January Creativity Challenge

Winter Trees at Sunset, wool, 11″ x 8.5″

Blog 2

We are already in the second half of January. Have you settled into a routine that allows you to dedicate time for creative projects? As my courses only started this week, I used the beginning of the month to run errands and to catch up after my five weeks vacation instead of going into my studio. As a result, I did not create something every day, but sometimes spend hours at a time felting or sketching. Usually, once I get started, I forget about time and chores and get fully immersed in my projects.

I started the month with the creation of a vision board that focusses on creating colourful art, travelling, and building and nurturing meaningful connections.

I created many sketches during visits to the National Arts Centre and the Ottawa Little Theatre. When I sketched the main character of the musical Waitress, almost no light fell on my sketchpad. Therefore, I had to make some adjustments during the break. I altered the face at home by studying online images. I also worked on some of the sketches from the Ottawa Little at home. There are a lot of pages in my sketchbook that show just a couple of lines, because the subject moved too fast, left the location, or my sketch was too ambitious for the situation. 

I also created two drawings that will be used as colouring pages for the students at the Heritage Public School. The students’ coloured images will be exhibited during the 10th Anniversary of the Navan Fine Arts Exhibition and Sale on April 18-19, 2020, from 10 am to 4 pm. The exhibit will showcase some of the roots of the rural Navan community. I had two copies of old blurry photographs as references. In both cases, I had to simplify the scene to create drawings that are suitable as colouring pages. As I always have problems with perspective, it took me a long time to measure the angles and lines of the schoolhouse. In the photo, the front of the old schoolhouse was barred by students of the school who were arranged for a group photo. Therefore, I could not see the whole building and also added some students at the front of the image. Drawing the hockey players was easier, even though I had to look at other old photos to get some extra information about the appropriate skates and outfits of the era.

During my Winter Sunset Felting Workshop, I created another winter sunset (see image at top). I deliberately changed the composition slightly from the previous one. While it is possible to recreate something, where is the fun in copying yourself? You would get so tight trying to match every shape and colour that the energy and the joy would fall by the wayside.

If you are lacking inspiration or are procrastinating the start of a creative project, get a group of friends together or join me at any of my events. The next one is Crafters Afternoon on Friday, January 24, 2020, from 3:30 pm until 5:30 pm. Bring your crafts or needlework, and I provide tea and coffee. We will be chatting, sipping a hot beverage and crafting. This is my way to prevent the winter blues. For more information please go to https://www.kerstinpeters.ca/product/crafters-afternoon-january/.