Creative Kickstart Week 1 Check-In |
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Hello! How's week 1 going for you? Wherever you are in your process, I hope it's been fun thinking about ways to express this prompt! If you haven't put anything on paper yet, it's OK, there's still time! I know we can get busy and things get lost in the shuffle so that's what these check-in emails are for-- a friendly reminder as well as some inspiration from our fellow creatives and tips to gently encourage you to get started and keep going! Thank you to everyone who shared all the different and unique ways you're interpreting “vision"! If you didn't submit photos in time for this check-in, don't worry! Please continue to send/tag me in photos as you finish your pieces so I can add them to our Flickr photo gallery! Here's the link and I will add it to the bottom of each newsletter as well. |
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“Organizing my #creativesparkNL workspace. I have my supplies and a dedicated space, but it looks like I may have a furry obstacle to work around.” - Mitzi |
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Mitzi is not alone--below is Claudia's workspace! Her son suggested putting foil on the edge of the table to keep him from jumping up but he did it anyway! 😸 I have a feeling there are a few of us who can relate to these scenarios lol. (Also, pet pics are ALWAYS welcome here!) The foil ended up inspiring Claudia for one of her pages though! |
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For Claudia's first piece, she did a mechanical creation because she was thinking about how we see what we point our eyes at and how when you're looking in one direction you're not necessarily seeing what is in other directions. This piece is created from a few different parts: the bottom page where she painted lots of round shapes and another piece on top with a hole cut out. She attached them together using a brass fastener which allows the top piece to spin around! It reveals the round shapes underneath and in those shapes she found butterflies so she added antennae to them. Figuring this page out actually made Claudia interested in exploring different types of reveal things with cut paper--something she may play with in the future! I thought a fun way to show what Claudia created was to take the photos she sent and turn them into a GIF so you can experience the movement aspect in her piece! (And if anyone is interested in making a GIF, you can do it easily and for free on Canva) |
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Here's Claudia's second page (bottom left): “I thought next about clouded vision so I used a piece of foil and collaged it to a page and made it like a mirror. I painted a face in the mirror as if it were a reflection with green witchy skin, a jagged line, and two different color eyes bleeding red tears kind of to show a dysmorphia while looking in the mirror. Then I used modeling paste to create some clouds across the mirror for ‘clouded vision’. That was fun to do. Looking at that foil gave me the idea for the mirror!” I love all the different materials, colors, and techniques Claudia used for both these pages! |
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A look into Melissa M's process (above, right): “Btw this is my ‘wipe page’ from my first sketchbook prompt in Olivia's Creative Spark Newsletter…will share the page itself when finished, taking it slow on purpose." This was a great reminder to take the time you need for each prompt and page. And I love the idea of having a “wipe page"--those are their own works of art! |
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“Creative Spark kickoff, Envision & Express. Just letting go. Seeing where the colors take me. Limited palette @danielsmithartistsmaterials Envio-Friendly Red Iron Oxide @morgainerose_art Davidson watercolor pine needle and Hematite, maldon salt …. Abstract landscapes/ Landscaped Abstracts. Exploration of color, brush strokes, texture, mark making, play.” - EB (Above) Beautiful blending of colors and textures--so many interesting details! |
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"Vision led me to 🥕 (because every kid in the US knows they improve one’s vision 🙃) … leading me to rabbits and finally to the Year of the Rabbit which began yesterday, Jan 22. Painting inspired by @ig_nianiani ‘s Year of the Rabbit: Lunar New Year YouTube tutorial.” - Vanesa (Above) Such an adorable and colorful scene to kick of the LNY with, lovely job! |
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I've been embracing the warm up exercise of using supplies I already have, especially marker sets where I don't normally get to use every single color! Here's a short process video, the captions include more details. I have one more supply inspired piece I'm working on and my “vision” piece is also currently a work in progress: |
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OIL PASTELS FOR MRS. EVANS' CLASS A portion of proceeds from your subscription to the Creative Spark Newsletter was used to support arts education in our classrooms--this is how you helped! "My students absolutely love art. They look forward to Fridays because they get to express themselves in artistic ways. Our art supplies are limited, but they are hoping to develop into great artists with the right tools. Many kids yearn to create and with these oil pastels students will be able to create brilliant, bright works of art they will be proud to display at school and at home. With the right tools, my students will elevate their skills and take pride in what they have learned in both academic subjects and in the visual arts." – Mrs. Evans Together with 3 other donors, we were able to fund Mrs. Evans' request for oil pastels for her classroom via DonorsChoose.org! She teaches grades 3-5 at Centennial Elementary School in Roosevelt, UT. More than half of students are from low-income households and this project will reach 24 students. Thank you for making this possible--I am excited for her students to create with their new pastels! |
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3 EXERCISES TO GET UNSTUCK If you're still feeling stuck a little stuck or uninspired, here are 3 easy exercises to try: - Create a mind map
- Write down pieces of art you love. Pick one piece and describe it. Deconstruct it, write down its qualities. Ruminating on the things that you love can get you in a head space that you want to create from. Via Creative Pep Talk Episode 370
- Shadowing: think of a creative hero who inspires you. Find a sample of their work you particularly like. Try to recreate its style or structure without copying it. This will help get a first draft going when you don't know where to start. From there, you can set the sample inspiration aside and continue to create and revise on your own. Via Inc.com
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Have a great rest of your week and I'll talk to you on Friday for our next prompt! |
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