Thank you to everyone who is signing up for Sketchbook Revival! More info about my session can be found here. It's free to sign up (the optional paid VIP pass gives you more time to enjoy everything; there are 30+ instructors over 11 days, so it is a full itinerary).
I'm popping in to your inbox a day early with a reminder that the next batch of open calls closes on April 1st at 5 pm MDT. If you're planning to submit, please don't wait until the last minute!
PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT
Projects of repetition and the search for perfection
Is there any truth to the saying, "practice makes perfect"?
Do you often repeat an idea, a motif or a creative process? How does repetition inform your creative practice? Does repeating something over and over change you or your work?
hint hint Despite the image above, no one has submitted anything on calligraphy or lettering practice yet...
Here are three fine examples below for "Practice Makes Perfect." It's not about being perfect, it's about the practice!
Natalia Zlateva Blooms in Six Different Ways
Curiosity and experimentation are two key elements of my creative process. I explore the same motif from different perspectives, using various techniques and materials to achieve new and unexpected results. These four components – curiosity, a joy of experimentation, techniques and materials – are an essential part of my creative self. They inspire me, sparking my creativity and enthusiasm and helping me to transfer these new insights into my artwork, as well as helping me to better understand myself and my artistic process. Instagram / Website
Sue Macpherson Georgian Pines
I love to repeat an idea. I am always amazed at how one design can look so different in so many ways. I learn so much about colour and how one acts against another and the ideas just keep coming and coming, so much fun!
Kim Howard Buddhas: 108 interpretations
While attending a wellness retreat in Sri Lanka—a lush country steeped in ancient Buddhist heritage—I began sketching small paintings of the many Buddhas scattered throughout the countryside. Creating these little pieces deepened my daily meditative practice. The handwork allowed me to integrate watercolour painting and decorative collaged borders into my 33-day-to-day life. I found the process so fulfilling that it followed me home for an additional 2 months of art making.
Repeating the same theme wasn’t about making identical images—it was about discovering the depth that appears when you return to the same subject again and again. Repeating the same subject can deepen attention and awareness. In many contemplative traditions, repetition is a way of going further inward rather than doing something new each time.
When I paint the same theme repeatedly, several things tend to happen:
1. The subject becomes familiar. Instead of figuring out what to paint, your mind settles into how you are painting. That familiarity frees attention and can make the process feel meditative.
hint hint I'm looking for circular objects, too... ceramic plates! And Jewellery: rings! What other circular craft objects can you think of?
Here are some examples of what I've received for "Circles" so far...
Judy Leshner Cascade
The circle is a unifying motif in my project titled Cascade. These finely printed papers are from travels to Italy and Japan, reflecting my fascination with the curves of nature and hand-drawn line. To create the circles I use a round clear jar, looking through it as I move it across the scrolling patterns. When enough circles are traced and cut, I move them around like a visual puzzle, juxtaposing the circles, looking for relationships and a sense of balance. The circle shape unifies a wide variety of elements, all tied together by the threads stitched into figure eights, giving the piece the texture and warmth of handmade art. Instagram / Website
Claire Mercado-Obias Jar Lid Patterns
“Crafty recycling” best defines my creative process. I give new life to items destined for the trash, and I document the process in my blog, Blah to TADA! I use jar lids in my work because they produce a perfect circle, and I like using a jar lid as a stamp. Simply pour a small amount of paint on a flat dish (the one I’m using here is a yogurt container lid), dip the jar lid in the paint, and stamp the paint on a sheet of kraft paper, a brown paper bag, or a plain envelope. Dip and stamp, dip and stamp. The process is quite meditative, and you’ll be rewarded with a repeating pattern of circles. It’s an easy method of mark-making that kids and adults will enjoy. Once the paint is dry, use the decorated paper for gift wrapping and lettering writing. Instagram / Website
Katy Kellogg Nygard Stories
I often use symbols in my work. This piece, titled Stories, explores the ways in which our life experiences overlap, yet remain uniquely our own. We have the power to question the stories we believe and write new ones. I've appliqued circles of recycled sari silk to represent the stories we're told as well as those told about us. Website
The Lettering Seminar with Martina Flor: registration opens today!
Martina writes, "I created this lettering piece to explain my clients and colleagues what my work is about. I combine letter shapes, colours, composition and texture to put a message through, to tell a story. Telling stories with letters describes, therefore, my work in a few words."
Martina Flor'sThe Lettering Seminar enrollment closes in a few days. Through this 8-week seminar, learn how to turn your hand lettering craft into a career. This page has extensive information about what's in the course. (affiliate links, thank you! They may take a moment or two to load in your browser.)
Join me and 30 other instructors in the 2026 Sketchbook Revival. My session is The "Text" Book: Through hand lettering, stamping, Letraset, collage and other found type, we'll employ copywriting and elements of graphic design in loose, poetic ways for self-expression. It's free to participate!
After signing up with your email address, there's an optional VIP pass that will give you more time to watch everyone's sessions. As an affiliate instructor, I receive a commission if you use my link and purchase the upgrade. thank you!
Comments & replies to Janine
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