6 months of art – The Next 38

Creative Inspiration: how making things makes me think of making more things

March 8, 2023Posted in creativityTagged 6 months of art, artLeave a comment

A little late but I finished my crochet blanket.

I was late in finishing because I ran out of yarn and was waiting for a delivery. But now-it’s done. This month, I’ve found myself thinking up ideas for embroidery projects while doing the crochet work. I have a few ideas for projects that I think would be fun to make.

This month is audio storytelling. I’m a bit behind because of the delay in finishing the blanket. I have some ideas sketched out, but I think I need to start with research. A few months ago, I thought I would make a multi episode series on a topic but I have realized over the last few months finishing is consistently a challenge. So I think I will do research and work on a particular story arc or story I want to tell. And from there I will begin with episode 1. It might be the only episode.

One thing that has been interesting is the moving from one creative project to the next, while still thinking about the last one. Or the one before. Hopefully I will come back to these other ideas. The experience has definitely generated creative thinking.

Art for Art’s Sake

January 1, 2023Posted in travelTagged 6 months of art, coffee, creativityLeave a comment

I completed month 2 of my 6 months of art. What I learned from month 2 is that life can easily get in the way of finishing. In fact, with the holidays, I actually did not finish my second project. As you can see in the image, it does appear finished, but I meant to finish the coffee pot with red.

I really do like the little cinnamon rolls. I also do think the red would balance it out. Perhaps I will come back to it. But not finishing is a reoccurring theme for me.

January is the month of video. I already do work on videos every month on YouTube. Sometimes I post every week, sometimes every other week. So for this month, I was trying to think of what my project would be. What specific skills do I want to learn? What specific project do I want to work on? Before the month started I found myself unsure of what to work on. I considered a daily Vlog. I considered a specific video to work on or a specific style. And to be honest, I am not 100% sure. I did start recording today, but I still need to come up with some ideas. We will see what happens!

A Stitch in Time

December 23, 2022Posted in creativityTagged 6 months of art, creativityLeave a comment

Embroidery is something women in my family did. My mom used to embroider various little projects like table runners. My aunt taught me how to do a basic backstitch and attempt letter. I have done cross-stitch projects occasionally, but generally, I found them a little unsatisfying. I usually chose them because I thought they were easier, but just making Xs gets boring. Because of my (limited) experience, for the month of December, I decided to work on embroidery as my creative work. I finished the basic project from the last post about midway through the month. That was a good way to practice some basic stitches I might need like the satin stitch, lazy daisy stitch, french knot etc. From there I wanted to be sure that the next piece was a creative endeavor and not just a predetermined image chosen from JoAnn’s Fabrics. I decided I would embroider something that I drew, which, to be honest, is not a skill I have. I don’t draw. So instead I traced. I traced an image from a cookbook that I like onto a flour sack towel and I chose the colors (although I did not stray much from the original).

What I find is that making time every weekday for a project is the hardest part. Discipline. I start out thinking I have all the time in the world and that I can finish an ambitious amount of work. But then I don’t. And this lesson applies far beyond this month’s project. I have a little more than a week to finish my flour sack towel. But I am really enjoying making these little cinnamon rolls.