Patterns and Play - Filling The Creative Well - Blog Series

 

Patterns are everywhere that we look, on textiles, in nature, in architecture, and even in our daily routines. There can be something soothing about repetition. Creating patterns allows us to bring order to chaos, develop rhythm in our work and find joy in the familiar. There can also be a playfulness in the repetition and pattern-making.

In the video it gives you an example of repeated patterns and shapes. I enjoy turning my shapes and patterns into a scene.

What Can you try

• Keep it simple, a shape or a motif. Choose something and repeat it across your page. Try changing the size, color, or direction. Layer them or keep them structured in neat rows. The key is to play without judgement. Repetition can be very meditative and I love creating patterns in my own creative practice.  It is calming and will build your confidence.

• You might discover something beautiful in the way slightly imperfect marks can repeat themselves. Or that one pattern leads to another - circles can become flowers, lines become leaves, the possibilities are endless.

• You can also create patterns with stamps, stencils, or stitching, this is a great way to use these tools. Think back to some of the previous posts and additional tools you can use to create patterns. Turn anything into a stamp and let it lead your design. 

• Enjoy the simplicity and the freedom patterns offer. You can also photocopy your patterns and reuse them in your art journals or creative projects.

Takeaway Nuggets:

• Patterns invite rhythm and play into your work.

• Repetition is a creative meditation.

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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. .

Observation - Filling The Creative Well - Blog Series

Observation Drawing

Every now and again, I like to do a 'still life drawing' and pick a subject in front of me or set something up.  I feel it helps train your 'eye' and we move out of the ‘thinking’ and into the present, you have to focus on what you see rather than what you think it should look like.  There are also additional exercises that you can do that will help in your creative practice.

Check out the Yoga of Drawing

What you can Try

Pick a simple object – you choose what catches your eye.  Spend ten minutes drawing it. Don’t worry about accuracy. Focus on shape, shadow, and form.

Additional Exercises

• Try continuous line drawing don’t lift up your pen and create a figure

• Blind contour drawing – don’t look at your paper and draw the figure.  It takes time to get used to the activities but do something every day.  These practices strengthen your connection to what’s real and present.

Drawing from observation builds patience, attention, and skill and helps you practice sensitivity to your surroundings.

Takeaway Nuggets:

• Drawing teaches presence and awareness.

• It’s not about likeness - it’s about looking.

👇👇👇👇👇👇

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. .

Nature-Inspired - Filling the Creative Well - Blog Series

 

Nature can inspire us in so many ways – the colors, patterns and variations offer endless inspiration. I really enjoy working with nature from the dried leaves, fibers and using the surface to create on.  I also use the fibers from plants like the banana and cotton to incorporate weaving into my creations.  These are harvested from my garden.

Check out my Arts and Wellness Cafe video and being out in nature.

 
What you can try

• Take a walk or look out of your window. Find one natural element that speaks to you.
• Maybe it’s the veins of a leaf, the curve of a petal, the color of the sky. Let that image become the inspiration for your page.
• Use actual plant materials if you like – check out my leaf art posts – you can see the range of inspiration in my blog archive.  You can print with leaves, paint with twigs or leaf prints, twigs, or use dried petals. You could also work with nature using the leaves as your surface, see the variety below.

This is about slowing down and taking notice of your surroundings.

Takeaway Nuggets:

1. Nature offers boundless inspiration and reflection.
2. Spend some time daily in nature

👇👇👇👇👇👇

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. .

Mixed Media Magic - Filling the Creative Well - Blog Series

 

 

I love creating Mixed media art and you can pretty much add most mediums together, once you get an understanding of your supplies is where the rules melt and the fun begins. Today, combine three or more materials—paper, fabric, paint, stitch, charcoal, ink. Explore how they work with each other.  Don’t be afraid to vary how you use them.

Check out this video to see how I approached using different mediums in my art journal.

You can also see other mixed media art journal pages in this playlist here

What You can Try

Play with contrast - soft with rough, shiny with matte. Mix dry and wet media. There are no mistakes, only learning experiences

There’s no right or wrong way to mix media. It’s all about listening to texture, to your intuition. Use a glue stick next to watercolor, stitch on top of acrylic or write and doodle on top of collage. By experimenting you get to have an understanding of your supplies and what you like working together.

The main thing to do is to have fun and enjoy the interaction between the materials.  What does your page feel like?  Have you added loads of texture or color?  What is your page inviting you to do next

Takeaway Nuggets:

1. Mixed media invites conversation between materials.
2. Magic happens when you let go of how it “should” look.

👇👇👇👇👇👇

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. .