing more creativity into our lives. I was hesitant to start this challenge during the summer. This may be a busy time of year with vacations and kids at home. It’s halfway through the year already. Why not wait until January? I think starting a new habit is like having a baby…you are never completely ready.
“The next six months will pass whether you are using it or not. At the end of the year, you can see results or you can still be wishing to be more creative.”
The first step to opening the door to your creativity is allowing space for it, both physical space and mental space. The thought of this may cause immediate tension. How will you fit one more thing into your schedule? I may not have all the answers, but I can at least show you a path that may get you closer to your goal.
Let’s start with our physical space for creativity. Do you already have a designated space? If not, let’s get to work on making one. If you have a space, can we fine tune it?
Let’s find some space
Look for little unused nooks in your home - a closet, unused space at the top of the stairs, a corner of your bedroom, an unused dining room
No space to be found? How about a mobile art space? IKEA’s Raskog cart is a favorite of mine. You could also have a tray or tote with some supplies that could move around the house with you.
Take a look at your space
If you already have a space, how can we make it more inspiring? I like to include candles, plants, inspiring art, crystals, twinkly lights and pretty cups in my space.
Keeping my space organized is always a challenge. But having an somewhat organized space helps me be more creative. I do not have a “Pinterest worthy” space on any day. My studio is a working studio, but I need to have some clear space in order to feel creative.
This week let’s get our space set-up. You want it to be a happy place that inspires you. Don’t worry about it being perfect. My studio is always changing with things moved around and added. By making a space to be creative, you can train your brain to be open to creativity. That is a big step towards being a creative person.
June challenge wrap-up
In week three we added some collage to our background. You could add any collage you wanted. I love the look of words in my backgrounds, so I tend to use book pages. There are so many options for collage though....magazines, music pages, your kid's old schoolwork, a used crossword puzzle, wrapping paper, junk mail, product packaging, tissue paper, paper doilies, old calendars, scrapbook paper.....any paper in my house is free game for being glued down.
One important part of collage is glue. What to use to glue down your collage? My preferred glue is matte medium, either fluid or gel. You can find brands that are more economical. Currently my preferred brands are Liquitex Basics Matte Gel Medium and Amsterdam Gel Medium Matt. Both of these brands are smooth and easy to spread with a brush, scraper or your finger. I like to use a layer of medium under and over my collage. I also keep a glue stick close by for tiny bits.
Coming in July….
building a creative habit
Thank you for joining me for my challenge this past month. I selfishly decided to do this challenge to get myself back into my art journal. I have been distracted by house projects, family time and a big decluttering project. My mini book collection has grown, but my journals had only grown dust!
We started the month by gathering our favorite supplies. Keep the list simple so you don’t overcomplicate it. Our goal is just to crack open a journal and get something down.
With that journal open, we got started on some backgrounds. I recommended picking your favorite color and a few colors close to it on the color wheel. This reduces your chances of creating “ugly brown”. Plus, why not use your favorite color??
Focal points were next. A few years ago I gave myself the challenge of creating everyday. One thing I found myself making was focal points for later journal pages. I would stamp images and color them. Or sketch a face and cut it out. Or create a few tags to attach in a journal. I quickly had a box full of these and I noticed that when I did have time to work in my journal I enjoyed looking through the box for a focal point image for the page. It made my art journaling practice feel easier and more fluid.
Finally we finished our pages with some mark making. My go-to is always dots, but you can add any shape. You could also add shadows to your focal point, or edge your pages with black or even add some gelato in areas to brighten the color.
FOMO….I have a severe case
Have you heard of FOMO (fear of missing out)? Most time this is related to social events. You overcommit because you don’t want to miss out on something. I am a pretty strong introvert, so this is not my issue.
I do however have a severe case of this when it comes to art and art supplies. I joke in workshops that I have never met an art supply I didn’t like. I am always drawn to trying new things. I’ll watch a YouTube video late at night, immediately order the supplies they used, then when the box arrives a few days later I have forgotten what video inspired me. (Please tell me I am not the only one????)
Lately I have been trying to slow down and dig a little deeper before jumping to the next thing. This is hard for me. I am very attracted to the sparkly squirrel running around….look at this, and this, AND THIS! I want to do it all and I want to do it now. I am afraid I will forget something I really want to try.
As I have been studying artists, I see that most of them skip around but there are periods of time where they focus on one style or subject or medium. One of the first ones that pops into mind is Picasso’s blue period. For three years Picasso created mostly using a muted palette of blues and greens. Based on what I have read, he didn’t plan on painting with a limited palette for that time period, but it was obviously what he was drawn to. I’m sure he saw other colors or styles, but he had the focus to stay with one thing. Now he also had severe depression during this time, so I hope I can focus without a major depressive event.
So, how can I get over my art FOMO? There is no support group for this or a manual of tips, so I had to come up with me own list of tips…
Mary’s FOMO tips….
Keep a master list of things you want to try.
This could be a physical or digital list. I created a folder in YouTube where I can save videos I want to watch later. I also have a physical list if I see a product or technique to try.
Work with a limited palette for a period of time.
Pick 3-5 colors (plus black and white) and only work with these for a short period of time. I have tried this for a week at a time.
Try painting the same subject multiple times
I took a workshop last year with Bob Burridge. He recommended painting the same thing 100 times. He has hundreds of paintings of a pear. One pear! Just completing 5 or 6 of this during the workshop, I realized how much I learned from painting the same thing over and over.
Do you have FOMO? Or are you immune to the sparkly squirrels?
What’s this Patreon thing?
You have probably seen me mention my Patreon channel, but have you checked it out? Patreon is one of a few membership sites that allows creatives of all kinds to share exclusive content with their patrons.
Patreon has become the online home for my Arty Gang. Every artist needs a community to support and inspire them along their creative voyage. In exchange I share exclusive art lessons and so much more. There are several posts you can check out right now without a membership, but I would love if you joined my Gang!
Fit to create
As a working artist of a certain age, I have come to realize that their is a physical aspect to my ability to create. I call this creative fitness, but don’t get scared. The only marathon involved is a marathon of painting.
If you are sitting at a desk or standing at an easel for multiple hours, you need a creative fitness routine. I recently found a doctor of physical therapy on Instagram. Dr. Jacob VanDenMeerendonk. I love his page because he has stretching and mobility exercises for every muscle group. Whatever I am feeling that day, I can find something. They are simple routines that allow me to work comfortably. It does not take long to complete each day and it can have a huge impact on your creative practice. Want to join me?
Disclaimer: I am not a doctor or physical therapist. This are stretches I do that work for my body. If you have any injuries or ongoing health conditions, I recommend discussing this with your doctor before starting any fitness program.
Here are a few of my favorites….
Happy fit arting!
A history of color….black
“I’ve been 40 years discovering that the queen of all colors was black.”
I recently started reading a book by Victoria Finlay , “Color: A Natural History of the Palette”. I have wanted to explore the history of color, but this book is a much deeper dive than I was expecting. I am very spoiled by going to an art store and buying any color I want. Of course I mix and blend those colors, but I never thought of the expertise needed to make paint from materials around you.
For example, I never thought about the effects environment had on colors used by artists in different regions. Before easy world travel, an ochre in Italy was wildly different from an ochre in Australia. Every region had different formulas using the plants, rocks and soil of their area. Even the pH of an area influenced the colors you could achieve.
I tend to think of black as a basic color, but I have learned so much. Black was the first color used by artists. You can imagine someone sitting around a fire in a cave, grabbing a burned stick and realizing that the charcoal allows them to draw on the cave wall. The earliest drawings usually include some form of charcoal. Later the Greeks and Romans used black silhouettes on all types of art, pottery and homes. The color itself has had many meanings over the years - from affluence to nobility to death to evil.
When we walk into an art store, we can see so many blacks….Ivory Black, Lamp Black, Bone Black, Iron Oxide Black. We all have a favorite black to use, but do you know how they each got their names?
Ivory Black originally came from burned scraps of ivory. It is considered one of the finest blacks by artists. Fortunately now ivory is protected, so the formula used is closer to Bone Black with finer particles. Bone Black comes from burning animal bones in an airtight container. Lamp Black originally came from lamp soot.
As for modern blacks, Anish Kapoor bought the rights to Vantablack, the blackest black. Another artist, Stuart Semple, was upset by Kapoor’s refusal to allow other artists to use Vantablack. He started a Kickstarter campaign for Black 3.0, which can be used by anyone. Who knew there was a global chess game to obtain the blackest black?
I personally like to use Carbon Black. I find it is dark enough for my uses and it makes many lovely shades of gray. Do you have a favorite black?
My 8 things…podcasts
I enjoy listening to podcasts while I work and when I am in the car. I usually lean towards art or creative podcasts, but there are also a few motivational ones too. Here are my favorite 8 right now…
Daily Boost
Paint Stories with Mark Golden
Focus on This
The Inspiration Place
Happier with Gretchen Rubin
Show Up or Shut Up
Get Messy Podcast
A Maker’s Story
You can find these on your favorite podcast app. Do you have any favorites I should try?