Splash of tea butterfly

by Denise M. SessousJuly 3, 2017July 17, 2017

Week One: (Day 13) Use tea bags (used or unused) or even just liquid tea (in a cup or not) to create something today.

The arrangement of: tea-pot, cup (with tea), saucer, spoon with loose tea and the place-mat were all photographed by me and have not been altered. I added the splash-of-tea butterfly with Photoshop.

Pinkie up, elbow down, sip and enjoy!

**note**
(Day 13) is the prompt designation in Noah Scalin’s book, 365: A Daily Creativity Journal: Make Something Every Day and Change Your Life! I am using this book as the catalyst and inspiration for these weekly posts.

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Money, like time, flies…

by Denise M. SessousAugust 22, 2016February 10, 2017

Week Six: (Day 15) What can you do with just a dollar? Use a dollar bill as your medium or inspiration today.

Going for a simple one this week…

Hidden Butterfly

by Denise M. SessousAugust 15, 2016February 10, 2017

Week Five: (Day 12) Camouflage…Create or alter something so that it disappears into its background.

First of all, so sorry about the HUGE time gap between posts. My life got a bit chaotic (as life sometimes does) and I’m returning to a sense of normalcy now.

That being said, I decided to approach this challenge in a more abstract way as opposed to photo-realistic. Butterflies have great camouflage, but they only mimic the texture of bark and leaves.

So, I took lots of pictures: a few with my wood blank in front of the background to get a sense of scale and a ton of the tree with the vines. I cut the photos apart and the decoupaged them to the blank.

Unfortunately, so much time had passed between when I started this project and when I finished that the lighting had changed. And in hindsight, I should have used the photos that’s came out more “yellow” than the ones that came out more “blue.” But, she seems to blend pretty well.

The prettiest meal of the day…

by Denise M. SessousJune 8, 2016February 10, 2017

Week Four: (Day 9) Make something with your breakfast before you eat it.

Oh, to play with one’s food (and not get scolded for it).

The hardest part was being hungry while I worked…

The best part was enjoying my artwork on a new level – in my belly!

Pages of a Book-er-fly

by Denise M. SessousJune 1, 2016February 10, 2017

Week Three: (Day 8) Transform an old book into something new by cutting, folding, gluing and so on.

So, I absolutely needed a book that I don’t care about. All the books I own are ones I want to keep. So, it’s off to a thrift store…thank you 2nd and Charles for your free book bins.

The first idea I had was to cut away the page edges or the center (like a book safe) so when the book is opened, there’s a butterfly shape.

The second idea was inspired by a recent trip to a shabby-chic consignment shop. There were a few wreaths on display made from old sheet music rolled into cone shapes.

Then, I discovered book folding…and that was all she wrote. A few YouTube tutorials and and couple of hours on Photoshop later, I had a plan and a template. I ran out of pages on my first attempt (thankfully, I picked up two books) and now I have a bookshelf-worthy book-er-fly.

Butterfly Stencil

by Denise M. SessousMay 23, 2016February 10, 2017

Week two: (Day 7) Today, make a stencil and use it in your work.

Of course, this will be a butterfly stencil. Ooh…I just realized this is the perfect project to try out the xActo set I just bought. Oh boy, oh boy!

And, what better way to commemorate a new sketchbook?

Paper Butterfly

by Denise M. SessousMay 16, 2016February 10, 2017

Week One: (Day 3) Make something out of paper, but don’t use scissors or glue or draw on it. What now? (And no, you don’t have to know origami to do this.)

So initially, I considered tearing paper into little bits and arranging them. But, I seem to have a psychotic aversion to creating something temporary.

Then, I remembered a high school art project involving making our own paper by putting colored paper in a blender…paper smoothie anyone?

Well, the results are in and they’re not perfect. I didn’t have all the tools needed, like a mould & deckle and couching material & a press. All those goodies are on my amazon.com wish list now though.

So , this project came out as more of a sculpture that a piece of art paper. Fun, nonetheless.

Butterfly of the Week

by Denise M. SessousMay 14, 2016February 10, 2017

CreativeSprint inspired me to get started on a creative journey.

My friends inspired me to keep going.

So, I purchased Noah Scalin’s most recent book, 365: A Daily Creativity Journal: Make Something Every Day and Change Your Life!

I’m also giving myself some flexibility and challenging myself to one creative project a week. So, this book should keep me busy for about seven years!

My goal is to post the results on Monday or Tuesday of each week. That way I’ve got the weekend if I need it.

So excited!

Thank you CreativeSprint

by Denise M. SessousMay 14, 2016January 29, 2017

This was a wonderful experience for me. So much so, that I can’t wait for the fall to try it again. Hopefully by then, I’ll have enough rudimentary skills and photographic archives to use Photoshop as my medium.

So here goes my list of lessons learned:

Sometimes the first idea is the best one.
It doesn’t need to be perfect
Mistakes happen
Art supplies are everywhere
Trying new things, inspires new things

I wasn’t able to complete every challenge due to work and social obligations, But, I still accomplished enough to make this bitchin’ wall of butterflies.

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Messages

by Denise M. SessousMay 12, 2016February 10, 2017

CreativeSprint – Day 14: Create something inspired by an email, text or other message that you receive today.

I get a daily newsletter from Today called “Stuff We Love,” and in today’s Today email I found this article about a t-shirt for travelers. It’s covered with icons and all you have to do is point to the image representing what you want. Genius or lazy, I can’t decide. Maybe lazy genius?