Creativity on a Budget

If you're an artist, you may know the feeling of being short on both supplies and funds.  (And if you're not an artist, I'm sure you're familiar with the term "starving artist."  There's often a good reason for that.)

One of the things that I've come to be familiar with as a hobby artist is making do with what you've got.  I prefer pencil and paper to other mediums, not just because I'm good at it but because it's often more affordable.  There's nothing wrong with using Crayola if you know how to use it.  (Indeed, be amazed by this awesome drawing- all in Crayola crayon!)  Art supplies as gifts are not uncommon in my family.  And I use Hobby Lobby coupons like they're gold.

But the best way to save and be creative is to recycle.  It's awesome for the planet, too!  (If that sort of thing tickles your jimmies, of course.  You could also look at it as saving you space in your garbage can, or not wasting things, if you so prefer.)  I have a small collection of cardboard boxes that I hope to turn into bases for dioramas, for example.  Old newspaper is a classic recipe for paper mache.  (Pinatas, anybody!?)  There's all kinds of cool things you can do, if you think hard enough.

A good friend of mine (known to the Internet community as Elrenia_Greenleaf) is one of the most thrifty and creative people I know.  She can make a spaceship out of a popsicle stick, old Styrofoam packaging, plastic wrap, bottle caps, paper clips, and an old set of headphones.  Seriously.  Her work often inspires me to design my own dioramas and props for things.  (Then I run into the problem with another resource- time, but that's something for another day.)

What creative things do YOU do on a budget?  I'd love to hear your stories and ideas!

What's Going On

The last of my midterms was yesterday (huzzah!) and I'm now looking at the second half of my last semester as a full-time college student.  It's kind of strange.  Very bittersweet.  As cliche as it sounds, the last five years have flown by, but I feel like I'm just now beginning to enjoy it.

I've finally realized what my dream is- to design exhibits for museums and zoos.  I know who I want to work for.  Well, I've actually kind of known for a while but only just now acknowledged the fact.  But things are working out- I've finally started working towards it.  It's like the opening scene of Disney's Princess and the Frog:

"Yes, you wish and you dream with all your little heart. But you remember, Tiana, that old star can only take you part of the way. You got to help him with some hard work of your own. And then... Yeah, you can do anything you set you mind to."

 But I'm sure I didn't need to tell you that.  And it's true.  Nothing can come out of nothing.  So, here I go!  I hope to have something to show for it soon.

And on a completely unrelated note, I'm going to Indiana this weekend to be nommed by zombies at Purdue's 2nd Humans vs Zombies invitational.  I always have a ton of fun, so I'm really looking forward to it!

Well, Why Not?

I'm definitely one of those people who makes all these plans from the grandiose to the might-actually-be-achievable but then I come across the same problems: I don't follow through with them.  Sometimes it's a time constraint, other times lack of money or supplies, or even my own self-doubt.

I am cynical a lot (no point in lying, huh?) but I also am a dreamer and an optimist.  Why should I let my self-doubt get in the way of the things I want to do?  Because you and I both probably have a lot of the same problems.  "Lack of time" is really "my free time is usually spent dorking around online or watching TV shows I really don't care about."  "No money" can usually be translated to "I had extra money this week after all the necessities were paid for but I spent it on junk food instead."  And self-doubt?  The "it wouldn't work anyway" or "I don't know how to start" or "I don't think anyone else will like it or care?"  That one's harder, but I promise you that it's not that bad.

When I started this blog, I had a lot of things in mind.  I wanted it to just be a showcase for my art.  Then I wanted it to be a showcase of my art with printable freebies.  And then I wanted to throw in recipe critiques.  I told a friend "I want to have a blog about my art, like my drawings and my crafts, but I also talk about food and maybe musings on life."  His reply was: "So, you just want a blog?"

Touche.

I was under the impression (and maybe I still am) that the only blogs that can be successful are those that have a theme and stick to it.  Blogs that are just about recipes or only focus on printables.  But I also knew that successful blogs post often and reach out to their readers.

So, there's no sense in continuing to put off what I really want to do.  I don't know if anyone will read this or care.  I can't guarantee that I will receive any encouragement or (constructive!) criticisms on what I do post.  I just know that I want to reach out to the world, and darn it I'm gonna do it.  [I guess we can put this under my "inspire" header...]

Well, here goes nothing.

PS- if any fellow Blogger users know how I can type in special characters, I'd love to know how.  The fact that my "e" in "touche" doesn't have the accent over it makes me sad.  And Blogger doesn't seem to like me copying and pasting from Microsoft Word.

Cheers!