SweetMyrtle

experimental art course

i don't know if you remember me writing here about the fabulous  6 week online Experimental Art e-course i took last Summer with Amelia Critchlow from 101birdtales ? well it starts again next week, Monday 25th April 2011 and  i am doing it again!

I first discovered the course whilst 'blog hopping'  and was so pleased that i did! it really helped me finally give myself permission to 'play' and enjoy the art process and to have some fun whilst experimenting with many new to me techniques.

During the 6 week course Amelia takes the participants, who come from many different countries and disciplines, through various art-ing techniques and exercises in an open, gentle and experimental way.  the lessons are taught via a series of weekly assignments and cover the following techniques:

• wild sketchbook experiments
• experimental drawing
• painting-without-a-brush techniques
• mixed-media collage
• experimental photograph taking
• and an introduction to contemporary art practice and thinking

 you do not have to have done any art before  and it really isn't scary for those just dipping their toes into creating. 

as you can probably guess, i really enjoyed the experimental photography and found it so freeing and inspiring. i do struggle with drawing and painting and i found that these assignments to be especially useful. Collage is another technique which is fairly new to me and i loved all the possibilities in this area... just look at this one Amelia did...

the best thing about it being an online course was that you can follow at your own pace and pick and choose the exercises you wish to do, those that 'really speak to you'. i also enjoyed the 'community' aspect of uploading images to the private flickr site and getting feedback and guidance on them. this part is optional and although it was scary uploading those first pages of my sketch book it was worth it for the supportive comments and encouragement from the group.

 one of my playful experiments

for me the whole experience set me off on a new path. where i have, in the past focused on 'end product' this course has allowed me  to see it all as part of a process, so i do not get frustrated that what i have achieved is not good enough now, but that it is a processs through which i am experimenting and learning.

The course is also packed full of inspiring links and resources which can take you along whatever experimental path you chose, i am really looking forward to some more playing and experimenting next week.

so if you feel like  you want to have some fun and nurture your inner artist child then pop over here for more details and to sign up. it is also worth reading the testimonials here too to see what other experimenters say.

so maybe see you in class?

gx

raspberry red

we are having a busy holiday with lots of trips and fun adventures.

i am also trying to find some time for experimenting and creating. to give me a focus i  have joined Louises creative color challenge.

this week's colour was raspberry red, so i collected lots of scrap fabrics, mono printed up a piece of old sheeting and mixed in a little wool felt and some stitch and created another cuff.

 

i used a lovely old button and a small remnant of saved ribbon for the clasp. the cuff  is very rough with frayed edges and sketchy stitches, a real departure from much of my past work but i am really enjoying the freedom it brings. i have been wearing it everyday since i made it too and now want to make a necklace to match.

today we woke up early and i continued to experiment in preparation for a junk jewelery workshop i am running next week. my youngest joined me and has made me the sweetest bracelet  from plaited scraps of fabric and suffolk puffs. i am now wearing this instead of my raspberry cuff. i will add a photo to my flickr site as soon as i take one.

i love creating alongside the children but it doesn't always happen so easily and finding time to continue to create and to prep for work can be a struggle during the holidays. i have lots of prep to do for our autumn program too which i am slightly anxious about. i am interested to hear how those of you who have small creative businesses manage to balance work and play during the school holidays? do you balance it well , get childcare or try and juggle it all and end up feeling a little stressed?

for more raspberry creations by other participants see the creative color challenge flickr group here

art course

my online art course is now in it's 5th week. i missed week 4 so i am playing catch up. i also missed some of week 3 as life has been very busy. the good thing though about amelias course is that this does not matter as there are no rules ~ you can do as much or as little as you like. you can also share images for feedback or not, the choice is ours. it is a great course and with 3 comprehensive assignments each week  there  really is lots to play with and be inspired by. we are also encouraged to explore the ones we like further and feedback gives suggestions on where to go next with it all.

as a beginner i am working through all the set projects religiously. on sunday i reviewed all my experiments to date and correlated them in my large sketchbook. i also wrote notes about each piece and other ideas that have developed from the process. i feel i am really concentrating on process now and less worried about having a perfect end piece. this has also meant that i am less nervous about sharing my experiments as i am doing them for me and for my developement which results in feeling less pressure about it all being 'judged'.

finding time to explore fully though has been difficult  but yesterdayi was determined to set aside some time to revisit one of week 3's projects again. i spent an enjoyable morning experimenting with textures and really getting messy with applying paint without a brush. i wasn't sure about the results until i photographed them. i find photographing a piece helps me view it with a little more distance. i also love finding and cropping interesting details like the one below. i have printed out a few of these texture and  may well add them to other experiments.

 

so now we are onto week 5 and the theme is experimental photography which as you can guess is one i have been waiting for. i am so eager to start but i do want to play with a few of last weeks mixed media collage exercises first.

i am so pleased that i started this course as it it stretching me in new ways. i do love learning, playing and creating.

for further info about amelia and her e ~course see her blog and website

daisies

this seems to be turning into a week of flowers... forget - me- nots on monday, dandelions yesterday and today daisies...

i love daisies, from tiny lawn daisies to large shasta daisies.  i don't have any daisies in my lawn yet this year but i have started to see them scattered across open green spaces while i am out and about.

last month, whilst playing around in my sewing space , i randomly and roughly stitched some of my favourite fabrics together and experimented with a yo yo and a little freehand machine embroidery.  the sample did not work, one bit looked crap so i cut it off.  the remaining part ended up being a curved shape which when backed with a little felt evolved into a  (very rough) wrist cuff.

on seeing the possibilities i then decided that i would like to create one based on a daisy. i did a little sketch, chose fabrics of  golden yellow , cream and white and i started to play...

 

 this is how it turned out...

 i think perhaps it is a little large... but  i feel there are possibilities for a smaller modified cuff and i  am also using the idea to work on a few pendants.

sometimes i get stuck creatively and  am too much thinking of an end item rather than just experimenting and seeing where it leads me, so this little daisy cuff to me represents how i must make time to experiment, play and just enjoy the process. and to also be aware that whether there is a finished item at the end or not,  that it is the process  and exploration that is well worth experiencing... a little like life perhaps!

at the moment i have little time to experiment to my heart's desire as i am constantly designing and preparing new projects  for our teaching classes. i enjoy coming up with new ideas for workshops but i am really going to discipline myself to focus on my own creative development this year too... and now i have told you all here.. i will have to!

 : )

experiment ~ cherries

my favourite bowl ...  full of  juicy english cherries... but not for long!

experiment ~ field

an image from our walk today... 

experiment ~ grape bells

i have been playing around with colours and cropping today....these muscari now resemble juicy grapes... their common name actually is 'grape hyacinth', which after my little experiment makes perfect sense to me.

wishing you a very happy weekend x

experiment ~ still life

 

experiment ~ winter trees