This morning I woke with an idea I want to try out involving the entangled drawings I’ve been doing and embellishments. I’ll show the results of my ideas when I get to results I want to show.
So far, I’ve got several ’tiles’ coloured. I cut them from Claire Fontaine mixed media paper into tiles of various sizes. The biggest is 6″ x 6″ and the smallest approx 4″ x 3½”. I didn’t want to waste any paper, only the tiniest sliver that had the adhesive on it was discarded.
Then, I used Distress Inks and a mini foam blending tool to add colour to the paper. Finally, I sprayed them lightly with water and used a hair drier to dry them.
They’re now ready for me to work with, and that’s what I’m going to do today while listening to the audiobook version of “The Rise of Skywalker” – yes, I love Star Wars!
The Star Wars saga is one of the classic tales where good overcomes evil, where heroes come in all kinds, and it reminds us that there is always hope, hope that better times will come.
And we certainly need hope in these times.
Star Wars has long been a companion that lifts me when I’m seriously down, anxious, confused, stressed. It’s one of my self-soothing tools and never fails to work when I’m not well – physically, emotionally or mentally.
Art and creativity is another of my self-soothing tools. In the past couple of weeks of social distancing and almost self-isoloation, I’ve created art both traditionally and digitally, crocheted, cross-stitched, needle-felted, and even got software so I can design my own cross-stitch patterns.
Listening to audiobooks, podcasts or music is something I love to do while I’m at my desk – whether I’m creating traditionally or digitally. When I’m crocheting or cross-stitching or needle-felting I’m downstairs and currently binge-watching Criminal Minds.
Today, I had an email from RedBubble about the current crisis and the role of art in it, along with this excerpt from an article written by Adam Schwartz of TeePublic called “An Artist Call to Arms“:
In times of human struggle, the world needs art. Crises such as this are too complex, too nuanced to put into words, but art is a higher form of language. When we don’t know what to feel, art can illustrate emotion … [As an artist] You do have a sword to wield. Can you push through anxiety and find the space to be creative? Can you find your voice and whisper to us, a joke, an idea, or a memory of some better time? I implore you to try … as an artist community our voices echo more loudly than one could ever do alone.
Angela Porter 