Creative Sprint Day 30

#CreativeSprint Day 30 Make a trophy or award for yourself for completing #CreativeSprint

I made myself a finisher's medal for completing this 30 day challenge because I found there were a lot of similarities to distance running once starting this challenge.

One of the biggest obstacles in distance running is the mental game, keeping "mentally tough".  Some days were really easy to complete, like when you're at the beginning of a race coasting down a slight hill and you feel like you can run 7 minute miles forEVER. Other days were tough when the thought "How am I going to even get this done today?!" would cloud my head whether it was time constraints or I felt the challenge didn't fit my plans for that day.  I've been there a few times in half marathons at the 7 mile marker fatigued because of poor training thinking "2 more 5K's?! I'm already tired, 2 more 5 K's, how am I going to finish this race?!".  Well in both cases, running and arting,  I was able to regroup, and focus, and get it done.  I think thats what all my running coaches were speaking of when they would talk about "mental toughness".  Anyhow, that's how I'm interpreting it.  I finished this race so I get a medal!

I win!

Sparkly

Hooray!
xoxo
Char

Creative Sprint Day 29

Make something someone else has to find. Provide a map or clues to lead seekers to the location where it is hidden.

The last time I made something for Kai on CS Day 18, he rejected it and threw it on the floor....  So today I decided to spend a little less effort "making" and turned to the web to look for some activities for him to do.  I came up with a compilation of automobile printables including a jeep and farm tractor coloring page, and a back hoe craft for us to do together and hid them in his tricycle trunk

I left a map at his seat at the kitchen table and hopefully he will be curious and investigate what exactly is in the trunk of the trike
.

xoxo
Char

Creative Sprint Day 28

Camouflage something.

KISS continued...

One of Kai's stickers is camouflaging on my chair right at toddler eye level.  I got the idea for this after a whole sheet of insect stickers ended up on my bright red leather couch...  My kid's attention to detail is incredible, so today's project is also an experiment to see how long it takes for him to pick up on the little brown cicada.  He has some friends coming over tomorrow so they might find it too!

I'm also excited to announce that the lyric collaboration with my friend Mara from CS Day 21 and the "Squirt the Letters" game from CS Day 25 made the Creative Sprint Highlights from last week!!  I can't believe there are only 2 more days left in this challenge.

xoxo
Char

Creative Sprint Day 27

Make or alter an advertisement.

Okey Dokey. I made Grapefiti.

I stuck to K.I.S.S. again.

before

grapefiti-fied

xoxo

Char

Creative Sprint Day 26

Day 26 Make a rainbow.

Today I followed my original plan when I started this challenge to K.I.S.S.  (Keep it simple, stupid) and I made a book rainbow with some of Kai's books in one of his cubby's!  I know it won't last long but it is so pretty!

I love rainbows, and make rainbows out of Kai's legos all the time.  Today's project reminded me of a Car Rainbow I made with my niece a few years ago too.  Click the link, check it out!

Woo hoo! An early day!
xoxo
Char

Creative Sprint Day 25

Create a game for two or more people to play.

WELL, I can't take full credit for making this game up, because I'm pretty sure many parents have made this or a variation of this game up at some point or another....

In our household we call it "The Quiet Game".  We used to play this with my stepson Sawyer when he was an itty bitty 4 year old.  Now that he's 11 he really hasn't been gullible enough to want to play it for the past few years.  Time to pass the torch on to Kai especially after the afternoon we had!  Kai had a birthday party to attend to, and what started out as a totally fun time with bouncy houses, ball pits, cars, colorful cupcakes, yummy pizza and lots of friends, ended up in a fiery, sugar, and strong will fueled major meltdown.  I can still hear his hollering and crying bouncing around my head. Mama was traumatized and is still stressed out.

So this is how you play "The Quiet Game":

The moderator of the game says "1, 2, 3 Quiet!" and all the participants have to be quiet. The first person to make a noise loses.  This can go on for as many rounds as everyone wants to play.  To make things enjoyable for all, losers are allowed to be the moderator if they want, and the young ones particularly enjoy physically putting their hands over their own mouths during the "Quiet Time".

Quiet!

I also invented a second game at bathtime this evening.  Kai brought home a squirt gun in his party favor bag from the party, and I promised he could play with it during bath time.  ::DING::  That's when the lightbulb went on in my head.  "Let's make bath time educational and fun", I thought.  So I scattered Kai's foam letters & numbers on the walls and had him squirt the letters and numbers that I called out.  "Squirt the Letters" was such a fun way to finish off the day.

xoxo

Char

Creative Sprint Day 24

Collaborate with someone else who is participating in #CreativeSprint.

First thing this morning I received an invitation from Rachel (who introduced me to this challenge) to collaborate with her and her friend Sarah. Rachel pointed out that some things we three have in common are our love of origami, book arts, and Japan in general. Brown paper bags were suggested as a material for this challenge and I thought it was perfect for a Japanese themed project because my personal experience of Japanese culture is that of little waste, being efficient, and economical.  

After tossing around a couple ideas, we decided to do a version of Art Rashomon. For those unfamiliar with the Kurosawa film, simply put, different people experience one single event in very different ways.

After embarking on my project, I changed what I was doing a few times. Originally I wanted to make a book with pages that opened up to cranes which I sketched out:

So I jumped into making my first crane and as I was folding it I got this grand idea to have the wings open into a book instead:

It would have lovely pentagonal pages...

However, once the crane was folded I realized the head, the tail, and the back were in the way of the beautiful 5 sided pages I wanted to make.

So back to the original idea, I simplified it and came up with a single crane in a book.  I also used a scrap piece of watercolor paper to stiffen the spine.

the cover closed

the cover open

Once my cover was made, I pasted the crane into the book and it opened up beautifully!

open

closed

And my collaborators came up with such different and lovely results:

Fledgling cranes at the Zen crane sanctuary preparing for a Big Collaboration by Sarah Mulholland

Arrived via Air Mail by Rachel Kopel 

What we submitted as a group!

Woo hoo!
xoxo
Char

Creative Sprint Day 23

Do someone else's job for some part of the day and create something in their workspace or based on the experience.

Today I decided to step into my son's office and create something with his Lego Duplos.  I made this guy on wheels and he even has a swiveling waist.  His chest window opens up, and he has a Lego boy side kick with a shovel sitting on his shoulder.  I took over my son's "office" after he went to sleep tonight because he's really bossy about what pieces everyone else is allowed to play with and I wanted the creative freedom that he has when he builds.

Rolling Robot & Sidekick

XOXO

Char

Creative Sprint Day 22

Start something, then have someone else complete it.

I ended up doing today's project twice.  After breakfast I did the project with my 2 year old son Kai.  It was a little predictable and I felt bored and unsatisfied with it, but he wasn't interested in coloring or drawing today so I moved on.

I thought and thought and after lunch I came up with this for my sister who is visiting to complete:

 Here are my creations in detail:

scales by char

suburbia by char

up down by char

is it bacterial or viral? by char

stars by char

Here is the completed piece:

Here is how Christine completed the project

Christine's creations in detail:

diamonds by Christine

chrysanthemum by Christine

snail by Christine

tribal? by Christine

squiggles by Christine

Woo hoo, done before nap time is over!
xoxo
Char

Creative Sprint Day 21

Ask a friend you haven't talked with in a while, for a suggestion of what to do today. Explaining what you are up to is part of the experience! Bonus: get them involved in the actual thing you create.

I was really optimistic starting out with this challenge, but as time ticked by and I didn't receive replies from the creative friends who I reached out to, I realized there was probably a reason why we haven't talked to each other in a long time!  They're all busy and obviously not on my schedule ;)!   ....thankfully as I was image searching "crickets", my friend Mara came through and we had a nice conversation and she was thrilled to be a part of the #CreativeSprint assignment for today!

Mara:  If it isn't already on your list, I'd say to illustrate a song lyric in some way. I remember us talking so much about music back in the day and your little Wilco drawing you had made.

Char:  OOOOH thats a great idea The first thing that comes to mind is Summerteeth. Do you want to pick a line for me to illustrate?

Mara:  Yesssss. You want from the album or the song summer teeth?

Char:  Something from the album.

Mara:  Ok, "She's a Jar" is still my very favorite.

Char: Lots of good imagery in that one, surreal imagery.

Mara:  "when I forget how to talk, I sing"

Char:  Do you have any artistic direction you want to give me?

Mara: Only to stay true to the ethereal surrealistic feel of the song, it definitely doesn't need to be literal

And an assignment is born.

At first I started a hand lettering project... but I wasn't concentrating and I forgot a word!

I may have said something other than "dick"

Here is the proof:

10:07 pm Gah!

It made me feel better to vandalize my own work, but OH, it was going to be glorious with "SING" all colorful and with floral embellishments.   So I took about a 20 minute breather, ate a pastry from the Korean bakery that I picked up today, and came up with this!  I'm so thrilled and I hope Mara is too, because she's the new owner of it, and on the other side of the new one is the old one so she gets the whole process!

viola!

Lessons learned: Accidents happen.  Keep cool, eat something yummy,  and keep on keepin' on.

Oh yeah, Week 2 Higlights!  My day 16 and 18 have made the post!

xoxo

Char

Creative Sprint Day 20

Create a pie chart or Venn diagram, topic and materials are your choice.


I decided on my topic of "Reasons for Washing My Hair" while I was in the shower this morning and thinking "I better wash my hair because my sister is coming today and it's probably been a while".

Textured hair can get away with less frequent washing because it doesn't get weighed down by a little hair grease.  I can put shea butter in my hair for 5 days in a row and still have crazy flyaways.  I know because I've tried it.   My crazy textured hair even earned me the nickname "wild girl" at a very young age, we all know I have a sweet disposition so it wasn't my personality, and I've always been appreciative that my dad chose "wild girl" over "feral child".

The Reasons:

1. I have somewhere to go (where I have to interact with people like a dr's appointment, urban sketching, toddler art group or a play date) and it's probably been awhile since I last washed it.  I would never wash my hair just because I have to go run errands.


2. It's dirty and I know it.  Whether my son has put peanut butter & jelly hands, boogers, spit, dirt/sand, or vomit in my hair or it's finally visibly greasy, that calls for a washing.


3.  I can't remember the last time I washed it so I probably should wash it.


4.  I would like to wear it curly and I actually have product and time to put said product in my hair.


5. To avoid someone, most likely my son, and my husband is home so I have more than 5 minutes to do an extra thorough wash, conditioning, and rinse job.


6. To fix poor styling after a cut.  Cheap haircuts from poorly skilled stylists often lead to poor styling out of ignorance of how to deal with hair like mine.  Normally washing it and restyling (in my case air dry with something heavy in it) will tame the beast.  Considering the last haircut I had was May 2012, this is a very rare occurrence.

Peace love and hairgrease
xoxo
Char

Creative Sprint Day 19

Walk aimlessly for 5 minutes, then stop and make something using whatever materials are available where you've ended up. Leave it there for someone else to discover (but be sure to document it first!) .


After walking aimlessly this afternoon, we ended up in the back yard.  It's that time of the year when the jacaranda blooms start falling.  We have a very old gigantic jacaranda tree in our back yard, and in a few weeks my entire back yard will be purple with blooms.

A shot from last year, it's green only where I've mowed!

I spent a few minutes collecting blossoms with Kai and decided to leave a message for the gopher who is wreaking havoc in my backyard and coincidentally arrived the day my husband left for the ship.  It's just a warning to the gopher that our resident Spackler will be home soon so he better take a hike.  I appreciate him aerating the lawn, but prefer to keep my ankles intact.

xoxo
Char

Creative Sprint Day 18

Create something for a child that you know.

I saw a toilet paper roll race car craft while searching for some toddler arts and crafts to do with Kai a while back, and it seemed a little involved for a 2 year old so I decided to make one for Kai for today's Creative Sprint project.


The first step was making the tires.  My construction paper was too flimsy so I mounted the black paper onto some super stiff watercolor paper.  At first I was going to paint the tires onto the watercolor paper, but luckily I came to my senses before I warped all the tires and had to cut them all over again!

Tires

 Oh yeah, attached with brads.  At this point I decided the race car was going to be a rally car because it has 4 wheel drive.

This baby is a rally car so the brads allow for 4 wheel drive

Next step was to space the tires evenly.

With rudimentary geometry, I found the ideal placement for the tires

 Then I cut out and popped up the windshield and the seat back.

Windshield and seatback installed

 Kai's favorite color is orange so I used some of his tempera paint for this custom paint job.

A beautiful paintjob my husband would be proud.

...and here is the finished rally car!

I hope to update the post with his reaction!

xoxo

Char