Quick and in a Hurry
It has been one of the fastest months on record for me. I feel like I was just on our family vacation a few days ago, but it was the first week of July. Summer has a way of rolling by even faster after the July 4th holiday. What can be done about those fast moving months? Not much. We just have to roll with all that comes our way and carve little pockets of time for our creativity when we can. For me this means taking supplies on the road. Packing an art suitcase!
Creatively though, it has been a snail’s pace as I have tried to take my grids to the next level. What is the next level you might ask? Well…for me it is going into sculptural and 3-D forms. You might wonder…so how does one do that…take 2-D colored pencil drawings and transform them into a 3-D sculptural form? I have not figured that out yet, but I am working hard to get there. In the meantime, here is a few things I have been up too….
New Video Alert!!!
I created my first long video! 15 minutes! I wanted to create a video that is a little lengthy and maybe something relaxing to watch. I love watching the YouTube channel called “Plan D”. Plan D is about ordinary days and this YouTuber creates relaxing lengthy videos of her cooking, sewing and/or just doing things around her apartment. After watching it recently, I was inspired to try my own version. Well, easier said than done, but it was a fun project. When you have some time - check it out and would love to hear your thoughts on my long video.
Illustrations and Card Making
Illustrating a Moment
This is a special card right here. I made this card for my father-in-law’s birthday. Recently, my brother-in-law; his son got married and I snapped a pretty cool photo of my daughters with their grandfather on the dance floor. I decided I wanted to try and illustrate the photo on his card. Illustrating figures in a scene has been something I have wanted to do for a long time. It can be difficult for me to loosen up and not draw realism, as I was taught. (Art school rules never really go away in my head!) But I wanted to give it a try. I had some trial and error, a bit of erasing, but finally got it to a place I was okay for other people to see it. And the family knew the moment I was going for! It was well received! Of course, I have plenty more to learn and practice with this kind of illustration, but it was really a fun challenge. I hope I do more in the future!
The Inspiration
Here is the photo from the wedding I was trying to illustrate for my father-in-law’s birthday card.
Basketry and Cordage
The road in art is never a straight one, at least not for me anyway. On my way to trying to figure out how to bring grids to a sculptural form, I came yet again in touch with basketry and weaving. Now, I have always loved weaving and I have made a few baskets over the years, taught paper weaving to students and enjoyed a modicum of this craft. But this time, I wanted to really dive into this medium and see what I can learn.
Wow, did I dive in deep into a rabbit hole of beautiful handy work and busted the doors wide open on refreshing and unique materials to work with!
Of course, I did order a few supplies online, but I have really enjoyed hunting and gathering in my yard for materials, as well.
What have I made? What can I show for my efforts, research and learning on my own? It might not look like much, but I am pretty pleased with my beginner status and these little baskets full of love!
Cordage - I have very recently learned how to make cordage. Now, I did not know what cordage was until I was down this basketry rabbit hole. In case you are not familiar with it; cordage is using a material to make into a cord to use in your own basketry. Cordage can be made out of a wide variety of materials and wow - some were right in my own back yard…just laying there ready for the plucking. Cordage is made from a twisting technique once the material has been resoftened with water. Here are the cordages I have made thus far:
Iris Leaves - Iris leaves that are dried and fallen to the ground is a good one to try.
Momma’s Onions - I have a batch of onions my Mom gave me years ago I planted in my backyard. I decided to pick some of those up that were already dead and dried on the ground and a few that still had a little green left. These are really fun, because you can still see some streaks of green here and there in the cordage.
Banana Peels - Yep! There is a little process with these to start with and I had the most difficulty with this cordage once they were dried, but I finally got it and love this cordage so much! (This is the blackish brown cordage in the photo and it needs to dry again for me to trim some excess, so it is not totally ready to add to a basket yet).
Other photos include: reed baskets, copper basket, plarn basket (plastic bags cut and put together to create “yarn”)
My sources were all over the internet, but mostly on Instagram, check them out - they are so inspiring:
Do you love baskets as much as I do? Please share your favorites in the comments. I have so much to learn!
Other Cards from the Month
Another month over and done. I have had lots of creative play this month, yet I miss my focused studies I do from time to time, like my daily grid practice from last month or the Holding Women series from last November. I know something will stick soon, I just need to keep going, keep pressing in and believing solutions to my creative problems are right around the corner. Maybe even filled with a few surprises!
Hope you are staying creatively cool out there.
Thank you for all your support and encouragement~
Hannah