For the last week, I’ve begun a creative practice by participating in #cbdrawaday offered by CreativeBug. The month of May is focused on shadow drawing which is a technique I have never done. The technique is surprisingly simple but tricky. It is essentially tracing but one is tracing shadows that are self-generated based on where you choose to position an object between your sketchbook and lightsource.

Day 1 was forks. Still obsessed with lettering, I chose to create them with letters after I had outlined them in pencil.

Day 2 suggested watercolors as a medium and clothespins as the object. I haven’t used watercolors in ages but thankfully in my teacher supply stash I found a set of watercolors to use. I have forgotten how liberating watercolors are to use. There is something about the commitment of paint to paper combined with the softness of the medium that provides freedom to create.

Day 3 was suggested graphite as a medium and pitchers as an object. I’ve never used graphite before, with the exception of a #2 pencil and still don’t really understand the difference between all the letters. It has something to do with soft and hard and leaves something to be learned in a future class. Still obsessed with watercolors, I used them as the background in a sketchbook that isn’t intended for watercolors. Oops. Lesson learned.

Day 4 was scissors. What educator doesn’t have a ton of school safety scissors laying around? This lesson introduced me to cross-hatching which provided the texture to the handles.

Day 5 was mini-trees with a mixture of graphite and watercolors. On a trip to my local Michael’s to buy a bottle brush tree, I chose to buy a broader range of watercolors. What a difference between the standard school watercolor package and artist quality watercolors. The colors are so much more vibrant and it’s even easier to use. Personally, I think this was a much better use of bottle brush trees than placing them on the dreaded 4th grade mission project.

Day 6 was mini-trophies and recommended water soluble graphite. The graphite I bought earlier in the week wasn’t water soluble and given my recent fascination with watercolors, I needed to give these a try. Wow! Just Wow! I can’t wait to play with these more.

Day 7 was leaves and didn’t require a trip to the local art store. A line drawing done with a pen on hand and some colored pencils sufficed.

One week into this challenge, I appreciate the daily creative outlet. The variety in objects and mediums keeps things interesting. After a long day, I look forward to unplugging and experimenting and taking risks to create something new. It’s a daily meditative exercise for the creative self. What will I learn over the next 24 days?