A Reminder Of ALL Our Creative Possibilities...

Sometimes when I flick through Amazon, I find a little gem and if it's only a few quid, I treat myself...

This came the other day...

It is an attractive little book - small square format and even the texture of the cover is very pleasing.

I had read a reference to it on a blog somewhere - sorry I can't remember which - 

Anyway - I liked the sound of it's message and saw it was about a fiver on Amazon and feeling flush...'pressed that button!'

Well, it duly arrived - at my Mum's house - because I'd pressed the WRONG button!! So Mum put it back in the post and it got here a day or two later.

These photos are taken with my mobile 'phone (hence they're a bit rubbish, sorry) - that evening as I sat up in bed reading it (the 'phone contract has six months to go, then I'll get one that has a better camera) 

It's a great little set of thoughts that ring true and Austin Kleon offers sound advice in nicely presented sound-bites; well constructed.

I think, really, for 'STEAL' - we can read EMULATE...

Now I like a reading list as there's always some more research and/or procrastinating to be done... Mmmm - which one shall I go for next?

Oh - and also, to make up for the fact that I can't remember that blog (see above) - can I recommend Alex Mathers' blog: Red Lemon Club to you, please? 

It is current, informative, full of incite, drive and motivation - all with a really personal feel - especially if you subscribe to his email feeds....

Have Fun

The Power of White Paint...

Well, we transformed the old barn interior - from a burgundy walled, black ceiling-ed darkness into a light airy barn again - with two coats of white paint - some long reach rollers, BIG stepladders and a brush taped to a stick:

First coat at the far end (late at night!):

Light floods in  - and at last, makes an impact:

Difficult to get the whole thing in - but believe me, that red corner was difficult to distinguish as it was SO dark...

Now for the sorting of the stuff - a partition - and then...workshops!

Pillow Fight...!!!!

Yes I had a go at the pillow fight - that's the SECOND pillow fight - a competition run by Ohh Deer.
Ohh Deer is a website that uses several UK artists who contribute their designs, which are then printed onto various products and sold to retailers in the UK. Each artist gets a (small) percentage from every item sold with their design on. Have a look here
Their way of finding new stuff is by competition... You can submit up to three designs for 'throw pillows' or cushions.
Have a go - it's free - you never know!!
Having said that - there are LOADS on there...best to use the filters.
Here are my three:

Elsie

Beryl

 

Doris

I used the Photography, Digital and Nature filters

Short Creative Course Proposals...

First of all apologies for non-communication recently - we've had a number of family and friends' health issues and personal ordeals to go through - but things seem to be settling down a bit now...

Recently I was approached to provide some short course proposals for college.
These will (if they go ahead) be non-accredited, 'leisure and pleasure' type workshop courses.
I would run them in the evenings or at weekends maybe. This would be a grand 'rehearsal' for the workshops / courses I'd like to run in our outbuilding...
I put together very quick outlines. Under the umbrella of 'Make A Start' I put a short description - the sort of blurb that someone might initially read on a poster or website - for the following:

• Creative Sketchbooks
• Typography and Lettering
• Contemporary Graphics

Want to read what I wrote?

Here we go...

Make a Start: Creative Sketchbooks
If you think looking through artists’ sketchbooks is sometimes more interesting than the finished work, then this is the course for you. Want to make amazing sketchbooks/journals of your own? You will explore the sketchbook techniques of others, picking up tips on how to create exciting pages and experiment with materials and techniques to develop your own sketchbook style.
Some previous creative drawing/art experience will help, but an open mind and willingness to have a go is just as important.

Make a Start: Typography and Lettering
Like type and lettering? You will have noticed an interesting recent trend: designers, crafters and artisans bringing an extra dimension to their work by utilising text. This short course introduces you to some of the basics of typography, which you will then consider while creating your own hand made/drawn/digital lettering.
Some previous technical/computer experience will help, but an open mind and willingness to have a go is just as important.

Make a Start: Contemporary Graphics
A fusion of handmade and digital imagery with text creates the look we see around us in ads, posters, packaging, magazines etc. This short course will show you how to study and critique existing contemporary graphics. You will get hands-on creative yourself too, by exploring lots of materials and techniques. You will then begin to create your own signature graphic style.
Some previous drawing/art experience will help, but an open mind and willingness to have a go is just as important.

All images from Pinterest

Ultimate Satisfaction When It All Comes Together

Ooops...

Enjoy a sweet little film with Melvin as a star performer...

College Rules My September

Oooh - sorry to have been so elusive - the start of term is BUSY BUSY BUSY - and I have been so very very very tired at the end of each day - energy for anything other than children, teaching and the odd 'Fitsteps' class has all but disappeared... 

Therefore - I'd like to share some fun stuff we've been doing with the students.

This week our forty-four open minds and creative souls spent the day working very hard to make one hundred drawings in just one day - I love that!  Lots of styles, techniques and materials - plenty of approaches to making a drawing were explored...

Here's the Maths:

4 people, 

+10 groups,

+11 zones, 

+10 drawings in each zone; 

+10 zones visited by each group

= 100 drawings

Themes were: 

'Let's Get This Job Done - DIY'

'Stationery Still Life'

'Woodland Wonder'

'Letterform Chalk Drawings'

'Car Park'

'Hey, Good Looking, What You Got Cooking?'

'Following In Your Footsteps'

'Patchwork'

'Monsters'

'Urban Recovery'

'Ten Green Beans Hanging On The Wall':

Last week our students became human photocopiers - as they enlarged and replicated gorgeous 'mid-century modern' book cover designs from all over the world. They had to work together to mix up batches of paint and attempt to match up their personal quarter enlargements - to create the whole. They were given A6 images and had to paint on A1 - finished articles are double A0...MASSIVE! Here are some of them - and the originals. They make an amazing impact on the walls of our little old Hub:

There are more but maybe they're for another post....

Lastly, something different...

I was checking emails tonight and one from Etsy flew in with a link to an article about this seller and her ethos. There was this little video of her made a few years ago.

I found it quite inspiring and want to share it:

I rarely feel in control of my life so it feels like a place - a life - a million miles from mine - a dream..