creativity Archives - CLEVERcreating

8 Fun Ways to Decorate Easter Eggs for Ornaments or Egg Hunts

April 1, 2023April 1, 2023 by Hannie Mommers

The grandchildren are coming for Eastern and I am planning for an Easter egg hunt with them as well as a decoration with eggs. It’s fun to think of different ways to decorate Easter eggs.

A couple of years ago I made the decoration together with them. I had cut eggs from sturdy cardboard and they decorated them on both sides with felt-tip pens. Then we put a hole in it and hung them on 2 cross-linked branches to form a mobile.

They don’t like crafting themselves anymore, unfortunately, so I made the decorations myself and I used real eggs this time.

How to Get Started with Cyanotype to Create Splendid Blue Prints?

March 23, 2023March 23, 2023 by Hannie Mommers

Some years ago a Dutch friend, Jenny van Diggelen, Blauwwerk, gave me a workshop on Cyanotype Printing. I wasn’t sold right away because I was in the middle of emigrating.

Once in order in my new house, I was once again inspired by the blue colour and the possibilities of cyanotype.

It took some getting used to the Spanish sun and sometimes the sun really shines too bright to make nuanced tests. Which makes experimenting all the more interesting.

Intermezzo – Get Inspiration from Creativity

February 27, 2023February 27, 2023 by Hannie Mommers

Inspiration and creativity are must-haves for me. I make drawings, collages or mixed media in some kind of theme.

It helps me keep my creative skills flowing.

An intermezzo is a short piece of music written to be played on its own or as part of a longer piece. For me, it’s a welcome break from my daily activities.

In the video are a couple of examples.

Are Inspiration and Creativity Important for an Interesting Life?

February 23, 2023February 23, 2023 by Hannie Mommers

Although many people don’t consider themselves creative (which I don’t understand and even disagree with), inspiration and creativity are important to us.

Both the word inspiration and the word creativity are used in 2 ways. Physical versus mental.

Inspiration literally means inhalation on the one hand, expressiveness or divine force on the other. The latter is attributed by some to a higher power and by others called the flow or being in the zone.

A Creative Approach to Add Text to an Art Journal, 7 Tips

February 10, 2023February 6, 2023 by Hannie Mommers

An art journal can be created in 2 ways. The focus can be on images with added text. Or the focus can be on texts to which images are added.

That depends on your own preferences. Are you primarily visual or are you mostly text-oriented?

If you’re going to add text to an art journal, it’s a good idea to try both methods. As an artist, we sometimes have to step out of our comfort zone and challenge our personal preferences to take leaps forward.

In this article, I describe a number of ways to display text, but also to create text.

3 Ideas for DIY Valentine Cards that are Simple and Beautiful

January 30, 2023January 30, 2023 by Hannie Mommers

Even if you consider yourself as non-creative, as a lot of people unjustifiable do, it’s pretty simple to make something.

These 3 ideas for DIY Valentine cards will inspire you to have a fun afternoon beforehand and a great day on February 14th.

Valentine’s Day used to be about secret love, yet has turned into a commercial fest. Personally, I don’t like that. It’s so simple to go to a store and buy all kinds of stuff, or even order it online.

Can you Make Ceramics at Home? Is Owning a Kiln Absolutely Necessary?

January 23, 2023January 23, 2023 by Hannie Mommers

When I was living in the Netherlands I made abstract, sculptural ceramics. You can see the sources of inspiration and the results of what I made in another article, but here I want to answer the question “Can you make ceramics at home?”.

In order to work properly, you do not need your own atelier – several of my students used their kitchen table – although a place you don’t have to tidy before every meal is an advantage.

The space I used was a small building located in the garden, which suited me perfectly. It was my atelier where nobody disturbed me and I could work quietly. And where I taught my students, so at times it was not quiet at all!

How to Smooth the Surface of your Clay Object – 3 Affordable Tips

January 9, 2023January 9, 2023 by Hannie Mommers

Ceramics can be produced in several ways. Each method will result in a different surface.

You can press the clay in moulds, hand-build an object, or merge slabs.

Depending on completion or decoration it can be necessary to smooth the surface as best as possible.

How to smooth the surface of your clay object? I’ll explain my methods in this article.

What is Gelli Printing and What Makes it so Amazingly Easy?

December 6, 2022December 1, 2022 by Hannie Mommers

Gelli printing is a form of monoprinting. Each piece of work is unique and usually depends largely on chance.

A Gelli print can be created in different ways. In this article, I describe a number of pure Gelli printing methods and combinations with other techniques.

It is great fun to experiment with this technique. For me, that is the biggest charm of Gelli printing. For starting hobbyists, the advantage is that the learning curve is really low.