Category Archives: Creating Equals Playing

Art and Alchemy

29 Thursday Dec 2011

Posted by in Art, Creating Equals Playing

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One of my favorite things to do is experiment with new techniques in creating art.

It can be a bit like alchemy, trying to find the right combinations of substances to create something new. Sometimes all I get is a big mess, and other times it pays off big time with results I couldn’t have imagined.

One of the seeds I will plant in the new year is the seed of experimentation – and I plan to show some of my results in the future on this blog.

Zentangles

20 Tuesday Dec 2011

Posted by in Art, Art Supplies, Craft Project, Creating Equals Playing

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Today’s post comes from Joanne Fink. I know a few of you who have subscribed to this blog have an interest in Zentangles. Yesterday, I received information about this book by Joanne Fink, featuring her drawing and patterning techniques.

The following letter is from Joanne Fink. She gave me permission to post this:

“Dear Friends & Family,

Three years ago, I began a new stage of my creative journey when I was introduced to the wonderful world of Zentangle®. I enjoyed ‘tangling’ for a couple of weeks, then returned to my calligraphic roots and started incorporating patterns into my letterforms and designs. Since I was inspired by Zentangle, I called my new style “Zenspirations™”, and began teaching others how to enhance their work with simple patterns. I had never worked with a mono-line pen before, but quickly became so enamored with all of Sakura’s wonderful pens that I became a ‘Sakura Fanatic’, and filmed a series of videos showing how I use their tools to create my Zenspirations art. You can find them on Sakura’s website, or by clicking on the links below.
In addition to the videos, I’ve designed and licensed lots of Zenspirations products for the craft market, and Inspired Journey items for the stationery and gift market. My new book, Zenspirations Letters & Patterning, was introduced by Design Originals at the Craft & Hobby Show in July. My publisher is offering a “Friends & Family” 20% discount to anyone who wants to order the book between now and January 2, 2012. Just click this link:
BUY NOW    and put in the promo code “zensp” at checkout.
And for those of you who are looking for last minute holiday gifts, please check out my new magnetic jewelry design inserts for Magnabilities at http://www.magnabilities.com/store/design-inserts-licensed-c-3_1213_1109.html. The Christmas designs (see samples below) are available now, and my monogram inserts will be available soon.
Thanks for helping me get the word out about the book, jewelry and videos… I really appreciate it.
Happy Holidays!
Joanne”
ZENSPIRATIONS™ VIDEO LINKS:
 
1.       Zenspirations Patterning Techniques with Joanne Fink
2.       Zenspirations Shape & Edge Patterning with Joanne Fink
3.       Zenspirations Patterned Monograms with Joanne Fink
4.       Zenspirations Borders & Frames with Joanne Fink
5.       Sakura Fanatic with Joanne Fink
6.       Zenspirations Koi Watercolor Painting with Samantha Trattner (Joanne’s daughter)
Hope you enjoy the videos… you can see other great videos on Sakura’s website: www.sakuraofamerica.com.
________________

A Fork in the Blogging Road

20 Sunday Nov 2011

Posted by in Art, Creating a Character, Creating Equals Playing, daily doodle, Finny and Wood, Writing

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When I started the Finny and Wood series, my intention was to share my process for creating a character. For anyone who is curious to see the development from start to present, I created a category called “Creating a Character”, and I’ve placed all the Finny and Wood panels into that category.

In the beginning, I didn’t quite know who these characters were, but I’m starting to get a sense of them now. Up until yesterday’s post, Finny hadn’t spoken. When creating a story in an imaginary world, it’s important to define the rules. How close to reality do I want the characters to be? Deciding whether animals can speak or not is a huge decision, so I didn’t take it lightly. I decided whenever Finny speaks to a human, the first word out of his mouth should be “Me”. I’m not sure if I should keep that rule when he speaks to another animal, such as Wood. I’ll have to cross that bridge when I come to it. However, I feel good about the “Me” decision. He’s a cat, and in the real world, humans can’t understand all the different meanings of “Meow” without some imaginative interpretation. That’s why I think this rule works. I needed to give Finny speech for the sake of developing these characters.

I’m trying to decide whether to continue every day with this storyline until it’s complete, or if I should switch things up and limit this storyline to once or twice a week. I will continue placing these in the Creating a Character category and the Finny and Wood category, so that people who are interested can easily follow along. I see this blog as a conversation, so I’d love to get comments from people on what you’d like to see. There are so many possibilities on the direction of this blog. Sometimes I feel like every day there’s a new fork in this blogging road.

Observing Something Again for the First Time

22 Saturday Oct 2011

Posted by in Art, Creating Equals Playing, Journal, Writing

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A few days ago I saw the moon in the daytime sky. The moment I saw it, I knew I had to use the image as inspiration for this art journal blog.

The pale moon against a light blue sky has always been a rare and magical sight for me. When I looked more closely, I actually saw the man in the moon for the first time. I saw the vague indication of a face. I had never seen it before! I suppose I had never observed the moon closely enough to see it. It’s kind of an amazing experience to see something for the first time that has been there all along.

Creating art and writing has a lot to do with observation and interpreting subject matter. I hope this eye opening experience helps me to open my thoughts when it comes to writing and creating art.

Creating Equals Playing

17 Monday Oct 2011

Posted by in Art, Creating Equals Playing, Journal, Writing

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Today I’m posting another Creating Equals Playing doodle. I was inspired to continue with this theme by a recent post called “Taking a Load Off”, by Janece of The Wild Pomegranate Blog. I’ve added her blog to my blog roll.

http://thewildpomegranate.com/

Janece had spoken about how surrounding yourself with positivity can lead to more positivity. Sometimes negativity and self-criticism can creep into one’s creative process. When I first started this blog I had a lot of self-doubt, and I was fortunate that I found my way onto a positive path in creating these posts.

The idea of creating without goals was inspired by something Dr. Stewart Brown said in an interview. Play is extremely important to the health of the human brain, and there are many types of play. He mentioned a whole list of activities that can be play, including writing and creating artwork. The most important factor that determines whether an activity is play rather than work is whether or not there is a goal in the activity. If the players are playing to win, then it becomes work. If you intend to achieve something, it’s not the kind of play he is talking about. If you are putting yourself under stress with the intention of the activity leading to an achievement of a goal, then it can no longer be considered play, and it is not tapping into the part of the brain that is stimulated by play. I think everyone needs to play more whether it’s social play or laughing and joking with people, playing games, or creating something.

This blog is my way of playing at creating, and I need to be remind myself to keep it as a playful activity for myself.

Creating a Character – Finny and Wood

16 Sunday Oct 2011

Posted by in Creating a Character, Creating Equals Playing, daily doodle, Finny and Wood, Writing

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I started a category of posts called Creating Equals Playing. It’s all about doodling for the sake of having fun.

The idea behind it came from an episode of The Brain Science Podcast (episode 60). Dr. Ginger Campbell interviewed Dr. Stewart Brown. He talked about the importance of play to brain health.

Today’s doodle is also a continuation of an idea of creating a comic strip based on the adventures of a cat and dog character. I’ve named the cat Finny, and the dog’s name is Wood – so the name of the strip will be “Finny and Wood”. I don’t plan to create a formal schedule for Finny and Wood, because I want to keep it playful, but if you want to follow this series, I plan to label it with two categories and tags, which you can find on the left sidebar, “Creating a Character”, and “Finny and Wood”.