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In my dad’s basement workshop one could find a quagmire of relays, disassembled motors, meters, and vacuum tubes. Even an oscilloscope. Ironically, I am not the least bit mechanically inclined. Yet I’m fascinated by contraptions, gadgets, and Rube Goldberg machines! With art, I like to take a process apart and figure out how it works! I experiment by trying things in different ways, like shifting one variable or another, and seeing what happens.
My playgrounds are art journals, index cards, and sketchbooks. These are the places I test ideas. Even if an idea doesn’t work out the way you envision, you are still learning! Give yourself AMPLE opportunities to practice, play, and make things that make no sense.
“Here’s how I learned to improvise: I played some music in the studio and I started to move. It sounds obvious, but I wonder how many people, whatever their medium, appreciate the gift of improvisation. It’s your one opportunity in life to be completely free, with no responsibilities and no consequences. You don’t have to be good or even interesting. It’s you alone, with no one watching or judging. If anything comes of it, you decide whether the world gets to see it. In essence, you are giving yourself permission to daydream during working hours.” Twyla Tharp
With experimentation there is uncertainty. Even with the best hypothesis ever, the finished work could be 🧨 delightful dynamite or 🌪️ creative catastrophe. But likely somewhere in-between.
One way to encourage experimentation is by doing something in many different ways. Maybe you document your week by drawing codes & tiny icons in your planner. Each week you refine how it works until you have a workable system. During ICAD we have 61 spaces for experimentation!
When I paint in gouache I often use the structure of a grid. It divides the page into spaces for small experiments. This is a way to try variations of the same kind of thing.
There are a bunch of posts about this approach; start with inviting reativity via grids. If you like a good tape reveal, enjoy my UNTAPING video 🙃🖼️🔈of this page ⤴️ in substack notes.
With regard to experimentation, in digital art the options are just about endless. And there is an UNDO button. By improvising and toying with different aspects I often stumble on something interesting! Something I never would have discovered if I set out with a concrete plan.
If you set sail in one direction and land in another, try setting the aside for a week so that you can see it more objectively. Frankly, a lot of stuff just doesn’t work. I take mental notes re: what DID work... like could the smidgeon of a blurry orange line be an inkling of a sunset?
Go to Lime Twist Set № 02 ↩️ Hint: You can use a twist as a warm-up or use it to prompt/start your art for the day. Have you tried any of the twists from Sets 01 or 02? Report back!
🔗 Quick link to all of the Lime Twists
{Edited to add: Workshop registration will re-open late Dec or early Jan. You can add yourself to the wait list to get a notification when that happens.} Registration closes 08/14 so you’ve got one more day to jump into this 🌈🎢🎪📻🌅 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴-𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 experience. We collage, paint, art journal, draw, doodle, iterate, improvise, experiment, and play. Plus a collection of deep dives to fuel your creative practice! Self-guided, online, 24/7, any level of experience welcome! I try to make each subsequent workshop better than the last, and this is my 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘱 since I started teaching online in 2012. Learn more at Mixed Media Amusements & Musings.
calm+journal zine
Imaginary Gardens on Index Cards Part 01
Art Session: Circus & Book Rec 🎥
Unmapped: 105 ICADs Flip-Thru 🎥
Art Sessions: Tiny Experiments 01 & 02 🎥
❌⭕️❌⭕️
Tammy
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The latest is a set of downloadable images that you can print and use in your art journals or collages or use as a layer in digital collage. Find it in this subscriber update.
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