painting Archives - Page 2 of 6 - Spoonful of Imagination

Art Magic is the Creative Process

October 18, 2020 By Erica Deuel 2 Comments

Have you ever sat back and thought about the parts of your job that you really love?

It may be the reason why you went into that profession or it may be things you realized about it, once you were in it. Even if your job is not your dream, if you are doing it day in and day out, and it takes a chunk of your day and life, I hope there is SOMETHING you love about it.

Recently, a friend asked me what I love about what I do. Without even having to think about it…I knew.

I love when…

🧡the athlete who thinks he/she has no interest in art gets lost in the creative process and spends the most time out of everyone working

🧡the mom who claims she has no creativity gets excited in the process and starts dreaming about what else she can do to other things

🧡 the young artist who doesn’t know any rules, regulations or of a world saying “it’s not suppose to look like that” double fists paint brushes to create or throws the paintbrushes aside and sticks their whole hand in the process

🧡 the artist who has an idea and when it isn’t working out finds the freedom to pivot into something else and stands back more amazed at the end of what they wrestled through on the inside to make something on their own

🧡the hurting, angry child who seems to never slow down or focus gets so lost in the creative process that they are now calm, soft and focused and sharing things from the inside and all the hard melts away as they work

🧡 the grown man who starts slow and hesitant but then as he gets into it, he rolls up his sleeves and starts allowing the kid in him to reappear

These moments and more like them are when I see the spark. I see artists get lost in the creative process…for the journey it’s taking them through on the inside and not even really related to the product on the outside.

It is the ART MAGIC🧡

It is more commonly called the creative process or process art. I use both those names as well, but when you see it happening before your eyes, it leaves you feeling a bit giddy. It feels magical and really special that we can get lost in the journey and forget all the yes/no, right/wrong, black/white, true/false, and exact answers and be left with our feelings, decisions, thoughts, and process. It is pretty magical.

So, have you got lost in the creative process and found the art magic recently? If you haven’t and if you didn’t have an answer to what you love about your job, I encourage you to try something with your hands this weekend. Get creative and lost in the process. It will help your spirit and it just might help you process out what you do love.

If you need help in knowing where to start, you can pick up a messy art journal full of base coats like mine in our shop. I really love this journal.

Thanks so much for following along, and I will be back soon!

Beauty in the Unexpected

August 27, 2020 By Erica Deuel Leave a Comment

Isn’t it fun when something unplanned catches your eye? I think there is beauty in the unexpected.

The other week I showed you how I made these messy painted journals. I began by showing you how I made their covers, but I ended up filling them up with color too. The goal was to fill the pages with color and inspiring pops of playful abstract paint strokes. What I did not expect was the papers that I used to insert between my journal pages to become their own beautiful canvas. These papers were intended to simply catch the paint that rolled off the current page I was painting. I wanted them to catch paint from oozing below and hurting past pages I had painted.

The papers dried as the pages dried. I then moved them up and inserted them in between new pages, as I kept filling my journal with color. What happened in the process was layers and layers of paint filling up and creating fun abstract mini paintings.

I started to love the pages. All of a sudden I didn’t want them to get ruined, and I contemplated stopping to use them and get new papers, so I didn’t “mess them up.”

I forced myself to keep going and remain free in their creation as well, because ultimately I had no need or plan for them. I should just enjoy the process with them as well.By the time I finished my journals, I had this stack of papers that I found so beautiful and loved as much as the journals. I cut them up into smaller sections and planned to use them as cards or bookmarks.

I couldn’t leave it there though. I got the idea to add more texture and fun to create some really fun, messy, painted, rainbow greeting cards.

I started following some of the trails of paint by ripping the edge to create a rough textured finish. I loved this look because the white contrasts with all that color so beautifully. Once I had a stack of now ripped mini abstract paintings, I picked a blank, colorful greeting card and sewed my painting to it. The result was a fun, textured, colorful, messy (yet finished) greeting card. What do you think? Do you love them as much as I do?

I think one of the things I love about them is just that they came out of nothing. There was no idea or plan. They just unfolded as I created and enjoyed the art process.

When is a time you found beauty in an unexpected way? Enjoy the process! We never know what may come out of it!

Large Abstract Painting- enjoy the process

January 31, 2018 By Erica Deuel 2 Comments

Do you ever have natural instincts towards something, but you can’t always fully explain it until you keep learning in towards it!? Whew. That’s a bit confusing. Let me explain.

I have always loved helping people to create. I let my kids paint before they could really talk. I always viewed it as a sensory, exploratory time in letting their imaginations go. Now, that we started and run an art studio in our town it has had me lean further into my philosophy of how we run our classes and workshops. I believe in the benefits of the process. This little phrase “process art” describes a lot of what I have always acted on, but now I can explain it.

There are so many good things that happen in the art process. Kids get to explore, experiment, discover, take risks, problem solve and so much more! While all these things are happening, kids can be developing self-confidence as they make decisions and see what happens. They get to create without worrying about it being right or wrong.

I love all of it.

One day I looked at my bedroom window and realized my husband had pinned up some shirts over the window to be able to have a blackout curtain to take a nap. Well, that’s a no go! I realized we needed a curtain. I didn’t just want any curtain. I wanted a fun, colorful one. These can be expensive. In my attempt to be thrifty and reuse what we already had, I rummaged through our linen closet and found a curtain that we used in our foster care bedroom at our last house…over three years ago. It was time that thing got put to use again.

I combined my love of color + creating + process art and came up with a fun, abstract painted curtain for my bedroom. Here’s how we did it.

I love color, so I gathered my usual color scheme. I used leftover latex paint from when we painted our studio. We had a great selection of samples and colors that we had used to paint the studio’s walls. To use what I had and save money I chose to not use fabric paint. Please note: this did make my curtain more crisp and stiff.

My goal was to just make something better than a shirt being pinned up to my window. There were little expectations because I knew anything would be better than that. I laid out our old gray curtain on an old rug, poured the paint into small cups that my little artists could easily hold and move around, gave my kids paint shirts and let them have at it. My instructions were simply this, “Ok, two rules! Cover up the gray and have fun. Go!”

Oh man. There were so many smiles, laughs and brainstorms as they created side by side. As they filled in the gray…

They decided they wanted to paint all the way to the edge.

They wanted to spread out the different colors.

They wanted to all work on it.

They stepped on it.

They never really stood back and analyzed it.

They just kept going.

We instantly loved it. It was so fun to stand back and just enjoy their process as they created. Sure there was the moment, where I had to scurry to wipe up the floor a bit when they walked off of their masterpiece in painted socks, but it was worth it. My kids created a piece, I couldn’t buy and it was an experience we couldn’t replicate if I hadn’t just given them the supplies and stepped back.

But, I wanted in on the fun too. I drizzled a few colors on top to make it a bit messier, and it was complete!

The hardest part of this whole project was waiting for it to dry. We might have driven back over to the studio (where we painted it) to pick it up a few hours latter…only to realize it wasn’t dry yet. We ended up letting it dry overnight and then brought our masterpiece home. My girl tried to claim it as a blanket. Haha! It would not be a very good blanket since the material was thin and now also stiff. It was the perfect curtain though.

I hung it in my room. My husband no longer needs to pin a shirt up to our window. Success! I love how the colors on the curtain add a fun pop of color to my gray walls and light colored bed quilt, yet it combines with my headboard perfectly!

What do you think? Do you enjoy the art process too? Would you ever try a large scale abstract process art project like this!? If you don’t want to do it or it feels intimidating, don’t do it…kids will gladly step in and make it happen for you! 😉

If the curtain is a little out of your comfort zone or style, no problem. Here are a few of my favorite kid projects that can really encourage process art:

Painting a ceramic piece (with tips on how to paint with young ones)

Empty Paint Bottle Sign

Paint a Blueprint

I hope you’re having a good week! If you try any of our projects, tag me on social media with #spoonfulproject.

Reindeer Hands

December 12, 2013 By Erica Deuel 1 Comment

Tis the season of crafting for one and all. Lots of us LOVE it, but I know for some it can be intimidating and scary. Especially kid crafts. They can be a lot of fun, but let’s just be honest…they can sometimes end up in a mess. It’s always a successful kid craft when it doesn’t end in tears or a destroyed house.

I love capturing my kids imagination and crafts so I brace myself, try to put some of my OCD tendencies on pause, and let them create. Here are a few tips to help you get through this season of glitter, paint, and glue.

1. Pick the a day and time, when you are not rushed and the kids are in good spirits.

2. Be ok with the crafts taking a few days to complete! For this craft, I got the hand prints and footprints one day and cut them out, added the embellishments, and glued it all together the next. Typically, one craft time per day is enough.

3. Have LOTS of baby wipes on hand, if you are doing a paint project. I don’t trust my kids to go through the house to wash their hands at the sink without touching anything. And while I’m painting hands, I just need to keep going down the line as fast as I can, so I don’t stop to take one to the bathroom (and leave my open paint and brush out loose on the table). I paint a hand, press it down, and immediately start wiping it with baby wipes to get it clean. Once I have most of the paint off, I send that child on his/her merry little way to the bathroom to finish the washing. I think on this craft we finished off two already opened packages of baby wipes. No joke. They are a cheap cost to my sanity and my walls.

4. Bite your tongue. I often want to say, “sit still” “don’t touch that” “you missed a spot”, but I try to refrain. I want crafting together to be a memory they look back on and love, plus I want to give them a love and confidence to create and try new things. My goal with crafting is to be quiet. The excitement and fun for them is enough joy that I can sit and participate and not say much and they will have a blast. The encouragement and praise can happen later or if you trust yourself-say that stuff at the time, but nothing else. You can protect your walls and furniture while protecting their little hearts at the same time by moving fast and pretending you can’t talk. 🙂

5. My last goal with crafting is to try to bring out their creativity in as many ways as possible. Kids hear “no” a lot. No more sugar. No climbing on the couch. No more iPad time. No screaming in the library. Etc. etc. etc. Crafting and creating should be a time of saying “yes!” Although this reindeer craft is pretty standard, I let them choose every part of it.

which color paper they wanted (I had brown card stock, creme, dark red, red, lime green, dark green, and white paper to choose from.)
What color of paint they wanted for their hands (reindeer antlers)
What color of pant they wanted for their foot (reindeer face)
What size googly eyes they wanted
I handled the hot glue gun while adding the embellished eyes and nose, but they point to where they wanted them, so they choose spacing and placement.
I let them sign their names and be proud of their artwork right on the front
They could draw a mouth if they wanted (Caleb came up with that idea on his own)

My boys cut their hand prints and footprint out themselves. J’s is not cut as closely as I would have done and Caleb’s is cut more than I would have, but I let them do it. It might have grated on my OCD nerves a bit, but it gave them more ownership of their work and I love that it is THEIR work and not mine.

I love how this little craft turned out, and I love that I have a piece of their creativity and a way that captured their favorite colors and skill level. Matt always tells me we have energy and time to do the things we really want to do, so crafting with my kids is something that I just have to make time for in my schedule. Otherwise, I’ll push it off and miss these moments. It’s worth making memories like this and getting over the mess.

I hung our reindeer herd up with my Joy Coaster Banner and you can see my little DIY Rope Balls tucked away in the can on the side. Christmas decor is so fun! I hope you are able to craft with some little ones this season, and that you have tons of FUN while doing it!

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