Nature Hanger

I've been working on this little clay nature hanger for a couple of weeks, as I have the time. And yesterday, I finished it! I started off by collecting beautiful leaves from around our yard and pressing them into air dry clay (forgot to take pics sorry!) that I rolled out with a rolling pin and cut to size. I was sure to add small holes at the top and bottom for string. I decided to have some that are the actual shape of the leaf and others that are circles and ovals, just for some variety.

After the clay had spent about 5 days drying (doesn't need that long, but that's when I had spare time again!) I painted them in the colours that I wanted (gold, chocolate and caramel) and then let them dry.

I added gold and bronze leaf to the leaf prints as well, for added interest and well ... just because I'm a bit addicted to leafing actually!

I then went about threading the clay pieces together just with normal raw string, making sure that the string went through behind the clay piece, not on the front of it. 

I strung the pieces in odd numbers and then hung three strands of them off of a branch that I just picked up from out in the yard!

All that was left to do was to hang it up and enjoy!! I really like it and I think it turned out beautifully!

What have you been creating this week?! 

Have a great weekend!

Being Brave

I've always loved Impressionist art. It doesn't matter how hard I try to create a different looking work, it always ends up looking very Impressionistic or a little bit Impressionistic. It's the colours, the texture, the movement of the style that I just adore. Van Gogh has long been my favourite Impressionistic artist(Technically speaking, he was a Post-Impressionist artist) His work, to me, is stunning.

One thing I am learning about my artwork lately, is that I'm not really happy to just 'dabble' and be safe anymore. I have this urging to create a monstrous canvas piece of ... something! A landscape? A portrait? Our cat?! Who knows?!! But I think I'm working up enough courage to just jump in and give it a shot! I feel as though I've been 'practicing' for years and years, and now? Now it's time to get cracking!

I would like to see my art progressing and each day, getting that little bit better at what I do. Not comparing myself to others, but enjoying the uniqueness of my own work. Art is, after all, individual expression.

I really appreciate this quote from Matisse, and while it is sometimes easier said than done, it's something that I'm really desiring to implement more into my art.

COURAGE = BRAVERY = BOLDNESS = INDIVIDUALITY.

One thing I do know, is that when I do create courageously, it will most likely have an Impressionistic vibe to it! 

See what I mean?! ...

'The Long Journey Home'.

I used oil pastels to create this piece, entirely from my imagination without a reference picture. For me, that was courageous. And yep, Impressionistic feel! Now, I'm ready to take the step in creating that large piece of work! 

Wish me luck! 

I'll let you know how it goes!

I hope you have a beautifully creative week!

Mixed Media Canvas Art

Yesterday I had a blast creating my first two Mixed Media artworks! I had paint all over my fingers and the floor (and on my clothes!), but it was just so relaxing and therapeutic! The best thing about mixed media is that you don't necessarily have to do a whole heap of thinking ... you just get to create and it turns out however it turns out!

Here's the first one I made ... Mixed Media Canvas 'Elegance' ...

 

I am very happy with this piece! I really love the blues and yellows, the design and the texture!

The next piece that I created I wanted to steer away from my normal blue/green/yellow/turquoise choices; create something in colours I'm not used to using. So I decided on purple. 

I think it ended up turning out really well, even though I'm still not completely sold on purple! It was good to give myself a small creative challenge.

Mixed Media Canvas 'Paris' ...

I found creating these pieces were very quickly addictive! I'm already thinking and planning on more to create (I have a couple of 'themes' in mind) and I'm very excited to begin!

Have you given yourself a little creative challenge at all lately? If not, maybe you could try one of these ...

• paint a small piece using a brand new medium that you find difficult
• create a piece using different tones/shades of the one colour only
• paint using a colour you actually don't really like
• see if you can use a different technique than ones you normally use
• create an artwork that is a completely different style than you normally go for

However you create, whatever you create, just remember your art is unique to you. Don't stress about others opinions, just enjoy your creativity and let it out!

Have a fun, creative week!

DIY Photo Booth Fun!

Today we enjoyed some crazy fun together! 

I can't remember the last time we all laughed so hard together like this! 

Here's why ...

... We made our own Photo Booth!!

It was so easy to set up! And best of all, it was completely FREE! All we used were two plain, dark green tablecloths draped over a frame that I have to make the photo booth backdrop, a clothes basket full of weird and crazy dress-ups (gathered by the kids!) and my iPhone! That's it!  The kids had an absolute blast, and it was great to let them have a bit of crazy fun on their school holidays!

I edited the pics with piccandy (my new favourite app!) and I think that I'm going to be ordering these photos as a set of Instagram magnets for my fridge! I think it'll give us all a good chuckle each time we walk past it!

Maybe this is something creative you and your children might enjoy too?!

A Great App

I've found a great new app for my iPhone 5. You may have already heard of it, but I thought that I'd share it here with you anyway! 

I love combining text and photographs, and this app does both! It also allows you to add little drawings and sketched 'doodles', text, phrases, your own drawings and filter effects. And what's best is, it's free! 

I will warn you though, in the 'phrases' section, under 'popular', there are a couple of very inappropriate words that definitely won't be used with any of my photographs. (I hope that's all there is, it's very disappointing when such a great app has things like that)

It's name is ... PicCandy.

As you can see, I've been having quite a lot of fun! ...

 

It's such a fun and easy way to do something creative each day ... even if it's only small. I'm sure I'll look back on these pics in a couple of years and enjoy them even more then than I do now.

Have you used this app before? Do you think it could be something to inspire a bit more creativity in your day?

Confirmation Journal Continued

I've added some more art to my confirmation journal.

I really like reading the positive quotes that I wrote, they encourage me to keep creating art.

I was enjoying it so much that I sketched a camera on the opposite page, 

adding descriptive words about what photography means to me. 

 

I hope you've been enjoying your creativity this week!