When opposition is used to great effect

Daily Creative Prompt ~ October 3: OPPOSITE

I cannot lie….

Today’s prompt kinda threw me for a loop. I had this picture of a beautiful peacock plume in my head after yesterday’s fluid experience. I planned and schemed how I would make that beautifully moving color into a majestic bird using various mixed media techniques.

But NO!!

I simply sat with my mouth hanging slightly open, plans thwarted. It took me a minute or two to figure out how to incorporate something OPPOSITE into this piece.

Opposite can mean many things.

It could be using a completely different material than you did yesterday. For instance markers instead of paint, or fabric in place of paper.
It could mean working in the spaces that were not covered up through yesterday’s process.
Or it could even mean working in the same mediums, but in a completely different color group.

…and that is exactly what I did.

I gathered some colors that weren’t anything like what I used yesterday. Some reds and yellows, purple, light blue, and I even took out white and black cuz you never know 😉

I chose to do some mark making (dots of various sizes) on the page in various areas using a color that was opposite of what I was working on. For instance, in the darker blue areas I used white or yellow to make my marks. And in the azo gold – a cool blue. The white space surrounding the fluid wanderings I dotted in a variety of colors since everything is the opposite of white to me.

…and this is the result

I have to say, it no longer looks like a peacock plume to me….more like a sea of stars. A boiling fluid galaxy, shifting and changing as I make my way through it. Hmmmm, it does have possibility.

But – who knows what tomorrow will bring….

Till tomorrow!

Happy Creating!

~lisa

Four Fluid Colors to make your page pop!

Daily Creative Prompt ~ October 2: FLUID

Getting back into the groove after a lengthy vacation can be difficult.

Germany was awesome, but I so missed my studio and being able to play with a variety of supplies. Today’s prompt makes filling the page easy – and beautiful! I recently watched a tutorial on using yupo paper and the beautiful effects that you can achieve, so this prompt got me cracking those knuckles and doing deep knee bends to warm up for the sprint.

Don’t know what yupo paper is?

That’s okay, I didn’t either. From what I can tell, it is a non-paper – paper. It has a slick glossy surface and does not absorb water (or anything else for that matter). I don’t have any yupo in my stash of papers as of yet, but never fear – youtube showed me another way 😉

glossy photo paper

Who knew? The surface of photo paper is just as non-absorbent as the yupo (I think), so I gave it a whirl.

First I gathered up some fluid acrylics and Daler Rowney acrylic inks (my favorites), all in cool colors except for a bit of nickel azo gold for contrast

Next I spritzed some water about on the photo paper letting it pool a bit in a couple of places. {a few bulldog clips in the right places to hold the paper down will help keep it from curling and creating huge puddles where you don’t want them}

Finally the fun part! Just squeeze a few drops of one color onto the wet areas of the paper and watch it react. The drops splay and move to wherever the water is. Drop each of the colors, one at a time letting them touch, and even placing one inside the other, and see how they interact – fun! I used all of the blues and greens first, then added a few drops here and there of a contrasting color for a bit of pop. I just love how fluid the picture looks.

When you have finished adding all of your colors, leave the paper right where it is to dry. It could take up to 12 hours, so do this technique in a place that will ensure that it remains undisturbed.

This picture is so beautiful that I can’t imagine doing anything else to it. But alas ~ tomorrow’s prompt will bring about something new.

I hope you enjoy this prompt as much as I did. It was by far the quickest one to date! Who said being creative takes too much time 😉

Till tomorrow

Happy Creating! ~lisa

don’t miss any of the fun! sign up for all of the prompts directly to your inbox today @ creativefaith.me

don

5 flowers blooming in my garden right now

Spring

You can smell it in the air

Tiny green buds appear on each branch of every tree along my walk – evidence that a blooming is about to take place. Yet I find myself impatient. As much as I love those first signs of spring, the green that begins to break through the ground and on the trees in my village, I long to see the full bloom of the flowers in my garden. Too long have I looked at dried up stems and wilted brown leaves. Too long has snow covered up what I know will be beauty come summer in my garden.

But the ground will not be rushed. It will be what it was created to be – but in its own time.

So as I wait with the impatience of an artist, I create my own beauty, my own blooms, to get me through this time that is needed for the real thing to make its appearance.

Maybe you would like to create a blooming garden too?

Here are 5 flowers that you can make “bloom” right now, to get you through the anticipation of color coming back into your little part of the world:

Flower Doodles: doodle yourself a garden. Use pictures of real flowers from a magazine or other reference to give you ideas of shape, form and variety. They don’t have to look real, only give a suggestion of color and joy, like that of a truly blooming patch of flowers. Use simple lines, and in lieu of coloring them in, use patterns to fill the spaces, creating texture and depth. doodling your flowers can open up a whole new genus to fill your “garden” (do you like this doodle? It is available in my etsy store as a download 🙂

Collage Garden: What a great way to create something unique and colorful than by gathering a stack of colorful papers and cutting them into flower shapes. Try cutting circles and triangle, ovals and squares. Arrange them into groupings that suggest a blooming patch of flora. Choose colors that make you happy. Vary the types of patterns utilizing both geometric and floral filled. Put them together in a pleasing way that suggests the presence of order and purpose. You can even add a few inspirational words to your “painting”. Then sit back and enjoy!

Watercolor Blooms: I love the light washes that give only the impression of flowers. The colors flow from one right into the next, insinuating that where one ends another begins with no end to the blooming colors. Each flower is unique in its own right, yet they are all flowers. There is a certain symmetry and synchronicity to them all, and watercolor blooms are the perfect way to exhibit that conformity in a way that doesn’t conform to any rules.

3 Color Monoprint Flora: Have you ever tried monoprinting? Not only is it easy, but beautiful as well. There are a few specific tools that you need to engage in this creative practice, but it is well worth the investment as the possibilities of what you can do with these incredible prints are endless. It is one of my favorite things to do when I simply want to be creative yet don’t have a specific project in mind. I’ve created hundreds of prints using just a few of my favorite colors, stencils, cardstock and my gelli plate. I’m sure to have a future tutorial on this amazingly satisfying practice. Today I used my hand cut flower stencils and my favorite cool color palette. Use whatever you like to create your garden, after all, it’s yours!

Mixed-Media Bouquet: Combining different mediums into the same piece of art serves to create depth, texture and vivid color-combinations that would not otherwise be possible. I just love the combinations of paint, paper, fabrics and even pieces of metal or string, that make their way into some of the projects I’ve created. The process of working them into my art enhances my problem solving abilities and keeps my mind fresh. It helps me to think beyond what I see or even know. What a wonderful way to be able to look at the world! I like to start by gathering all of the mediums I have that are within a specific range of color. I usually limit the colors to two or three similar with an addition of 1 complimentary color to give the piece “pop”. As I add them all in, the fact that they have something similar about them helps to unify the otherwise opposing mediums. Creating in this way has changed my view of what it means to create, and makes me feel freer in other areas of my life as well.

I hope you have enjoyed this walk through my “garden”. I would love to see what you have come up with to help your little corner of the world bloom with color! ~lisa

I have a devotional running today on a beautiful life about how to look past the lack of fertile ground in your life, and anticipate a blooming anyway. We all have those periods where we lack inspiration and become stagnant. Getting past that is tough, but doable if we keep just one thing in mind – Jesus! Read that here: “blooming even in infertile ground”

Or if you like short stories, I have a story posting this morning on my personal page (lisaevola.com). It is called “Eglantine” I would love for you to stop by and give it a read, then let me know what you think! I look forward to meeting you there!

Make Your Mark: Finding Your Creative Voice and a random act of art

Mark making is an integral part of a mixed-media painting. Without it, the colors are simply that…color. No interest beyond the initial image. No texture. Nothing to make the viewer look closer at what is beyond the surface. This concept transfers remarkably well into how we present our faith and beliefs to those around us.

Jesus was really into making people look closer. He told stories that made them wonder what in the world he was talking about. He told tales that they could relate to, yet would make them think deeper about its possible applications. He made marks with His words and created texture with healings as he went about His Father’s business by drawing in closer those He encountered and getting them to look below the surface of their lives.

We are to be salt and light: to show others the God-colors of this world. (matt:5 the voice) Are you reflecting those colors? If everything in life was black and white, and variations of gray, life would be quite dull indeed. It is the colors that we see each day that draws our eye and makes us look again. Then when we look, the textures there entice us to look deeper, to reach out and touch the surface and see what it feels like. To see if it is as pleasant as it appears to be.

Pleasing to the eye draws them in, but pleasing to the touch gets them to ask questions.

What makes this so different?

Why am I drawn to it?

How can I too be a part of this?

It’s when people start to ask questions that we can share what we know, what we have experienced, and the reason we have HOPE. How are you sharing? Is it through your written words or artsy gifts? Do they see God’s love in how you reach out to meet a need or your genuine concern for them?

Every day, whether you realize it or not, you are being creative with the knowledge you have been given, the love that was first given to you and then shared because if it isn’t you just might explode with its growing presence. What would happen if you were to be intentional about making your mark, about creating new ways to reach out and show the enormity of the love of God? What if everyone who believed, created something beautiful today and then shared it with someone else? Someone they don’t even know.

Let me give you a challenge:

Create something beautiful

It can be small like a tiny canvas or even a small piece of card stock. Choose a simple central image such as a flower or a heart. If you aren’t confident in your drawing abilities, you can cut a picture from a magazine or an old book to use. Cover the canvas/paper in paints and even some other papers. Add a lot of texture to entice the recipient to touch it or pick it up to see what it is all about. Fabric pieces and yarns are another possibility for texture. Add in your main focal picture that you drew or cut from a magazine and then add some more texture, even if it is a layer of clear gesso left chunky. Add in a word of encouragement such as LOVE or COURAGE. or even put in a piece of poetry in leiu of an image. Make it your own, evidence of your creative voice. Sign the back….and then give it away.

This is the fun part.

Leave it on the table at a restaurant, coffee shop or even the local library. Maybe tuck it in the branches of a tree at the Local Park or zoo. Attach a note that lets them know that this is a gift of art for them to keep- free of charge. Think about the eventual recipient while you are creating and what their needs may be. Let the spirit guide you in how you embellish it. You just may bless someone by giving them this random act of art.

There is actually a group on facebook that does this. They post where they will be leaving the free piece of art and a picture of it. Then when it is found, the recipient is supposed to comment that they found it. This group is in Florida, so if that is your beat…check them out! https://www.facebook.com/RandomActofArt/

For me, I plan on leaving something at the pocket park at the corner of my street on January 24th, 2017…if you live near Almont MI, you know what I am talking about. Go and check it out….I will leave it somewhere there in a ziplock since it has been so wet lately. If you find it, come back here and leave a comment. I would love to know how you like it!

Now, let me encourage you….create something beautiful, and give it away. You will then be spreading God’s love and colors to the world, sharing with abandon something you received for free!

On the topic of Mark Making, here is a quick tutorial on using some things you probably have lying around the house, to create more texture in your art and journals: Enjoy!

3r’S DIY journal

Art journaling is one of my recent passions. I just love the simple act of creating every day. Think of it like a diary, a place where you can pour out your heart and soul. Where you can put onto a page some of the things you simply can’t form into words.

I’ve created pages that are simply blue with white splotches all over them, representing tears or a particularly sad day. Then I’ve added in pictures, prayers, intentions for change, and even trinkets of remembrance. My journal pages give insight to my feelings and how I am coping with them. They are sometimes carefree and colorful, and other times intensely personal.

On these pages is a place to simply be me

But soon the paper runs out and I am in need of another book. What better way to replace those journals and be green at the same time than to create your own from all of those boxes that would normally go into the recycling bin!

Taking care of our world is important to God. Recycling, Reducing and reusing when possible. This is one of those times.

The only supplies you will need for this project are boxes from your favorite brands (cereal, poptarts, oatmeal etc) ductape, a cutting mat, metal ruler and a sharp utility knife.

Assemble the boxes you would like to use.

2. Cut down the folds of your boxes so that they lay flat. Do this on a cutting mat to protect the surfaces in your home. Then cut the panels apart and stack.

You want all of your pages to be the same height, but they don’t necessarily have to be the same width. Check out which ones are the shortest in your stack – that will be the height of your book. Cut the remaining panels to that height and stack again.

3. Choose the two widest pieces and use those as the front and back cover. Leave them in a stack as this will be the easiest way to work your way through and keep them all in the right order.

4. Ductape the pages together. Open up the first page and keep the ends close to each other. This is probably the hardest part. You want them to be touching. Once the ductape is on – it’s on! You may need to place a magazine or book under the cover to lift it to the same level as the rest of your stack depending on how many pages you are doing, and also their thickness. I chose pretty thick cardboard, this was a necessary step for the front and back covers for me.

Tape the ends of the book to create your binding. After the pages are all put together, fold all of the pages back into a stack. On the outside end, place a piece of tape along the binding. You may need two depending on the thickness of your stack, but more often than not, one will do it!

5. Your book is now ready for paint, paper, or whatever else you would like to do to it. I like to gesso my pages to prime them, and then paint backgrounds, collage with paper, or even just start journaling on the cardboard sides of the pages.

This is a unique way to use up the recycling bin fodder, and would even be a great gift for a child to explore with paint on. The ductape is especially durable and there are some really beautiful designs beyond the original silver. I visit the dollar store whenever possible, and have made a few books from that $1 roll.

Happy Creating!

THIS IS WAR! Taking Your War Room on the Road

video at the bottom -enjoy!

For me, Morning Prayer time has a way of morphing into something it shouldn’t be: a long list of what I have to do that day.

I like to focus on prayer first thing because if I don’t the day takes over, and before I know it I am saying goodnight. But as I sit there thinking of friends, loved ones, and topics that need prayer, the dust bunny in the corner starts hopping my way, or the dog nuzzles my leg effectively spilling the coffee I had perched precariously on the arm of my chair. Noises and needs suck my attention, and soon I am not praying anymore- I am forming a plan of action for the day. Sighs…focus is not my thing…I wish it were. The only time I know of that I am completely focused is when I am crafting a piece of art. When I am creating something, my mind is fully engaged in that process and it is hard to deter.

Huh, I am able to focus – who knew?

Then it occurred to me, why not combine those two ideas: The thing I WANT to focus on, and the one I DO focus on.

So began my process of creating prayer art, a traveling war room of sorts. The idea is to engage in an artistic process, in this case doodling, while thinking about the subject of my prayer. This isn’t the type of doodling that produces an actual picture, it is more of a continual line that dips and folds itself around the page, sometimes forming legible ideas but mostly just keeping your hands and that particular part of your mind engaged while that inner part engages with God.

This type of journaling is particularly great for taking with you so that when prayer is needed, you don’t have to put it off till later. Just open up your journal page and doodle away.

This is what you will find in my traveling war room:

A journal – I chose a small one that will fit readily in a sack that I carry with me everywhere. Carrying such a bag is what will help you to make this practice a habit. And what more beautiful of a habit than art? I use the small dylusions journal by Ranger. It has a small pocket in the front that I can slip prayer requests into, or other pieces of ephemera or pictures that maybe belong to the person I am praying for and will incorporate at a later time onto the page.
A black ink pen – Anything permanent will do. I use a micron .05 or .08. It is a fine line, but not too fine, and anything that I do over it including watercolor washes, will not affect those line. A fine line sharpie will work if that is what you have. Start there!
Watercolor pencils – I choose 5 or 6 of my favorite colors to go on the road – my go-to’s. These are great because you can leave them as they are, or add water to create a beautiful wash of color to your prayer. My particular favorites are Derwent inktense, but use what you have, or start with something inexpensive to see if this is something you want to do.
Colored pencil blender – There are poly pencils and blender pens with a solvent. It is the best way to combine colors into a seamless transition or to get rid of the coloring lines created during that process. Look in the scrapbook section of the craft store for these. They are great to have, but not necessary.
Waterbrush – These are fillable tubes with a bush on the end. It is what you will use if you want to do the washes with your pencils. This way, you don’t have to carry bottles of water and jars with you.

That’s it!

All of these items should fit easily into a small pencil case (except maybe the journal 😉 so that you are never without your war room.

Here is a quick video of me creating a prayer page for one of my kids. I begin with some loopy lines, incorporating his name in there, as well as some other loose doodling linked to the particular intention of the prayer (for instance a heart to ask for the Love of God to surround him). We will be discussing prayer doodles at a future date, but for now, use hearts or crosses, or anything else that comes to mind as you pray for that person.

Choose colors that are significant of that person (ie…their favorite, eye or hair color, etc) or colors that describe your intention: red= love, blood of Jesus, green= growth, yellow= the rising son or a new dawning.) This will help you to focus on your specific purpose for this prayer. Have fun with it for sure.

After you finish coloring in the individual pieces of your picture, add your plea around the perimeter of the page. Write additional thoughts inside the blocks of color, or add more doodles. This doesn’t have to be done in one sitting, it can be something that you work on over a period of time. Added to daily will definitely help to solidify that prayer and keep that person at the front of your prayer list.

Enjoy!

I would love for you to leave a comment and share how you will use your prayer journal today. If you need an idea for a prayer doodle, ask here! I would love to share some ideas with you.

Remember: THIS IS WAR! Don’t let the enemy win the battle… engage in prayer.

Finishing your flag: embellishments and beyond

I’m terribly sorry about yesterday’s video not being available. Sometimes LIFE happens, you know what I mean?

We are on the final day of creating our prayer/intention flags. Up to now we have painted, papered, sewn and pondered intentions. Today we will add the finishing touches. You know, those pieces that just make it stand out. For my final embellishments, I chose a few glass beads, and some random pieces of metal to create the perfect ending to my piece of art.

The close up on this particular video was not working all that well, so below I have included a few close up of the embellishments that I used. I hope that you are enjoying the process of creating your flags. These would make great gifts for a sick friend as they could include a prayer for healing, or even an affirmation for the future. Have fun with it. Combine textures and colors that you wouldn’t otherwise have thought to blend. This project is very forgiving in that anything you add to it will just enhance the feeling behind the creation.

Thinking creatively as we consider others, can be a blessing for them and an encouragement. Often people have trouble seeing their way out of their own troubles and trials.

Showing them that you can envision their situation in a brighter light can offer them hope that they might not otherwise have.

Spend some time really considering how you would like to petition God to intervene on their behalf…or on your own.

Choose words that have some meaning, that focus on what you would like to see accomplished. Then set them somewhere visible to remind you or the recipient of the progress to come.

Here are a few flags that I have created that are still waiting for the prayer or intention:

Day 3: Integrating Fabric into your project

As we progress through building our prayer/intention flags, one has to wonder…is there anything you can’t do?

I’m sure there is a yes answer in there somewhere, but not when it comes to fabric. Materials of all sorts have been added to a multitude of projects, and for various reasons. I absolutely love to add them whenever I can. Today I am adding a piece of artist created batiks, a Sari ribbon, and a bit of lace. For those who don’t know what Sari ribbon is, it is a ribbon that has been created from old silk Saris (like the women from India where). Sometimes they are hand dyed after being assembled, but not always. It tends to be a very delicate fabric and needs to be treated with a bit of care, like any vintage fabric you may want to use.

The following video is short and a bit unclear in my opinion. I couldn’t seem to get the angle right with the camera in order to see around my sewing machine, so I apologize if it is hard to follow. If you have any question, please leave me a comment and I would be happy to make it clearer for you.

I hope that your projects are turning out just as you envisioned…even if they aren’t, I’ll bet you discovered something unexpected along the way.

Enjoy!

Creating Reminders of love

When I consider what Christmas is all about, what all of the running around and stressing out over gifts, and food, and lost time, I realize when it comes down to the nitty gritty – it’s all about LOVE.

It began with the unconditional and sacrificial love of God and continued into what we “practice” today. Yes, Christmas has become quite commercialized and many don’t recognize any longer where it all began, but one thing that hasn’t been lost is that it is still rooted in love.

Why do we do what we do every Christmas season?

Because of love.

I’m particularly drawn to creating things that are both functional and beautiful as well as show my love for the recipients of my gifts. This year I took on this amazing project that came in to my life at my last birthday. I was amazed at just how much I use this great little hot pad – who woulda thunk it? Thanks Lucy!

So, I took it and made it my own by choosing fabric I love and creating a little reminder of the gift that they have already received.

Here are the pictures of the process, at the end, there will be a downloadable project page so you can make your own…or some to give! I guarantee they will love them!

Soup Bowl Hot Pad Project Sheet