5 Art Actions for Busy Artists to Ignite the Creative Spark and Keep it Burning Bright

"I'm so busy!"
"I have no time to make art!"
"If there were only __ more hours in the day, then I could make art!"
"I'm so tired after my long day, all I can do is watch TV..."
"My brain is fried... how am I supposed to be creative, NOW?"

I have heard them all before. I have SAID them many, many times. And with this semester's schedule, I really don't have much time to make art. I am so busy that all you will get in this post is words, not how to pictures. So what can we do to keep the creative fires burning or ignite the creative spark that has dwindled? ART ACTIONS to the Rescue!

My idea of Art Actions are a modified version of SARK's Micro-movements, laid out in her book Make Your Creative Dreams Real: A Plan for Procrastinators, Perfectionists, Busy People, and People Who Would Really Rather Sleep All Day (and awesome book with a ridiculously long title!). Micro-movements are about making an movement toward your goal by doing actions that take no longer than 5 minutes. Each action gets you moving without the pressure of having to do it all. Brilliant! To learn more about how SARK helps artists and writers, Click here to visit Planet SARK.

Art Actions are my own way of tricking myself into making time for art. Even though I love to make art, it can be overwhelming to even get started on project - especially working in encaustic which takes me 45 minutes even to set up and heat my wax! While these Art Actions make take longer than 5 minutes, help push you towards bigger and more complex projects, while keeping the creative fires burning. They also can BECOME larger projects or a series if you love what you are doing. Or they just can be a way to keep your hands moving. I admit to doing all of these Art Actions while watching movies with my family. TV time gives me about 1 - 2 hours worth of uninterrupted creating time. Not bad!

The trick is NOT to put pressure on yourself to make art. These are just exercises, like word association and free writing for writers or blind contour line drawings for figure artists. Onto the actions....

Top 5 Art Actions to Ignite the Creative Spark:

1. Organic shape cut outs
Materials: exacto knife, cutting mat, Bristol board or thicker colored paper

Action: Grab an exacto knife and some paper and start cutting. No straight lines; no rulers; no thought. Keep flowing like a smooth line of charcoal, and see what shapes come from your subconscious. Cut out a shape; put it aside. Cut another one out. Cut out a hole in that one. But no trying to make it look like anything! That can come later, if desired.

2. Abstract Oil Pastel coloring
Materials: Oil Pastels, smooth paper (such as Bristol board or poster board)

Action: Choose a pastel, and scribble on the paper. I call oil pastels "adult crayons" because they have all the excitement of being able to lay down color quickly and easily like crayons, but use artist grade materials instead. So color all over the paper and then when it is filled with color, blend them using your fingers covered in paper towel. Again, don't stress about what flows on the page. I lean towards abstract color blotches because the moment I try to do something with a figure or object, it becomes too analytical. Try coloring in the organic shapes that were cut from Bristol board.

3. Paper art re-purposing
Materials: Old art, drawing exercises, or "failed attempts" on paper, acrylic or mat medium, brush, substrate (board, canvas or paper)
Optional: Scissors

Action: Have lots of art that didn't turn out as expected? Rip it up and make it into something new. I choose to rip things up because it is freeing to separate it from its original intent of being art. Now it is just a scrap of paper - nothing intimidating about that! Glue down the ripped pieces onto a blank piece of paper, canvas or board. Or you can add it directly to another "failed attempt." It is wonderfully freeing. The pictures can become a background for something else, but don't stress about that now. Just rip and glue it down with the mat medium.

4. Stamp Carving
Materials: Blank soft rubber carving blocks, carving tools, pencil
Optional: Transfers or images, tracing paper

Action: Stamp carving is so much fun! It requires a little more attention to what you are doing so you don't cut yourself, so make sure that the TV show you are watching isn't too enthralling. I found this wonderful Stamp Carving Tutorial which will help you with the basics. Personally, I don't do transfers onto the block; I draw and then carve using one of two bits. These are addictive. I wait until I have more time to actually ink the stamp and use it.

5. Intuitive Knitting
Materials: Yarn and knitting tool of your choice (mine is the Knifty Knitter)

Action: Grab your favorite yarn and knitting tool and start knitting. Leave all your patterns and stitch counting for another time. Just explore what the shapes you can make with your tool and the rhythm of your stitch. I set limits for myself to work in; such as one type of yarn, and use a 8 inch rectangular Knifty Knitter loom. Just knit. Have curiosity about what is going on with the piece, but don't try to force it into any shape - especially into something functional! That is the easiest way to kill the creative spirit is to try to give it a function. They can become fiber art pieces later, or hidden inside something bigger...it is up to you!

Ready to ignite the creative spark? Try one of these Art Actions! Turn off your analytical mind, send your inner art critic out on an errand and intuitively make something. It is the act of creating, even for a few minutes that will keep you connected to your art even on your busiest days.

Your Turn: Try one of these Art Actions or one of your own design. What kind of Art Actions do you do to keep your creativity alive? Sketching? Collage? Sewing? Taking apart typewriters? Whatever it is, keep doing it! And share it here with us. I would love to hear your ways to keep the fires burning so that when you do have time, it flows out into beautifully crafted art.

Happy Creating! ~ Jaime Lyerly

Embedding String in Beeswax Video

"Stories -1," Encaustic, beeswax, string and collage on 12 x 12 x 1.5 in panel
© 2009 Jaime Lyerly

I am working on making my own tutorial videos on sculptural encaustic painting. However, I do not want to repeat what is already out there. So rather than fill up YouTube with stuff that already exists, I have been searching to find out what is already on there in the way of encaustic painting and sculpture. I have been amazed by some of the videos I have found and need to share them here with you. Once I know where the information gap is in encaustic, I will eventually fill it with my own videos. But until then, here is a gem from my diligent research!

This video is from Patricia Baldwin Seggebruch, author of Encaustic Workshop: Artistic Techniques for Working in Wax. Her book is a great way to get step by step directions on how to start in encaustic. My favorite parts of her book are the sections called "Lay it on" and "Break the Rules." "Lay it on" is about collage and embedding, and "Break the Rules" is about using other mediums than you would not expect with to be compatible with encaustic (such as watercolor and shellac burns).

The video below is about embedding fibers into encaustic. This is one of my favorite things to do in encaustic. If you have been checking out my blog, you see that I don't often "just paint" in encaustic (you can see my "just painting" in encaustics here). I usually collage, embedded, texturize and sculpt my encaustic and beeswax. String and fibers are amazing to work with and if you haven't tried to add them to your encaustic beeswax paintings, now is the time!



After watching the video, you can check out my own work that is related. Here is a link to a blog post that I did of Mixed Media Encaustic Sculptural Paintings a few months ago. These were obviously done way before I found this video, but the general idea of creating depth through embedding of string is the same. I love this particular variegated, maroonish-red fiber so much that I used it to create my free-hanging 3-D encaustic sculptures. I hope these inspire you to add some fiber to your own work. Enjoy!

Happy Art-making! ~ Jaime Lyerly

Getting Started in Encaustic Painting Video by Fine Art Store

All this talk about encaustic painting must have some of you very interested. To help answer your questions, I have found you a video about the basic set-up of working in encaustic from Fine Art Store. It shows you some of the tools, substrates and mediums but without any actual painting. This video will show you a peek of how it is done - then you can come take a workshop with me or any one of other the International Encaustic Artists in your art.

I hope to bring you more videos and tutorials as I come across them. I am also working on my own tutorials - mostly dealing with encaustic wax in 3-D. It is a niche that I personally work in that most encaustic artists do not. I would love to hear if anyone is interested in knowing more about my way of working.

Enjoy the video and happy art making! ~ Jaime Lyerly

Making Encaustic Medium

I finally figured out how to put YouTube videos on my blog! Oh happy day! I have so many to share.

Here is a wonderful video which explains the process of making encaustic medium. I have been making encaustic medium for three days now in preparation for my "Basic Encaustic Workshop by Jaime Lyerly" which will be held at the Escondido Municipal Gallery on July 25, 2009 from 12 pm - 3 pm. Preregister by July 18, 2009 for this great event! See my post about the Basic Encaustic Workshop here.

This video is wonderfully done and takes the mystery out of making your own encaustic medium. Enjoy!



Happy Art Making! ~ Jaime Lyerly

Encaustic Monoprint Art Tutorial

As promised, here is my own Encaustic Monoprint Tutorial. This tutorial is based one done by HGTV, which I wrote about in this post.

Warnings!
Remember that once you use this equipment for encaustic, it should be used for wax only. Absolutely no food, even if it "looks clean!" There should be good ventilation when using encaustic, such as an open window with fans. So if you start to develop a headache, you know you need better ventilation. I am not an expert at this, but I love to share my techniques with you. Please try at your own risk!

What you need:
Griddle or Electric Skillet Pan
Encaustic paints (in solid blocks)
Watercolor paper (smaller than your pan)
Paper Towels

Optional (but recommended):
Heat Gun or Tacking Iron
Crockpot with Encaustic Medium or Beeswax
Bristle brushes

Note: If you are going to use the encaustic medium or beeswax, get that started melting in the Crockpot while you gather other supplies and set up. It usually takes my wax about an hour to fully melt.

1. Gather all supplies and have them close by.

2. Heat your griddle or electric skillet to Warm or temperature between 160 - 220 degrees F.

• Each skillet is different, so you have to try out which temperature works for you.
• Put some chips of beeswax or medium in the pan to test the temperature
• If the pan or wax is smoking or sizzling, then the temperature is too hot! Turn it down!
• I like using the electric skillet because the high edges hold the encaustic paints in the pan without worrying about spilling over the side.

3. Using a solid encaustic paint block, draw and swirl the onto the pan. Here I am using a handmade stick from R&F paints.


4. Add more colors and designs. This is the FUN part! Your wax is in motion with you, dancing around your skillet. Use that to your advantage!

• Each color and paint has its own melting point which varies.
  
• It is all experimentation to see which colors melt well together.
  
• You can melt a little wax, or a lot. I suggest just melting a little to try it out.
  
• You can always add more!
• When you think you have enough wax, get your paper ready.
  

5. Press the watercolor paper down onto the skillet on top of the wax.

• Keep it on the skillet for about 5 seconds or however long it works for you.
  
• Just remember to keep the temperature low enough that you can touch the paper in the skillet without burning yourself. Those pans get hot!

8. Lift the paper from the edge, letting any excess drip back into the pan.

• Lay it flat to dry.
• If you love what you did, put another piece of paper down try for a similar look. These are monoprints, so none two will look exactly alike.
  
• If you didn't love it. Try again! You can do multiple layers on the same print since the wax dries almost instantly.
• You can put the paper back on the pan to melt it off and add more.
  
• I don't worry about heat setting these prints until I am all finished. When you are completely done, then you can set the wax with a heat gun or tacking iron.
  

7. Clean your skillet between colors using paper towels. Add more colors, and repeat!

• This time try moving the paper around a bit. Maybe only dip one side.
• If you have dipped the paper multiple times, note that the longer they are on the pan, the more likely the layers below will start to melt again.
• Add some beeswax or encaustic medium to the prints to set the colors below. You may want to heat set this layer with a heat gun or tacking iron.
  
• You can add layers of beeswax or encaustic medium between layers of prints to give it more depth. But beware that the paper is thin and cannot be put on too thickly or it will crack.

6. Heat set with a heat gun or tacking iron. You're finished! Your own Encaustic Monoprints!

Here are some of the encaustic monoprints I made while making this tutorial. They are on different sizes and shapes of watercolor paper (except #2 done on thick green paper). Most of them are dipped multiple times. Some have layers of beeswax between the layers of color. Enjoy!

Your Turn: Share this tutorial! Let me know what you think about this and what you want to know more about.

Happy Art Making! ~ Jaime

Encausticians, start your hot plates! Encaustic Techniques - Mono-Prints

So all this blogging and I haven't given you what I promised - encaustic techniques! I am constantly researching, experimenting and exploring new ways of making art and I have been hoarding all knowledge. Now it is time to share what I have learned and what I am dying to try out.

To the internet, Encausticians! Found: a short tutorial on Encaustic Mono-prints.

Since HGTV will yell at me if I steal their tutorial, I will link you to the site for all the details.

Here is a sample:

Encaustic Mono-Print

Russell Thurston creates vibrant prints featuring his encaustic technique.

Click here to see the whole tutorial.

Mono-Prints are something that I have been dying to try out. I have a super busy week, but plan to have some mono-prints done by next week. I would love to see if anyone has done this type of print with encaustics.

Your turn: Find something creatively inspiring on the internet? Share it! No more hoarding knowledge. Plus, if you blog, then all those great links you find will be in your own blog. No more sorting through a mile-long bookmarks tab. It will be all right here for you and others to share.