Weekend Project: Pola Art

Monday’s Tip encouraged you to try out Instant Art for a little something different to boost your creativity. This Saturday I’m going Pola Hunting with two of my favorite people – my husband Chris and my brother Joel. Joel is a 35mm film photographer; Chris is a digital photographer with a fetish for medium format toy cameras. And, of course, I love Polaroid. So, we’re taking my three Polaroid cameras out for a treasure hunting expedition, beginning at the Little Rock Farmer’s Market.

When we get back, this is what I plan to try with my favorite prints.

I’ve not tried the Polaroid emulsion lift technique yet. Got any tips to share?

Creativity and Comfort Food

Maple Sour Cream Walnut Muffins

It is raining and storming like crazy here in the South. It is completely an indoor kind of weekend, full of domestic duties, so I was thrilled when my order from Bake It Pretty arrived. Time for a much needed culinary and creative break!

Culinary Creativity
I was completely inspired by a recipe for maple sour cream walnut muffins from Sabra Krock and the corresponding photos Design Sponge posted a few couple of weeks ago – so much so that I began looking for shops and online retailers of vintagey paper muffin cups and antique metal baking sheets. I haven’t found the vintage baking sheets yet, but I did discover Bake It Pretty. Totally inspired, I ordered three sets of muffin cups right away.

Food and Photography
It was so exciting pouring that delicious batter into such cool muffin cups, and even more exciting tasting them when they came out of the oven. The recipe is really delicious and went perfectly with my French-pressed coffee. The perfect afternoon break!

But the fun wasn’t over yet! I decided to play with the CameraBag app on my iPhone and stage my own food photography session. So much fun! I’m no professional photographer, but I totally envy the folks who get to do this for a living!

I hope you enjoy these photos and that you’ll take some time this weekend for food and creativity. They make a perfect combination!

Weekend Project: iPhone Photo Gallery

I have to admit, I am a little bit enthralled with the CameraBag app for iPhone. I’m not a great photographer, but I am surrounded by them, so I recognize talent and skill when I see it – and also well enough to know that I don’t have it. However, this app makes even my iPhone snapshots look sweet. So, in spite of the stormy weather here, I took a few minutes today for a little weekend project. I hope you enjoy.

You can view the entire photostream on Flickr here. If you decide to do a similar project this weekend, please post a link to your Flickr page in the comments or consider joining the Creative Perch group. Happy snapping!

Weekend Project: Reuse Old Paint Canvases

There is a huge trial-and-error aspect to creative projects, with the result being many leftover, unfinished, or just not quite right projects. In my house this translates into many old acrylic canvases being stored in the closet.

Rather than purchase new ones, I decided to learn how to reuse them for a new project. I was thrilled to learn that resurfacing and sealing the canvases is a quick and easy job – perfect for a weekend project. An additional benefit is that the gesso creates a seal that makes these canvases suitable for oil work as well. Follow the jump for step-by-step instructions for your own weekend project.

Supplies Needed:
The supplies needed for this project are simple – you probably already have them around.

• Sandpaper or sanding blocks
• An old absorbent rag,
• Gesso
• Dust mask.

You can use either a spray gesso or a normal liquid form. If you use the liquid form, you will also need brushes or foam applicators. For this project, I used a gesso spray.

Approximate Time Needed: 45 Minutes to 1 Hour

Step One: Put on Your Dust Mask
It seems a bit redundant to make this an official step, but believe me, you’ll be glad you wore a mask. Acrylic paint dust is very fine, and like other dusts, dangerous if inhaled. Working in a well-ventilated area is also recommended.

Step Two: Sand and Clean Your Canvases
If you are a fan of texture work with acrylics, then you will need to kinds of sandpaper: coarse and fine. If your painting style is a bit smoother, then a bit of fine sandpaper will do just fine.

Gently sand the surface of the canvases, alternating between the coarse and fine sanding blocks to get the smoothest texture. Depending on how much texture you have on your canvases, how many you’re sanding, this step will take between 5 and 10 minutes. I had four canvases with a moderate amount of texture, and it took me less than ten minutes to sand them.

After you’ve sanded the canvases, fold your absorbent cloth and dampen one side, leaving the other side still dry. Use the damp side to wipe off the dust on each canvas, and the dry side to absorb an excess moisture.

Step Three: Apply the First Coat of Gesso
I used a spray form of gesso to save time. Whether you use a spray form or apply the gesso with a brush, apply it in a very thin layer. Then, allow 15 minutes for it to dry completely.

When using a spray gesso, make sure to stand back several inches from the canvas and apply in a light, sweeping motion.

Here is a close-up of the first coat of gesso. You can still see the previous painting very easily beneath the primer.

Step Four: Apply the Second Coat of Gesso
Apply a second very thin layer of gesso to your canvas. Allow 15 minutes to dry.

Finito!
You’re done! The completely dry canvases are now ready for use in your next brilliant art project!

Weekend Project: Try Something New

One of the best ways to increase creativity is to try something new. Even though the new skill you’re trying out may not be directly related to the project you’re working on, you’ll find that stretching your creative muscles in one area allows other ideas to incubate unconsciously. At the end of your experiment, you’ll likely have discovered a new way to tackle the “real” project you’re working on.

You might try a new way of brainstorming, or a new craft altogether. For the last several weeks, I’ve been fascinated with learning to screen print. I picked up a book by Lotta Jansdotter, but unfortunately, my local craft stores don’t sell the supplies I need. Lucky for me, there are sites like No Media Kings with tutorials, YouTube videos to guide my journey, and online art stores like Dick Blick to help me find the supplies I need. 

What new skills would you like to try out? Let’s start a discussion. Hopefully we can connect each other with the resources (tutorials, books, videos, supplies) to make these projects happen. If you take on this project, send me an email with a picture to dee dot wilcox at mac dot com, and I will post it on the “Weekend Project” page of this site.

Weekend Project: Organizing Your Portfolio Files

If your office is like mine, it can tend to be the catchall for all things technical and creative – CDs, manuals, miscellaneous computer hardware and accessories, trade magazines, piled on top of canvases, paints, inks, clay, charocoal crayons, pencils, markers, and a hodgepodge of sketch pads, notebooks, and works in progress.

And obviously you can’t just clear your desk pile off into a trash can. A valuable portfolio file or your only copy of a print piece might be buried in the stack.

This weekend, set aside a few minutes and tackle that stack. Depending on the amount of clutter you have to sort through, this job might take a few minutes or hours, or you may need to plan for the project to span the course of a few weekends.

The goal: Clear the clutter and update your portfolio.

I’ve brought a certain amount of order to my office by installing shelves and utilizing plastic tubs and labels. However, organizing my portfolio to showcase my best work has been a different matter.

I have found that creating both a print and an online portfolio works best. 

A blog or website with an image loader can work well as an online portfolio. If you have never built a blog or website before, consider hiring a professional. Your portfolio is a visual representation of your resume; it’s important that it look its best.

For your print portfolio, consider purchasing a nice leather bound notebook with tabs where you can file samples of your work, certificates, recognitions, and multiple copies of your resume. Another option is to have your portfolio printed as a book. If you select this option, you can design the layout yourself and have it printed through a service like iPhoto, or you can hire a designer to do the work for you. Whichever method you choose, make sure you can print them professionally but only as needed because your portfolio will need to be updated on a regular basis.