Spoonful of Imagination

Add it to a Family for Something Beautiful

Art Magic is the Creative Process

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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!

DIY Wood Painted Tray

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This project has so many of my favorite components. I love color, paint, process art, functionality, and several steps for a project and this fun project incorporates all of that.

It’s not too difficult and a few steps can really set up kids or you for a fun project that (I believe) you would then enjoy the finished product for years. Embrace the process being the art and enjoy it with this project.

I will quickly show you the main steps I did in this project with campers at our studio. My purpose is to inspire you to embrace color and to maybe try parts of this project to make it your own. You can change the measurements, techniques and tips to create a fun piece that works for you!

1. Build

As I was dreaming up this project for my campers, I used a mix of donated wood and bought supplies to create a basic tray. I started by trimming plywood pieces with my Miter Saw and Brad Nailer to create small wood tray. The frame for my tray was approximately 13″ x 8.5″.

2. Sand and Prime

I wanted my campers to focus on the wood squares that went IN their tray, so I prepped the tray a bit more for them. I sanded the trays and primed them white, so my artists could spend more time enjoying painting the wood squares.

3. Paint squares & Tray

I built my wood trays to be able to hold (6) 4″ x 4″ wood squares. You can build your tray to hold whatever size tray you want. Or you can skip adding the wood squares and just paint the bottom of your tray any of these fun ways.

I pulled out a mix of different materials to allow my campers to paint their squares in an abstract, fun way. In this step, we focused on the process of creating, experimenting, playing, observing, pivoting to enjoy painting without a paintbrush.

The techniques we encouraged were:

  1. Painting with pipettes and watered-down paint. You can read a post all about this technique here. This technique creates a marbled-paint pour that is a super fun look.
  2. Scrape painting with an old giftcard or hotel key. In this technique, you move the paint around with the key and the focus is on play. Depending on how hard or light you press the key down you can blend colors and show movement with creating ripples.
  3. Fun tools like feathers, forks, cooking basters, and tooth picks all can add fun stamping or blending in paint. You can’t fully control your image with these tools, which forces you to play and discover.

I planed to allow my campers to use a paintbrush to paint their wood trays, after they painted their wood squares.

I imagined the squares fun and abstract and then the tray being where they could practice “controlling” their finished product a little bit more.

I was so surprised (and excited!) to see that the campers had so much fun exploring the fun tools and paint techniques that most of them choose to paint their tray in the same way!

4. Dry and Spray Sealer

After everything was painted, we let it dry overnight. Because of the thick layer of paint, it took longer to dry. Once everything was dry, I used Rustoleum’s Clear Gloss spray to completely cover the art. This sealed their masterpieces, added a protective layer, and helped some of those blended colors pop a bit more.

5. Final details- Glue squares and add handles

It was fun to encourage the artists to play designer on how they would like their squares to lay in their wood tray. Once they figured out the order they wanted them to go in, they used wood glue to put the squares in place inside the wood tray.

They were gorgeous! I added the handles to complete the trays and were ready to be taken home and stylized!

Each tray turned out so different, yet beautiful and colorful. I love the mix of color, wood, and metal handles.

The squares allow the wood tray to have fun different colors all mixed together. Any one of the wood squares might not be loved if taken out and used on its own. Yet, when the wood squares are paired together with other fun squares they look stunning and make one another even more fun.

I love how I had some ideas for the main parts/steps of this project, but it was open ended enough that the campers could play and personalize it to their own taste. I never mentioned splatter painting, yet the girls did play with that technique.

It always amazes me what the campers come up with, when given freedom to play. I learn from watching them. One camper painted a wood square and then used it as a stamp and stuck another square to it. When she pulled the squares apart the most stunning abstract design was the result. You can see this technique in the above picture on the bottom right tray.

You can try the fun techniques on paper.

You can buy a wood tray and add to it.

You can find other random things to paint with from around your house.

There are so many ways to personalize this project or the paint techniques to make something fun today!

What do you think!?! Do you want to make a fun, functional painted piece now!?! Imagine the possibilities. How can you add some color to your world today?

 

VLOG Behind the Scenes: Fun Family Paint Dropper Craft Tutorial

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paint dropper craftDid you see our big news!?

We were so excited to share in yesterday’s post that we have started a YouTube Channel! This really is a family project. Our kids are all in. They are so excited but also learning how much work it is. Here they were, patiently waiting for us to have all the supplies and camera equipment set up.

Don’t they look thrilled!?

They did actually have a lot of fun. We all did.

If you haven’t seen this vlog episode yet, check it out now! I made a major mistake and the aftermath plays out for the whole world to see.

It was a fun project because it incorporated a lot of color, gave freedom to make it ‘yours’, and was simple with only two main steps. We got to paint with droppers and paint with brushes – all the while talking and hanging out.

We plan on growing into a regular blog recap after we release a new vlog that can show you behind the scenes pictures and moments like this. Our kids will also be editing pictures they take and writing these posts from time to time.

process art project

process art projectCaleb’s project was looking so perfect and then we came back in from playing in the snow and disaster struck! I made a huge mess and am just thankful the cameras weren’t rolling when this happened, or Matt would shown you for sure!

process art project

If you’ve followed us for a while, you know that we encourage that the creating process is the art and not the final product. This helps to break down fears and boundaries when creating and encourage a more “go for it” spirit. This mindset will also help when your project gets messed up or isn’t looking the way you wanted it too.

Mistakes open up the opportunity to problem solve and dream up a different direction. I love how our Jeremiah caught the moment that Caleb looked at his messed up painting, tried a new idea, and loved it. His facial expression shows the joy and discovery that art can be.

process art projectNot only was I off the hook for ruining his painting, but I was so proud of how he processed through a mistake and turned it into something he loves. He now has it hanging next to his bed! Pretty cool!

What did you guys think of this first project!? Do you have some old paints you can use this dropper technique on? If you try it, we would love to see! Tag your work with #spoonfulofimagination so we can join you in your creations.

Supplies for this Craft: