sallysetsforth

#ICAD2016 week 2 round up (18 June)

June 18, 2016

Another seven index cards done, so another weekly round up. A collage of the second week's efforts is below :)

Index-Card-A-Day (#ICAD) 2016 Week 2 round up

I thought I would find it much harder to do the index cards while I'm also spending so much time and energy on my arts course. But so far I'm actually finding it a great outlet for doing my own thing creatively.

In my course I am constantly pushed outside of my comfort zone, while here in the index card challenge I am free to play around with the patterns and colours that I love. I'm not trying to create groundbreaking art, I'm just playing and exploring. And nobody is going to mark my efforts :)

As usual, I've been posting my index cards for the Index-Card-A-Day challenge (#ICAD2016) to Flickr, Instagram and Tumblr individually as I create them.

Posted by Sally Cummings. Posted In : Creativity

Cherry Tree in Autumn (13 June)

June 13, 2016

I'm totally in love with the colours on my cherry tree right now. Every time I catch a glimpse of it through my laundry window, or step outside my back door, it makes me feel happy. A reminder of the beauty in the world.

Love the golden colours on my cherry tree right now!

Last week I desperately needed some inspiration for an assignment on modernism that I was really struggling with. I had ideas, but just couldn't pull them together and move forward. One of my friends suggested taking inspiration from a landscape, and suddenly everything came together. I thought of my cherry tree, and that gave me my shapes and colour palette. I picked up the paintbrush and went to work.

Painting inspiration - leaves from my cherry tree, love these colours!

I posted a work-in-progress photo earlier today of the beginnings of the painting. It was looking so pretty, I wanted to capture it just in case I stuffed it up later (it happens, trust me).

Beginnings of an abstract geometric painting, inspired by my cherry tree

And here is the finished piece - an abstract geometric watercolour painting of my cherry tree, with brown and grey accents to represent the trunk / ground and winter sky. I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

The next step was to scan the painting and import it into a program called PCStitch. It's software for creating cross stitch designs, but can also be used for any grid-based designs such as Fair Isle knitting or latch hook rugs. I used it to create a design for a 3 x 4 foot rug. The pattern will form part of an artwork proposal along with the watercolour painting.

Oh, and while I had my paints out, I made an index card using a similar design too :)

Posted by Sally Cummings. Posted In : Creativity

The first assignment (12 June)

June 12, 2016

Well, I guess I really have been nervous about sharing my artwork, as it's nearly halfway through June and I still haven't posted anything from my course yet!

It's funny - I don't feel any hesitation about sharing the results of my daily creative challenges. I suspect it's because they're quick and small, and of necessity there are limitations on how much time and effort I can spend on them.

My art school assignments are a different matter. I've spent more time on them, and put more thought and work into them. Sharing them is just that little bit scarier, simply because I tried harder. Fellow perfectionists will understand what I'm trying to say here (and I have another blog post in draft all about that!).

Sometimes the assignment work also really needs some context to go along with it - such as the one I'm (finally) sharing in this post. We received this assignment on our second day of classes. After watching a Powerpoint presentation, we were given the following brief: create two pages of a zine; with subject matter based on a shortlist of books and films; in either Art Nouveau or German Expressionist style; with a contemporary twist; in three weeks.

I felt totally overwhelmed. My internal dialogue was a wail of "But I don't even know how to draw!" and "Isn't anyone going to teach us anything first?". Tears got the better of me at the morning tea break, but a lovely fellow student comforted me. It turned out I wasn't alone in feeling that way.

Anyway, long story short, here is my final piece :)

Harry Potter subject guide in Art Nouveau style

Click on the image to see a larger version in Flickr. The two pieces are also uploaded individually to my Art School 2016 Flickr folder.

Posted by Sally Cummings. Posted In : Creativity

The cumquats are coming (10 June)

June 10, 2016

It may be a little premature to be blogging about my much anticipated cumquat harvest while the fruit are still green (counting my chickens before they're hatched?), but ooh I hope this lot ripens successfully :)

Last year, after our cat Roxy died, my friends at work bought me a cumquat tree. I'm not sure who contributed, but I know it was Rose that remembered my reminiscences about growing up with a cumquat tree, and I was so touched at receiving such a personal gift at that time.

I took this first photo back in January when the little tree was in blossom. We had nursed it through its first summer with extra shade and insect traps to keep the citrus gall wasp away. Such excitement to see that first tiny fruit appear, when the tree had been in the ground for less than a year!

Lots of flowers on my cumquat right now, and a tiny young fruit too :)

And now it's June - the flowers have gone, and have been replaced by lots of fruit (but not too many, as it's a young plant still). The cumquats appear to be full sized now, so hopefully they will start to change colour soon. We don't yet know what their season is, though, so only time will tell when they are ready to pick and eat.

The cumquats are coming! Looking forward to my first harvest this year :)

Cumquats are very tart, so when they're ripe we will most likely be adding lots of sugar to them, and making marmalade or brandied cumquats. But first I'm going to eat one straight off the tree! Those beautiful orange fruit were always such a big temptation to an impatient child, and every year I would forget how sour they are and try to eat one raw :) I'm looking forward to reliving that moment, including the I-just-sucked-on-a-lemon face that inevitably goes with it *lol*

P.S. Apparently cumquats are better known as kumquats outside Australia.

Posted by Sally Cummings.

#ICAD2016 week 1 round up (8 June)

June 8, 2016

I just realised I've already done my first seven cards for this year's Index-Card-A-Day challenge (#ICAD2016), so it's time for a weekly round up.

I've been posting them each day to Flickr, and also to Instagram and Tumblr. A collage of the first week's efforts is below.

Index-Card-A-Day (#ICAD) 2016 Week 1 round up

Again, never easy to make time to do these, but it's such a worthwhile activity for switching gears, engaging creativity and developing skills. It's a bit like a shared daily sketchbook habit, really.

I had a few leftover watercolour backgrounds from last year, as well as some other bits and pieces that I've repurposed. That was a real timesaver this week. I'll try to get a head start on a few more this weekend if I can.

Interesting to see two distinct colour palettes emerging in the first week's cards. I don't think that was deliberate. A bit of collage - we're doing a collage assignment at the moment, so it's on the brain I guess. Some doodling, mostly over the top of other media. Paint of various types in all except one. The only one without paint was done with permanent markers in a food court while waiting for a friend. Much better than wasting time on my phone :)

Posted by Sally Cummings. Posted In : Creativity

Smells and memories (7 June)

June 7, 2016

Oops, missed a couple of days already. Oh well, I don't think anyone's counting my blog posts except for me. I'll manage what I can :)

Anyway, this morning I tried a new shampoo sample. It had a coconut fragrance that instantly took me back to living in Darwin. Not that we were surrounded by coconuts up there (although we did have a coconut tree above our pool that was rather alarming - I was so worried about getting hit on the head by a falling coconut that we put up a shade cloth for protection), but there is definitely a connection. I normally use a coconut scented shower gel to remind me of the tropics, but I've been using a vanilla scented one lately and can't wait to finish it and get back to that lovely coconut and the memories and feelings it evokes.

As I thought about the various scents available in hair and body products, I realised that this is an area where I really do call upon smell to alter my mood by reminding me of happy times. Not so much perfumes, but body lotions, lip balms, shower gels and room sprays. I like a hint rather than a whoomph of scent.

Coconut, as mentioned above, makes me think of Darwin and the tropics.
Orange blossom reminds me of the tree in our front garden that I played in as a child.
Baby powder envelopes me in a feeling of parental love.
Green apple reminds me of my favourite shampoo as a child, a gift from my grandmother.
Jasmine takes me back to our family home, and the fence that was covered in it.
Raspberry lip balm reminds me of my university years.
Lemon verbena is a direct line to the lemonade icy poles of childhood summers.
Rose reminds me of my mother's favourite flowers.
Eucalyptus oil is the hankie my father used to stuff into our shirt pockets when we had a cold.

Do you have any smells that evoke fond memories of people, times and places?

Posted by Sally Cummings.

The 100 Day Project (4 June)

June 4, 2016

I mentioned in my first #blogjune post for this year, that I'm taking part in a couple of creative challenges this month. One is the Index-Card-A-Day challenge that I've done for the last two years - I'll be posting updates on that here on the blog every week or so. The other challenge is The 100 Day Project (#the100dayproject).

I first heard about #the100dayproject when it was mentioned by a few artists and illustrators that I follow on Instagram who were planning to take part. Intrigued, I investigated further. The challenge involves choosing a creative activity - anything you like - and doing it for 100 days. The tagline is "What could you do with 100 days of making?".

Day 5 #100daysofbrushstrokes #the100dayproject

Knowing how much I've got out of other daily creative challenges, in building both skills and community, I wanted to participate. But I also knew I had the index card challenge on the horizon, and assignments for art school are very demanding on my time.

By chance, I discovered a simple iPhone app called Ink Brush Pen around the same time I was contemplating joining #the100dayproject. After creating a few little drawings just using my finger, and liking the look of the brush pen effect, I decided this was it - this was how I could participate in a short but satisfying way each day, without stressing out about trying to create great works of art.

Now I just had to decide on a personal hashtag (#100daysof... ) to accompany the challenge. I chose #100daysofbrushstrokes.

I've decided to join #the100dayproject challenge on Instagram :) My theme is #100daysofbrushstrokes, and each day I'll post a small digital drawing made using an ink brush app on my phone

Each day I take a few minutes to play around on the app and see what I can come up with. Some days I feel especially creative, and build up a bank of drawings that I can use on those days when I don't have enough time or energy to come up with something. My drawings using the app are necessarily simple, and I enjoy creating them.

Here's a quick mosaic of some of my favourite pieces for #the100dayproject so far. I post them each day to my Instagram account, and also to my Flickr account where you can view them all together in an album.

The challenge runs from 19 April - 27 July. There are lots of amazing artists, creators, photographers and makers taking part. You can check out the hashtag on Instagram to see the latest work that people are doing. So inspiring, and a great way of finding interesting people to follow too.

Posted by Sally Cummings. Posted In : Creativity

The Light in Winter (3 June)

June 3, 2016

Last night I caught up with a good friend for dinner in the city. As we walked towards Flinders St Station at the end of the night, our eyes were caught by the illuminated buildings of Federation Square, which were covered in colourful patterns. I wandered over for a closer look, and learnt that the light installation was part of Fed Square's tenth anniversary The Light in Winter.

The light projections on the building facades are called Federation Squared, created by Reko Rennie and The Electric Canvas. It's a repeat of the installation that they created for White Night Melbourne earlier this year. The work relates to Indigenous culture and identity in contemporary urban environments.

The Federation Squared light installation will only run for four nights (2-5 June), so if you want to check it out you'd better be quick!

Another important part of The Light in Winter is the Leempeeyt Weeyn’ Indigenous Campfire, and its associated program of events. It was originally created by Vicki Couzens. The campfire will burn continuously until 17 July.

The Federation Square website also says there is a Giant Theremin set up somewhere in the vicinity until 19 July - this most definitely requires further investigation!

Posted by Sally Cummings. Posted In : Travel

Design Futures Forum (2 June)

June 2, 2016

A couple of days ago I attended the annual Design Futures Forum (agIdeas), hosted by Ideas On Design at the Melbourne Convention Centre. It was a great event, and the calibre of the speakers was amazing.

Nicolas Hogios - Toyota Motor Corp (automotive designer)

Nick spoke about his career in automotive design, including some cutting edge futures work. He finished with a 5 minute live demonstration of creating a new car design, which was really interesting to watch.

Raphael Pimentel - Luma Pictures (animation designer)

Raphael's studio has worked on some very well known films, including several movies from the Marvel cinematic universe. He stressed the importance of basic maths and science education in design, and also of networking and building connections throughout the creative industry.

Bambi Damty - Deloitte Digital (experience designer)

I enjoyed Bambi's introduction to experience design, as it had a strong linkage with the growing interest in design thinking in libraries that I was already familiar with (mostly thanks to Zaana Howard). It's always good to find those connections between two worlds! Bambi talked about the qualities needed to work in experience design - curiosity, empathy, and a focus on creative solutions.

Megan Hess - Megan Hess Illustration (fashion illustrator)

Megan was on the verge of giving up her dream of working full-time as an illustrator when her big break came through in the form of a book cover design for Candace Bushnell. She now creates beautiful illustrations for some seriously big names in the fashion and related industries all around the world (Dior, Tiffany, Yves Saint Laurent, Vanity Fair, Prada, and more).

Lisa Oaten - Studio Periscope (industrial designer)

Lisa's studio creates innovative products to promote and engage with brands. They have a focus on sustainable design and materials. As well as client based work, Lisa also creates collaboratively designed products under the FromWoopWoop label.

Roland Snooks - Studio Roland Snooks / Kokkugia (architect)

Roland talked about his research practice Kokkugia's work on swarm behaviour, patterns and formation. Rather than design end products, they create building blocks that can organically create their own designs (generative design). A really interesting insight into experimental architecture, and innovative building materials and techniques.

James de Colling - Zero Latency VR (game designer)

Virtual reality and augmented reality are becoming ever more accessible thanks to new mobile phone technology, and this is an area with lots of opportunities for new designers.

Dr Ken Cato - Cato Brand Partners (graphic designer)

Ken is a graphic designer who has been creating advertising designs for product and print material since the 1970s. He showed us an awe inspiring back catalogue of work, chock full of instantly recognisable brands that he has helped create over the years. These included the Commonwealth Bank, Qantas, Channel 7, the Melbourne Arts Centre, Cascade Brewery, The Ghan, the Melbourne Tennis Open, Tarax soft drinks, and many more. He was awarded the Order of Australia in 2013.

Attending the Design Futures Forum at the Melbourne Convention Centre tonight

The speakers provided much food for thought about different types of design career. Personally I hope to pursue a less commercial, more independent path, but I imagine it would be so exciting to work with these kinds of professionals. Although the event was targeted primarily at design students, I got a lot out of it and am grateful to my art school for organising tickets for me and my classmates :)

Posted by Sally Cummings. Posted In : Professional

Challenge addict (1 June)

June 1, 2016

It's the first day of June, and as I mentioned in my last post, that means it's #blogjune time again :)

I always look forward to taking part, although my posts will have to be short and sweet this time around. You see, it appears that I'm a sucker for challenges, so this will be one of *three* daily challenges that I'll be doing throughout June this year.

1) #blogjune - blogging every day of June, along with a lovely bunch of library folk

2) #ICAD2016 - creating art on an index card every day of June and July

3) #the100dayproject - doing something creative every day for 100 days (19 April-27 July)

I'm not at all sure where I'll find the time to fit it all in, especially since it's also the end of semester and I'll have a truckload of assignments due this month ...

So why do I do it? Well, there are a few reasons. Sometimes I need a motivational challenge to kickstart me into doing things that I love but have trouble making time for. I also adore the communities that build around these kinds of challenges - the interaction, interest, support and encouragement make them a joy to be a part of. And finally, you never know what might happen when you just jump in and participate! Over the last few years, the #blogjune challenge has deepened my engagement with other bloggers in the library community, and the #ICAD challenge started a creative habit that led to the visual arts course that I'm now studying :)

Posted by Sally Cummings. Posted In : Creativity

« Newer posts

Older posts »

Sally Cummings

Artist. Designer. Crafter. Librarian. Foodie. Geek.