DAY 1 - EARTH
Throughout this 5 day course, we are going to use our phone cameras to SEE what we have previously taken for granted. If you prefer to use a seperate camera, that is fine too.
The aim is to bring your attention to the 5 elements in a different way, and to create artworks from these new perspecitives.
Today you will take photos of patterns you see in rocks, sand, petals and leaves. Zoom in to capture each design or shape and pattern you photograph. Create a collage using your favourite collage app. There are many free collage aps to choose from, but my collage is simple to use and has all you need for these exercises.
If you cannot go outside, then do the exercise below.
Photograph everything yellow around you – nature and other. Try and capture as many shades and shapes of yellow you can in 10mins
Create your collage from 9 of your favourite photos and select a shade of purple coloured background or any other you find pleasing. Play around with the effects on the collage app.
What is surprising with this exercise, is how we can create unity and cohesion even when we place unlikely objects together.
This is a great way to make you step out of the box and see how much fun it is to mix different things, people and experiences together in life. It stretches us out of our comfort zone and opens a new way of regarding things and ourselves.
Store your collage in your digital gallery for now. We will be using everything you create so make sure you keep photos from each day in a central Play It Out gallery on your phone or computer.
Well done!
The aim is to bring your attention to the 5 elements in a different way, and to create artworks from these new perspecitives.
Today you will take photos of patterns you see in rocks, sand, petals and leaves. Zoom in to capture each design or shape and pattern you photograph. Create a collage using your favourite collage app. There are many free collage aps to choose from, but my collage is simple to use and has all you need for these exercises.
If you cannot go outside, then do the exercise below.
Photograph everything yellow around you – nature and other. Try and capture as many shades and shapes of yellow you can in 10mins
Create your collage from 9 of your favourite photos and select a shade of purple coloured background or any other you find pleasing. Play around with the effects on the collage app.
What is surprising with this exercise, is how we can create unity and cohesion even when we place unlikely objects together.
This is a great way to make you step out of the box and see how much fun it is to mix different things, people and experiences together in life. It stretches us out of our comfort zone and opens a new way of regarding things and ourselves.
Store your collage in your digital gallery for now. We will be using everything you create so make sure you keep photos from each day in a central Play It Out gallery on your phone or computer.
Well done!
DAY 2 - METAL
‘Your wound is where the light will enter’
Everything has a story to tell..
Make something extraordinary from the ordinary. Paying attention to the light. Playing with black and white and gradients of light.
Choose everyday ordinary objects from around your house that are made from metal - anything from cutlery and jewellery to pots and pans. Arrange them against a solid background and start to photograph these objects in different arrangements and with unlikely pieces together. It may be extremely uniform or abstract. Just play with composition and lighting.
Once you have taken a few pics, use your basic editing tools in your camera – every phone camera has basic editing options - and change the photos to black and white. Play around with saturating the light as well as highlighting with the automatic editing options available on your phone camera. It’s really fun to see how much your original photos can change. You may choose to crop and zoom into the most interesting section.
Choose your best photos and create a collage from these and send to your digital gallery collection for later.
Well done!
Everything has a story to tell..
Make something extraordinary from the ordinary. Paying attention to the light. Playing with black and white and gradients of light.
Choose everyday ordinary objects from around your house that are made from metal - anything from cutlery and jewellery to pots and pans. Arrange them against a solid background and start to photograph these objects in different arrangements and with unlikely pieces together. It may be extremely uniform or abstract. Just play with composition and lighting.
Once you have taken a few pics, use your basic editing tools in your camera – every phone camera has basic editing options - and change the photos to black and white. Play around with saturating the light as well as highlighting with the automatic editing options available on your phone camera. It’s really fun to see how much your original photos can change. You may choose to crop and zoom into the most interesting section.
Choose your best photos and create a collage from these and send to your digital gallery collection for later.
Well done!
DAY 3 - WATER
This is such a fun and satisfying exercise that demonstrates so many qualities of water.
Enjoy the process and bringing your awareness to the ever changing state of creative flow.
Materials Phone camera or other camera
Glass vase – one with flat edges is best so you can get camera flat up against it.
Ink or any water colour or food colouring
Oil – vegetable oil
Fill the glass vase with water to the top. Add a few drops of oil to the vase Get your camera ready on high definition automatic mode
. Ensure you have enough natural or artificial light.
Place vase on plane white or black surface with white wall or nothing behind it.
Drop on or two drops of your colour into the water and photograph it as it flows down to the bottom of the vase. If you agitate the water before so the oil tries to mix in a bit - note results.
Empty water and start again. Try a few times and capture as many images as you like.
Now look at all your photos and choose a few to zoom in on and edit with easy edit and crop function on your phone.
Choose your best photos and send them to your digital gallery for later.
Well done !
Materials Phone camera or other camera
Glass vase – one with flat edges is best so you can get camera flat up against it.
Ink or any water colour or food colouring
Oil – vegetable oil
Fill the glass vase with water to the top. Add a few drops of oil to the vase Get your camera ready on high definition automatic mode
. Ensure you have enough natural or artificial light.
Place vase on plane white or black surface with white wall or nothing behind it.
Drop on or two drops of your colour into the water and photograph it as it flows down to the bottom of the vase. If you agitate the water before so the oil tries to mix in a bit - note results.
Empty water and start again. Try a few times and capture as many images as you like.
Now look at all your photos and choose a few to zoom in on and edit with easy edit and crop function on your phone.
Choose your best photos and send them to your digital gallery for later.
Well done !
DAY 4 - WOOD
Celebrating individual expression
We rarely bring our focused wide-eyed, curios attention to what is in front of us every day. Today we are going to put on magnifying glasses and SEE the details we have missed for years. By opening our eyes and finding what we have been blind to, we are flooded with a new experience of what has become habit, normal or even invisible to us as we rush past in our blind attempts to find gratification elsewhere.
If you are not able to go outdoors, you will use all wood surfaces you find in your home.
Spend 5mins taking close up photographs of all the different patterns of wood around you, whether it be the patterns in a wooden floor or table or bowl, or the bark of different trees and branches. Zoom right in and take at least 9 close up photographs.
Download any collage app onto your phone – I used my collage – its easy and puts your pics into a collage format you can keep or change. It is free.
Download or screenshot your collage and send it to your digital gallery for later.
Remember that we are going to create an art show at the end of your 20 days, so you will want to have a safe place to keep your creations every day.
Well done!
We rarely bring our focused wide-eyed, curios attention to what is in front of us every day. Today we are going to put on magnifying glasses and SEE the details we have missed for years. By opening our eyes and finding what we have been blind to, we are flooded with a new experience of what has become habit, normal or even invisible to us as we rush past in our blind attempts to find gratification elsewhere.
If you are not able to go outdoors, you will use all wood surfaces you find in your home.
Spend 5mins taking close up photographs of all the different patterns of wood around you, whether it be the patterns in a wooden floor or table or bowl, or the bark of different trees and branches. Zoom right in and take at least 9 close up photographs.
Download any collage app onto your phone – I used my collage – its easy and puts your pics into a collage format you can keep or change. It is free.
Download or screenshot your collage and send it to your digital gallery for later.
Remember that we are going to create an art show at the end of your 20 days, so you will want to have a safe place to keep your creations every day.
Well done!
DAY 5 - FIRE
Contemplate the various emotions associated with our fire element, depending on whether it is in or out of balance.
Passionate, playful, joyful, inspirational, self confidence, romantic - when in balance. Anger, irritation, impatience, jealousy, embarrassment - when out of balance.
Now go out and photograph objects , people or places that represent an emotion.
This will draw your attention to how you and others are feeling, and what emotions you may unknowingly be attaching to certain objects and places. Its quite a revealing and intriguing exercise and as you only need spend 10mins, you really pay attention to your connections and attachments to all around you.
Awareness is the beginning of change.
Create a collage of a mixed emotions, and post to your gallery for later.
Well done!
Hope you enjoyed these exercises and that you will join us for so many more intriguing ways to open up and explore your creative genius.
See you inside the course where we will create 20unique artworks in 20days.
Passionate, playful, joyful, inspirational, self confidence, romantic - when in balance. Anger, irritation, impatience, jealousy, embarrassment - when out of balance.
Now go out and photograph objects , people or places that represent an emotion.
This will draw your attention to how you and others are feeling, and what emotions you may unknowingly be attaching to certain objects and places. Its quite a revealing and intriguing exercise and as you only need spend 10mins, you really pay attention to your connections and attachments to all around you.
Awareness is the beginning of change.
Create a collage of a mixed emotions, and post to your gallery for later.
Well done!
Hope you enjoyed these exercises and that you will join us for so many more intriguing ways to open up and explore your creative genius.
See you inside the course where we will create 20unique artworks in 20days.
