Welcome to today's post, I am taking part in a 31 day blog challenge where I post everyday in October. I love creating challenges for myself and joining ones by others. My challenge for the rest of the month is to reflect on some of the series I created for myself and inspiration that I have taken away.
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Today is the second part of the challenge that I did called 31 Art Studio Essentials. Yesterday I looked at the necessity for not only spending time everyday in an art practice but work with what you have and spend time getting to know your supplies.
For those people who are starting out you have to resist wanting to purchase every single art supply that you can get your hands on. It is tempting I know, I've done it, I used to get this inner urge that felt as if it were driving me and the feeling wouldn't stop until I had pressed buy now on Amazon. Once the item came there was some initial excitement, and then it left.
There are several things that you can do if you are on a budget:One of the things that you can do is to swap with a fellow artist. They may have the supply you are thinking about buying and visa versa, you can try it out before you commit. Also some companies give away samples, you could contact the company that makes the supply you want to purchase to see if they will send you a sample.Is there a sale on where you can purchase the items at a discount - If you are in the states and shop at Michaels you may be able to use a Code to get a discount off your total spend.Are there things around your home can double up as art supplies? You might be able to save some money by say making your own journals, stencils, stamps. In one of my videos I spoke about how you can make your own art journals by making your own from directories - the department store directories are made with quite nice paper as well.
It has taken me a while to know the different mediums I like and I realized over the years that I had many favorite mediums and through experimenting became confident in using a variety of them together. I also go through phases when I only want to use just one particular medium, but end up combining it with other things say clay with textiles, and jewelry embellishment. When you experiment you come up with some exciting surprises and combinations that just fit together.Working on the challenge enabled me to look at my materials in a different way that has worked for me. It is vital that you give yourself time with your supplies and get to know them. I discovered with supplies that I had brought, I didn't do any of the points such as check to see if a friend has pastels I can try out I just went and brought them. They were quite pricey and for some reason I had to have them I should have started out with a cheap set or a smaller set but once I had brought them I realized that I disliked the dust and getting my hands dirty, the feel was uncomfortable and they just stayed in a draw for the longest. I didn't play around with them, but because of the cost I didn't want to let go of them either. Years later I saw an artist use them with gesso - which is one of my favorite supplies to use in an art journal and when I tried it it worked for me and I was able to give my pastels new life.
- Some of my favorite supplies are jewelry pieces that I use with some textiles, I love collecting different supplies but they all tie in together and can be used interchangeably. You don't have to spend a fortune, you can find jewelry at the thrift or charity store, or you may have some that you don't wear that you can re-purpose.
- I also enjoy creating moulds to use with clay work. Some of the store brought moulds can be expensive, but you can make your own You can also find unique molds that you can create your own embellishments.
What has your approach been to your supplies? Do you have some that are just hanging around waiting for a new home or could you breath new life into them? Why not combine them with other supplies and give them a new lease of life.
Tomorrow I will share snippets from my Tropical Garden Series. I hope during this month you find some time to challenge, be creative and stretch yourself.
Why not join me each day for the rest of October as we dive into to some exciting challenges and look at ways in which they can impact on your own life. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow, it is never too late to start! The main thing is to take one step at a time and do something that you find interesting.Stay blessed and be a blessing.
Ps: If you would like to check out some art supplies and materials at a discounted price, check out one of the links below:
Adorn itDollar TreeBlickBook OutletStampingtonC& T Publishing DoverCraftsy Kits