Getting ready for Inktober 2022

Hi and welcome back to the Chrissie Murphy Designs Blog. In today’s post I’m going to be sharing what I’m doing for Inktober 2022. Inktober is kicking off in a matter of days, so I want to take this opportunity to fill you in while I can.

What have I done for Inktober in the past?

I completed my first Inktober in 2014, and I have participated each year up to and including 2018.

There were 2 years that I didn’t participate. The thought of working for 31 days straight on art felt like a slog. Because it didn’t feel like joy, I knew something was up. Looking back, I believe it was burnout.

For each Inktober that I have participated, I’ve tried to follow a theme and try something new. Here’s what I’ve done over the years;

2014 – this was my first year, so I really tried to follow Inktober philosophy and use ink every day for 31 days. You can view this Inktober on my Facebook Album of the same name.

2015 – Ornamental scrolls and flourishes. I wanted to use the 31 days to master ornamental scrollwork (I didn’t by the way😂) You can view this Inktober on my Pinterest Board of the same name.

2016 – Greeting Cards. I used the 31 days to create different greeting cards. You can view this Inktober on my Pinterest Board of the same name too.

2017 – Surface patterns. In this Inktober I created different surface patterns each day. You can view this Inktober on my Pinterest Board of the same name.

2018 – 31 Names of God as Logo’s. For this Inktober I worked on logo design, and created 31 Names of God as logos. You can view this Inktober on my Pinterest Board of the same name as well.

2021 – this was the first year I followed along with InktoberTangles and also the first year I worked on one piece. You can view this Inktober on my Pinterest Board of the same name and read all about it in this blog post.

What will I be doing for Inktober 2022?

I will be continuing on with my tradition of trying something new for Inktober, so it means I will not be tangling this year.

This Inktober is particularly special for me as I am dedicating it to my late Father-In-Law, Michael Murphy. It will be two years this October since Mick passed, and I am finally going to work on something we once spoke about. Regrettably, I never got around to working on this while Mick was here, so it’s all the more poignant I work on it for him now.

For Inktober 2022, I’m working on The Murphy Coat of Arms.

I hope you will enjoy watching my interpretation of the Murphy Coat of Arms take shape this October.

I will be relying on ‘The Grammar of Ornament’ by Owen Jones as my reference

Our Murphy Coat of Arms will be embellished with ornament from the Byzantine period. When researching the Murphy Coat of Arms, I learned that many of these types of family crests were created from the 11th century onwards.

I wanted to adorn the Murphy Coat of Arms in ornanent from around this time, and the Byzantine era covered a significant portion of this period.

I will be relying on ‘The Grammar of Ornament’ by Owen Jones, and in particular the chapter on Byzantine Ornament, as my reference for the ornamental elements to adorn our Coat of Arms.

What inspired me to work this way for Inktober 2022?

I came across some images of Coats of Arms in a book I own called ‘800 Classic Ornaments and Designs’ edited by Ernst Gunther. It got me thinking about Mick and the talks we’d had.

As I said earlier, it has been two years since Poppy passed, and I have been struck by the shortness of life. Yes, I tangle regularly, and I really enjoy it, but there are other creative things I want to try. Life truly is short.

I regret not getting around to working on the Murphy Coat of Arms when Mick was here, and I’ve decided that I don’t want to carry those kinds of regrets anymore.

If I want to try something different, I’m gonna go for it! I hope you’ll be encouraged by this and not too disappointed. And my hope is that maybe…. just maybe, you’ll be inspired to do the same.

The Factual Bits

What materials am I planning on using

• Zentangle Opus Tile
• Artline Fine Liner in Red
• Signo Uniball Gel Pens in Black and Brown Black
• Graphite Pencil
• Grey Copic Marker in W5
• Generals Pastel Chalk Pencil in Sanguine

How big will my Inktober 2022 piece be?

It will be 30cm x 30cm square (three times my normal size)

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Until next time, listen to your heart and sharpen your coloured pencils. A masterpiece awaits!

Bless you my friend

Chrissie xx