Letters by Lydia: Lettering Relaxation

lydnas Leave a comment

Welcome back from break everyone (or, at least, Michigan students)!

I’ve been missing spring break already and feeling kind of gray getting back into school, and one of my favorite things to do when I’m feeling a bit down (surprise, surprise) is handlettering! I like to get cozy in a blanket, put on a mindless tv show, and do some experimental lettering of various words I hear while watching my show.  It’s a really relaxing way to just kind of shut off my brain, and it also gives me the space to make art without worrying how it looks, because it’s just for me.

Because of that, I like to play around with new techniques and try things that might end up looking a bit wonky.  Today I took pictures of my process with one of the words I did.

I started out with just writing a word, nothing fancy.  This is typically how I start out, just a bare bones word to build off of.

Then I’ll add the first detail–in this case, a shadow or 3D effect.

From there I start to have fun with it.  In this specific piece, I picked the original green color randomly, and then kind of took off with the green theme and thought it would be cool to try doing some sort of leaf effect, and I honestly (no pun intended) love how it ended up looking.

Once I’m done messing around, I’ll take a step back and see if there’s anything else I can think of that might tie the piece together.  Here, I really liked the leaf effect, but I felt like the word itself got lost and needed something to help differentiate it from the background.  So I added a classic black outline–you can never go wrong with one of those.

And that’s it!  After that I did a few more words while finishing up my show, but I forgot to grab pictures of those.  Ultimately, though, it doesn’t matter what it looks like as long as it’s fun and relaxing 🙂

I hope you enjoyed getting a glimpse of how I use art to relax and focus on the process!  Are there forms of art that you find particularly relaxing or restorative after a hard day?

OTM #27: Reminiscing

katelynski 1 Comment

There’s always something odd about revisiting media you liked in middle school. I picked up reading “Homestuck” for the first time in about eight years, and I almost felt the puberty-acne reforming across my face. My mind and body transported to my middle school’s halls, where I would scramble to my locker in-between classes to secretly read just one more page on my phone. As I read, I could even smell the notebook paper I’d draw the characters on as a kid. I have so closely tied this webcomic with every scent, sight, and feeling of uncomfortable adolescence, but despite this discomfort, I was glued to the screen as I reread it. I found myself recontextualizing, finding a way to integrate it into my adult life instead of sulking in the past. Homestuck is just as fun as when I was younger, it turns out. I felt my consciousness transporting into some plane transcending space and time, chatting with my younger self and saying, “Hey, you actually have good taste, and that’s really shocking because all I can remember about you is how sad and cringeworthy you were.” I learned to appreciate that younger Katelyn a bit more. Media has helped me through a lot, and I’m grateful that I’m able to look back and see how much I’ve grown via this silly webcomic. Have a good week everyone!

Thoughts I shouldn’t say

Mattie Grace Levy Leave a comment

We are all searching for ways to be happy 

In a world that fosters disappointment 

We are actors in our own suffering 

Silently playing the parts assigned to us

Choosing security over excitement 

Pain over passion

It’s not good for your mind to go to that place 

The further you go the harder it is to come out

The more you say the less you’ll wish to know

But life is a gift 

Because our bodies resist the urge to die

The Indian Artist, Revamped: Should I Make a Self-Portrait?

Riya A Leave a comment

Good afternoon everyone! I hope that you are all well and had a restful Spring Break. I have always wanted to do a self-portrait and have been contemplating whether or not I should do a large-scale piece of myself recently. I read a few very interesting articles and wanted to share some perspectives!

According to Sadie Valeri, “As an artist, and especially for woman artists, creating a self-portrait is the most powerful thing you can do for your personal artistic development, your career, and your place in history.” I found this to be a very interesting statement. However, when diving a little bit deeper, it makes complete sense.

Historically, women have not been allowed to contribute to art in the way that men have. Women were not always allowed to paint. Generally the only people creating self portraits were men. It now seems like a duty as a woman artist for me to create a self-portrait, to leave my mark, to establish my place and privilege in history. It feels like it’s now my responsibility, and the responsibility of other women in art, to scream, “Hey! I exist in art! I have a voice to share and a unique perspective to give!”

A self-portrait can be made for a variety of reasons. It can be empowering, a convenient way for an artist to practice the skill of capturing likeness with a readily available model, or just a creative way for an artist to demonstrate their own style, eye, and perspective.

Above all else, self-portraits are honest, they require a huge amount of vulnerability, courage, and bravery. it can be startling to look at yourself, and I mean really look at yourself, without all of the bias built up over years of internalization. It can be challenging to achieve not just a likeness, but to almost separate yourself from your image and recreate it honestly.

I think in writing this post I have convinced myself to do a hyperrealistic self-portrait in my own style. Should I go nostalgic and do a full pencil and charcoal piece? Or should I stick to the classic, oil paint? Let me know what you guys think! Also always, if any questions or thoughts arise, please comment or reach out to me!

 

Until next week,

Riya

 

Instagram: @riya_agg.art

Portfolio: https://theindianartist.weebly.com/ 

Sources:

https://realismtoday.com/painting-self-portraits-sadie-valeri/#:~:text=As%20an%20artist%2C%20and%20especially,and%20your%20place%20in%20history. 

https://blog.artweb.com/how-to/how-to-do-a-self-portrait/

https://marianacustodio.com/why-do-artists-make-self-portraits-and-what-we-learn-from-them/

A Day In Our Lives #20

rissaw Leave a comment

Hey guys,
Everyone can agree that the second semester of the year is always the hardest. It always feels much more stressful and gloomy with the snow and cloudy weather. I am super looking forward to spring in Ann Arbor! Right about now is midterms, so good luck everyone! This is a time of studying and taking care of yourself. This semester has seemed like it is flying by. I just recently got Hogwarts Legacy and I am really liking the cute library study vibes. That made me want to include the big window behind the subject in my drawing.  I liked creating the books to place all around her. To do this I created a bunch of books individually, and then decided which ones I liked the most. I then stacked them on top of one another, and copied and pasted the entire unit throughout the drawing.

See you next week!

Marissa