lonita

[lonita]

Blog notes

I have a metric tonne of those 30-day challenges, plus a few related. Instead of gatekeeping them all and doling them out annoyingly, I'm bulk posting them as follows so that you can pick and choose whichever you like to do, and when:

November 30th, 2024: All 30-day song challenges, because for those of us who live where the air hurts our faces, we look for a cup of cocoa and something to do indoors. (will be tagged: 30-day song challenge)

December 31st, 2024: Like the above, but just writing and general things. Handily, this will be right when many of us have been gifted a new journal. (will be tagged: 30-day culture challenge, 30-day writing challenge)

January 31st, 2025: A set of alphabet-related prompt lists that work into a 28-day month a bit more tidily than a 30-day one. (will be tagged: challenges and memes, alphabet games)

March 31st, 2025: All 30-day photo challenges, since now is the time when those of us who live where the air hurts our faces can now de-parka and venture outdoors. (will be tagged: 30-day photo challenge)

[lonita]

Favourite Things (art journal page)

The idea:

Showcase some of your favourite things.

Do:

Start with a plain page or a background.

You could create backgrounds out of magazines page, old book pages, abstract designs you paint yourself, or some decorative paper.

Add the title "Favourite Things" at the top, or place that in the centre of the page, or do no title at all.

If you title, try some decorative lettering for the title, or add some decorative doodles around a plainly-written title.

Using a combination of images and text, fill the page with pictures and word about your favourite things - foods, people, places to visit, books, quotations, etc.

You could use materials from favourite books, magazines, packaging, old pieces of favourite t-shirts, stamps, stickers, labels, etc.

You might be able to seal the page with acrylic medium or clear gesso.

Notes:

You could use some photos you took yourself to add an even more personal touch.

[lonita]

First page a day - #21

Reading the first page of a different book from my TBR pile every day of November.

"The agon, then. It begins. Today there is a gale blowing up from the Levant. The morning came like a yellow fog along a roll of developing film."

[lonita]

Upcycle the ugly

Add 3D elements to a 2D painting, an ugly vase, or that hideous statue.

You could:

Incorporate found objects into a painting - typewriter keys or house keys, beads, clock or watch parts, jewellery, wood, animal or insect figurines, Lego, melted wax or metal, collage elements, modern pieces into a historic scene, historic elements into a modern one, text, fabrics, threads, yarn, twine, buttons, glass gems, pebbles, plastic bags, bottle caps.

Add collage elements from print sources like magazines, books, photographs, postcards, flyers, menus, tickets.

Add lighting with LED bulbs, glow-in-the-dark paints, or fibre optics to illuminate the piece.

Add moving parts to a static piece by incorporating mechanical elements like gears, pulleys, springs, propellors and other things that spin, items attached by fasteners so they can move, switches, levers.

A pop culture references into incongruous spaces.

Add personal elements that hold meaning to you, such as favourite quotations, jewellery, or family heirlooms.

Or:

Attach a vintage map to an old landscape painting.

Add lace to a still-life.

Add hand-stitched shape outlining, patterns, text, or other forms using embroidery floss, yarn, metal threads, or thread.

Use markers, inks, graffiti pens to add directly to the piece by hand.

Use a decoupage method to add layers of a section on top of each other to add raised elements.

[lonita]

First page a day - #20

Reading the first page of a different book from my TBR pile every day of November.

[lonita]

Memorabilia journal junk

Travel:

postcards, menus, wrappers from things you bought, receipts, tickets, etc.

Education:

report cards, projects, cuttings from a yearbook, school newspaper articles, play programs, etc.

Work:

contract letters, accolades, work outing items, gifts, etc.

Other experiences:

programs from plays, concert tickets, labels from favourite products, stickers, photographs, etc.

See also: Ephemera / Found objects

[lonita]

INSPOORATION

The creative things you get inspired to do only because you're broke. The weird meals being a main example thereof.

[lonita]

First page a day - #19

Reading the first page of a different book from my TBR pile every day of November.

[lonita]

Quiet

Make a list of the things you like to do to wind down, to remain that way, to do to prepare for sleep, to enjoy peace or bring it. Dopamine menus were quite a thing, this could be like that but for relaxation.

Think about songs you prefer, foods, activities, places, and the like - things that bring you calm, soothe agitation, make you calm, and bring you peace.

[lonita]

First page a day - #18

Reading the first page of a different book from my TBR pile every day of November.

"In my defense, it was never my intent to write this book. I did not have time. No one asked me to. And several people strongly cautioned it. Not now--not with the literal and figurative fires roiling the planet. And certainly not about this."

[lonita]

What a tangled web we weave

There are all manner of methods to the doodle - scribbles, patterns, characters, random sketching.

Zentangle, a popular method of drawing patterns, has been incredibly popular over the past several years - though some find it too formalised and a lot less organic than they're looking for. There are all kinds of ways other than that to doodle or draw lines, patterns, or anything else.

There's parallel/perpendicular, where you draw a line on a page of whatever length you choose, and the next line must be drawn either perpendicular or parallel to the last, and so on. There are no diagonals nor curves. Though you could certainly change the rules and try adding them.

You can use a pencil to draw some random squiggles, and follow that by shading, adding, and augmenting to the shapes created to turn them into something else, like people, flora, fauna, or something else

Turn drops of paint or ink, once dry, into random characters, people, or animals.

[lonita]

First page a day - #17

Reading the first page of a different book from my TBR pile every day of November.

"For a week Mr. R. Childan had been anxiously watching the mail. But the valuable shipment from the Rocky Mountain States had not arrived."

[lonita]

Book Nook

Feel like making a book but writing long prose isn't your thing? Here are some other ways you can create a book or a zine or something in between.

Found poetry: Create all kinds of verse from collected random texts like newspaper articles and ads, old books, junk mail, street signs, or anything else that comes into your notice. Arrange the words to create your pieces. Consider theming these by month, occasion, holiday, mood, or location in order to create enough pieces to make a book.

Cut-Up technique: In the manner of William S. Burroughs, cut existing texts and rearrange them to create new pieces.

Photo prompts: Using photographs as a prompt - either ones you take yourself or found images - you could write stories, essays, poems, affirmations, or other things inspired by the images you have.

Constrained writing: Exploring different types of constrained creative styles, you can create all sorts of pieces of writing or art that can be collated together into a single piece. There are endless ways of creating constraint. You could end up with more material than you know what to do with!

You could also create a book that includes all the work you create from all these ideas. Make your own coffee table curiosity!

[lonita]

First page a day - #16

Reading the first page of a different book from my TBR pile every day of November.

"Nineteen years before she decided to die, Nora Seed sat in the warmth of the small library at Hazeldene School in the town of Bedford. She sat at a low table staring at a chess board."

[lonita]

Blog notes

A reminder, you can find the short and quick creative ideas shared on my Mastodon account and on my Idealog account on Bluesky.

You can also find me @ lonita on Bluesky.

[lonita]

The 'grams

Chemigrams

An experimental photographic technique that involves using photosensitive materials, chemicals, and unconventional tools to create unique and abstract images.

Experiment with unconventional materials and chemicals to create abstract photographic prints.

This will require a more formal setup since chemicals are involved.

Photograms

Photograms involve creating images without a camera.

Objects are placed on light-sensitive paper, then exposed to light.

Chemical painting

Apply various chemicals onto light-sensitive paper to create abstract/painterly effects.

Different household items/tools can be used to manipulate the chemicals.

[lonita]

First page a day - #15

Reading the first page of a different book from my TBR pile every day of November.

"In the most health-obsessed society ever, all is not well."