I was struggling with what to do for my 30-day challenge in March. Then, I came across a website that inspired me to do something a little different for this 30 in 30. Of course, I have no drawing ability whatsoever, so it created a challenge for me to let go of my ego and have fun!
Day 1: Sign up for an art class. Done and done. As luck would have it, I have enrolled in an Art Appreciation Class to balance out the s**t load of Business Law, Accounting, and Econ classes I am taking this semester…FIVE business classes??? WTF was I thinking???
Day 2: Add an art blog’s RSS feed to your reader. I love Artist-A-Day – some really beautiful work done by exceptional, unknown artists.
Day 3: Create an artist’s workspace in your home. Here is my space for writing, have you found yours?
Day 4: Research an artist. I found my inspiration for this project while in Austin recently. Rory Skagen is a local fav who has been painting murals and doing commercial art around the city since about 1994. He has a crazy sense for mixing in retro with graffiti meets fine art. His color choices leave you feeling boundlessly optimistic so if you need a pick me up check out his portfolio: Rory Skagen What artist did you find to make you smile today?
Day 5: Write a Poem. This wasn’t on the original list, so I edited it to include something that can prove to be a very cathartic outlet for the emotional, creative process.
Day 6: Take a street art walking tour. How convenient that tonight happened to be the 100th Art Walk!
Day 7: Make a collage. (Yours will probably be much more creative than mine!)
Day 8: Check out an art book at the library. Got mine – The Art Book by Phaidon. It is an A to Z guide of 500 great painters and sculptors. Should come in handy for my art class assignment this week: Choose 2 paintings and research the artist who painted each one. Write about each painting, discussing the following: form; content; and any information on the artist that provides additional insight into your interpretation of the paintings.
Day 9: Send a friend a link to your favorite artist’s work. I narrowed it down to two, check them out: Graffiti Archeology OR Wangechi Mutu.
Day 10: Create something handmade and give it to someone you love (My bro and I made this for our mama!).
Day 11: Take a photo. Here is one of my favorites from my trip to Greece!
Day 12: Create a place in your home to store your creative supplies. It’s a drawer, but it’ll do….
Day 13: Frame something you have been meaning to frame. This is my adorably rambunctious Goddaughter. Finally got this pic framed from Christmas (only 3 months of procrastination…not bad!).
Day 14: Read poetry. This one, by Ellen Bass, was shared with me yesterday and I thought it would pass it along to you.
Day 15: Take your camera with you on a walk and document the experience. Here is a story about my fascination with cars jacked up and lifted, riding on 20s….
Day 16: Make an inspiration board for a future project. Can anyone guess what I want to do soon???
Day 17: Sketch somebody and give them the picture. I was really stressing out about this one, but there was a dude at Starbucks who asked if he could sketch me instead, so I am off the hook for this one! Whew!(Although, I am not convinced it really looks like “me”…sigh….)
Day 18: Doodle for 10 minutes straight. This is my idea of doodling at its finest, yo! 😉
Day 19: Happy Spring! Enjoy a place in nature.
Day 20: Today was World Poetry Day. Beginning in 1999, UNESCO dedicated March 21st to the timeless art of creating poetry. Please enjoy and appreciate some of the classics or check out “American Smooth” by the divineRita Dove.
Day 21: Start a garden. Get you’re A$$ outside, dig in the dirt and make something grow! This is mine.
Day 22: Evaluate a work of art. “A Bar at the Folies-Bergere” by Edouard Manet
The emphasis of Manet’s work is on the barmaid in the center of the painting as well as of the bottles and fruit placed on the bar in the foreground. Behind her is what we presume to be a mirror that shows the viewer a reflection of the Folies-Bergere behind us. The people in the background are subordinate, thus no detail is given to faces in the crowd. While nothing about the painting is symmetric, everything is visually balanced. The reflection of a patron and the barmaid to the right is balanced with a chandelier hung slightly off-center of the barmaid to the left. There are more patrons gathered in the far left of the work, but more bottles and bar items to the right.
Manet’s play on mirrors is what critics have discussed for years with this piece of work. Many have wondered why he painted the barmaid in the center, alone, when the mirror shows she is engaged in conversation with a patron off to the right. And then, why do we not see the back of the patron she is conversing with? To me, it speaks of an exchange of conversation that happened earlier in the evening. She seems unhappy, or bewildered with the delusion of the life she has chosen. She seems to be lost in thought and we the viewer have interrupted a rather melancholy moment in her work.
Day 23: Close your eyes and draw for five minutes. Do you have any idea how hard this is?! I cheated at least five times and peeked, but the picture still sucks! Svaha!
Day 24: Break something. (You have to destroy in order to create – hail Shiva!) I think this one might be my favorite!
Day 25: Support the local arts scene by going to a local festival, music event, art show, play, museum exhibit, etc. I have always had a thing for fashion, and for art. This new exhibit at DAM doesn’t disappointthe demand to combine the two! Now open and completely faaaabulous!!!
Day 26: Check out some new music (preferably from a local artist). My speakers are bumpin’ Catharsis this fine Tuesday morning y’all. What are you shakin’ that ass to today?
Day 27: Create a business card….sigh….I’ve been meaning to do this one anyway….guess I know how I will be spending my afternoon.
Day 28: Visit a museum or gallery. I have seen his work before, but decided it was time to visit Adrian’s gallery in person.
Day 29: Draw some chalk art on the sidewalk. Thanks to my neighbor, Jon, for letting me borrow some chalk!
Day 30: Visit a local sculpture and write about it. I chose “The Wall”.
All in all in fun to get out of my analytical mind for a least 10 minutes each day and use that time to nourish the creative mind. It’s always about balance and a creative outlet I find keeps most of us a bit more grounded in the present moment rather than letting our thoughts take off into the wild blue yonder of ridiculous story telling.
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