Sketchbook Practice: Drawing Manhattan's Oldest Tree

Hi there! Let me tell you about a drawing session that I attended last Sunday.

The venue was New York City's Washington Square Park. Here, you'll find the oldest tree in Manhattan (more than 300 years old). It's an English Elm and it's known as the "Hangman's Elm." Legend has it that traitors we hung from its branches around the time of the American Revolution.

I know, it sounds a little morbid, but I can only imagine all the stories this towering tree has seen. She's a real beauty! I frequent this park a lot but wasn't even aware of the history of this tree.   

 

The group Washington Square Park Eco Projects and artist Kristin Jones of Behold lead strangers like me who are willing to stop, observe, and draw Manhattan's oldest tree. 

The session was absolutely free! Sketchpads and pencils were provided, but you are welcome to bring your favorite art materials. 

We sat on the park benches that surround Hangman's Elm and just began to draw.

Different artists are invited to provide tips, techniques, and encouragement. This class was led by Jennifer Orkin Lewis (@augustwren on Instagram). I've been a fan of her use of color and whimsical style. Meeting her turned my day from blah to TADA!

I sketched several versions of the tree using different media:

My warm up exercise: a pencil sketch

My second attempt: sketching more details using green pencil

My third sketch using an ink pen

Another version: what if I painted a blue tree? I used blue watercolor
directly on the paper; I didn't do a pencil sketch beforehand. 

And still another version using watercolor and colored pencils.

For the final one, I went wild with the watercolor.

It was so much fun making different interpretations of the Hangman's Tree. You can take a look at other people's drawings on the @treewonderwsp Instagram account. It was also freeing to know that you can keep starting over if you weren't pleased with your first attempt and that even with the same subject, many different versions can come out.

I'd definitely do this again, especially when the seasons change (the dramatic leaves in autumn and the bare branches in winter).

If you are in New York City, why don't you stop by? They'll be at Washington Square Park's northwest corner every Sunday from 11:30 am to 1:00pm.

Let's keep practicing, stay creative, and transform ordinary days from blah to TADA! 

*****

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More Ephemera Envelopes

Hey everyone, I'm glad you're here!

Last week, we scoured our paper stash to make this ephemera envelope: 

It's a handmade envelope from the book "The Art of the Travel Journal" by Abbey Sy. It is folded in an origami style where the seams are sealed and embellished with washi tape. It's called an ephemera envelope because it's where we can safely store paper souvenirs like tickets and maps that we've collected during our travels. It's also meant to be included in our travel journal, as an analog way of memory keeping.

When I started making one, I just couldn't stop! Here are new versions using different sizes and kinds of paper:

These are made from hand-painted paper.

These are made from brown packaging paper and decorated with fodder and collage.

These are upcycled from a mailing envelope and decorated with stamps.

Make the ephemera envelope part of your travel journal spread.

Find other purposes for it, too: as an envelope for handmade cards or as a flat bag to wrap presents.

This is just one of the ways I transform paper scraps from "blah to TADA!" 

Have a good week ahead and if you want more crafty ideas delivered to your inbox, please subscribe here.  

How to Make an Ephemera Envelope

Hey everyone! Before we talk about our craft today, can I just share what I made last week? I participated in Workshop Week, a weeklong virtual creative retreat. I've been tuning in since it started in 2020 and it has always left me inspired and grateful for this community! It also reminded me to make time for art and that art can be a pathway to a fulfilling and lucrative career. 

I followed along during most of the sessions and incorporated miniature versions of them in my sketchbook as part of my daily practice:

The instructors made us feel we could do the projects even if we've never done so before. It was also exciting to learn about new techniques and tools, as well as having the right mindset: Don't overthink it; Trust the process; We're not looking for perfect. 

And really, Workshop Week is one of the highlights of my year, turning it from blah to TADA!

Now, on to our craft. Do you have paper scraps left over from other artsy pursuits? 

I keep all my paper scraps. I use them for making greeting cards, collage, envelopes and liners, and for scrapbooking. 

I group the paper scraps by size. The smaller ones go inside zipper bags and the bigger ones go inside plastic envelopes. I store everything in a plastic box and rummage through them when a paper project comes along.

Today, a paper project has come along:

 We're making an ephemera envelope...TADA! 

I got the idea from the book 'The Art of the Travel Journal" by Abbey Sy. She defines ephemera as "any form of printed matter produced for a specific short-term use. The word ephemera comes from the Greek work ephemeros, meaning short-lived." Examples of ephemera include tickets, maps, brochures, postcards, clothing tags, packaging material, coasters, paper napkins and the like. 

Collecting ephemera and including these in a travel journal extends their life and are powerful reminders of the trips we've taken. 

We can store these ephemera in an ephemera envelope that we can make out of our paper scraps. Here's how:

We will need rectangular shaped paper (ex. A5 or A6 size paper).

1. Fold the sheet of paper in half.

2. Unfold it, then fold each side into the middle fold, resulting in four even segments.

3. Fold the top outer edges towards the nearest fold, creating two triangles at the top left and top right sides of the paper.

4. Fold each side toward the middle. 

5.  Fold the bottom up about 1/2" (1.3 cm) to create a pocket.

6. Seal the center and bottom seams with washi tape.

7. Decorate the pocket envelope using stickers and rubber stamps.

We can now add this to our travel journal as a nifty way to organize all the ephemera we've collected during our journeys.

I hope this has inspired you to turn your own paper scraps from "blah to TADA!"

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Five Things for June

Let's hear it for the month of June!

June means road trips and weekends at the beach. The wind in my face, the scent of sunblock and salt water, and the warmth of sunshine really turn regular days from blah to TADA! 

Whenever I go to the beach, I make sure to bring a paintbrush. I use it to brush off the sand that sticks to the beach chairs, umbrella, and folding beach table that we take with us. It works on sandy flip-flops, too. This little hack minimizes the amount of sand in the car when we load all of our beach things...TADA! 

Back in the day, ladies and gents would take a handkerchief with them for various purposes, from dabbing sweat to wiping away the tears. I've made it a habit to take a small towel in my bag. These ones are thin but very absorbent. I use them to dry my hands (I've never been a fan of the hand dryers in public restrooms). I love that they are reusable -- no need for paper towels. Small steps like this are very helpful to the environment...TADA!  

Summer for me also means learning something new and having time for creative endeavors. For the past several years, I've been attending Workshop Week, a series of free online art classes. This photo shows the dance party on the last day (these are just some of the many instructors). I highly recommend it! Workshop Week is scheduled on June 3 to 7 and you can find more details here...TADA!

Father's Day is also this June (June 16) and if you're looking for craft ideas for the dad in your life, you can find some here, here, and here.  Happy Father's Day to all fathers and father-figures...thank you for all that you do to turn our lives from blah to TADA!

Wherever adventures take you this June, may they be fun and fabulous!

Sketchbook Practice: Paint Blobs to Birds

I'm happy you're here today!

Over the past months, I've shown you pages from my sketchbook where I make art just for myself. I've tried out collage, developing a color story, and drawing everyday objects like fashion accessories. It's a sketchbook practice to exercise my creativity and to make time for mindfulness even on a busy day. 

The empty page is always very daunting, but here's a new way to turn a blank sketchbook page from blah to TADA! I learned it at Sketchbook Revival from visual artist and creative encourager Terry Runyan. Her style is simple: make a blob and turn it into a bird.

On a blank page, Terry makes different blobs using a paintbrush and watercolors.

Then she adds more defined blobs like heads and tails.

Once the paint is dry, she adds more details with a black fineliner pen. She starts with the feet...

Then adds wings, feathers, eyes and beaks...TADA! That wasn't hard at all. Anyone can easily do this.

Below is my attempt:

On a page of my sketchbook, I made a few blobs. I was intentional with the shapes because I wanted to make different kinds of birds.

I added a second layer of paint and slowly, each bird began revealing its character.

I limited my color palette to blue, blue green and purple.

Following Terry's steps, I completed their looks. I used a black pen to draw feet, faces and fashion. Notice that each bird is wearing an accessory? 

Earrings, sneakers, a basket, a choker, a brooch and a scarf for each of these feathered friends.

A printed dress, a bowler hat, crown, sweater, headband, beanie, gold cross on a chain, eye glasses and bow tie combination, and  a pearl necklace...TADA! These birds are the fun and fashionable kind!

I'm proud of this new addition to my sketchbook practice and can't wait to try it out with other animals. I hope you enjoyed this and if you want more crafty ideas delivered to your inbox, please subscribe here.