Saturday, July 7, 2018

Keeping Art Affordable

Cloth Paper Scissors -Keeping Art Affordable by Pam Carriker

In tough economic times, things like buying or creating art often end up on the back burner. The challenges of managing a household, the ever-increasing cost of living, and the need to be frugal don't diminish your need to create. Here are some simple money-saving strategies.

1. Use supplies you already have on hand. Look through your work space for supplies you purchased and haven't used yet. We get excited about a new technique or product, rush out to buy it, and then it sits in our studio gathering dust. Use it, trade it with a friend, or sell it online.

2. Finish projects you started and never finished. Go through your unfinished projects and set a time to finish them. If you've lost interest, recycle or appropriately discard the materials. Unfinished projects weigh on your spirit and take up space.

3. Save leftover paint and scraps of paper. Use leftovers in your art journal, make a card, or create some mail art to submit to a magazine for publication. Organize scraps by color in see-through drawers. Host a scrap swap on your blog.
   Together (mixed media, 12x6) by Pam Carriker

4. Host an art swap. Swapping art with friends is a fun way to collect and share art with others, as well as lift each other's spirits. Who doesn't love a good mail day? It's becoming increasingly rare to get a letter, card, or package in the mail, and nothing brightens your day more. Pay it forward!

  5. Reinvent older works. Take work that didn't sell and make it into something new! Collage right over it or cut the canvas off the frame and make it the cover for your next art journal. Art is meant to be seen, so get it out of hiding and give it new life.

6. Become a coupon clipper. Many craft/hobby stores offer online coupons, so take advantage of them. The two major stores in my area will allow you to use one coupon per day, so if I need a lot of things, I'll go back every day. ~Pam

These are great tips, and I'll be you have some to add to the list. Share the ways you save on mixed-media supplies in the blog comment section at ClothPaperScissors.com, and see what others have to say as well.

Until next time,

Tuesday, February 6, 2018

The Painter's Primer Part 2

A survival kit.     LINEA

Friday, November 24, 2017

Know Thyself, You Are Ready, Make Things.

Austin Kleon-
"Don't wait until you know who you are to get started.
There is a psychological phenomenon in which some people are unable to internalize their accomplishments."

They may feel like impostor's, but none of us know what we are doing all of the time, we just have to show up and do it, do life, do art, do family, do whatever it is. We have to do it -everyday.

Fake It 'til You Make It
Yep, that old adage, it applies to people we admire, and it applies to us.
Kleon says there are two ways to look at it: Pretend to be something you are not until you are; Pretend to be making something until you actually make something.
Lets be honest, we have heard these specs of wisdom for so long, why is it we have to revisit them, what has not sunk in? Remember this one: You have to dress for the part you want, not what you have now, and you have to start doing the work you want to be doing. Hmm!

"Start copying what you love. Copy, Copy, Copy, Copy. At the end of the copy you will find your self." Yohji Yamamoto

Kleon talks about first having to figure out Who to copy (the easy part), and then figuring out What to copy (takes a bit of work). Who: you start copying people you like, people you are inspired by, people who do or behave in a way you want to be like. What: copy the thinking behind the person that inspires you, whats behind their work, you want to see how they see the elements.

It is said, if you just mimic the surface of someone's work without understanding where they are coming from, your own work will never be more than a imitation.

Studying your inspirations helps transform your voice into discovering how you see your own work. Adding something of your own to where they left off makes it unique. Keep looking, keep seeing, keep working, keep growing.
Just do-