Developing your Creative Practice and Dealing with the Critic

Developing a creative routine and managing the critic are integral aspects of nurturing your artistic practice. We don't always have the hours we crave to be creative, but you can look at ways that can help you identify areas that you can incorporate into your routine.

Here are a few things you can do to develop your creative routine - 

Developing Your Creative Routine:

1. Allocate time for play: Make sure to dedicate time to indulge in activities without any specific end goal. This helps you enjoy the creative process and explore without restrictions.
2. Create a schedule: Establish a morning routine that sets the tone for your creative day. Consider incorporating elements like gratitude exercises and spending time in nature to stimulate inspiration and mental well-being.
3. Be Flexible: While having a routine is essential, remain open to adjusting it based on your needs. Allow yourself the freedom to spend more time on certain activities or projects when necessary.

You can find additional tips on my Patreon platform.  

Why not check out the 7 Day FREE Trial to take a look at some of the informative videos and digital downloads that you can have access to.

Learn More HERE

Unlocking The Magic of Stitching in Nature

 

I am constantly fascinated by the intricate and unique designs that can be achieved working on the leaves. It's incredible to see how the texture and color of a dried leaf can be transformed into a beautiful work of art with just a few simple stitches and other creative techniques.

Out of the leaves I have tried so far I particularly enjoy working with the Sea Grape leaf, which dries into a rich, deep tan or reddy-brown color. Using this leaf as my canvas, I began my slow stitching process by adding some basic stitches around the leaf.

As I progressed with my stitching, I felt inspired to add more details to the piece. I used a wood burning tool to create a series of intricate holes that would serve as decorative elements. The combination of the stitches and the burn holes created a stunning visual effect that really brings the piece to life.

What I love about this process is that it allows me to create art out of resources that I have readily available in my garden. The final result is a beautiful and unique piece that showcases the natural beauty of the dried leaf.

I invite you to watch the video of the process and take a look at the images of the completed piece. You'll be amazed at how something as simple as slow stitching on a dried leaf can create such a stunning work of art.

Thank you for joining me for Material Mondays.  Check out some of the other designs that I have done on leaves.

Weaving a design into the leaf

Working with leaves and Fabric

Material Mondays - Textile Art Project - Week 12

Welcome to Material Mondays, this week we are working on a lovely art piece that I had started a while back and it was calling to be complete. I managed to get it a bit further along.  You can check out the video below.

I had got the piece to this stage and checking what kind of beading that I want to have attached to the piece.

I added some seed beads and will see how I feel about them as to whether I will add some more.  It is great to be able to use the supplies, some of the beads have come from clothing, charity or thrift store and other I have brought over time.

I was contemplating whether to turn it into a journal cover

Check out the video below to see how it went.

Let me know if you are working on any textile pieces or would like to incorporate it into your mixed media work.

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Arts and Wellness Café - Inspired living

In the Arts and Wellness Café, this month the word is Inspired and comfort, we will be checking out some great creative ideas and resources.

Check out the video below...

In the café this month I share a textile project, book review, art journal and more!  We also look at the things that can keep us inspired and also provide elements of comfort.

We take a look at this work in progress that will eventually be a wall-hanging.  It is made up of Shibori tie dyed fabric, painted fabric and stitches.   I am hoping to add some embellishments on the piece as well.

You get a flip through of this mini art journal.  I had created a variety of toppers that were looking for a home, I also experimented with glitter and stencils in places.

These smaller art journals are great for all those smaller toppers that you may have that want to be put to good use and you.  You will also hear the 'Tip and Question of the week'  Looking forward to having you join me.

You can also check out resource links below:

https://amazon.com/shop/realityarts

Check out the Free Resources 

Learn more

Other Courses to check out - click on the image

Ultimate Blog Challenge - Last Day of 30 Days!!

 

The 30 Day Ultimate Blog Challenge has come to an end with this being the last post. It has been great being part of the challenge, I did it alongside the current 100 Days of Foam Stamps challenge that you can see the daily or weekly stamps.

What I Learned From the Blog Challenge

Pace - I think that I learn to pace myself better, half way through the challenge I became stuck, I had wanted to plan my posts ahead of time but things got in the way and there were quite a few days where I had decided that I didn't want to do it any more.  

Self Care - After taking a week off I decided that I would just show up and share what I was doing at the time and if any other gems of inspiration came forth that would also be shared. - I have linked to other interesting posts for the days that I missed.

Meeting other Bloggers - I was glad I decided to go for it again and came out the other end having connected with some other interesting and inspiring bloggers, there was so much to learn from others and I will be spending time going over some of the posts that I didn't get a chance to read over the 30 days.

Celebrate Each Step - The other thing I learnt was to celebrate each and every step, writing blog posts can become overwhelming and when you celebrate the steps that you have taken you encourage yourself even more.

I Missed blogging - I also realized how much I missed blogging, I had let my posts generally slip, posting sporadically, and after the challenge I will be posting on a more regular basis about some of the creative projects I am really looking forward to it!

You can catch the rest of the Ultimate Blog Challenge posts that I did HERE

In conclusion - Overall, taking part in the challenge and sharing all my posts reminded me that I love creating, and sharing what I have been doing, teaching techniques and connecting with others.  I hope you have enjoyed visiting my blog and I hope you come back and see what other things I will be sharing over the course of the week.

Do come and join me on some of my other channels

Let me know what has inspired you on your visit to the blog and if you have been tempted to do a challenge of your own.  

Stay Blessed and Be a Blessing,

Amandax

Mixed Media Art Collaborations, Textile Love and Courses Offers!

 

I am taking part in a monthly art collaboration and will be painting this image.  The video goes live tomorrow, and you can set a reminder - if you do join I will be in the chat answering any questions that may pop up as we see how the painting takes shape.

  

The monthly collaboration is a great way to get together virtually with other artists and share the love we have for creativity.  In this collaboration we do not have any prompts you just create what you are inspired to do.  One of the things that I would like to share over time is my love for creating sculptural art and working with recycled materials.  

As a mixed media artist I love creating full stop, and I always have a million and one ideas of things I want to work on, or experiment with - and I give myself the time each and every day.  I schedule the time for myself and show up even if I don't have a particular project in mind.

I also do a lot of work with fabric - painting my fabric, creating sculptural elements in the art and the stitching of these pieces are very therapeutic.

The arts (across the board) have a very positive effect on health and wellbeing and it is important that you try and do something every day.  The arts have been used in may medical environments - hospital waiting rooms, recovery rooms, corridors, my dentist has a nature scene on his ceiling which has a relaxing affect as you try and drown out the sound of the drill.

What ever you do I hope you are able to take the time to do something creative this week, and I would love to know what creative activities you find the time to do.

Stay blessed and be a blessing

If you would like to see the stamps daily you can check out my Instagram HERE

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 I am taking part in the Ultimate Blog Challenge and you can check out the previous posts HERE

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Mixed Media Art Courses to Check out

SALE - Enjoy $10 OFF all courses until 30th April Click on the image to see the course.

Use the Code at the checkout - create2

Neurographic Art - Neurographica

Join me for my Neurographic Art Tutorial - Making my way.

I recently came across Bethany Thieles Art Teacher - Channel where she gives you a Neurographic art Tutorial - mindfulness in art. She goes into detail and gives her interpretation of the technique - but also check out the founder Pavel Piskarev's website - HERE

What drew me to it was the shapes that are created on the page and used it as a meditative tool. I have added my own spice, and used an already created background page with an image, and at the end of the piece I add additional color in some of the sections.

The technique known as Neurographica was founded by Pavel Piskarev in 2014 and is known as an art and stress reduction therapy. They have courses that you can take from Beginner to Instructor level and worth taking a look - the next statement from their website tells you about the theory behind it:

"The Theory of Neurographica is built on scientific principles using the knowledge of visual thinking in combination with the laws and patterns identified by various schools of psychology. Namely: neuropsychology, analytical psychology, Gestalt psychology, Psychosynthesis, social psychology and modern management theory." https://www.neurographica.us/

I really enjoyed creating the pages that I created - I love doodling and mark making. I use black ink and paint brush to create my lines and I love the addition of the faces. I find creating art really relaxing, and will be using it in that way when I want to relax and be mindful.

You can check out Bethany's video HERE: https://youtu.be/NoIgdt-uQR0 For more information about Neurographica check out : https://www.neurographica.us/

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100 Days of Handmade Foam Stamps

This year will be my second year participating in The 100 Day Project. A few years ago I did 100 Days of Pastels and really loved diving into a new art supply.

Check out my previous challenge 100 Pastel Paintings

It was challenging but you always come out the other end with newfound understanding, a body of art, and you do step out of your comfort zone every now and again.

100 Days of Handmade Foam Stamps

This Year for the 100 Day Project I am creating and finishing off my foam stamps.  

I have been creating a series of foam stamps that have largely been neglected and some half completed so I will be completing them to use in my art journals and other projects and then ordering them so that I know what stamps I have.

I look forward to sharing this creative adventure with you and would love to know if you will be taking part as well.

At the end of each week I will show you the stamps for the previous 7 days and a video of how I would use them in a mixed media project.  If you want to see them daily you can hop on over to my Instagram page HERE  I hope you join in, let me know what you will be doing

The Challenge kicks off tomorrow

One BadAss Art Journal Course and More!

 

The One BadAss Art Journal Course has officially started today and as one of the artists I am really excited to see you join us and share how diving into your creativity makes you feel absolutely fantastic!  

This is my fifth year of the course, and it is always a pleasure connecting with the other artists and students as we share how art and creativity inspires and motivates us. 

Here is a sneak peek for you of my session below - I use quite a bit of color, collage material, encouraging words and we bring it together around a simple image - you can substitute for an image of your choosing - bird, butterfly, flower - totally up to you.

I love creating using layers and this was a lovely.  We start out by creating a background using our favorite supplies.  There is a pdf download for you to use as well which includes encouraging words and images of the bird for you to make use of as well.

I hope you join us, it is always a lot of fun on Tiares courses and we always leave inspired and stretched and learn a lot of great techniques from each other - whether you are a teacher or a student.

You can learn more about the course HERE 

Come and join us and Release your inner BadAss!

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Other Classes to Check out

Filling the Creative Well - Creating your mixed media tool kit

Book Of Days - Art Journal Deep Dive

Creative Jumpstart - Everyone can be Creative

A Year of Color - Year round inspiration

Art Journal Page - Hot Air Balloon

 

Come and join me as I complete my latest Art Journal Page - Hot Air Balloon.  

If you want to see the video in real-time with discussion and a look at my Composition Art Journal Page as well, you can join me on my Patreon Page

Arts and Wellness Cafe - You are Remarkable!! And Then Some...

Welcome to this weeks episode of Arts and Wellness Café where the topic is whether or not you realize how Remarkable you are?

In the video we think about the word and our creativity and we look at stepping into it.  At the end of the day you have to let go of any fears or doubts that you have and just go for it!!

Have a look at the video below:  We also cover a book review and Art Journal Page

What creative activities are you holding yourself back from, fearing what others might think or say when you share.  I always say that if you don't share you miss out on reaching that person that is sitting thousands of miles away and would be inspired by what you have to say - you could change their life, inspire and give them hope.  

But if you listen to that one person sitting in a dusty basement in their leggings trawling from one site to the next looking to see how negative they can be in the comments you have missed out on an amazing opportunity to spread your joy, be part of a community and see your creative activities grow!!  

The book that we cover in this episode is Creative Bloom, it has some great projects using wire and I love the gardening references.

You can CHECK IT OUT HERE

In 'Question of the week I ask 'How long have you been playing it small, hiding your light, and how long are you going to continue?  I would be interested to hear what you think, are you - have you just broken free and now shining like the stars?

The links that I shared:

Life Book 2022

Use Code ARTJOY30 to receive 30% off

Creative Studio - Ivy Newport 

Special offer Access to over 100 courses for 30 days

My Online Courses

"Playing Card Art"

"How Does your Garden Grow"

My new Etsy Store

Digital Art Backgrounds for Art Journaling, and all your creative activities

Arts and Wellness Café - Creative Impact Awareness

 

What is the impact of your creativity on the world? In this weeks episode the word is Aware and suggests that we need to have a handle on what we are doing, how we feel and the impact in regards to other people.

When you are not sharing what you do then others cannot be blessed. That person who sees you as an example remains lost. Something for us to think about on our creative journey, or adventure which it sometimes feels like.

I shared this Art Journal page too, I had done the face some time back but when I was looking at it felt that there were some marks and doodles missing. The Journal page has been creating in my Restoration Art Journal. It is great to have a space to create and to experiment in.

You can check out this journal and hear me talk about some of the pages created HERE

Check out the rest of the arts and wellness café, and think about the tip for the week and also the question of the week - are there some things that you need to change.

Check out my new art course - Playing Card Art, creating art on playing cards, preparing the surface and having fun altering and bringing out an image - Check it out HERE

Also check out LIFEBOOK 2022, I taught on this years course and had lots of fun, you can check out my current project which is a stitched piece, gets you having fun with your fabric supplies

Stitched Meditations

Stitched Meditations - Amanda Trought

Pre-order Life Book 2022

There is a great lineup of teachers and you can also check out their profiles and see examples of their work!

Stay blessed and be a blessing