Yay for colorful art!
Yay for colorful art!
I read this sweet article about the impact of colorful art on our well-being. I was immediately pulled in to it because it featured artwork by Jessica Poundstone, whose colorful artwork I've long admired.
Colorful artwork can trigger the release of dopamine,
a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and reward,
leading to feelings of happiness and well-being
- Dr. Shivani Khetan
If you want to make some colorful art to improve your well-being… Come to my virtual art making session! Every Thursday I host a (free!) virtual art making session called Studio Time! If you're in need of accountability and creative community - this is a great place to find it. We are a friendly bunch and everyone is welcome! Drop a comment if you want to be added to the weekly reminder list, or visit this link for more info. It would be fun to see you there!
100 Days of Rainbow Play
This year, I decided to do #100daysofrainbowplay for my The 100 Day Project. Today marks say 12 and I've already covered digital and analog designs, played with patterns and did one fun photo piece with a beloved family photo of their grandmother 😂
Looking for Rhythm
It has been such a long stretch of grey days here in Buffalo, but the sun came out for a stretch and it's a welcome change. That lovely lady on the right is a sneak peek of a cool project that has consumed some of the past few weeks. (more about this summer)
January has felt like the longest month on record in a strange way, but I think I'm seeing the light at the end of the holiday reset / work-week-lost-to-snow tunnel. I'm trying to see if I can find some sort of rhythm. I've been making an effort to spend 10-30 minutes in my cozy front studio window working in my sketchbook, or – just being present. Feels good, and looks like this:
Another thing I'm trying to get back into the practice of…writing! For the past few years I've carved out roughly an hour a week to write. I flip between introspective journaling time and other writing, like newsletters. I'm a huge fan (and highly recommend!) my friend Stella's Show Up and Write group as my anchor for this practice. I need all the help I can get having some sort of routine for my week, and this is a wonderful part of that routine. If you want to learn more, or request an invitation to join in here (scroll down – it’s two thirds of the way down the page) ;)
I'm knee deep in the planning headspace for 2024 – I have some big plans for the year ahead. I'm applying for some mural opportunities, spring pop-up events, and hoping to work on some new product offerings for 2024. Oh, and carving out time each week to create some new artwork. I always want to do all the things! That said, I'm also trying to put some boundaries in place to protect my creative energy and help focus my attention.
What is Art? (A love story)
I figure most of you are here because you know me, or love art, or love my art. So, here is a story about love, and art!
Aaron and I met in the first period of our first class our freshman year of art school. It was called Methods and Concepts, a foundations of art class, Monday morning at 8am. A short time into that Monday morning class we were divided up into groups to discuss the question – what is art? Our little group of 5 or so went back and forth for a few minutes tossing out things that might be, or might not be art. It can be hard to define art. Is a painting on a wall in a museum art? What about a photograph? Are the marks the cavemen scrawled in the caves art? Is my couch art? What about music or dance? Do they count as art?
The groups dispersed and the teacher opened up the conversation to the class. What is art? One person thought that art was indeed a painting on the wall of a museum. Others thought it was more inclusive and roped in dance and music, sculpture and words. And some of us thought it was concept or intention that made art. Really, anything could be art if it was imagined to be so. A desk could be art. An idea could be art. A life could be lived as art.
Two kids nearing art school graduation, and same kids last month at the Carnegie International exhibition
Aaron and I were very much aligned in the anything can be art camp and that started our friendship. And that friendship grew into a love and that love still grows. And so does our drive to keep exploring art – it is the way we try to make sense of the world around us.
I've found the phrase “blur the lines between life and art” written in several notebooks and sketchbooks over the years. I recently went to a virtual artist talk with two artists who I deeply admire Deborah Roberts and Vanessa German – and that phrase came up in their conversation as well. Let's live life as the ultimate artistic practice and fill our lives with the love and magic of art!
What is art to you? I would love to hear.
Art Swatches
When I feel lost in the studio, I find footing usually one of two ways – cleaning/rearranging or by making shapes on small 3" square pieces of paper. It is very low stakes and a great way to maintain a bit of a creative rhythm. I learned about them through Birdie Fitzgerald who is a fellow color and collage loving artist.
Over the past few years I've been building a library of these cards. They are an alphabet of sorts – the building blocks of my visual language. Just like letters they can be placed into a multitude of arrangements, or appreciated on their own.
These shapes have found their way onto a tissue paper design for packing up orders in my shop, my playing cards and tea towels, and are finding their latest iteration in a new series of work. I find over and over again that it’s the small things that add up to make the big things – case and point, art swatches!
Give it a try if you are ever feeling stuck. Even if it doesn’t become a launching point, I imagine it will be a step along the way to get you closer! What are your favorite things to do if you are stuck and unable to make art? I’d love to hear…