Hi and welcome back to the Chrissie Murphy Designs Blog. I’m going to share what I’ve created for the Expressive Challenge for July (called “Seeing Spots and Dots”) with you today.
How are you going with your challenge? Don’t forget to use the hashtag #CMDExpressiveChallenge so we can support and encourage each other. I can’t wait to see what you’ve made! Let’s look at what I was trying to express as I was making mine.
Now before we go any further – I have a disclaimer I’d like to share. I am an Affiliate for Amazon Australia. It means that I get a small percentage from the sale of anything you may purchase through links I use in my blog. Just want you to know before we get into today’s post.
The Expressive Bits
What inspired me to create the Seeing Spots and Dots tile this way?
I’m not really sure, but what I do know is that I wanted to create a tile with nothing else but spots and dots.
I knew I had a spots and dots stencil that I wanted to use as a background, but it wasn’t until I got into things that I thought I’d explore layering by adding the spotted paper and washi tape.
Once the paper was glued to my tile, I knew I wanted to create an effect where it looked like the tangling lived behind it.
I spent some time in prayer in the lead up to this tile. Although I never had a clear picture of how the tile was going to look, I felt the Lord was collaborating with me as I created, because I kept getting idea after idea.
A few mornings earlier I was given a vision of how to ink the background. It was a technique I hadn’t tried before, and I knew this was the Lord showing me He was with me on it.
I prayed for guidance on how and what to create and the end result is what you see.
What techniques did I use for the Seeing Spots and Dots tile and why?
The most obvious technique is layering. I’ve always worried about too many layers and textures ruining my pens. The nibs can be touchy working on rough surfaces, so I’ve tended to steer clear of too many layers.
This was a technique where I added layers, but didn’t really work over the top of them, I worked “behind” them instead. So there was no danger to my precious pens!
The other technique was a form of Monotangling….. but I didn’t choose one tangle and just work with it, I chose one style of tangle and worked with it instead.
I chose a “spots and dots” style. Every tangle I used had to meet the spots and dots criteria I’d imagined for myself. It needed to be circular, and it needed to look like a spot or dot.
What does it mean in terms of my artistic work as a whole?
This is another step in artistic development. It’s trying more new things at the leading of the Holy Spirit. I’ve shared often about how important it is to ensure you don’t limit yourself creatively.
Limitations can be active or passive.
Most of the time our limitations are passive. They are limitations that exist, but we don’t know they do until something happens that causes us to confront them.
But sometimes the limitation is active. This is where something new is suggested, and we actively choose to limit ourselves. The Holy Spirit May lead us into something new, but we choose to believe we can’t do it, or don’t have what’s needed to do it. We actively limit ourselves.
Artistic development that leads to creative freedom can only thrive when ALL limitations are addressed. Both passive and active.
How can you take this idea and be more Expressive?
Recently I asked if you were able to identify any limiting beliefs around your creativity. They would be the passive limitations that you can identify just by going about your day to day creative processes.
But now that you know about active limitations, can you identify any of those? When was the last time an idea came to you that you immediately shut down by believing you couldn’t?
Creative freedom cannot come until ALL beliefs are dealt with…. It’s that simple.
This next week, when an idea comes to visit you, I challenge you to embrace it despite what you believe. If it’s a creative idea, or an idea that is demanding some action from you, I challenge you to take a step of faith and try it.
When you do, come back here and leave me a comment. Fill me in on what happened. I’m sure you’ll have some mistakes, but you will have some successes too. And they could be just what you need to unlock the next phase of where you’re heading creatively.
The Factual Bits
The materials used
- Strathmore Artist Tile in White 6in x 6in
- Distress Inks in pinks and purples
- Signo Uniball Gel Pens in pink, purple and white
- Prismacolor Premier Coloured Pencils in varying colours
- Grey Copic Markers in C4, C5 and C7
- Spotted Kaisercraft craft paper
- Spotted washi tape
What tangles were used in the Seeing Spots and Dots tile?
For this tile I used;
- Caviar by Lori Howe
- Jetties by Zentangle
- A variation of Verve by J J LaBarbera
- Printemps by Zentangle
- A variation of Sandswirl by Karry Heun
How big is the tile?
It is 6 inches x 6 inches square.
Want to be more Expressive?
Join the Expressive’s List to begin to learn ways you can start to express yourself creatively. With the Lord there are no moulds or limits, just possibilities, and the promise of unearthing who you were created to be.
Expressive Subscribers receive an email each month that contains creative inspiration and ideas, links to helpful resources and a month’s worth of journal prompts to stimulate creative expression. These prompts are a great way of learning to express yourself when you’ve never really tried it before. Fill in your details below to sign up.
Until next time, listen to your heart and sharpen your coloured pencils. A masterpiece awaits!
Bless you my friend
Chrissie xx
