Just One Tool - Filling the Creative Well - Blog Series

 

Limiting your tools or supplies can be one of the most liberating creative decisions. Today’s challenge is to use just one tool, medium, or material and explore everything it can do. I find it is a great way to really understand all the uses of that tool or supply, and it gives you more flexibility and variation in your work.

Check out the Video - if you find limiting yourself to just one to begin with difficult, just reduce the amount you would normally use.  In this video I use some paints and stencils to work on the page.

What you can try

• Pick one: a watercolor palette, a black marker, a needle and thread, a gel pen, a single color of paint. What happens when you stretch its use across the whole page or several? 

• With fewer choices, you are able to explore further. Try making different types of marks. Experiment with layering. Use the tool in unexpected ways maybe your pen mimics another supply, or your watercolor develops unusual texture when layered thickly. 

• This kind of exploration sharpens your understanding of your materials and deepens your relationship to them. You become more resourceful and imaginative. 

• You might also notice that limiting your choices frees your brain. Instead of worrying about all the variations of color in your acrylic set which can sometimes be 50+, you get to focus on how many different shades and variations you can get from one color.

Bonus idea: use the same tool each day for a week. Observe how your comfort grows. This practice helps you slow down and appreciate simplicity.

Takeaway Nuggets: 

1. Limiting tools can unlock deeper creativity.
2. Mastery comes from exploration

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Check out some of the free and paid resources below to enhance your creative journey 

Course Platform - there are a variety of FREE courses and resources for you to use in your creative practice.

FREE Tier - Patreon - I have a Free Tier on Patreon that has a selection of early release posts and monthly Digital Download Papers for you to use in your creative projects - Learn More Here

YouTube - Weekly Videos to encourage your creative practice, Slow stitching, art journaling and Artists chats - Learn More Here

Check out Filling the Creative Well which helps you establish your creative practice. In the course Filling the Creative Well, your journal is also a place to answer questions, encourage and motivate you, some days you need a reminder and so filling it with encouraging words so that you can come back to it, especially in those days where you are in a valley is really important. .

Free Mixed Media Art Resources

 

Check out the Free resource - see a host of Free Resources and information for you to access, including digital and audio downloads, course information, book, product reviews, discounts and offers. You can check it out on my course platform - Click on the link HERE

Art Tags FREE Mini Course

A set of 7 art tags designs that you can add your own flair to. In the videos I share with you some hints and tips More information HERE

Recycled Stamps and Stencils Course

Do you want ideas for creating your own stamps and stencils from recycled materials, in this mini course I show you a series of examples using recycled materials and create a couple of art pages.  More information HERE

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Mixed Media Art Courses to Check out

The Joy of MOTIF - Rachel Bellamy Online Course

 

Join Rachel as she brings you on a journey of exploration and discovery, in her new course The Joy of M.O.T.I.F.

She has some amazing processes for creating abstract art and using colors, marks and symbols to bring them together a cohesive collection.

In this class, Rachel shares her M.O.T.I.F. framework that she uses to create a cohesive series of abstract art using gelli plates, a curated collection of supplies and inspired mark making.

Get ready to not just create a few pieces of mixed media abstract art but rather a fantastic array of pieces! You can frame them use them as gifts and cards and so much more!

Rachel will be your passionate guide for this creative adventure, as you create your own body of art work.

Check out Studio Works FREE for 30 days

Click Here for more information

10 Prompts, 10 Days, 10 Minutes - Day 5 - Unusual Marks

Welcome to day 5 of the 10 Ideas to kick start your creativity.  Today's task and additional instructions is below

Prompt 5 Unusual Marks

Find different stick/old pens that you wouldn’t normally use to paint and try creating with them, see how each creates a different line and shape in the paint.  You can get some great and unusual marks in the paper, and also start to add to your creative tool chest things that you can use at a later date.  

You might find some of these marks that you make the next inspiration for your next piece of art 

Additional Information

The great thing about these ideas is that anyone can do them, you don’t need to be creative, so if you are looking for ways to unwind or give yourself that much needed time then these are things ideas that you should try.

For each activity you can try it using different mediums or surfaces, colours - do not limit yourself.  I want to give you ways in which you can experiment if you want to.  You can adapt it anyway you like to suit, and there are no right or wrong ways to create, so do not put any boundaries on yourself.

The most important thing is to have fun.  The minimum amount of time you should spend on each activity is 10 minutes, it is great if you can spend longer.  You can do a different activity each day, add the activities together, or work on a piece for longer.  

I will be following along and posting to my Instagram account remember to share and put in the hastags #101010 and #realityarts

Each activity will give you ways in which you can very easily strengthen your creative muscles and also provide you with some of the tools and techniques that I will be sharing in my lesson on the BADASS Art Journal  Check out some of the cool bonuses that you can get when you sign up using my link HERE  Only 2 days to go before the course starts!

If you don’t take the BADASS Art Journal course these tips will provide you with some great ways in which you can keep yourself going and have ideas that you can dip into.

What you waiting for - enjoy, and let me know how you get on.