Creative Experiments (Part 1)
Fri, April 17, 2009 at 11:10AM 
Creative experiments come in different flavors.
Use familiar stuff in a new environment
This is easy. Take your show on the road. If you draw mandalas at night before bed, draw at a cafe. If you mostly shoot photos of your kids, photograph iron gates or weathered doors. If guitar is your thing, get friends together to play at your house.
Use new stuff in a familiar way
Build on something you know how to do. If you paint flowers with watercolors, paint the same subject with acrylics. Shoot a roll of black + white film instead of digitals. Sketch with thick markers rather than a black pen. Make orange-spiced pecan muffins instead of blueberry-walnut.
Use familiar stuff in a new way
This means playing with your materials! If you knowdo mono-printing with a rubber brayer, use a brayer to make an art journal background. If you embroider on aprons, try stitching on an art journal page.
Explore completely new stuff
What sparks your curiosity? What would you try if failure was irrelevant, just to try it? If knitting is your passion, experiment by making a bracelet with FIMO polymer clay. If you design digital graphics, try pottery or learn to knit a scarf. If you usually play guitar, try painting with watercolors. For me, freestyle embroidery was intriguing yet out of my comfort zone. You can also pursue this idea by taking a class ~ you can find a course (web or live) in hand dying fiber, photography, photoshop, watercolor, ceramics, jewelry making, sewing, guitar, sculpturing recycled junk, making bread.
My creative experiments include doodle embroidery, drawing mandalas, drawing on a watercolors, stamping with bubble wrap. My kids + I discovered block printing, weaving paper, stamping with leaves, neocolors, making maps and board games.
Check out the entire series of creative experiments to earn creativity points each month!
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Reader Comments (5)
i want to learn how to make fabric art dolls!! ooooh i might just try it :)
this was a very inspiring post, thank you!
<3
A LOT of food for thought (pardon the pun) in this post, Tammy! Why NOT shake things up a bit with experimentation?!?!
You always inspire me, Tammy. I love coming here. You have a fab weekend. I do like how you used the flavors for different things. I'm thinking what would a Mudslide or Chocolate Delight? As you can see I have chocolate on the brain.
just read part 4, so I had to start at the beginning ! great post! we have tried a few things already in the past couple of months.
ooh, love it. I'm like a mad art scientist!