The Mindset of an Adventurous Artist – How I Have Fun

You know that iceberg that’s currently spinning in circles in the Southern ocean?

That’s me in my endless loop of indulging my creative side: Browse-Learn-Make. Others prefer to take a deep dive in one particular craft or art form. For me, staying on the surface, engaging in all the variety, creates a bigger “splash.”

BROWSE: As an introverted type, I typically find inspiration on social media rather than museums or galleries. Ranging from data visualization to fiber arts, I follow creators from all over the world. And it’s all free!! When something new appears, especially if there’s a low bar to entry, I know it’s time to learn.

LEARN: Once I learn just enough through classes and play, but no more so I don’t get conditioned or lose my own creativity, that’s the end of the learning phase and I’m ready to make.

MAKE: As an impulsive person, I always start making before I fully understand the ABC’s of my new passion. And I make a LOT. Making bad stuff is part of the fun and engaging my hands in something naturally gets the ideas flowing! Of course, the “garbage” results often get saved, because you never know when it’ll come in handy.

This Browse-Learn-Make cycle is not just a stand-alone project but provides me the opportunity to mesh my learnings together to make unique creations.

As an example, I saw gelli printing in my social media feed a few years ago. After I made a few hundred of those, I took an on-line class about embroidery on photography—just because it looked neat. I don’t have photographs lying around. However, what I do have are gelli prints!

I soon found this to be another fun way to spend hours of my time. And the story continues… Book art has been a long-time interest of mine, so I learned to make hardcover sketchbooks.

That’s when those piles of “garbage” gelli prints came in handy as beautiful book covers. It’s funny that a so-so print can look super as a book cover. Hmmm.

But the story doesn’t end there. I decided to purchase a most unusual book intended for designers. I discovered that working with just a sheet of paper opens the door to so much more!

There’s more than origami…there’s crumpling and shaping and folding architectural patterns!

Next thing you know I was littering the house with strangely crumpled papers. And then it hit me, what if I crumple my gelli prints?!

And that’s when the massive pile of “garbage” prints suddenly became perfect input for my new passion, crumpled gelli prints!

As an aside, I also adore the flora and fauna of our area. Even the snakes, spiders, and scorpions! I keep dead scorpions and glue or embroider them to my art, because it just seems cool (by the way, a scorpion might seem drowned and dead, but it may reanimate several days later – bizarre!).

In that vein, after seeing a woman from Australia make botanical prints, I immediately took her on-line class to learn this art. Central Texas has so many native plants, especially wildflowers, that are super cool to experiment with in this way. Turns out Mexican Hats and Texas Dandelions are superstars— creating gorgeous prints. You see, I often get amusement thinking— has anyone EVER done this before? Like when I lunch on a hodgepodge of leftovers, “I bet no one has eaten caprese salad, bibimbap, and cornbread at the same meal before!” I use the same approach with my art! When my Browse-Learn-Make cycle overlaps, the potential for mixing media becomes more exciting and the final products even more creative and unique.

This is how I have fun.

ART BEAT spotlights local artists, techniques, and upcoming Art League events. In the meantime, we invite you to discover your Dripping Springs Art League and how you can make art a greater part of your creative journey. To learn more, visit: our website: artindripping.com.