Are You a Creative Person?
I just had a chat with my neighbor about creativity. I talk about being creative a lot at art festivals and social mixers. Are you a creative person?
When someone asks what I do, and I say “I’m an artist.”, my new acquaintance usually turns wistful, and replies: “Oh, it must be so wonderful to be creative. I wish I was a creative person, but I can barely draw a stick figure.”
Why does art get the pinnacle position under the heading Creative?
Who, me? An Artist!?
Isn’t it creative to be a gardener, or a cook, or a quilter? Do you consider it creative to raise a family? What about people with jobs that demand mechanical, computational, chemical, or mathematical problem solving?
I get it; creative as a word is associated with the arts, but as a way of thinking, writers, musicians and painters are all tapping the same cognitive problem solving skills as many other non-artistic fields.
We may enjoy making stuff pretty, or entertaining, but the skills required to carve a woodcut are learned the same way other trades are acquired by repetition, and synapse between brain and hands. What’s the difference?
Being Creative Isn’t Lofty
I don’t know the first thing about laying out a garden, or preparing a gourmet meal, but I know sure as the ocean is deep that my friends, family and neighbors have abundant and beautiful creative skills.
Creativity comes in all sorts of non-art flavors, and I wouldn’t have to look far to get coaching on garden layout or gourmet appetizers. We’re *all* creative.
The next time someone asks if you’re creative, do me a favor and just say yes. Okay? Good.
Surprising Facts About Creativity
If you’re feeling contentious towards my assertion that you are indeed creative, behold these missives to incite reflection and acceptance on the subject. 🙂
- John Paul Titlow writes in Fast Company that the brain’s creative circuitry holds some unexpected secrets that scientists are only just beginning to understand in Seven Surprising Facts About Creativity, According to Science.
- Priscilla Frank writes in the Huffington Post that the Journal of American Art Therapy found that 45 minutes of creative activity significantly lessens stress in the body, regardless of artistic experience or talent. Study Says that Making Art Reduces Stress, so, that means you should manage bad days by making something, even if it sucks. Do art, cook a meal, plant a garden… really, it’s all good for you.
- Theodore Scaltsas writes in the Harvard Business Review that the trick of breaking problems down, part-by-part, will expedite the path to a creative solution, buoyed by our previous experiences. A Cognitive Trick for Solving Problems Creatively
Making Old Things New Again
My paternal grandfather was an avid whittler. His fireplace mantle was populated with horses, frogs and cherubs carved from wood, ivory and shell. He collected mariner’s scrimshaw pieces, carved from whale teeth.
He often carved other people’s throwaways – like the butt of a gun or the handle of a sword – rejuvenating them into beautiful objects again. Maybe that’s why I found the video below so beautiful.
Creative Problem Solving
A short film about crafting objects at sea, in the past with whale’s teeth and in the future with collected plastic trash from the ocean, melted with a machine harnessing the sun. Creative problem solving at it’s finest. 🙂
Thanks for visiting, and I’ll see you in the next post –
Belinda
P.S. You can subscribe to get each of these posts as an email as soon as they’re published (it’s free) right here.
P.P.S. I’ll be exhibiting on back-to-back weekends: San Diego April 29/30, and Sierra Madre May 6/7 – if you’re local, come say hello!
Art Quote
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Whatever you do, you need courage. Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising that tempt you to believe your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires some of the same courage that a soldier needs. Peace has its victories, but it takes brave men and women to win them.
Drypoint on Plexiglass or Recycled Plastic Printmaking Supplies
Here is a list of supplies to help you prepare to make a drypoint print from plexiglass, drafting film (mylar), or recycled plastic.
This is the ink I use in my studio when I want to clean things up with soap and water. There's no need for solvents to clean your plates and tools with this ink. Carbon Black intaglio ink is a nice, rich black for great line work. And you can use watercolor on the print after the ink dries - it will not re-wet!
This is a thickening agent to mix with Akua Intaglio Inks. If the ink on your plate wipes out of the grooves and incised lines you've engraved with the needle, it might help to thicken the ink. Mag Mix adds a little more "sticky" to the ink. The pigments stay embedded in your line work a bit better with this ink modifier. You can see how I use it in many of the intaglio and drypoint tutorial videos on my youtube channel.
Sizzix Big Shot Plus Embossing Machine (small printing press alternative)
This is an example of the embossing machine artists and printmakers are using to print lovely, small scale drypoint and intaglio prints, as well as linocut prints. Be sure to visit the Facebook group called Craft Press Printmakers. They are doing amazing things with small die cutter and stenciling machines transformed into small printing presses.
There should always be a barrier between your skin and pigments. Wear rubber gloves (be sure to select the right size) when you mix ink, apply ink to the plate, wipe ink from the plate, and clean the ink up after you're finished printing.
This is starched cheese cloth, or open-weave muslin fabric - also known as tarlatan. It's used to wipe ink from the uppermost surface of your intaglio drypoint or etching plate.
The tip of this scribing pen will carve a narrow groove into plexiglass or recycled plastic.
This is the tool I use to pull ink from containers, and manipulate it on the slab to mix colors, or warm it up with the friction of smooshing and smearing before adding it to the plate. It's also used for scraping leftover ink together, and scooping it into little containers to use in later projects.
These spring clamps will hold your plexiglass plate steady while you score and snap it into smaller sheets. They also work perfectly for securing the plate without marring the surface while you bevel it, which you can see in a video tutorial on my YouTube channel.
This material works very well to hold your plate steady while you engrave your lines, or add cross hatching with the needle. It also works to steady any printmaking plate while you apply ink, wipe the plate, and clean it after you're finished printing. You can see it used throughout the relief and intaglio videos on my blog and on my youtube channel.
Utility Knife to score and snap your plexiglass material to the appropriate plate size
When your plexiglass arrives, you'll want to score and snap the sheet into smaller pieces to make multiple plates. This is a great tool for that process.
This 12 x 12 plate of opaque black plexiglass can be scored and snapped into smaller plates. Create four 6x6 plates from this sheet. See how to score and snap the plexiglass in the videos that are linked in this post.
This 8 inch rasp can be used to file the sharp edge of the plexiglass plate down to a 45 degree bevel. This is an important step to prepare the plate before you begin your design, if you plan to print on a press. One rasp will last you a lifetime.
If your hands get tired when doing repetitive motions like cross hatching, or pressing hard on narrow tools to incise lines in plexiglass, you can etch your plexiglass plate with this small electric Dremel.
Lovely post and much needed for me today. <3
Thanks, Zucchini Girl… sending you bushels of creative mojo on par with a super hero this week. ?
Hi, Belinda. I live in a retirement community now where there are knitters and quilters galore, among other creative pursuits, and their creations are amazing! I so agree with your statement. There are so many forms of creativity. My sister, who “couldn’t draw a stick figure” (not that she ever tried) put together some amazing bulletin boards for her elementary school classes. My creativity does not take on that form AT ALL. I can paint realistic subject matter, but I just took a card-stamping class and I am sitting here with some card-stamping supplies thinking “NOW what?” Just because you can’t doing something at the moment doesn’t mean you can’t learn how; it’s not always intuitive.
I enjoy all your posts, keep ’em coming!
Kendra
Good morning Kendra! It’s so nice to see you here – like a visit with tea to talk art! I agree with you on the myriad unfamiliar flavors of creativity. I created a PDF download all about watercolor paper, which looked like a mountain of verbiage until a friend who does graphic design reminded me that some design elements and a hierarchy would break the pages up a bit. What a revelation! But, it’s not a painting! What to do? Out of my wheelhouse!