Cinnamon Pink

Squeeze More Art into Your Life

If you regularly read my blog, you know that I'm always trying to Squeeze More Art into My Life. Recently, I came up with the following ideas and decided to share them with you on my blog.

BTW, How do you squeeze more art into your life?

MAKE MORE ART

• Get in the practice of doodling daily.
• Draw everywhere and all the time. An artist is a sketchbook with a person attached: Irwin Greenberg. 
• Take an online Art course.
• Draw every day for at least half an hour. If you don't feel like it then draw until you do: Author Unknown.
• Carry a stash of Artist Trading Cards (ATC) around with you – and use them daily.
• If you watch TV, draw during the commercials.
• A drawing a day keeps the cobwebs away. (Robert Genn)
• Commit to an online Weekly Art Challenge, e.g., Illustration Friday.
• Make drawing part of your Art Journaling process.
• Draw your daily purchases - food or products.
• Draw cartoons. Start a series. Check out the Drawing Words & Writing Pictures site.
• Create a drawing/painting for each letter of the alphabet.
• Draw a series of birds, realistic or comical.
• Keep your sketchbook/art journal by your laptop for quick sketches.
• Go on a Sketch Crawl, with friends or by yourself. Sketch local landmarks, or shoppers in a Mall.
• Explore a new art form through a book from the library or a book store.
• Learn the basics of Calligraphy - or brush up on Calligraphy.
• Using cardstock, cut up a bunch of inches (1” x 1”). Keep them by your desk to make instant art.
• Use the remainder of your morning tea or coffee to create a quick painting.
• Create some grids and fill them in with sketches or doodles.
• Practice different techniques in: watercolor; acrylics or pen & ink.

©Darlene Maciuba-Koppel – Cinnamon Pink

 

 

ATC To Do Lists: A Work-In-Progress

Like many of you, I'm always juggling a variety of mixed-media art projects. Making the typical To Do Lists can be frustrating. I hopefully think I can finish all the tasks that I plan for a given day. But since my list was always too long, I usually did not meet my goal.

To remedy the situation, I thought of putting my To Do Lists on the backs of business cards. Why not use small cards to make shorter lists? But I decided business cards were too small for my writing style. Instead, I came up with the idea of using Artist Trading Cards (ATC) covered with decorative papers.

My ATC To Do Lists are a work-in-progress which I'm going to test out in the next few weeks. You can try working with them too!

 

Try My: Make Art Now Worksheet

If you're like me, you probably have notebooks, art journals and piles of stickies filled with ideas for new projects. In the whirl of daily life, those ideas may be quickly forgotten since they are out of sight and out of mind. Before you know it, you may be scribbling down new lists of ideas.

I created a Make Art Now Worksheet to help me transform my Ideas into Action Steps.  When I come up with a new project idea, I now write down three Action Steps that I can take to move my idea forward to eventual completion.

Give my Worksheet a try and let me know how it works for you.

 

Ten Tips to Draw More Daily

As I mentioned before on my blog, one of my 2009 goals is to draw daily. I had a similar goal in 2008 and I did draw almost every day. However, this year I want to Create More Art.

As I reflect back on 2008, I think one of the obstacles that prevented me from being more prolific was creating the perfect circumstances for drawing. I told myself that I couldn't draw unless I was in my Studio.... or until I had a longer block of  time to create. And so on and so on. The excuses continued.

This year I decided to sweep perfection out the door. Instead, I came up with a list of ten tips to help me draw daily. I hope some of these tips help you too.

Hot Ideas Worksheet

Did you have a great art idea yesterday? How about that idea you had last week? Did it get lost in the daily activities of your life?

I used to consistently note down ideas for my mixed-media projects in my Art Journal. But once I closed my journal, my ideas became out of sight and out of mind. I still record my ideas in my journal but now I take it one step further.

I've developed a Hot Ideas Worksheet to document my big, juicy ideas. I tack my Worksheet up on my studio wall. This strategy helps me remember to work on my Hot Ideas before they fizzle out. Hang this Worksheet on your studio wall, Inspiration Board, kitchen bulletin board - wherever it will help you to develop those Hot Ideas. Let me know what you think.

Have a Creative Day, Darlene

Project Detail Sheet

When I prepared for a Craft Show last year, my Studio was complete chaos. I had unfinished projects, all kinds of art and craft supplies, packaging, post-it notes, and To Do lists piled on shelves, chairs and tables. The pressure I put on myself wasn't pretty.

I recently developed this "Project Detail Sheet" to become more organized when I participate in swaps, submit Art to magazines and do my next Craft Show.

To me, the most valuable section on the list is Lessons Learned. For example, I made vintage ornaments for last year's craft show. Although I was pleased with the end result, the hours that I spent cutting, pasting - and adding glitter to each ornament did not result in a big payoff. My Lessons Learned? No vintage ornaments this year! Let me know what you think.

Have a Creative Day, Darlene

Filling the Well - Idea Sheet

As I mentioned in my very first post, I'm always trying to dream up ideas to stimulate my muse. Today, I created this "Filling the Well" Idea Sheet. These are activities that worked for me.

I hope to  create more Idea Sheets, Worksheets and Forms. Maybe I'll eventually develop an Artist's Activity Book. Let me know what you think.

Have a Creative Day, Darlene