Category Archives: Creative Journey

Gothic-Themed Design Challenge

Gothic skull planter and coffin boxes

The theme for this month’s Art Elements design challenge was gothic. Gothic architecture is something I know practically nothing about. According to the interwebs,  it’s characterized by pointed arches, stained glass windows with elaborate tracery (yeah, I didn’t know that term until Google explained it to me), and flying buttresses.  Think Canterbury Cathedral and Notre-Dame de Paris.  Gothic fiction, on the other hand, is a genre with which I am very familiar.  It’s characterized by the supernatural and horror, with elements of dangerous or tragic romance.  Think Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker. Edgar Allen Poe, and H.P. Lovecraft.  My designs this month were inspired more by gothic fiction than architecture.

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Mandala Theme Design Challenge

Six stones painted with dot mandalas.

The theme for the Art Elements design challenge this month was mandalas.  If you’re like me, you’ve probably admired the often intricate patterns of mandalas, which can be found in tile or stone mosaics, textile patterns, jewelry designs, paintings and more.  You’re probably also aware that mandalas originated as more than art:  they are a symbolic diagram used in sacred rites and as an instrument of meditation in Hindu and Buddhist Tantrism. I don’t pretend to know much more about mandalas than this, but I joined in the design challenge because mandalas fascinate me.

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Hollow-Themed Art Design Challenge

Embroidered seashell wreath hanging on the wall.

The theme for the July design challenge from the Art Elements team was “hollow.”  Hollow can mean something that has a hole or empty space in it. It can also be the term for the space or depression itself.  One suggestion for the challenge was to consider whether we wanted to represent the empty space itself, or to fill the hollow space with something.  Of course, I wanted to try both variations on the theme and had several ideas.  Spoiler alert, I only finished one idea.

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Summer Solstice Themed Design Challenge

Green Man and Dryad stash tins

The theme for the Art Elements June design challenge was solstice.  Here in the Northern Hemisphere, June is the month for the Summer Solstice.  The Summer Solstice is heralded by many as the first day of summer.  That’s not technically what solstice means, but I can’t seem to stop any of the people I know from referring to it that way.  For the sake of accuracy, the Summer Solstice is the day on which the Sun reaches its northernmost point on the celestial sphere, resulting in the longest period of daylight (which some call the longest day)  for those of us above the equator.

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Butterfly Themed Art Design Challenge

Three painted butterfly pendant necklaces flat on wood

Butterflies were the theme for the Art Elements design challenge this month.  Butterflies are symbols of change and transformation.  The Art Elements Team has made some changes to the monthly theme challenges, including moving the reveals from a blog hop to a photo album in a Facebook community.  I’m choosing to blog about my themed projects anyway because, frankly, if it weren’t for the monthly challenges, I would have to come up with content ideas all on my own.  

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Bees Themed Design Challenge

Collection of boho necklaces with bee pendants

Bees are the theme for the Art Elements design challenge this month. Bees are awesome for so many reasons, and I could easily spend a year’s worth of blog posts expounding on all the things I admire about them.  There were so many ideas for how to interpret this theme based on all the things I love about bees.  But there are only so many creative hours in a month, and so, there are only so many bee-themed projects I can share with you today.

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Gnomes Themed Design Challenge

Gnomes were the theme for this month’s Art Elements design challenge. Gnomes are a type of fae creature and are earth elementals. You’re probably most familiar with gnomes as garden decor or as the spokesperson for a certain online travel booking website. As a long time fan of gnomes, I had so many ideas for exploring this theme. Alas, I only managed two of them.

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Berry Theme Design Challenge with Polymer Clay

polymer clay raspberry and blackberry headpins

The theme for the first Art Elements design challenge of the new year was ‘berries.’  There are berries and then there are berries. By which, of course, I mean there are those things botanists classify as berries, and then there are the things we call berries but which are actually some other part of a plant.  I was inspired by both kinds of berries for this challenge.

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Paisley Lizard’s 2019 Blog Year in Review

Paisley Lizard logo with text

As another year comes to an end, it’s time for my annual blog retrospective.  Where did my creative journey take me in 2019? There were slightly fewer blog posts this year than last, but still at least one per month.  Many of the monthly posts were dedicated to themed art challenges. By focusing on one (or sometimes two) design themes a month, I was able to explore each theme in more directions.  As a result, I feel as if my work was more focused this year, and maybe my artistic voice is getting stronger.

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Art Design Theme Challenge: All About Eyes

White and Black dragon eye trinket boxes

This month, eyes are the theme for the Art Elements design challenge.  The symbolism of eyes in art is as varied as the structure of literal eyes across the animal kingdom.  Where to begin? As usual, narrowing down a nearly infinite number of ideas to those that can be completed in a month is the most difficult part of the design challenge.  Now that the weather has finally turned less hot (I’m not prepared to call high temperatures in or approaching the 70s ‘cool’) I can get back into the polymer clay studio, which means sculpting is an option.  Also, my infatuation with embroidery that began this summer shows no signs of fading, which had me searching for stitch inspiration.

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