You can find some beautiful collages by one of my favorite artists, April Elrich right here.WEEK 1 ASSIGNMENT ~ A Life's Story Collage
O.k., it's time to take out your favorite arts & crafts supplies and put them to use! Remember that assignments and creative exercises are ungraded, so just relax and have fun! You'll have all week to do your assignment and creative exercises can be completed when you have a few free moments after work, while your child is napping, or even during commercial breaks. Although both are optional, I hope you'll try to complete at least one. It will give you a real sense of accomplishment and will more than likely inspire you to continue creating!
When you're finished with either project, please come and post a link to them in the comments section below so we can stop by and comment. If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments section below or send me an e-mail at matissecolor@gmail.com. :)
O.k., here's what you do!
WRITE IT - Write down at least one factor that played a large part in who you are as a creative person today. You can share this on your blog or just write this down for your own benefit.
CREATE IT - Select any medium and create a collage of your life. You don't need to chronicle every event (unless you'd like to), but choose the more meaningful, joyful, or difficult times that formed who you are today. You can use standard art supplies (paper, glue, paint, colored pencils) or, for example, if you're a photographer you can use your own photographs for this assignment; if you're a seamstress you can use fabric and sew cut-outs onto your collage; or if you enjoy pottery you can even use a flattened mound of clay and and create your collage on the surface.
*** If you're short on time or ideas just choose one event, person, or subject that is meaningful to you and create a simple project around it. :)
THEME FOR TODAY: Serendipity
Definition of the word SERENDIPITY via Dictionary.com:
ser·en·dip·i·ty (sĕrˌən-dĭpˈĭ-tē)
noun pl. ser·en·dip·i·ties
1.The faculty of making fortunate discoveries by accident.
2.The fact or occurrence of such discoveries.
3.An instance of making such a discovery.
CREATIVE EXERCISE:
Write about, draw, design, or photograph your perspective of the word SERENDIPITY!
* If you'd like, post it on your blog and leave a link below so the rest of us can view your completed project and leave comments for you. :)
On Wednesday, I'll be giving you some pointers on how to discover your creative niche. I'll also introduce you to a young fashion illustrator and post an inspiring interview from photographer, Kari Herer. If you have any questions before then, feel free to e-mail me. I'm always happy to hear from you and to help in any way I can.
See you then!!!
This is my write up of my one factor of serendipity. I'm almost done with my creative side that I will be posting later.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.thequiltedvalkyrie.com/the-credo-and-the-serendipity-behind-it/
So much wisdom in less than 2 minutes: thank you for sharing Keri! I will make a little analysis for myself on my own creative life as it's so true what she says and powerful as well. I can relate to almost every single word :) as I experienced those things personally.
DeleteThis is awesome, Keri ... very inspiring!! Great example for the word "serendipity". :)
DeleteThat was a beautiful post my friend! So happy I didn't miss it!
DeleteI love your post! Thank you for sharing your story and your inspiration!
DeleteOK, so totally LOVED that video. I even sent it to my gramma...she LOVED it too...we have already talked about making one of our own :)
DeleteSerendipity: falling in love with a new fairtrade interior design shop -in my charming town- which I love for one thousand and one reasons, visiting it and buying some presents for a very dear friend and cousin, getting a voucher from this shop for my birthday from my dearest, visiting the shop again and having a long chat with the owner of the shop who is an enthusiastic woman with an interesting vision and plenty of energy and who feels like a friend from the very first second we start to talk, coming home, deciding to send her a long e-mail where I share some ideas for new potential products in her shop and some of my favourite blogs and places ... Getting a reply today with the question if I'd like to write for her website! Another dream has come true: my love for language combined with my love for interior design and fairtrade products. The perfect marriage ;) Of course I said yes! Yay for serendipity!
ReplyDeleteOh wow, that is so exciting!!! Congrats and please send us some of your writings once they are up on the website!
DeleteWow, yay!!! So happy for you, Cococita...that's amazing! You are so talented with writing, art, photography, and design.. You deserve this. :) xo
DeleteCongratulations, it all fell into place and I'm so happy for you.
DeleteThat is so cool beans! What a divine feeling you must have had! Congrats! Go get 'um!
DeleteThank you ladies!
Delete@Annetta: unfortunately, the website of the shop is in Dutch, which is my mother tongue ... ;)
@Vicki: aww, you make me blush! I am really happy too! :) Since I started to visualize things, more and more little miracles are happening ... and I feel so grateful.
@Bette: thank you, that's exactly how it feels. Another puzzle piece fitting into the puzzle of my dreams.
@Keri: thx! :) It's an awesome feeling :)
Wow, that is so amazing! I think Serendipity happens best when we don't expect it. We carry on with our normal lifes without expecting anything, then BAM it just hits. Congrats to you!
DeleteThat's exactly how it goes :) Thank you Stephanie!
DeleteSerendipity: I was sitting in the waiting room at the eye doctor about a year ago thumbing through a Martha Stewart magazine. I discovered the most charming article about a doll maker named Jess Brown and her website jessbrowndesign.com. She has been a sewing inspiration to me with the vintage fabrics she uses and the look she has created. The videos under "Watch" on her website are wonderful, especially "Kiki and Coco in Paris" and "The Shepherd and the Dollmaker".
ReplyDeleteShe does beautiful work Bette! I'm very much inspired by her now as well. Thank you for sharing!
DeleteThank you for sharing! Just saw 'Kiki and Coco' and tried to not have a look at her blog, but it's so addictive and so inspiring to explore new horizons :) So yes, I am still on her blog now :)
DeleteJust a question: Do you happen to have examples from previous students that might have had the same assignment?
ReplyDeleteI guess I'm kinda drawing a blank, but it could be that every time I look through the assignment it's my bedtime.
Oh, I wish I did, Annetta. I'm not sure why I didn't think to ask students for permission to share some of their projects. :/ Maybe this will be the first group of students that I ask?
DeleteMost students gather a few family photos, old postcards, a poem they or someone they love has written, etc. and put them together on thick paper or poster board. This is right up your alley so I know you could create something wonderful!
I guess I could find some of them if I'd do an effort. At least I still do have mine (if you'd really want to see them, Annetta :)).
DeleteTo my opinion, the fun part of doing this assignment is to listen to your inner voice/muse/inspiration and to let you lead by your creativity. It will lead you somewhere and you are such a creative soul! Can't wait to see what you are coming up with ...
My thoughts on Serendipity:
ReplyDeletehttp://stephaniedahlsrudphotography.blogspot.com/p/workshop.html
I loved your post Steph!
DeleteI'm off to visit your blog right now, Stephanie! xo
DeleteFantastic post Stephanie!
DeleteL.O.V.E. :)
DeleteThat was such a sweet story. You did a great job of illustrating the word.
DeleteAfter thinking for a while on this idea of serendipity, I have come to the conclusion that the best things in my life revolve around this very concept. Meeting my husband, finding our home, choosing the most rewarding things in my life, are stories of accidental discoveries. If nothing else, observing this pattern has encouraged me to embrace the uncertain, for that seems to be the beginning of the best stories ending in serendipity.
ReplyDeleteLove your thoughts on this topic, Juli ... I'd have to agree! That's how my blog came about along with my photography and e-courses ... not to mention the many online friendships I've made. :-)
DeleteI love you thought pattern on this Juli. It's very scientific in a non-scientific world.
DeleteIt's my feeling too. The more you want something desperately, the less likely it is it will happen. It's often just at the moment that you allow yourself to let go and surrender, that the most fantastic things happen, by accident.
DeleteToday my son and I were talking about this and we decided to "search for some serendipity". For the next week (or more) we are going to try to do something that we wouldn't usually do everyday, like at the very least take a different route home. Maybe we will accidentally discover really wonderful!
DeleteAww...I love that idea, Juli! What a nice thing for you and your son to share together. Let us know what you discover! :)
DeleteLove this Juli, I like your idea about taking a different route home. Sometimes when I get stuck in bad traffic, or hit every red light, I try to think, maybe sitting at this extra long red light is preventing me from being in an accident. It may be inconvenient at that moment, but you never know what MAY happen.
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ReplyDeleteFor Monday's collage assignment, I posted a photo of my collage to my Flickr account (see link above under student websites). I chose my mom as my inspiration. Two things she really enjoyed and was good at were gardening and sewing. I took the photo at the Ft. Worth botanical gardens and I printed it onto fabric to use in the collage, and I love vintage buttons.
ReplyDeleteThe photo next to it labeled fashion is for Wednesday's "fashion" assignment. I photographed a poster in a bookstore. It reminded me of Audrey Hepburn and I think it's just very timeless and beautiful.
I have had this sitting in my draft folder for so long now--finally got it done and ready to post (its been done this whole time--just ready to claim it now I guess)
ReplyDeleteLife Story Collage: http://stephaniedahlsrudphotography.blogspot.com/2013/03/life-story-collage.html