Making Zen starts tomorrow! It's a free online event where you'll be introduced to new artists and do some mindful stitching. Each day, a new batch of videos is released and available for free for 24 hours.
(If you want to watch at your own pace, you can purchase a VIP ticket for lifetime access to the presentations plus some bonuses from the speakers.) UPPERCASE is a promotional sponsor and affiliate.
It's a working weekend for me—design for issue 68 is underway!
If you have something underway for the current open calls, the extended deadlines close tomorrow, October 27 at 5pm MDT.
This is an open call for illustrators.
Creative Brief: The Elements of Creativity in Illustration
The classic four elements—earth, water, air and fire—have long been themes and motifs in visual art. How would you use one or all of these elements to express yourself as an illustrator? Using these elements either literally or metaphorically, create an illustration that communicates your ideas about creativity and/or your career as an illustrator.
REQUIRED DIMENSIONS: 7.125” wide by 9.625” tall at 300dpi, saved as a jpg. (Either RGB or CMYK is fine; we will handle the prepress requirements.)
How do the elements (earth, water, air and fire) inspire, inform or affect your art or craft? For example, do you make things out of earth? Is water (or ice) integral to your process? Does air, wind, or weather factor into your creation? Do you make prints with sunlight or need the heat of a flame to create?
Here are some inspiring examples of submissions from The Elements in Craft!
Kate Hasted
Painting on Water
Fabric Marbling by Kate Hasted
I am a textile artist specializing in marbling techniques. At the heart of my practice is water: I float inks on its surface, carefully manipulating them into patterns and shapes before transferring the image onto fabric. I am inspired by the fluid, unpredictable nature of water and the way colour, form, and pattern emerge and evolve in response to it. My work explores this delicate balance—between control and chance, movement and stillness. My primary technique is Ebru, a traditional method of marbling that dates back to 16th-century Persia. It involves working on a thickened water, known as a size, in which colours are suspended and shaped before printing. My finished designs are rich with abstract, organic forms, infused with colour, movement, and a sense of flow. Instagram / Website
Gretchen Thayer
Sun Spells
by Gretchen Thayer
My latest body of work was inspired and informed by sunlight. They are paintings by way of cyanotype. I titled these works Sun Spells since they are painted with specific intentions then exposed to light. The sun acts not only as a way to create the print but charges & sets the spell. A cyanotype is the process of coating paper with light-sensitive chemicals using an object to block areas while being exposed to sunlight, making a cyan print to then be washed in water, which I love as an added element, clearing/cleansing the art. Instagram / Website
Amy Sue Axen
My Mani Stone Mission
by Amy Sue Axen
To date, I've only completed the first twelve of the intended goal of representing all one hundred and eight "Defilements of the Buddha" by creating mani stones. In order to attain a more peaceful nature, I gather rocks (that have been beautifully smoothed and shaped by water, sand and wind) aesthetically suitable for this holy Nepalese and Tibetan painting practice. Lining shrine and temple roads, mani stones are emblazoned with the Sanskrit text "Om Mani Padme Hum" mantra. Whether written in a linear or radial manner, the six syllables of this prayer's message (along with its traditional, symbolic colours) are believed to foster generosity, ethics, patience, diligence, renunciation and wisdom.
Cathy Anderson
Elemental Touchstones
by Cathy Anderson
My lampwork is completely elemental: earth and metal (my glass); fire and air (my torch); with myself being 90% water! I use Effetre glass rods from Murano, Italy, made of sand from the Venetian lagoon, minerals, metals, and elements of the earth, all mixed using ancient recipes; they carry the molecular structure and vibration of nature itself! Playing with ratios of heat, gas, and oxygen causes the glass to react in vibrant displays of light, texture, design, and geometry. Sometimes I’m in charge, and sometimes designs are explored into existence by happenstance, my favourite way to play! Gazing upon what is captured in my photos or holding these elemental touchstones elicits the imagination and invites an engagement with our true self: our elemental connection with all of nature.
If you have a craft that is created through the use of the elements or is inspired by them, feel free to submit! It will take less than half an hour to write a paragraph and upload existing images of your work.
I'm also looking for some subscriber studios to publish in the next issue! Share your workspace, studio or corner of the dining room... wherever it is that you create. Bonus points if you include images of UPPERCASE magazine in your space! And even better if your art or studio location somehow relates to the "elements" theme. Submit your studio here by October 27 to be considered for issue #68.
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You can still join Making Zen! I've been enjoying the fall edition of Making Zen while I work on the next issue. Making Zen features 30 expert artists sharing their techniques and mindful stitching ideas. It's free to sign up—you have access to each day's sessions of videos for 24 hours, or you can invest in a VIP ticket to retain access to the recordings to watch at your leisure (plus other bonuses).
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