Stitches and Stuff: Beat winter's grey days with color
Tuesday, January 6, 2009 6:06 PM PST
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E-mail this articleColumn by Melisse Laing
For The Daily News
The grey days of winter put my creativity into hibernation. To wake myself up and get working again at full speed, I need color. As I look out my studio windows it’s still pretty dull, so I need to create the color inside – inside of my studio and inside of me.
Here are my ideas for waking up your creativity. If you have any suggestions you’d like to share, let me know and I’ll pass them along.
• Get out your brightest fabrics, yarns, paints, pencils, or whatever you need to work. Spread them out on tables or the floor or hang them on your design wall. Wow! Already things are starting to brighten up!
• Start small but think big. Use these bright colors to piece a mini-quilt, knit a cap, paint or draw a postcard. Try new designs and new color combinations. Use these small studies as ideas for a larger, “more important” work of art.
• Make yourself a “new” creating outfit. Take an old shirt, apron or hat and embellish it with leftover scraps of color — fabric, paint, glitter, sequins. Wear it when you work at your art. Wear it to the grocery store so people can see you’re an artist.
• Be a child. Take a large piece of newsprint or poster paper. Turn your radio, CD player or iPOD to some jazzy music. Use color crayons, markers or poster paint to decorate your paper. Let the music lead you and use full arm swings. Hang your work of art on your studio wall or the refrigerator.
• Get together with a friend. If he or she is also feeling the grey of winter, don’t let it get your down. Instead, lift both your spirits by doing something fun. Go for a walk with your cameras and photograph everything that is bright. Visit a shop or gallery to find all the colorful items. Treat yourselves at a coffee shop or restaurant — chocolate is always good!
• Read an inspiring book. Some of my favorites are: “Affirmation for Artists” by Eric Maisel; “The Creative Habit” by Twyla Tharp; “The View from the Studio Door” by Ted Orland; “Sing at the Top of Your Lungs” by Claudia Bopko & Jo-An Krestan; and “Art and Soul” by Audrey Flack.
• Now get to work. There’s no better cure for the blahs of winter than creating art.
Contact quilt artist Melisse Laing at melisse@gocougs.wsu.ed
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