SUMMER SKETCHBOOK UN-SLUMP WEEK 5 |
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Self is a prompt from last year's SSUS and I want to make it a tradition to wrap up the series with this word! There's many ways to interpret it but what draws me to it is the idea of creating a self portrait. I think I only have 3 self portraits of myself--one from when I was 4/5 and two from the past few years at 36 and 37. Looking back I wish I had done more as a way of recording the changes in not only my physical appearance but my artistic style and skills, so that's part of my motivation of wanting to share this prompts again. (Here's an example from artist Devon Rodriguez--you may have seen his videos of drawing strangers on the subway and Picasso's portraits from age 15-90!) While I don't like assigning a specific way of interpreting prompts, I do love the idea of seeing all the different ways each of us would create our self portraits so I gently encourage you to try making one :) It's a wonderful way to capture who we are at a very specific time--a visual time capsule--something we can look back on years from now. If you don't connect with the self portrait idea, that's OK--there are some other ideas below and as always, please express these prompts in the way that feels the best and most fun for you! |
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What discoveries and explorations will you find within self? |
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- Begin your creative practice with this meditation for the heart, for self love.
- Who are you? Create a self-portrait. There are many ways you can do this! Here are some ideas to help get you started and a few things to consider:
*You don't have to be good at portraits and you don't even have to have a face in yours if you don't want to! So don't let that stop you! :)
* Decide whether you want to make something abstract, realistic, or a bit of both
* Try illustrating yourself as a cartoon
* Incorporate your interests and hobbies
* Highlight/focus on your favorite feature (eyes, hands, etc.) or zoom out and include your entire body
* Use your silhouette
* Consider your spirit animal, astrological sign, zodiac animal
* Use tools and mediums that best represents you
* Print out a photo of yourself (or several photos) then embellish it with different objects and items, paint over it, create a collage around it, embroider on it, etc. - Self discovery journal prompts. Pick one to write about as a warm up exercise before you start working on your page, use the words that you write as a background, tear up your page of words into collage scraps, or incorporate a prompt and your writing into a self portrait.
- 28 iconic artists and their self portraits.
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- Self reflection. We started this Creative Spark journey at the beginning of the year. 8 months later, how do you feel? Has your creative practice changed? What remains the same? What have you learned about yourself and your process? Create a piece inspired by the answers to these questions.
- Mirror. Instead of using it for a self portrait, try to mirror a pattern, draw with both hands and mirror the marks, make a mirror as the focal point (here's a collage and sketch example) or go outside your sketchbook and use a mirror as your canvas.
- What does “self” mean to you? Self made, self confidence, etc.? If you don't normally work with text, this could be an opportunity to incorporate them into your piece.
- What are the elements that make your current style you? Is it a way of making marks, a color palette or shape you gravitate towards? Highlight these aspects in your piece.
- 5 short poems on identity, individuality, and self:
* Remember by Joy Harjo
* Won't You Celebrate With Me by Lucille Clifton
* Cities Inside of Us by Alberto Rios
* I Know My Soul by Claude McKay
* Sorcery by Sandra Simonds - Human Design Personality tests can be a fun and insightful, have you looked into your human design “type”? Here is an introduction to this idea, the 5 different types (get your chart to find your type here--you'll need to enter your birth date, time, and location), and how to work with each. Based on my chart, I am a manifesting generator. I haven't dived too deep into this yet, but part of the description says “jack-of-all-trades kind of people” which I definitely relate to!
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I'm looking forward to seeing how “self” will inspire you! Wishing you a wonderful weekend, |
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