Earthquakes, tsunami warnings and lockdown

It’s one of those things with digital tools like an iPad. You write a blog post and then select all and oops, accidentally delete it. And it’s gone. Forever. I wrote a poem, but that’s gone too. Oh well... 

It was quite an eventful month, was March. There were earthquakes in the Pacific, tsunami warnings and a snap lockdown in Auckland. Someone also scraped my car in the work car park (luckily not serious). On a happier note, there were also some fun and creative things that I did. 

Luckily I do also remember what works I wanted to feature from the March Nature challenge on the #2021_creativegrowth feed. So here goes ...

Ann @ald65walks  shared a cup of sunshine in the snow and celebrated having her first Covid 19 vaccine

Susan’s @coombessusan__my_pics colourful and simple vase has a sweet charm to it 

Sofia’s @fishearing toolkit box of stamps and vintage papers makes one drool with envy

Bubana’s @bubanahavajima elegant petal and leaf portrait showcased International women’s day

Guatyen's @mettaville attempts at left hand drawing is pretty inspiring and a reminder to do more blind contour drawings.

Pam’s @buttons49 Lino printed flowers herald the call for spring 

There are many so many more posts on the feed, so do have a look and encourage each other to keep creating. 

Some fun and creative activities that I participated in last month included Liz’s @bookartstudio special tutorial for those who purchased her 'bestest seller' book Re: Create. I made two books: one for a collaboration and another for the @areyoubookenough March challenge, ‘Fenced’. 

I’ve also sent a few home made cards to various snail mail pals on Instagram and some new connections through @kickinthecreatives. 

So onto April’s theme.  This month the #2021_creativegrowth theme is ‘renewal’. 

The month has already started with a renewal vibe in my home, a clear out of clutter in the laundry and garage. I also cleared out some plant beds, sewed some seeds and planted some bulbs. Thinking of something creative with the 'renewal' theme, will be challenging, so I’d better start playing - as that's when the best outtakes turn into art. 

I hope you have a creative month even if only contributing a little time to creative pursuits - every bit counts. 

I look forward to seeing your posts on the #2021_creativegrowth feed and heartfelt wishes for a peaceful Easter too.

Claudia x

Nature is calling

‘March madness’ is what it’s called in Auckland when all schools and tertiary institutions return to studies and all workers are back at work driving to and fro in their cars. But oops, since this morning at 6am, we are back in lockdown. Lockdown 4.0, Level 3. So it’s back to working and studying from home. Hard for many, but for me not totally unwelcome, as I enjoy the slower pace.

March is also the time when the days here start growing shorter and when rising early for work, it’s a little cooler. It’s a time to start preparing the garden for bulb planting for spring blooms. Yet, on the northern side of the planet, it’s the opposite. In my IG feed I see snow and people wrapped in woollen hats and gloves and longing for spring. 

February’s #2021_creativegrowth theme was ‘compassion’ and as we head to the end of summer I’ve reflected and decided  I needed to show myself a little compassion. I  felt guilty and berated myself for not creating more or being more active on IG. But I decided I need to let that go and accept it’s okay to have a break. It’s been a social month and I have connected more with my local friends. I am so lucky to have been able to attend a librarian’s conference I helped organise in Wellington. Also I’m hoping that the lull will help my creative growth in March.

Scrolling through the #2021_creativegrowth feed, I came across a number of lovely posts with some beautiful quotes. 

Hannah @kompass.rauschen highlighted  the February theme word, with a definition in calligraphic style.

Susan @coombessusan__my_pics had a very simple message with an empathetic bent.

Ann @ald65walks is an icon of compassion, cheering others on and helping her followers to keep up their spirits in these challenging Covid times

Laura Ann @lauraann_streasures chose the word ‘courage’ as her word for 2021 and I think it’s a good one. One that many of us will need this year.

And on the subject of growing creatively, I did join in with Nicholas Wilton’s Art2Life workshop that he so generously shared for free. As a result, I  tried a new abstract painting style using some of his principles and now I see them in everyone’s art. It’s like he switched on a light. Only now I have to apply it to my own work - now there’s a challenge!

And so onto March’s theme. This one is a favourite of mine. Nature. 

What can we do that’s different and that’s a stretch? 

Have a look at my post for 28 February on Instagram to see some playing I did with a home-made stencil and acrylic paints with the theme of nature in mind.

I hope you’ll enjoy the new month’s theme and so look forward to your posts. If you’re in the northern spring, enjoy the unfurling of the bulbs and new growth and if you’re in the Southern Hemisphere, enjoy the cooler temperatures and the windless, autumn days. And if you’re in Auckland - keep strong and hopefully lockdown will only be a week long.

Here’s to changing seasons wherever you are.

Stay safe and art on. 

Claudia x 

The first month of 2021 is already over. How did that go so quickly? 

I hope wherever you are, you are keeping safe and out of Covid's way. I have noticed a number of people on social media saying that they have had Covid and thankfully, have recovered.

I promised in my last post that I would share some of the creative work by participants of my new tag for 2021, #2021-creativegrowth.

If you remember, the theme for January was ‘words’, so here are a few posts I wanted to highlight from January's challenge.

Susan @coombessusan__my_pics  has started out enthusiastically with the theme, literally using the theme word 'words', in her first post. Susan then started a notebook for the challenge and being inspired by prose and verse, uses the book ‘The Language of flowers Penhaligon’s Scented Treasury of Prose and Verse’ to give her ideas.

Marilou @mariloucadizmarshall sometimes uses words in her mixedmedia art that is composed of bright colours and often has botanical themes. Marilou has just launched her Etsy shop - go and have a peek!

Priscilla Nannini @priscilla_nannini painted a broken vase using watercolours and called it ‘fragmentos’.

Ann Davies @annld60 uses inspirational words in her captions to uplift the spirits of her followers and has a love for flowers in beautiful arrangements.

 

Nella @floral_passion who is a creative jewelry artist, also has a love of flowers.

I decided to use my chosen word for 2021 in my post. The word is ‘texture’.

The intention is that when I am creating,  I think about texture and how to bring it into my work. Building layers and colours and using collage and mixed media is a way I intend to do this.

And that brings me to the second month, February and the theme for this month's #2021_creative growth challenge.

This month's theme was suggested when I asked for ideas on Instagram stories in December and it is ‘compassion’.  

And it's going to be challenging one for me...

But that’s the point, right? To stretch ourselves out of our comfort zones. To explore ideas we wouldn’t normally. So let’s get out there and play and not over think the theme - and let's see what comes out of that process.

Have a creative month - keep strong and art on.

Claudia x

A creative monthly challenge for 2021

My word for 2020 was tide. It turned out to be a good choice, what with Covid lockdowns, a job change and losing my children to their grown up world. It helped remind me to ebb and flow with the wash of change and to not resist.

Strangely enough, 2020 was also one of my recent best years. I enjoyed working from home and slowing down, not rushing through the traffic, consuming less and being with my family, together in lockdown. I know I am one of the lucky few- many didn’t have good experiences, were terrible lonely and businesses suffered. So I know many hope that 2021 will be more like pre 2020 times.

This got me thinking. It reminded me of some of the creative challenges I ran a few years ago and that it might be time to run an annual challenge with monthly themes. So many people are stuck at home or less likely to  be able to travel or see loved one. Focusing on a creative pursuit is a mindful activity that not only helps us through difficult times, but may be a vehicle to discovering something about ourselves or helps to push us creatively. It doesn't matter where you are, you can create with very little.

Each month there will be a prompt for you to interpret.

It must be original - original you. It can be an art piece in any medium, a poem, a captured moment, a flower arrangement, arranging shells on the sand, sewing, knitting, crocheting, bookmaking. Something made or created by you.

Join in. Let’s get creative and inspire each other! Be experimental - use it to try a new art medium or style of photography or to develop a way of making in your preferred medium. Where will it take you?

Think about whether you want to create a theme of your work throughout the year? Do you want to use particular colours, moods or media, or, simply use the challenge to play?

In 2020, I enjoyed filling a beautiful Bespoke Press diary with an ink drawing a day. 

For 2021, I plan to repurpose a disposed book and make my own art journal. Creating every day can be difficult to achieve, so I decided that having one place to play in, is useful as I can simply grab my book and go. My repurposed journal is my Book of Days. It is quite large, slightly less than A4,  but the idea is to have space to try new things and what I don't like I can simply paste over the pages again and again, if necessary. 

I called for prompt themes recently on Instagram and some kind souls shared some topics that you may recognise below.

The 12 monthly themes for 2021 are:

January - word/s

February - compassion

March - nature

April - beginnings

May- sky

June - sea

July - food

August - mountains

September - seasons

October - courage

November - thoughtful

December - magic

The hashtag for posting is

#2021_creativegrowth

 

Before the start of each month during 2021, I will post a theme on Instagram and will feature posts in my Stories followed by a monthly round up on my blog. 

If you would like to get notification and inspiration about the new prompt, please sign up on the Follow by email link on the adi & bert blog home page.

Here is January’s prompt - word/s

Do you have a word for 2021? Do words move you? Is font something that inspires you? What is your favourite quote?

Sometime in January, share your word/s interpretation and together let’s celebrate the magic of letters and words. 

So I can follow along, please tag @adiandbert and #2021_creativegrowth  

I hope your 2021 will be just what you need and so look forward to seeing what you create. Claudia x

Interviews, tools and other tales

After a thoroughly enjoyable interview (my first!) with the delightful Liz Constable from @bookartstudios on FB live and having a lovely supportive and friendly audience tuning in, I was inspired to finally get back on the proverbial (writing) horse again and do a blog post. It’s been a while as you can see!

I am always interested to hear about what inspires other artists, how they learn and what materials they use, and after the interview, I realised that others may too. So here are some more thoughts to build on the interview with Liz and to document some of the people and techniques that I mentioned. I hope you will find it of interest. Also there is a Giveaway surprise at the end, so read on!

Creative Challenges

Firstly, to get the creative juices flowing, if you are stuck, or you don't know where to start,  I have found that doing creative challenges is a superb way to help give you a focus and a goal. Signing up to a challenge is a great reason to have permission to keep on task and take out your materials to create, day after day. 

So here is a list of some of the challenges that have helped me grow my artsy habits.

1. 100 day project - do something creative every day for one hundred days. Anything goes, it could be a piece of writing, a poem, knitting or any medium of art you like or want to try. Choose a theme or medium that is achievable on a daily basis, otherwise you will make it too hard for yourself. 
   
   [My reflection on doing the New Zealand 100 days project is here if you want to read more about why these challenges are so helpful.]
    
2. Inktober with Jake Parker. Practice your ink drawing style, drawing everyday for the month of October.
   
   
3. Are you book enough with Sarah Maker from @inkandawl. Each month Sarah has a theme to which you make a book. And when I say ‘book’ don’t think conventional turning-pages-type-of-books necessarily. Check out #areyoubookenough.
   
   
4. icad- index card a day for 61 days introduced by Tammy of daisyyellowart.com or @gyspy999 on IG #icad2020
   
   
5. #7vignettes by @interiorsaddict -sadly Jen's challenge doesn’t run anymore, but at the time, it helped me learn to style a table to photograph my creations and fed my guilty pleasure - STYLING! ;)
   
   
6. Tune into what’s happening around you or in the world and be inspired by events or causes and interpret what's going on creatively e.g. the bread tag project by Shani Nottingham @thebreadtagproject on IG.
   
   
7. Look out for challenges like Sara Tasker’s @me_and_orla #15minutemagic - great if you only have a few minutes to spend taking photographs and only need to post once a week.
   
   
8. The Sketch Book Project - buy a sketch book from the Sketch Book Project and have it stored in the Brooklyn Art Library. You can even have it digitised as I did mine. 
   
   
9. Creatively Squared  is a whole community creating content and earning through the endeavours of co-founders Ruth Stephenson and Scott Thomas. There are monthly challenges and they have content creators that share amazing tips on taking and editing photographs @creativelysquared on IG.

I  have found that that there is so much support from the creative community on Instagram that you will never feel a failure! And anyway, failing is just an opportunity to learn.

Learning

Speaking of learning... some online courses that have inspired my development and encouraged me to try different mediums and styles, were taken with the following astonishingly clever and warm people.

• Mati Rose McDonough who inspired me to take "daring adventures in painting" and to "show the world my magic"
  
  
• Jeanne Oliver jeanneoliver.com @jeanneoliver IG / FB who helped me "answer my creative calling".
  
  
• Liz Constable @bookartstudios who has the most amazing workshops on offer and who generously shares free tips and techniques for bookmaking. Visit Liz's FB site for her videos and the Book Art Studios website for products and workshops.

Something I have noticed is that private Facebook groups are often created by teachers during these courses and this channel provides a safe space to share your newly discovered techniques.

Materials

Some favourite materials I use are:

• Stick charcoal to draw with and size 3 brush and water to move the charcoal around the outline and create water colour effects
  
  
• Strips of unwaxed sandwich wrap used in collages or to draw on, or scrunch up and flatten to add texture
  
  
• Old library index cards covered with gesso or torn and cut pieces for collage or used for blackout poetry 
  
  
• Bits of fabric with torn threads dyed naturally with beetroot or coffee
  
  
• My kids' old water colour set, a Windsor and Newton travel palette I bought more than 20 years ago and more recently some new metallic watercolours I picked up, called "Watercolor Confections"
  
  

In her Studio publication

I was very fortunate to have an article published in a Stampington publication, The Artful Blogger a few years ago and gave away copies in a giveaway. During the recent lockdown in New Zealand, the publisher notified me the same article would be appearing in their sister magazine called In her studio in their summer 2020 issue. 

Do look out for the issue in your local stores or online and if you find a copy please do tag me and #inherstudiomagazine as the copy they sent me sadly, never arrived. 

Giveaway

 

In celebration of my first ever interview, I have a little giveaway.

I made a ceramic ring cone (with a botanical impression of course!) and which is one part of the giveaway. There is also a small handmade notebook made with original paintings. 

I learned the notebook making technique from Liz @bookartstudios during a live tutorial that Liz so generously offered for free  on Zoom, during lockdown. 

(Note the ring and other paraphernalia are not included . The ring is my mother's (Adi) wedding ring and now mine, so if you got that you will have to take the husband too!)

If you'd like to be in the draw, please 

1. Follow @bookartstudios and @adiandbert on Instagram 

2. Post an image of your favourite book, handmade or not, tagging it to the above handles and  to the hashtag #the_book_series. 

The draw will be made on Sunday the 12 July. 

Enjoy your gathering of books and taking photographs - its a wonderful way to unwind!

(This giveaway is in no way linked  with Instagram or facebook)

Next Time

In my next blog post I will give a shout out to some amazing artists on Instagram who have and continue to inspire me and some of whom, I have made wonderful, long lasting connections.  

Have a joyous July, stay safe and keep creating.

Claudia x

Woodland wonders in the #ab_the_nature_series winning photos with Sarah Becvar Design

Yay! We have a Winner of #ab_the_nature_series with @sarabevardesign 

Well done Barabara @barbaracarrollaz! You will receive this beautiful shopping tote, hand made by Sarah Becvar as well as an embroidered card,

Sarah has chosen Barbara's photo as the winning entry, below, because "both flower and butterfly are perfectly captured and beautifully coordinated! The colours and patterns in both subjects are exquisite. Amazing photography!"

The good news it that there are also three runners up who will each receive one of Sarah Becvar's lovely freehand, machine embroidered cards! 

First Runner up: 

@juliemoo1960. Sarah says "This is a great collection of natural items, and full of inspiration. The texture and colour of the wood and the hessian with this pretty posy is styled beautifully".

Second Runner up 

@cornishhomemade. Sarah commented "What a stunning view. I find it incredibly calming looking out to sea and this captures the coastal greenery as well as a beautiful sea. A perfect environment to reflect and clear our minds".

Final Runner up

@happily_ambling.  Sarah found this "such a lovely picture of this bluebell wood. Walking through natural environments is so beneficial. Not just mentally, but inspirationally and this captures a woodland walk perfectly. I’d love to walk in this wood!"

Thank you so much to all you you for playing along.

A big shout out too, to Sarah, for being so generous and donating some lovely products as well as the unenviable task of judging the winning entries. Thank you Sarah!

Until next time.
Claudia x

Nature inspired - join in the latest photochallenge

Sarah Becvar of Sarah Becvar Design is my collab for the next adi & bert  photo challenge on Instagram. Sarah, a textile trained artist, creates fabric art - beautifully freehand machine embroidered, with simple nature-inspired forms.

Read below about what inspires Sarah to create such lovely designs and to find out about her creative process. Sarah also shares some tips for selling and online web design.

1. Sarah, have you always been interested in creating and what inspired you to sew using botanical/nature based themes? 

SB: I grew up on a dairy farm, surrounded by acres of beautiful Sussex countryside, orchards, farm animals and plenty of wildlife!  As a child I would gather handfuls of items that I’d collect from my surroundings such as leaves, shells, tree bark and plenty of flowers, and from an early age I would sketch them or make collages of my nature finds. 

 2. What artists inspire you and why? 

SB: My inspiration still comes from my natural surroundings. I often refer to my old botanical guide books to identify flowers, but also love studying the botanical drawings and the aged, muted colours. I was fortunate to find Sketches For The Flora which is a volume of field sketches by W. Keble Martin (published in 1972) to which I refer. His simple line drawings give clarity to the form of the flower I may be drawing. 

3. How do you stay focused when you are building up stock for your website or a market? 

SB: I enjoy each step of the construction of my products whether it’s a greetings card, bag or artwork and it gives me great pleasure to hear the lovely feedback from my customers which encourages me and keeps me engaged.

4. For someone's starting down the track of selling art and crafts, what is the best piece of advice you could give?

SB: Some advice to someone who’s in the early stages of selling their work would be to have confidence and belief in their product. I prefer to give a brief description of how I make the product as I feel it’s important to explain that the item is handmade, and it gives the product a ‘story’. 

5. What tips do you have for crafters/artists setting up a website or selling online?

SB: I designed and constructed my own website which has been an enormous learning curve, but I have fulfilled my brief of a site that is clear, simple and sophisticated with ease of navigation. It is the product that needs to stand out with a clear call to action. Keep things simple in a style that reflects your work. 

  

6. What are you happiest doing creatively and why?

SB: I am at my happiest creating a new piece of work, from its initial sketches through to drawing it in thread on my sewing machine. I often sew straight onto the fabric without drawing the design onto the fabric first, and find this incredibly exciting! Seeing the lines of stitches appear before you, forming an image on a blank canvas, is a wonderful feeling. 

7. Where would you like to be creatively in five years' time? 

SB: I hope to run freehand machine embroidery workshops where I’d love to teach my processes and encourage people to try freehand machine embroidery themselves. As I have a background in textile design I’d like to design more fabrics which incorporate my sketches and have discussed publishing a book using images of my freehand embroidery. I feel so fortunate that I enjoy what I do and am surrounded by a constant source of inspiration enabling my creativity to have a constant flow. 

Thank you, Sarah!

-------------------------

To celebrate Sarah's charming work, Sarah and I would love you to join us in a photo challenge on Instagram and the theme is nature!

Sarah is offering a beautifully embroidered shopping bag and hand made card to the winner and two runner’s up will each receive one of her enchanting sewn cards.

Be sure to follow the rules, to be eligible:

1. On Instagram follow @sarahbecvardesign and @adiandbert 

2. Post a new photo with a nature theme, to the tag #ab_the_nature_series 

3. Invite a friend to join

Comp close on 30 April and is open worldwide.

Sarah will select the winners.

Have fun and we look forward to seeing your entries!

Claudia x

Photo Credits: Sarah Becvar