Endless Possibilites

There is an endless possibility with Art! The mediums you can use, the sizes you can choose from, the subjects, it is all endless!

We as artists, big or small, famous or not so famous!, can add joy and color to the world thru art!

                                                                      

I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way--things I had no words for.
Georgia O'Keeffe Quotes -

I know for myself, I can't choose just one medium or one subject, there are too many opportunties out there to choose from.   l love to explore them all, it keeps my mind working in ways that it would otherwise shut down.   

Do you find yourself lost in your work sometimes or

 most of the time!

I am thankful we can express ourselves thru our art.  I am blessed that I am able to dabble in the arts to show off my ideas thru colors and textures.

We are so blessed by God when we can create!

The 'what if' question

Inspiration to get your creativity rolling is all around you. All you need to do is cultivate the 'What if' question.

Maybe you're reading a short story about a history professor and an actress on the topic of kick-boxing or orchid growing. You might think to yourself - what if that's not a history professor but a salesman, not an actress but a young girl and instead of kick-boxing or orchids the subject is homelessness*. What might your creativity come up with given these different characters and different situation?

Or you might be studying a picture, photo or painting of a summer's day landscape of a lake surrounded by trees with mountains in the background, all in shades of green with a blue sky and fluffy white clouds floating around. What if it were autumn? How would the colors change on the trees (which would also change their reflections in the lake); what color would the sky be; what color the far hills? Think of these things and another great painting will be eager to leap from your brush.

One of my favorite materials is polymer clay. It's so versatile and there are so many different techniques you can try out with it, all leading to differing results. But, what if that were marzipan or sugar paste and you had a birthday cake to decorate?

For example, the decoration for this cake was created from hours of practice using polymer clay - it's not a professional finish, but the birthday girl was pleased with it... (she's a keen gardener and flower lover)



Ideas in one area of creativity lead to ideas in others and as the ideas lead, the confidence follows. Once the confidence in your creativity grows there'll be no stopping you!

Creatively yours,

Susan

*You can read the story mentioned above about the salesman, the young girl and homelessness here. It was one of my first short stories to be published and I'm still fond of it.

Artist Trading Cards - inspiration

Artist trading cards, or ATCs, are more than works of art in themselves - they are sparks to a whole new world of creativity.



Just like fans might collect baseball, magic or cigarette cards, art appreciators collect art cards featuring their favorite artist's work. Sometimes, rather than collecting just one artist, collectors will concentrate on a particular subject, eg wedding cakes, dogs, landscapes, fantasy worlds - the range is as limitless as your imagination.

Originally, ATCs were created by artists who traded these small works of art with each other. Then 'art cards, editions and originals'(ACEOs) were created to be sold to collectors rather than just traded by artists.



The official standard size of an art card is 2.5" x 3.5" (64 x 89 mm) - any card that is a different size is not considered to be an ATC or ACEO. These art cards fit into the clear plastic sleeves that are used for baseball cards, and they fit all the other things made for them, too, eg, the pages of pockets, albums and little frames.

ATCs can be original artwork, or prints. They can be made from collage, photographs, eggshell mosaics, fabric, pasta, glass, polymer clay - you name it - you can make an art card from it. They can be painted in ink, watercolor, oil, acrylics, poster paints - painted with brushes or fingers! And they can be in any style.



These cards are bought, sold and traded globally - trading them is such a brilliant way to meet (in real life, or online) other people with similar interests in any country in the world, whether you are nine years old or ninety.

What do you actually do with them once you've got them? Well, you can trade your art cards for other artist cards or keep them in their collectors' sleeves or pages, or frame them up as an unusual and unique art collection. Some people put them in clip frames and hang them where they work, so that they can change their own personal art exhibition on a regular basis. You can make slits in a plain greetings card and insert an artist card into it to give as a lovely and generous present of art to some lucky person.



This is a cheap, popular, rapidly-growing trend in art collecting. Having said it's cheap - if you get an artist's work now that is growing in popularity, you might find that in a few years' time you have something worth quite a bit of money.

Looking through your own collection of art cards (however big or small) can spark your own creativity just as much as a visit to your local museum or art gallery.



This article was first published on the Creativity Site at BellaOnline by Susan Alison, Creativity Editor - Click here to read other articles to boost your creativity and this link will take you to the associated forums where you can chat about creatiity.

Click here for ebay auctions and Buy it Now items - which includes t-shirts, tote bags, fridge magnets, greeting cards, prints and paintings.

All ATCs/ACEOs within this article were painted by Susan Alison - her artwork can be found here:

- Today's Susan Alison Artwork blog - Spring is busting out all over t-shirt

- eBay store now with dog art t-shirts, sweatshirts and tote bags galore

and here for her Etsy shop