Random Acts of Creativity - Found Art

This winter I found a wonderful tutorial on A Little Hut for making bowls out of magazine pages.

It takes some time to fold all those pages up, but I really enjoy the process. I can listen to NPR while I'm doing it, which is nice.

I made some as Christmas gifts, but still wanted to make more. I have so many magazines around the house and I hate to just throw them away. I tend to rip out recipes and craft ideas, so they wouldn't be good to pass on to anyone.

So, I decided to keep making them, whenever I get a hankering, and I'm going to leave them around RI for people to find. I designed a little card so people will understand what I'm doing. It says, "You are the recipient of a Random Act of Creativity. Please take this item home and enjoy it, pass it on to a friend, or leave it here to brighten someone else's day.

I made my first drop last week at the Starbucks in Barrington. It was a small green/yellow one. I had so much fun leaving it on the napkin/spoon counter-thing. I felt like I was doing something bad, slipping it out of my bag and surreptitiously leaving it there, hoping no one was noticing me.

Today I dropped these two off at the Barrington Library. One in the teen room and another on a window sill. I love daydreaming about people finding them. I hope it makes them smile.

When I get tired of making these bowls (is that possible??), I'll move onto something else, hopefully another re-use type item.

I tried to find that foundart.org site, which I haven't visited in some time, but it appears to be gone. What a shame. I did find this fun site, though, by artist Rosa Murillo. She does Found Art Tuesdays. I have to do mine on Thursdays because it's my only day without the kids. I think it's fun that she sometimes hangs out to see who finds her art. She also has her name on her art, which I haven't done so far. I like remaining anonymous.

I need to think of more places to leave my bowls. Any ideas?

Matchbox Cars & Paintbrushes

Wow, I haven't posted in a really long time.

Being a full-time mom means having limited time for art, and I'm afraid that means having almost zero time for blogging.

But I'm grateful for what time I do get to create. I'm also grateful to my father for funding my return to school. I am enrolled in the Natural Science Illustration Certificate Program through RISD's Continuing Education Dept.

This past summer I took a class called, "Making Pictures Tell Stories." This self portrait was an assignment from that class. Can you guess what story I'm trying to tell? That of a mom desperate to be the artist she is, but feeling overrun by her children and her children's toys? This was done in acrylic paints on vellum.

Next up is "The Artful Insect: Entomological Illustration." I'm very excited to work in RISD's Nature Lab and draw some bugs!