Thursday, April 25, 2019

5 Simple ways to enjoy everyday pleasures

A creative life means as we journey through our routine we gather moments of inspiration. Creative opportunities are present throughout our day; incorporating creative time into our daily routines is often easier than we think.

Creativity everywhere, everyday

Creative living seems to parallel with slowing down, a conscious choice, and not always an easy one, but with time it leads to more significant inspiration, appreciation, and calmness, in time becoming a way of life. Creativity surrounds use everywhere, every day; here are some tools to help you slow, see and enjoy:
    1. Breathe - when life races ahead, pause and take a deep breath. Really feel the air coming into your body; by focusing on each breath, you bring yourself back to the present. 
      2. Be present - be mindful of whatever you're doing at that moment. When your mind starts to wonder off, take a breath and gently bring yourself back to the present. Focus on the moment, the environment, hear the sounds and observe the colours, shapes and textures that surround you.
        See, slow and enjoy nature, slow living
        3. Embrace Nature - many of us are in day-jobs and spend much of the day in an office and commuting, getting some outside time can be tough. Start with getting up a half hour early and head outside to walk, to breath, watch the sunrise, hear the birds and other noises, visit a local park, touch the tree bark, or just sit in a new spot while having your morning coffee.

        slowliving, monotasking, being present

        4. Mono-task - In today's busy world we often find ourselves doing multiple things at once. Studies have shown that mono-tasking promotes deep thinking and increases productivity. Start to focus on one thing at a time, when you feel the urge to break away to other tasks, pause, take a breath, and gently pull yourself back. Start doing this during the creative time, experience a new freedom.
          5. Find pleasure in every day - this relates to being present and mono-tasking but taking it a step further. Whatever you're doing, be fully present and appreciate every aspect of it. Find an enjoyable angle even when doing the dishes, hanging out the washing or cooking the weeknight meal, take a moment to see the lines, colours, textures and shapes in front of you. When doing the nightly cook, how would it chance the task if you used a different method to cook or served the meal on a plate usually reserved for best occasions? Have a go at cooking by colour, for example, tonight everything on the plate is green etc. sees if it changes how you feel about the task. Does it give you ideas for other projects?


            In a world where time is precious, let's not forget to enjoy the time that we do have. 

            Creativity surrounds us everywhere in our every day surrounds; allow yourself to slow, see and enjoy.  


            As creatives, our productivity doesn't just depend on speed and efficiency. It also depends on our creativity, intuition and innovation, and these things need space to flourish. 

            Related Post:

            Snippets of daily detail
            Every day we walk our calico cat
            How a Mundane task turned into a creative day
            New fabrics inspired by crushed paper



            Sunday, April 7, 2019

            Texture, the element of art that stimulates sight and touch

            The texture is the element of art that refers to the way things look or feel. It is the character of a surface and can be both tactile and visual. Texture stimulates two different senses: sight and touch.
            Use texture to add subtle interest to the surface
             
            Types of texture:
            • Tactile or real texture: is the physical quality of a surface, such as rough, smooth, sticky, fuzzy, soft or slick. A real texture is one you can actually feel with your hand, such as a tree trunk, sandpaper, brick, animal fur, etc.
              • Visual or Implied texture is the visual quality of a surface. Visual or implied texture can be simulated or invented. The simulated texture is the type of composition that is created to look like something it is not. Visual texture is an illusion of texture created by an artist. For example, Paint can be manipulated to give the impression of texture, while the paper surface remains smooth and flat.

              Incorporating texture into the creative process adds another dimension. Painters use different mediums, paint strokes, and surface treatments to create the illusion of texture. 

              In textiles, texture starts with fabric selection. When selecting fabric, you consider the weave of the material, whether it be tightly woven to reflect the light or a courser weave like burlap.

              With the development of technology, the photographic image now has a role in our textile pieces. The ability to print images onto lengths of fabric means the print on the material also plays a vital role in adding textural interest to our works. Learning to apply digital images to fabric was a pivotal moment in my practice.
              Inspiration equals nature plus texture
              Additional levels of texture can be added through the use of hand stitching, thread thickness, quilting, trapunto, beads, buttons, acrylic mediums, puff paint, Tyvek, fabric burning, adding ribbon, lace, applique, and fabric manipulation through pleating, folding, seam construction etc... 

              Texture, along with the line, shape, form, colour, space and value are known as the elements of art, the essential design ingredients.

              The elements of art help the artist to:

              • create visual interest or a focal point
              • to create contrast within a design
              • to help visually balance a design

              Artist across the mediums draw on these elements to create interest or contrast in their works. Sometimes these elements work together and other times the stand alone.

              drawing inspiration from the different types of texture

              Everywhere, every day we are surrounded by natural and artificial texture. As you gather and collect inspiration keep an eye out for texture. Use a combination of words, sketch and digital image to obtain ideas. Many photographers use macro photography to capture the feel of a subject. Macro mode enables you to get in close, examine the detail and crop the scene. Interested in exploring macro photography further here are a couple of useful articles.

              How To Create Your Own Unique Textures and Apply Them To Your Photography by John Davenport

              How To Take Amazing Smartphone Macro Photos by Max Therry

              The random smoothness and roughness of texture are what draws us in to touch and get a closer look. In addition to photography and sketching, you can use rubbing to capture the character of the texture. In school, you probably placed a piece of paper over the surface, and with a B pencil or charcoal, you lightly rubbed to reveal the pattern. 

              This same exercise can be done by laying a piece of fabric across the texture and using a Shiva Oil Paintstik or similar fabric crayon rub across the texture.
              1. Prewash the fabric to remove any sizing.
              2. Place the textured surface under your fabric.
              3. Tape your fabric in place to prevent it from shifting too much.
              4. Oil paint sticks are self-sealing, using a piece of paper towel gently remove the film.
              5. Lightly rub the paintstik across the fabric, an image of the textured item under the material will appear. 
              6. After applying the colour, allow the painted fabric to dry 3-5 days, then heat-set to make the colours permanent.
              7. Place a piece of baking paper on the surface of your ironing board, then a bit of old muslin (an old tea towel works well too) and set your iron to the proper setting for the painted fabric, e.g. cotton setting for cotton fabric etc.
              8. Put the painted fabric paint-side down on the muslin (or tea towel) and press for 10-15 seconds in each painted spot.


              fabric rubbing

              Once the paintstik rubbing has been heat-set, it is colourfast, washable & dry cleanable. Not only have you captured the texture but you are have also created a unique piece of fabric. 

              One of the great things about texture is that you can find it everywhere. The more you look, the more you'll discover, you can also make your own texture. Observe your surrounds and enjoy some creative playtime while building your texture library.

              Related Posts:

              Six Ways to Find & Collect Inspiration

              Fabric Inspired by Crushed Paper
               
              Pine Tree bark, a natural texture

              How a Mundane Task Turned in to a Creative Day Out?

              A Creative Day in the Country



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