Day One - Friday
OK, this gives a real indication of place where I"m starting this challenge from. This is what is truly meant by the term "baby step"....
I made a potato stamp. Just one. And I felt pretty good about it, too! Because I've been meaning to make some of these most basic of kids art tools for so long, and the execution has always eluded me. No longer!!
Day Two - Saturday
I finally made a start on a farm scene feltboard for Z. I made the felt-covered board, and made the first piece to go on it. A sun, embroidered with a little face and rays. (I didn't know that there were going to be any embroidered pieces on the set. I do now!) This was actually a really lovely meditative process, blending the technical and creative into a very engaging combination. I feel great that I've made a start on it. It's also an ongoing project in bite-sized components, so it's a perfect thing to return to for some daily creation.
Day Three - Sunday
I started a blog some time ago. A long time ago, actually. And on Sunday I felt the need to write - creatively, honestly, personally. So Day Three's act of creation was to spend some time writing a blog post. It was about the process I've embarked on, and it was great to write about it. It helped to get a few things clear for me about the process. It also helped to really clearly identify the risks to it, because it's important to know your enemies. ;)
Day Four - Monday
Ugh. Monday started at 3.45am for me, when Z woke up. Long story short - she went blissfully back to sleep; I didn't. So by 6am I was working on the day's act of creation - decorating Babushka dolls. It was goooood to work on this project! It's been hanging over my head since (dare I say it?) April.... which would kind of be ok except that the unpainted dolls were originally purchased for presents to celebrate birthdays in April and May. Mmmm. A few sketches were done early on, then the two sets of dolls have skulked blankly in the back of my "craft" cupboard since then. The mere sight of them depressed me - they looked like tiny, reproachful, insurmountable failures waiting to be acknowledged. Hah! No longer! These ladies will be painted... I know it now.
Yesterday the design for the first set was all but finalised (there's one tiny detail that's waiting for divine inspiration. The colour scheme was decided. The next steps were recorded, as well as the shopping list*. (It turns out that half of the paints in the set I bought are texturally unsuitable for the dolls). I spent almost two hours painting before the rest of the household woke, and it was lovely. I now have a design diary that has a real project in it. It makes me laugh when I think of all of the design diaries I fabricated in high school art... starting with a final piece at the last minute and then working backwards after the piece was made to give the illusion of a design process.
*I'd love to get the paints and supplies bought before Christmas, so that I have a chance to work on them while M's around a bit more. I need some decent acrylic paints in the right colours (and they're gorgeous colours too!!). I need proper brushes also, because shedding hairs trapped in paint aren't a good look. We'll see, maybe a trip to Jacksons will eventuate before the weeks end.
Day Five - Tuesday
That's today! Although details on the format of this new blog remain (intentionally) sketchy I've decided that a day of reflection each week is a good thing. The post (Tuesday Museday at this point) will be an opportunity to dwell on anything that may have unfolded during the past week; any observations, feelings, musings on the creative process. It will also be the act of creation for that day. So, that said, this post is its own creative act.
* * *
So, 5 days in things are feeling good. I've made some headway on long delayed projects, and have one tiny finished creation in the form of a smiley felt sun. (He's rather sweet, I'll post a photo later). I"m not sure where to from here with this blog, in terms of updating, photos, etc, but I'll dwell on it. Things will be forthcoming. I don't have much more to say right now. I'd rather focus on what's coming than what's been, especially when what's been is so modest. But it's still a satisfying start.
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