The theme for this month’s Art Elements challenge is fossils. When I signed up to participate in the design challenge I had zero ideas for interpreting the theme. Probably because my brain went immediately to the enormous dinosaur skeletons featured prominently in natural history museums. “Dinosaur bones” was all I could think of because, as usual, I was being too literal. I just needed to let my muse free associate a bit and then I had more ideas than time to execute them.
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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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Foliage is the theme for the September challenge from the Art Elements design team. The leaves of plants and trees is a great inspiration for the first month of Northern Hemisphere autumn, even if the temperatures haven’t yet felt quite like fall. As the month is ending, leaves in my area are just beginning to turn from green to the russets and ambers of fall. Well, those that aren’t prematurely browned from the lack of rain, anyway.
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When “octopus” was announced as the theme for the monthly Art Elements design challenge I definitely squealed out loud. What’s not to love about octopuses? And tentacles? Are they not one of the most fun design elements ever? As always, there were too many project ideas to fit into one month, but just enough time to try a few.
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The theme for this month’s art design challenge from the Art Elements team is ‘selkies and the sea.’ I was so excited when I saw the theme because selkies are one of my favorite mythical creatures. In addition, I was a pinniped ecologist once upon a time and saw this theme as a perfect opportunity to try sculpting seals, and possibly sea lions. I’m warning you in advance, I got carried away making selkies and sharing seal trivia.
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The theme for this month’s Art Elements design challenge is forests. There are many different types of forest, categorized by latitude and elevation (tropical, temperate, boreal), the dominant types of trees (evergreen or deciduous; broadleaf, coniferous, or mixed), annual precipitation or general climate, stage of development (old vs new growth), etc. So many forests, so little time.
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The theme for this month’s design challenge from the Art Elements design team is luna moths. These members of the giant silk moth family, Saturniidae, are a spectacular subject for art inspiration, from the colors and patterns in their graceful wings to the textures of their fuzzy bodies and antennae.
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It’s reveal day for the ‘birds of prey’ theme challenge hosted by the Art Elements design team. This month’s theme was chosen by Cathy Spivey Mendola. The challenge is to make art, in any media, inspired by this theme. There are 446 species of birds of prey, also known as raptors (from the Latin “rapere,” to seize or capture). The are divided into the Orders Falconiformes (the diurnal hunters such as hawks, falcons, eagles, and vultures) and Strigiformes (the nocturnally hunting owls). With 446 species to choose from, there’s no lack of inspiration in this theme. Continue reading
The chosen theme for the We’re All Ears earring design challenge this month is “frozen” as in, that’s how folks were feeling when the “Polar Vortex” swooped down from the Arctic and brought record-breaking cold weather to much of the United States. The challenge is to design earrings inspired by the freezing cold. Continue reading
Kicking off 2019 with an earring design challenge is a great way to begin the year because earrings are my favorite kind of jewelry. The We’re All Ears earring design challenge theme for this month is Pantone’s Color of the Year, “Living Coral.” Pantone describes this color as “an animating and life-affirming coral hue with a golden undertone that energizes and enlivens with a softer edge.” I would describe it as a warm peachy red, because I’m not as flowery as the folks at Pantone. Continue reading