Creative Challenge Group on MixxMade

I've been feeling a little stuck lately in the creativity department. It's a combination of things most of which are beyond my control or in some cases beyond my want to control.

Part of it is that it's summer and we want to be out and about as much as possible. Part of it is that it's been so hot here that the only thing I want to do is sit on the couch in front of the fan in a soaked down shirt and melt. Part of it is that over the three weeks my husband has been MIA at home due to band practices, lessons, birthday parties, weekend long stag parties and surprise visits from old school friends. Part of it is that I've been suffering from flash migraines; split second migraine headaches that make me shudder to consider how I'd be feeling if they lasted more than a second or two. Part of it is that I'm considering focusing only on my photography shop on Etsy and letting my other shop alone for awhile. I'd like to take some time and overhaul my shops; tweak shop announcements and add some alternate sizes of the same images and maybe a few new items featuring my photography but aren't photographs. Overall, I'm feeling a little overwhelmed .

I've needed a little fire under my butt to get me going in the creative department, just to get me thinking and moving. So I started a group on Mixxmade that would add some deadline pressure. The Creative Challenge group takes a word, phrase or idea and runs with it in any medium and then shares the outcome with the group via links to blog posts, online shops or personal websites. This months challenge was Fire and the two images at the top of the post are my entries. Photographs of the controlled fires being set in the Rocky Mountains to control the Pine Beetle epidemic. No flames are in the images just thick smoke trudging through the trees giving the forest an eerie and ominous feeling.

A card a week for a year: week 2

One card a week for 52 weeks. Each card depicting a single word or phrase to be used in an affirmation deck at the end of the year. Once again; I'm willing to take any word or phrase suggestions that you all may have, send them in.

This was a troublesome week for the card. I started one that was very promising but then tanked halfway through the process. I had a vague idea in mind, but it just wasn't as strong as I would have liked and seeing as I'm a by the seat of your pants kind of girl, I just kept pushing it through because that's part of the art process, you push it until you've gone too far and then you bring it back in and then you push it again until you get the finished project. This time there was just no bringing it back. On the plus side I can use the techniques and Ideas that didn't work this time on another or some other cards in the future.

Here's the process:

Materials:

• Card Stock
• Loose Page out of an Altered Book Project
• Nicholson's Peerless Transparent Watercolour
• Wax Crayon
• Pearl Ex interference pigment
• Water Colour Pencil
• Paint Brushes
• Glue Stick
• Tweezers
• Paper Trimmer
• X-acto Knife and Cutting Matt
• Ruler or Straight Edge


The Process:
I started out by scanning a bunch of loose pages from an altered book project I've started, (more on that in another post, don't let me forget) Looking for a suitable word.

As the book I'm altering is a Readers Digest hardcover and the pages I've removed so far are from a murder mystery the range of words were fairly limited, although I did come across a very good option; daydreaming, which could have been too froofy if not handled in the right way. I'm hoping that this is not the case with this card but time will tell. I then used the paper trimmer to cut card stock down to ATC size, 3.5"x2.5"

Using the x-acto blade and ruler I removed my chosen word. held the tiny rectangle onto scrap paper with the tweezers and rubbed glue from the glue stick onto the back. and then placed the word onto my card.

Using mauve peerless watercolour and macropearl Pearl-Ex pigment I applied a wash to the card then went in with a white wax crayon and drew some cursive lines. I wasn't too happy with them once they were put down (that whole pushing it and then pulling it back process) so to pull it back in, I went back in using a larger surface area on the crayon to make the marks more cloud-like.

I added a few more washes of colour and pearl, accidentally moving the previously glued down word. I liked the effect of the previously masked area being exposed in the middle of a misty cloud like atmosphere, so I went with it and it helped to illustrate the word daydreaming.

Finally I glued another piece of card stock onto the back to make the card a little sturdier. and went back into the illustration with a moistened watercolour pencil to add some detail.

I chose daydreaming because it's part of the creative process. I get ideas from a number of different places, books, magazines, art galleries and coffee houses and by letting my mind wander. For me daydreaming is kind like watching clouds in the sky to see what they remind you of, hence the cloud like atmosphere of the card.

Feeling a little edgy

I've been pretty good about getting stuff started and finished lately. Usually it's the finishing that comes back to bite me in the butt and then I end up with umpteen unfinished projects littering the computer hard drive and my work table, the bookshelves.....

I think you get the picture. Case in point, Miranda's baby book. I started early, during the pregnancy and collected images and some stories and then around the 10 month mark of her never boring always amazing little life I left off the entries and now it sits on my hard drive unfinished. I'll have to get it done I know, and I think I will, just not right now.

But in other areas I'm getting down right follow through-ish. I have a small stack of cards finished, right down to the last little details (I'm posting new cards on PeanutButterPie over the next week) and I'm wanting to get started on some new projects too.

One of my amazing holiday gifts this year was a copy of Somerset Studio Magazine. The art featured within these lushly photographed pages is for the most part not what I create and I think a small part of me wishes that I did that kind of art, but I love to flip through the pages and I get a little inspired while I'm at it.

This copy had an article about a creative round-robin by Susan Tuttle who happens have a blog called Ilkasattic which I will now be following. The object of this round-robin was to create a pack of spirit cards illustrating one positive word that could be pondered and used as positive affirmation throughout the day. I like this idea, so much so that I'm planning on doing a weekly challenge to myself. Create a pack of affirmation cards for personal use. 52 weeks in a year, 52 cards in a deck.

So in addition to my new 5 question feature that starts tomorrow I'll be posting a card of the week for my affirmation deck. Watch this Blog for updates. Oh yeah and if you can get on my but about making sure I'm keeping up with the challenge that would be great.