Happy Friday artists, art lovers, and parents of creative kids and teens! Welcome to Art Club: Sparketh’s weekly round-up of the latest in art news, creative resources, trending art challenges (and more.) If you love the arts and creativity, you’re in the right place.
This week, we’re exploring current art topics that all touch on a similar question: “Why do artists create?”
We’ll check out one artist whose dream in live is to live in a home made of his own art, and another who views art as a way to mediate experiences. In celebration of World Mental Health Day, we’ll explore why creating art is good for your mental health. You’ll get some viral tips to help you in your art method!
Art News: Life in House of Doodles
At some point in our childhoods, we’ve all probably doodled on the walls. Most of us got in pretty big trouble for it, too. However, Sam Cox (known professionally as “Mr. Doodle”) was always encouraged to draw on the walls of his room. Today, as an adult, he’s taken it to a whole new level.
Mr. Doodle, a professional artist whose work has sold for up to almost $1 million per piece, has now officially completed what he calls his “best piece of work.” The work? His house!
Over two years of effort, the artist has covered his entire $1.5 million home in doodles. Not just the walls, either. Mr. Doodle has also covered bedding, appliances, and even the toilet in his signature, black-and-white doodles. He also painted his stove, which he admits may have rendered it un-useable. (I guess he and Mrs. Doodle will be eating out a lot.)
When talking to the host of BBC Breakfast, the artist describes being able to live in a home made of his art as “a sort of paradise for me.”
Why He Creates/Doodles:
Cox told BBC News that doodling is “almost like an out-of-body experience. You’re just indulging yourself in this free-flowing state of creation.”
Mr. Doodle gives us some interesting insight on reasons we create. Perhaps it comes partially from a desire to meditate, to flow with a particular state of mind, or to create a world of our own imagining (literally, in his case.)
Check out the video below to see this artist’s completed home!
Inspirational: Creating for Your Mental Health
Monday, October 10 is World Mental Health Day. Did you know that regularly practicing creativity is a vital part of maintaining good mental health? Research shows that art, in particular, supports mental health by:
- Providing an outlet for thoughts and feelings
- Helping to self-regulate emotions
- Enhancing focus and decision-making skills
- Improving memory
- Boosting self-esteem/confidence
The mental health benefits of creating art is a major reason many people engage in it (a very healthy addiction). Creating is meditative, allowing you to reflect and express in an extremely therapeutic way.
Sometimes, when life is busy, we can feel guilty for taking the time to enjoy creative pursuits. However, it’s one of the best things we can do for ourselves. If you are looking for a reason to create today, I hope World Mental Health day provides some good inspiration to take care of yourself. Go make some art. Better yet, make it a regular practice (and a very healthy habit!)
Viral Art: Game-Changing Art Hacks
As you create art this week, check out today’s featured viral art video from TikTok! This short video has some mind-blowing art hacks that will save you time, help you try new techniques, and stretch the life of some your favorite art supplies.
@sparketh Legitimately learned about the watercolor hack yesterday… 25 years old 🤣 #artistsoftiktok #arthacks #arttips #arttricks #didyouknow #myart #arttok
Have you tried any of these tips at home? Which is your favorite?
You Can Also Watch it Here!
Art News: “Art on Video” Series Dives Deep.
“What is art to the artist?” As we’re touching on today, there can be a variety of answers to that question.
This is a topic that is also currently being explored as part of a new documentary series, entitled “Art on Video.” This series is a collaboration between ArtNetNews and Art 21. It’s fascinating because it dives deep into the thought processes of current, headlining artists.
In the series, each artist gets the chance to describe their inspirations in their own words. The most recent episode follows photographer Diane Severin Nguyen.
Nguyen’s art is more than photography, though. Her creations also involve a unique type of performance art. In her work, Nguyen mixes the natural and unnatural, transforms substances into unrecognizable objects, and creates photos that capture fleeting, transfigurative moments (like lighting something on fire).
Art 21 writes: “Another kind of creative alchemy happens in her studio where the artist choreographs ephemeral processes like burning and everyday substances like Styrofoam to make her enigmatic photographs. Intentionally obscuring the identity of her subject materials is core to the artist’s larger project. ”
Why She Creates: As an artist, Nguyen says she feels it is her responsibility to take in the “psychic garbage of the world.” She also takes concepts that have social value and reduces them back into physical materials that can be composed and photographed. Primarily, this artist seems to view the creative process as an important type of mediation between the physical world and our experience of it.
I am looking forward to keeping up with this new series and discovering what makes different types of artists tick. Will you watch?
Inspirational: You Create Your Art Because Only YOU Can.
“Creativity is seeing what others see and thinking what no one else ever thought.”- Albert Einstein
I love these words from Albert Einstein, who definitely knew the value of creativity! Whatever reason you create art, it’s likely to be just as unique as the special perspective you bring to the world. I hope you remember that as you go about your week, and pinpoint your own unique reason for being creative.
See you back here next week for next Friday’s edition of Art Club!