BEFORE PINTEREST
I have a new collection releasing soon.
Well, that’s my plan. I mapped out a general idea of what I might want to paint. I had this vague idea in my mind about my first collection. I made a Pinterest inspiration board, I tried Polyvore. I wrote the story behind the collection. But when I began to paint, the idea fell flat. I couldn’t remember what was in my head, or how I wanted the paintings to look when I was finished.
So I went old-school. I sat on the floor with my sketchbook, a stack of magazines, Washi tape, a glue stick, and a pair of scissors. I cut out images I liked and taped them in my sketchbook. This vision in my head of color schemes, rooms, and ideas came to life.
Well, to the page.
Then I printed my Pinterest boards and cut them out and pasted them on the pages, so I could see them in a different way.
Working with my hands was much more calming than pulling my ideas together digitally. Don’t get me wrong. I LOVE Pinterest. I use it for both inspiration and planning, and the images above are straight from their site.
But I needed the pure tactile act of cutting and pasting. Physically. The rough texture of the sketchbook, the smoothness of the magazines. The sound of the scissors.
Is this something only a maker understands?
Or maybe we all do? That’s why we cook, sew, knit, rearrange furniture, read a real newspaper, or purge our closets in January.
Here’s the result. The color scheme is soft, with lots of green, and a touch of pale yellow, and grey. We’ll see if what shows up in my art. I can’t promise it will, but I had to start somewhere.
Want to read more about creativity. This post is about shopping as inspiration.