Creativity Challenge Week 4

Blog 4

I already finished week 4 of my creativity challenge to work on an artwork on every day of January. Unforeseen events took overhand. An unexpected chance opened a very different career move. Starting next week, I will start work half days as a German instructor after I studied hard and passed a teaching certification last week. Due to the new circumstances, I did not create art every day. Sometimes, I continued the work I started before, but not necessarily the one from the previous day. Most of the time, my schedule only allowed me to create a quick sketch. On the days when I was able to spend more time on my creations, I got out my felting materials or picked up the brushes.

The last couple of days, I was more productive. Here are the projects of day 20 to 26:

Day 20:

Together with my student, we spent an hour drawing a still life of a soft teddy bear and two vases. It was a quick setup that appealed to us. We enjoyed drawing the contrast of the smooth vases and the soft furry bear.

Day 21:

I continued the work on my squirrel. All four legs are now attached, and I started the work on the details of the paws.

 Day 22:

I worked  a little bit more on the squirrel. While I searched for more wool, I opened a box I had taken to Montreal at the beginning of January. I found the start of my new dachshund felting done on January 7. I had completely forgotten about it with everything that was going on.

Day 23:

I spent a lovely sketching day with my friend Bob at the Museum of History. It was quite disappointing that the whole Canadian History Hall is completely closed for renovations until July 1. However, the view towards Parliament Hill was nice. It was a great spot for sketching from a sheltered area! The chairs in the Grand Hall were so comfortable that we were lucky that we only found out when we put them back that they completely reclined. Who knows if we would have ever started to sketch otherwise.

I finished the following four sketches.

1. Sled dog

While waiting for Bob, I drew the sled dog from the display above the admission area. However, I was not as concentrated because I did not want to miss my friend, and it showed in the drawing. I reworked some parts at home.

2. Parliament Hill

Drawn from the comfort of the Grand Hall, we spent quite a lot of time on sketching the Parliament Buildings.

3. Inuit from the installation of dogs with a sled above the box office

We found a quiet spot on the upper level with a great view onto the platform with the sled. This was a quick sketch at the end of our visit.

 

4. People on the bus

Usually, I enjoy drawing when I am riding the bus because it helps me not to get motion sickness. However, my ride home happened at the begin of rush hour. Drawing was quite difficult because my view got blocked over and over again by people standing in the aisle with their big bag packs.

Day 24:

While updating my calendar, I realized that my monthly newsletter would have to be published the following day and not as I had assumed the following Wednesday, which is already February 1. With all the excitement in my private life, it had almost slipped from my radar. Luckily, I had part of it already written, but I was busy finishing it. If you would like to get a closer look behind the curtains of my business, you can subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of on any page of my website www.KerstinPeters.ca.

I encouraged my students to create their own character according to Pokemon Froakie.

Day 25:

Another busy day with trying to get things organized for my start of work. Appointments had to be rescheduled, the car insurance changed, resignations for my volunteer positions had to be sent, and unfortunately, I also had to cut down on my privately scheduled art workshops. 

While taking photos of my sketches from Monday, I felt I could work a little bit more on the sketches from the bus. I am much happier with the way the dreadlocks look now on the one female portrait.

  Day 26:

Almost finished

“Felting Fun” had to be cancelled because my car broke down. I still managed to spend some time felting today, but I missed the company of my fellow felting buddies.

 

Second layer

Both my “Felting Fun” drop-in as well as my “Drawing with a Twist” classes for beginners will continue as planned on the fourth and second Thursday of the month respectively. We meet from 1:30pm to 3:30pm. For more information please contact me at kpeters@DomingoInformatics.ca.

Creativity Challenge Week 3

Blog 3

This is week three of my creativity challenge to create art on every day in January. I have to admit that I did the best I could this week, but I was not able to create art every day. I had to prepare for a certification at work which meant a lot of studying. It was a very stressful week. I was even tempted to just throw in the towel with regard to the challenge, but being creative took some of the stress away - at least for the time a was busy drawing or painting.

In this blog, you see my creations of days 13 - 19. 

Day 13

I started the week strong with four sketches that I created during the Ottawa Little Theatre production “Other Desert Cities”.

Day 14

I continued working on my squirrel, but the changes are so slight that you would not see them on a photo. I hope, I will be able to present you with the finished squirrel finally by next week.

Day 15

Since we had visitors at our house, I did not find the time to sit down and create an artwork.

Day 16

As the students of for my first “Cartooning and Comics” class of the week wanted to learn how to draw a lynx, I created a drawing of a lynx. The first image shows you the simple shapes my drawing is based on.

Day 17

To prepare for my second “Cartooning and Comics” class of the week, I created drawings of the Pokémon characters Fennekin and Froakie. I am not a Pokémon fan, but I had fun drawing the cheerful characters. 

 Day 18

Even though I did not create an artwork, I encouraged my students from the “Cartooning and Comics” class to create images of the Pokémon character Fennekin.

  

Day 19

Finally, I had time to go to my studio and continue the work on my double portrait of our dogs Candy and Alex. Candy died 2 ½ years ago. For a very long time after her death, I was not able to work on the portrait. Now, I find it hard to remember the colour of her eyes or the exact hue of her fur. I have reference photos but the camera often changes the colours. I know that these slight discrepancies only matters to me but they upset me. If I am in doubt with regard to the colouring of Alex’ fur, I can just walk up to him and check.

If you would like some company while creating art and are interested in felting, I would like to invite you to the felting drop-in every fourth Thursday of the month. The next one is on January 26, from 1:30 to 3:30pm. If you already have your own materials and projects, you can just join to socialize. If you need instruction, I will provide you with materials and help with the realization of some project ideas for a fee of $25. Please let me know by January 23, 2017 if you plan to come, and whether or not you need materials. For more information please contact me at kpeters@domingoinformatics.ca or go to my website www.KerstinPeters.ca.

Creativity Challenge Week 2

Blog 2

This week marked week number two of my creativity challenge to work on an artwork a day for the month of January. This does not mean that I will create a new piece every day. Sometimes, I will continue the work I started before. In these cases, I will share the progress I made from one day to the next.

It was a very busy week. Nevertheless, I took the time to be a little creative. Definitely not as much as I would have liked. However, I am sure I would not have done it, if I had not challenged myself to try to do some art every day. I hope that I will finish the squirrel for next week and will finally get some painting time in.

Last blog, I shared the first five pieces with you. Today, you see my projects of the next seven days.

Day 6

I drew the delicious cake that my sister-in-law- prepared for us. I had to hurry because it did not last long. Later, I used some coloured pencils to bring out the colours of the different berries on the cake.

Day 7

I worked on my squirrel. I finished the front legs.

Day 8

This time, I grabbed my sketch book at the movies. Only a short sketch before the start of the feature movie of the guy in front of me.

Day 9

I created a drawing of Olaf, the snowman from the “Frozen” movie on dark paper as a demonstration how you can use simple shapes to create a character.

Day 10

I had a very busy day but managed to continue the work on my squirrel. Eyes and cheeks make my little critter look more like a squirrel.

Day 11

Another very busy day but I still made some slight progress with my squirrel. One of the hind legs is taking shape.

Day 12

My student and I drew a fruit still life with pencils.

If you look for ways to nurture your creativity, I encourage you to join us for some of the workshops I offer, especially the “Creativity & Me” workshops. These independent workshops give you a chance to try different art and crafts to find your own passion. I provide all the materials. You just have to be prepared to have lots of fun. The next workshop is on Monday, January 23, from 6:30 to 9pm. We will create a winter wreath. For more information please contact me at kpeters@domingoinformatics.ca or go to my website www.KerstinPeters.ca. The registration deadline for this workshop is January 16, 2017.

Creativity Challenge - Week 1

Blog 1

I wish all of you a happy, healthy, creative, and successful 2017. I will do my best to entertain you again with my weekly blogs, monthly newsletters, new artworks, and workshops.

Last year, I dedicated the majority of my blogs to writing about the time from my move to Canada in the spring of 1995 until my acceptance as a landed immigrant in the summer of 1996. This year, I will write my blogs following certain topics related to the seasons or events in my business.

Every year, many of us make a lot of new year’s resolutions. Although I was quite creative in 2016, I spent a lot of this creativity on creating new content for my classes and workshops. In 2017, I would like to spend more time painting and felting.

To get back into a routine, I will start my blogs for 2017 with another Creativity Challenge. During the month of January, I would like to keep practicing my drawing, felting, and painting skills by creating art every day. I did the same creativity challenge two years ago. I am not focusing so much on the result as on the process of creating. I will publish my creations every week, journaling about my challenges, surprises, and successes. Hopefully, this will inspire you to bring more creativity to your life. As I always like to have my posts ready and scheduled at least a day before publication, I only had five days to create artworks for this week’s post.

Day 1:

This small sketch is from the evening at the National Arts Centre, where my husband and I saw “Kinky Boots” on January 1.

I always have a small sketch book in my purse. Drawing at the NAC was tricky because we sat in one of the last rows very far up. There was hardly any light. When I am in my first row seat at the Ottawa Little Theatre, I can often sketch during a performance. Sketching helps me to remember an event much more vividly.

Day 2:

I have nothing to show for January 2 as I spent a big chunk of the day reconnecting with one of my good friends who works during the day, while I usually teach at night. We had a lot to catch up on.

Day 3:

I continued felting the squirrel I started in late December. I did not take a picture of the previous step because it consisted of a pear shaped head and an oval body. This is how my squirrel looked Tuesday night.

Day 4:

Last semester, I had two young boys with autism in my courses. One of their fathers has created a computer game for his son to teach him multiplication with the help of colours, rhymes, and images. He asked me if I could help him with the artwork. I am quite happy with the first eight of the ten images. I hope that he and his son like them. 

Day 5:

I finished the last two images for the multiplication programme. For all images I used watercolours, and watercolour pencils for the small details.

I hope my example got you in the mood to get more creative yourself. If you would like some help, I encourage you to join us for some of the workshops I offer. On January 12, from 1:30 to 3:30pm, I offer “Drawing with a Twist”, a drawing class for beginners. For more information please contact me at kpeters@domingoinformatics.ca or go to my website www.KerstinPeters.ca. The registration deadline for this workshop is January 9, 2017.