Favorite Hands-On Activities with Bonus How-To

There are different mediums in which art can be created. Writing and photography are art in their own right. While I’m also familiar with those types, I would like to bring up the “crafts” aspect of arts and crafts.

I like being able to actively do something with me hands, whether it’s stringing beads into a bracelet or folding paper to take form of objects. Some of my earliest memories go back to elementary school, where my mom and I would often make beaded bracelets. I would help her so that she could sell them to friends or co-workers.

Now, I want to tell you about some of my favorite and simple craft activities.

Lucky Stars

Click here for image source

Lucky stars are small paper stars that you can make out of strips of paper. The reason I love doing these is because it’s a simple way of making small decorate pieces. All you have to do is use colored and patterned paper and fill a glass jar with them. Decorate the jar or add a bow and it can make a cute gift for a friend. To learn how to make them, look here!

Knitting

I learned how to do the basic garter stich a few years ago but recently got back into it. I find knitting to be therapeutic and usually multi-task movies while doing so. I am currently halfway through a deep red scarf! It’s my first full-fledged knitting project and it’s funny to see the amount of mistakes lessen the longer the scarf gets.

Washer Pendants

A friend taught me how to make these pendants while I was visiting her in Austin, so unfortunately I don’t have the exact tutorial since the ones I have searched for differ, but it’s super simple. Here's what you'll need:

• Scrapbook paper
• Metal washers
• Craft/wood glue
• Glossy Accents
• X-acto knife
• Nail file

The quick run-down: First you're going to use the metal washer to help trace out the shape of the scrapbook paper with the x-acto knife. Carefully cut out the middle, too.

Second, paste your paper ring onto the washer. Press down while wiping away any excess glue and then wait to dry.

Third, use your nail file to smooth out the edges.

Lastly, carefully spread the glossy accents liquid all over the top of the washer. I advise to start circling the inside ring and go outwards. The goal is have no air bubbles.

Wait to dry, string it, and you have yourself a necklace!

Feel free to let me know what your favorite crafts are.

My Own Art Aspirations

In a previous post, namely "Never Too Late", I briefly mentioned that I don't want to pursue an art career. I feel like I should expand on that and talk about what I do hope to find in art as strictly a hobby.

To me, art has always been an expression of my feelings. I know that seems like the most basic reason to draw, but it’s true. When I was 15 years old, I had a massive crush on my best guy friend which was somewhat mutual, but there were complications that prevented a relationship of any sort. He told me about a dream he had of us, that involved a future with roommates and a conflict that came up.  I don’t want to go into detail, but it was a realistic dream with a coherent story that could be followed. I proceeded to draw out the whole thing in a comic format because I thought it was amazing.

The point of all that was to demonstrate what I meant by expression of feelings. I only drew for fun, with no intent on improving or wanting to improve. Improvement happened naturally (a little) with how often I would draw. I didn’t care about subject matter outside of humans.
And until recently, I feel a little more conscious about it. I want to expand and draw all types of things like scenery, vehicles, and even aspects of fantasy worlds. The sad part is I’m not able to sit down and draw as much as I used to. But it’s a temporary problem, I just have a handful of things to focus on at the moment.

Right now, I’m in school to be a social media manager. I really loved the classes I’ve been taking and it’s a great experience. Truth be told, I also wouldn’t mind being an artist somewhere down line. My biggest art related aspiration is to illustrate a comic book a few decades from now. That gives me plenty of time, I think.

I want to use art as a means of expression, in addition to drawing to improve so that it’s possible to make a livelihood from it.

#Inktober2016

mrjakeparker,com/inktober

It’s that time of year again where artists from all over the world participate in something called “Inktober” which lasts for the duration of, you guessed it, October!

The major premise is to create an ink drawing every day in order to enforce good practicing habits and self-improvement. While this is the example followed by most, you do not have to draw every day in order to participate. Anyone is welcome to try it out!

Here’s how to join in:

• Use ink (ballpoint pens work fine if you don’t have anything else).
• Draw daily, bi-weekly, or however you see fit (try to be consistent!)
• Post to your favorite social media platform
• Tag your work with #inktober and #inktober2016

The trend started in 2009 by illustrator Jake Parker as a personal challenge where it then took spread to others. You can also use this link to find other resources from the artist himself to use.

Personally, I don’t like drawing in ink as it seems permanent and I like being able to erase my mistakes or erase the extra lines I make in sketches. Clean lines are just not something that get along with me. The Ctrl + Z shortcut is my best friend in drawing programs.

Then I realized that part of challenging yourself includes stepping out of your comfort zone.

I did end up creating a few doodles last year to start off with, but did not end up following through. Actually, I didn’t make it past the first week. Oops.

True to the Inktober spirit, these were originally posted to my twitter. I believe I used sharpie for both drawings, and sharpie will probably continue being my marker of choice for this year. My excuse for the uneven lighting is that I did not have a working scanner at the time.

I hope to broaden my horizons by drawing less humans, but we'll see how that goes.

The Inktober page has an official prompt list which is what I'll probably be piggybacking off of, but that is totally optional. I hope more people can get in on the action!