Tag Archives: embellishing your art

rediscover wonder!

52 projects: Creative prompts for a creative life – week #11

~ November 6th-10th ~

 

Welcome to week 11 of the 52 week project

Normally I have already started my project by now, but alas it has been an unusually trying week. I’ve been working through sickness, funerals, projects, encroaching winter weather and to be frank…

I need to see some wonder!

God has been teaching me things this year, both physically and spiritually. But the resounding theme that has become apparent to me is Discovery

Discovering who He is

Finding the beauty in the ordinary

Learning to see what isn’t readily evident.

So here I am at the beginning of a new week, ready to embark on that journey of discovery. And what a better way than to engage our senses.

Now, this will not be an easy thing for a lot of you…including me for sure. But nothing worthwhile is ever easy right? So here is what I want you to do:

  1. Monday: SIGHT

See the unusual.

It might be something that you actually encounter every day, but look at it in a new way. See the beauty that isn’t necessarily evident. Write about it, paint it, maybe gather it into a specific place and make it part of a collection, or take a picture and collage it into your journal. One thing I used to do when I was a cubscout leader was to have the boy see everything they could see within arm’s length of where they were sitting, then write it down. Every. Little. Thing. It helps to develop our skills of observation.

You never know, you might be missing something important

  1. Tuesday: SOUND

Hear all the sounds of morning.

Sit quietly before anyone else wakes up, and notice each and every sound around you taking note of:

  • where it is
  • what it is
  • and whether you have ever heard it before.

The longer you sit without making any noise, the more you will hear.  Jot it down in a notebook, your journal, or even on a napkin.  If the later, collage that into your art journal on a colorful page.

Truly hearing is an art form all its own. Often it is in the stillness and quiet that we hear the most important murmurings of God. Are you listening for them?

  1. Wednesday: TOUCH

Create something textural today.

Open up to a new page in your journal or whatever you have been working on this week.  Use a texture paste, drywall mud, or even modpodge and some sand to create something very tactile. You may actually decide to do this prompt first if you want to create one single project this week.

Or maybe you could print off one of your pictures from Monday if you took any,  and use this as your substrate for the rest of the prompts this week. Sew around the outside of the photo creating an unusual texture or add in some textural elements.

  1. Thursday: SMELL

Here is where things might get a little difficult. When creating art, you don’t often think about your sense of smell.  But using descriptive word within our art is definitely doable. Maybe you could write an ode to your favorite morning drink (mine just happens to be coffee!)

Describe how its scent enlivens your mind and transports you into the day.  Maybe lavender is your gig….or even better, fix some loose buds onto your page with gel medium. Think outside of the box to integrate smells into your project today.

  1. Friday: TASTE

Now, I don’t want to see picture of anyone licking the pages in their book, or putting things in their mouths they shouldn’t. But do describe how something tastes.  Was the picture you took on Monday of a weird kind of fruit? There are a lot of unusual varieties out there.  Cut one open and taste it. Then tell us about it.  But definitely make sure that it is edible first.

You know the drill

  • Be creative
  • Think outside the box
  • Create something new
  • Stretch those muscles.

I look forward to seeing what you have learned from this week’s prompts

Friday I will post my finished project here and on Instagram. Check out #creativefaith, #52projects, #cp4acl (#CP4aCL)

Have a creative week!

~lisa

 

Would you like to join in?  We would love to have you join this creative initiative. Sign up to receive these prompts in your email HERE, and start creating!

Have questions?  You can email me at info@creativefaith.me

Are you creating with these prompts?  I would love to see them! Post them on Instagram with the tag #CP4aCL, #52project, or #creativefaith

working small for big results

52 projects: Creative prompts for a creative life – week #10

~ Oct. 30-Nov.3 ~

Week 10 Yo!!

I have to be honest, long term commitments have never been easy for me. (shhhh! Don’t tell my husband 🙂

For instance, I love handmade quilts. The patterns amaze me, and I just love to place them around the house in key places for cozy winter comfort. I have sewn – seriously – one in my whole life. Crib size. Yep, that was all she wrote.

So, to say that here we are on Project #10 of 52 is HUGE for me!

I hope that you are all managing to stay creative with me.  I know, it’s hard. But if you keep in mind that it is not about:

  • Producing perfection
  • Spending large amounts of time or money
  • Making something that others will like, or ultimately receive

I mean, if that is how you want to use your creative practice, go for it.  But I think it is vastly more important to simply be creative. Nurturing that creative soul can be as easy as you let it be. In the spirit of simple creativity, I would like to encourage you this week to work SMALL. Keeping it small will limit the amount of time it will take you to complete your project prompts and give you the encouragement you need to keep going – Big Results!

Create in a small handmade journal, on a small canvas, or how about trying something really different: use an envelope from something you received in the mail over the weekend.

Using something outside of the normal can really get those imaginative juices flowing and guide you into your creative mojo!

Here are the prompts for this week, and some small, out of the norm ideas for completing them:

  1. Monday: LEAFY

Fill your page, canvas or envelope  J  with prints from leaves. Use a gelli plate, a foam stamp. Or even a meat tray with a leaf sketched into the flattest area. Roll out some craft paint with a brayer roller and stamp it on your page.

Maybe you would prefer to write a poem about the falling autumn leaves, or take some photographs of the amazing color that is blazing so brightly these days. I think combining a few of these processes onto one page might be fun.

*I decided to create a mini book with pages I created with leaves and a gelli plate. There are 5 pages, one for each day….or maybe I will work on everyone of them … we’ll see 🙂

  1. Tuesday: CUP

Sketch, photograph or paint a small rendition of your morning coffee cup, tea cup, or even the glass that holds the water you are drinking. Sing its praises through picture, word, or song. I for one am very thankful for its many years of faithful morning service.

  1. Wednesday: POINT

Today would be a good opportunity to check out the tips of your various mark making tools. Use the point of a chop stick to draw a pattern into wet paint. Dip the point of a round paintbrush into your favorite color, or 5, and pounce that brush tip randomly throughout your page. Maybe you could do a pointillism painting and fill that cup with color using only closely spaced dots.

  1. Thursday: SINGULAR

Choose a singular image from your photo stash, a magazine, or take a new one that fits the theme of your page, canvas, or envelopeJ. Integrate it into your project, making it either the focal point of your piece, or a supporting actor. You could even tear it into pieces and reassemble it to create something entirely new.  Give it a try….it’s fun!

  1. Friday: REACH

Being the wordy girl I am, I think a reach for the stars kind of quote would make a starry addition and beautiful finish to this week’s project. Here are a few that I found on google quotes:

  • Your branches can only reach high if your roots go deep
  • Reach high for the stars that lie hidden in your soul. Dream deep, for each dream precedes the goal – mother Theresa
  • Dare to reach out your hand into the darkness, to pull another hand into the light.
  • Remember, you can’t reach what’s in front of you until you let go of what behind you.
  • Reach as high as you can, and then reach a little higher. There you will find magic and possibility. And maybe even cookies.
  • When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on.

There were a lot of amazing and inspirational quotes, so many in fact that I had to just say when.  Choose something that speaks to you, inspires you, or encourages your creative soul.

I would love to see what you are creating this week.  You can post it here in the comments, or the hashtags are below for Instagram and twitter. 

Friday I will post my finished project here, and on Instagram. Check out #creativefaith, #52projects, #cp4acl (#CP4aCL)

Have a creative week!

~lisa

Daily Creative Prompts: week #9

Daily Creative Prompts ~ October 23-27

As promised, here we are in week #9 of

52 projects: Creative prompts for a creative life

Here are the 5 prompts for this week to be used daily in an effort to keep yourself working creatively:

  1. WATER
  2. NEUTRAL
  3. HIDE
  4. CONTRAST
  5. SING

These can be interpreted in whatever way you choose. Whether you are a

  • Writer/poet
  • photographer
  • illustrator
  • painter/artist
  • or maker

these prompts can inspire something new. An image, a feeling, or an idea that is unique to you. Think outside the box, create something fresh and inspiring. Your brain will thank you!

I will be using these in order because it makes me think beyond what I often feel capable of and forces me to not fall back into comfortable things. But you can totally do them in whatever order you like. Do one or do them all – then post a pic of your finished project using the hashtags #creativefaith, #52projects, #CP4aCL, #creativelife, #52weeks, #promptme, #mixingitup, #thedailymuse

Here is how I approached today’s prompt:

WATER

Watercolors: not so outside the box, but for me using warm colors is definitely not my normal. So I stared this week getting out of my comfort zone and stepping into something that is going to challenge me as the prompts progress.

If you are a writer, maybe you can write a piece of microfiction about swimming, or sitting by the lake

Take a picture of the smallest body of water you can find, and then the largest

Do an ink drawing of a glass of water…then put a fish in it 😉

Make a notebook cover that has waves crashing over its cover, then fill it with ideas of how to create mixed media waves with great texture

Have fun with it and let these prompts challenge you!

This is the only email this week you will receive this week, but on Friday I will post my finished project from this week. Check out #creativefaith, #52projects, #CP4aCL, #creativelife, #52weeks, #creativelife, #52weeks, #promptme, #mixingitup, #thedailymuse

Have a creative week!

~lisa

Would you like to join in?  We would love to have you join this creative initiative. Sign up to receive these prompts in your email and start creating!
Have questions?  You can email me at info@creativefaith.me
Are you creating with these prompts?  I would love to see them! Post them on Instagram with the tag #CP4aCL, #52project,  #creativefaith,  #creativelife, #52weeks, #promptme, #mixingitup, #thedailymuse

when your dance gets ugly

 

Daily Creative Prompt ~ October 20: DANCE

Dancing isn’t really my gig.  In the formal sense of the word anyway.

  • But we can also dance with joy in our spirits
  • …dance our paintbrushes across a page
  • …and it can also be used to describe something that you are doing, a project that you are working on for instance 😉

 

While this isn’t one of my favorite projects to date, I still had a ton of fun creating it, and I learned so much from the process.

okay, calling my baby ugly.  Maybe it is just my mood today, but seriously…not my favorite.

but even when things don’t turn out quite as we would like and we find ourselves stumbling through the day…or week as the case may be…just make it part of the dance. 

And *drumroll please*

…here is the final project #8!

Don’t forget to enjoy the process, even if you don’t enjoy what comes from it.  There is purpose in all of it…even if it is simply to learn to accept a bit of failure.

Have a great weekend and keep danciing my friends!

~lisa

Would you like to join in?  We would love to have you join this creative initiative. Sign up to receive these prompts in your email each day, and start creating!

Beginning next week, I will be posting the whole weeks prompts on Monday. Posting every day is keeping me from engaging in other artistic endeavors, and I’m sure you could use a little break in your inbox.  Then you can plan how you will utilize those prompts. Heck, you can even do that out of order if you like.  See you then!

Have questions?  You can email me at info@creativefaith.me

Are you creating with these prompts?  I would love to see them! Post them on Instagram with the tag #CP4aCL, #52project, or #creativefaith

the poetry of color

Daily Creative Prompt ~ October 19: INDIGO

As a color, INDIGO is among one of my favorites.

It has a depth to it that poets write about.

Depending on who you are, INDIGO could summon thoughts of unusual children with supernatural traits. Or maybe it puts you in a certain mindset. In color psychology, INDIGO strengthens the right  brain and Symbology says that it describes honesty, trust and a solid foundation.

This prompt could be used to great effect in your mixed media project by creating contrast, calming a busy page, or even using some of that INDIGO poetry to inspire. However you choose to use it, you can be sure that it will be good!

Here is how I integrated it today:

Yesterday’s dripping needed some extra oomph, so I added in some additional color drips, some gesso splotches, and just a tiny bit of mark making….it needed to happen!

Then I addressed today’s prompt. Choosing to use paper, I cut 3 circles of different sizes and attached them to the canvas with gel medium.  The circles replicate the ones that I created during the mark making process, and  repeating them here helps to unify all of the elements and create a cohesive piece.

One more day! …hmmm, I feel some words coming on!

 

 

See you tomorrow for the last installment of this week’s mixed media project

~lisa

Would you like to join in?  We would love to have you join this creative initiative. Sign up to receive these prompts in your email each day, and start creating!

Have questions?  You can email me at info@creativefaith.me

Are you creating with these prompts?  I would love to see them! Post them on Instagram with the tag #CP4aCL, #52project, or #creativefaith

seeing art in unusual places

Daily Creative Prompt ~ October 16: BRUSH

Happy Monday Creatives!

Monday’s are always my favorite art days.  Heading into a new week, the days feel so full of possibility, and today is no exception.

There are many directions I could have gone with today’s prompt. A beeswax collage had occurred to me as you would use a brush to apply the wax. But as I was pulling out brushes to use with the wax, I found one in which the bristles had fused solid. (…probably from glue or mod podge) Tossing it into the trash can under my table, visions of painty brushes swirled through my mind, and I quickly rescued it from its dire situation and dropped it back down onto my table.

The brush had a wooden handle and was a natural off-white, as were the bristles, allowing me to choose whatever color palette I like.

 

After rubbing in some blues with my fingers, I dripped some runny color splashes around, giving it the well-used and completely loved look.

 

 

The colors made me so happy that I decided to choose 4 more colors and begin again swiping and dripping. This was by far the most fun project start  so far.

Can’t wait to see what tomorrow will bring!

You could certainly use this prompt in these other creative ways:

  • BRUSH a thin layer of two different colors on your substrate, creating an ombray effect

  • Make some unusual marks with different sized BRUSHes and fill the page with them

  • Cut the bristles from an old ruined BRUSH, then glue them to a board for some serious texture. Cover with gesso

  • Draw a picture of your favorite paintbrush with a graphite pencil. …and don’t forget to put in all of the wonderful painty marks from all it’s years of amazing service

but above all…

Don’t forget to enjoy the process

 think outside the box

 and use what you have at hand

I can’t wait to see what you guys come up with!

till tomorrow…

~lisa

Would you like to join in?  We would love to have you join this creative initiative. Sign up to receive these prompts in your email each day, and start creating!
Have questions?  You can email me at info@creativefaith.me
Are you creating with these prompts?  I would love to see them! Post them on Instagram with the tag #CP4aCL #creativefaith & #52project

note to self:

Daily Creative Prompt ~ October 13: SHINE

 

Even those with the gift of encouragement occasionally need to receive it.

Giving of words, time, and self can be a huge drain and if we don’t fill up every now and then, there won’t be anything left to give. It’s great if that encouragement comes from someone else, but when you are in need and no one else is around, giving yourself a lift can work just as well.

This week’s final prompt is a perfect opportunity for me to remind myself of something important: to shine

Pulling out my letter stamps and black fluid acrylics I set to work finding an appropriate quote. Google don’t fail me now!

 

 

Turns out there are lots of quotes about shining. There are some great ones about stars shining brighter in the darkness, but when I saw this one, I knew my search was over:

 

“dear Self, Today you will shine”

Stamping with fluid acrylics can be tricky.  I typically like to spread some paint out thinly on a non-stick surface, then stamp into the paint and then off to the side.  Doing this before stamping on the canvas will help to ensure that you don’t end up with excess blurbs of paint.  If by some chance the letter doesn’t turn out quite as clear as you like, you can quickly wipe it away with a babywipe (if you are stamping on canvas – paper won’t work)

Don’t forget to wipe the stamp off when you complete the letter.  Letting the acrylic dry on the stamp will ruin it.

And the final project for week #7!

Remember that you can interpret these prompts anyway you like.  Tell a story, spin a tale, create something unique and use things you wouldn’t normally use.

Have a creative weekend and I will see you back here on Monday!

~lisa

Would you like to join in?  We would love to have you join this creative initiative. Sign up to receive these prompts in your email each day, and start creating!

Have questions?  You can email me at info@creativefaith.me

Are you creating with these prompts?  I would love to see them! Post them on Instagram with the tag #CP4aCL

Finishing your flag: embellishments and beyond

prayer-flag-day-4-pic-1

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.

prayer-flag-day-4-pic-2

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:

prayer-flag-examples