Ohhh the possibilities!
Where will all our creating take us? are you someone who creates and creates and creates and then you finally get that breakthrough piece? well you are not alone. Most artists create many pieces of art before they feel like they have the one or two pieces that surprise them into loving what they never intended to create. I do this all the time. One idea leads to another one, and another one and then another one and so on.
In school we were taught to develope 25 to 50 thumbnail sketches of our intended piece before we ever began the actual creation of it. (a thumbnail is a 2”x2” square with very rough ideas sketched within it.) The goal of this exercise is to 1. loosen you up as you are thinking and sketching and 2. to spur idea after idea as you sketch out all the possibilities of your piece. to this day, i still do this exercise when i am creating or developing my initial thoughts and ideas.
I created fabric from my granddaughter’s artwork as a christmas gift for her. She is eight years old and has developed a love of sewing. My mom was an amazing seamstress and she is where I get my love of color and art. My granddaughter loves art and loves creating so anything I can infuse into her desire to do so I am all in for. In creating this fabric, I came up with about 20 designs I could have settled on. Choosing the best one was my biggest hurdle when trying to decide what I wanted to have printed. She loves pink so that was a no brainer but the blender pattern had so many options that I realized I could keep creating forever!
So when do you stop the madness,? Never! because what you may not choose for now could have great potential for another creation.
All the designs I created for this fabric can and will be use on other items such as cards, pillows, aprons, journals and more. I plan on showing my granddaughter all the possibilities just this one piece of her artwork can take her, because I never want her to settle for what is. I want her to always think about what could be. i want to challenge her to never settle, but to explore.
As a believer, I am always putting God in my own cookie jar. He never wants to be boxed in, yet I am constantly doing so. There is so much more potential for myself - in my walk with him, in my relationships and in my artwork if i can just keep the lid off and allow him to show me all the possibilities that he has for me. by choosing to put him in my box, i am continually missing out on all I could be doing for him and in the exploration of my artwork.
Do you put God in a box? Maybe it’s time to take the lid off the cookie jar and see what happens - spiritually or creatively! I bet you’ll be surprised!
Stay teachable!