365 Days of Creativedeeds Comes to a Close

...and just like that 365 days of creative deeds later the year-long project comes to a restful & reflective close. It all began with Gretchen Miller's Creativity in Motion project for 2015. Here's a run-down:

Create small pieces of art (about 3x2.5) daily
Randomly gift the art pieces "as acts of kindness" + "to spread creative goodness"
Date stamp and the # of the card were identified for each
In addition, small "tags" were added that went on the back of each deed with basic information on the project and asking to share with #found + #creativedeed365 on social media cites. I did not include my name, but I did include the name of my town (or wherever I made them, if I was travelling).

In order for this project to be feasible I decided to recycle old pieces of art whenever possible as the base (some of the months with recycled art: January, April). Each month's creative deeds were prepped as a batch. The paper cut into the right size, the information sheet and date attached to each one. Creating mini collages were amazingly time consuming but turned-out to be mini-treasures onto themselves (some of the months using collage: February, May, September, October). Naturally dyed cards became my favorite process with a serendipitous outcome every time (some of the months with natural dye: March, June, July, August, November, December). On a daily basis I could then focus on the inspiring message and documentation (via. Instagram).

I loved using bits and pieces from collage bins or discarded art piles. When traveling, napkins or coasters would be my muse. Quotes came from everywhere and everyone (almost). Search engines, social media cites, friends and family from close and far contributed throughout the year with positive thoughts.

Throughout the year many asked how much I was charging for the cards, and they wouldn't believe me when the answer was nothing. Often the cards were simply left in public spaces or mailed off to friends to distribute as they saw fit. In many ways the cards fired-up the snail-mail connection with many social media contacts who would in turn send me inspirational quotes for the project. A loop of creativity, inspiration, and sharing.

I now plan to use this inspiring year of creative making towards a year of visual journaling in 2016. Stay creative!

Comments

Capturing a Moment: Gelatin Printing

Lets just get right down to it, you've either tried it and loved it or you're currently wondering what I'm talking about. Gelatin prints that's what. A few years ago a student introduced me to the wonders of using homemade gelatin as a printing plate (sugar free kind). As it turns out it is a very versatile work surface that brings an element of intrigue and play into the work space. When my clients first hear I'll be bringing in gelatin, they seek out napkins and forks and eagerly away the obviously tasty snack. The sound of dreams shattering as I pull-out the gelatin plates is audible (if only short lived). Soon everyone is poking and wiggling the gelatin and wondering what we'll be doing with it. Play is an important aspect of what I do. So is creativity and genuine interest. These things are however harder to come-by in adults than their younger counterparts (who jump-into explorer mode instinctively). Sometimes I have to coerce these attr...

Stress Relief Recipe Book

Found some time this weekend to de-stress and what better way than delving into one of those “for later” piles. This particular pile consisted of a menagerie of brown paper bags (and the envelopes they were mailed-in). They were accompanied by notes, quotes, dyed papers, hand made paper, ribbons, and on and on, etc. These bits of mail have been coming-in at wonderfully random intervals for maybe 2 months. Now it is time to bind the collection into the Stress Relief Recipe Book it was meant for. To the bag full of bits of mail I also added: ruler, pencil, x-acto blade (and scissors), ice-pic, elmers (and other glues), thick string, wax candle (used it to wax the string), thick-blunt needle, and cardboard. *for anyone trying this out for the first time - go ahead and make your life simpler by having the inserts all be the same measurements (or close to it). First there was extensive Pinterest and Google searches for DIY paper bag books, but those mostly consis...

May 2014: Cuban Art Therapist (who would have thought it!)...

[I've had this entry on draft mode since the night I read the call for papers on the last AATA journal. In essence: How art therapists grapple with cultural/diversity/identity. ] To be quite honest, I am still naive (but getting better every day). I didn't think much about diversity or culture growing-up. I don't think most of us do. Until it happened, I stepped out of the nurturing pockets I’d grown-up in. Quite possibly there had been some hints at it, but I was unable to recognize them for what they were. Everyone else was quite like my family...then again I did not expect to be isolated because of my career choices either. Singled-out on another front for not fitting the preexisting categories. Not a teacher of children. Not a "starving" artist. Not a psychologist nor a medical doctor (didn't marry one of those either). Yes. All that is my last name...that part too. No you can't just shove some of it as a middle name. I don’t have one...

Symbolic Projections

Search This Blog