inspiration – Compulsive Creation

Community Art Project: I Am From

My mom sent me this poem template called “I Am From.” I did some more research on it and this poem template is a part of a larger community art project created to gather diverse voices and combat some of the awfulness of our world. The creators, George Ella Lyon and Julie Landsman are planningContinue reading “Community Art Project: I Am From”

Doodling

This post is in praise of doodlin’! After all, it’s been my longest standing creative practice, scribbling upon the edges of my notebooks and journals from as far back as I can remember right up to today. Since starting this bog I’ve been doodling less, allowing other more time-consuming art projects to act as outletsContinue reading “Doodling”

Keep that Creative Fire Burning!

This week I attended a free event at one of my favorite shops in the whole wide world: Two Hands Paperie. This local Boulder store specializes in stationary and pens, but they offer a huge range of art-making classes and products to salivate over. The event I went to featured an artist named Cynthia Morris,Continue reading “Keep that Creative Fire Burning!”

Must Watch: Your Lie In April

I am obsessed with ‘Your Lie in April.’ It is based on the manga of the same name. It is about Kousei, a piano prodigy, who loses his ability to hear his own playing after his mom dies. His mother was his piano teacher and super abusive, so his trauma is hella linked to theContinue reading “Must Watch: Your Lie In April”

A Bit of an Update

Over the past little while the following three things have developed increased importance in my life. I. The metronome function on my keyboard A metronome is a device or app that clicks/ticks/dings/talks at a regular interval so that a musician can maintain a consistent tempo. It sounds like this. I have started practicing with aContinue reading “A Bit of an Update”

Ignite the Jetpack!

I had a vision around this time last year (not in like a super spiritual sense, just ya know a picture in my head), of a girl with glowing hair jet-packing her way out of watery depths with golden bubbles shimmering beneath her. I immediately did a brief sketch in the journal I keep forContinue reading “Ignite the Jetpack!”

#RANT

I was talking to some friends and someone asked me why, at the age of 30, I started taking theory lessons. And my first thought was “Bitch, because I want to!” BUT since this is a person who I like a lot and she didn’t meant anything by it, I toned down the hostility andContinue reading “#RANT”

Watercolor + Indian Ink

Last week I played around with Indian ink washes, and this week I painted over them, using watercolors to bring out the images I saw in the chaotic, grainy textures. This project was magical and weird, and forced my critical mind to take a backseat and let my imagination drive me right into a worldContinue reading “Watercolor + Indian Ink”

Indian Ink Washes

There’s a chaos to watercolor that I love, an element of surprise every time that water and paint meet on paper. In past blogs I’ve experimented with different materials to increase the strange effects one can get in this fluid medium, but this week I’ve found a new favorite addition: Indian ink. The amazing watercolorContinue reading “Indian Ink Washes”

Watercolor Pencils

Despite my claim in my last blog (that Christmas for me isn’t about presents but presence), I got quite a haul of creative goodies this year! Brian’s parents, BJ and Mike, were particularly gracious in getting me Arches watercolor paper, two Winsor & Newton Series 7 kolinsky sable brushes, and a Daniel Smith watercolor dotContinue reading “Watercolor Pencils”