The post where Ben and Laurel talk about making art... Laurel's version: Last Christmas, I asked Ben to help me create homemade Christmas cards! Using a limited palette of colors, Ben created a background and I painted a festive image on top. We had such fun that we decided to try this collaborative art-making technique to create a series of greeting cards as a fundraiser for our move to Belfast. Here's what the process looks like:
What have we learned from the process? Sometimes collaboration is smooth, like the palette knife strokes. Sometimes collaboration is tough, like the old paint we tried to use. Ultimately, this project was about risk-taking. We talked about our insecurity with art. Ben has less experience and becomes frustrated when he hasn't yet mastered the skills needed to create the next Cassatt. I struggle with perfectionism and worry about showing my work to others. We learned how to let go of our expectations for the project's outcome and focused on supporting each other instead. I wonder if this lesson could be applied outside of card making... Ben's version: Laurel has a tradition of making her own Christmas cards every year. Last year, she invited me to participate in that process...a very intimidating prospect. She made it easy on me by preparing a Christmas palette of paint (red, green, etc.) and told me to use paper to dab the colors on cards. Laurel would then turn each background into a winter scene. The success of that collaboration inspired us to create a new series this spring. This time, with a slightly broadened color palette and armed with a palette knife, I was set loose on a new set of cards. Though I was just as terrified as the first time, and it took a while to get used to the knife, I prepared a new set of backgrounds for Laurel to paint. Laurel, to my unceasing amazement, made sense of each smudge and selected subject matter appropriate for that particular background. Often the element of the background that I thought was its fatal flaw became integral to the character of the finished piece. From this process, I learned not to agonize over preparing these cards but simply to trust my instincts for color combinations. I could also trust Laurel to be inspired by each background, no matter what I thought of it. We each bring different skills to our relationship and life together yet when we work together, a new and beautiful creation is made. And that's how art is made!
If you would like to support us financially next year, consider purchasing this exciting card series! Cards are blank inside and perfect for any occasion. See all six designs by scrolling down (image gallery is featured at the end of our first blog post). Suggested donation: $4 single card, $20 set of six Visit our Etsy shop or email [email protected] to order
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Welcome to Burnable Leaflets, a blog chronicling our time in Belfast, Northern Ireland! As Weebly so aptly puts it, "This is your very first post." Seems like a lot of pressure... I guess I'll start by redirecting you to the Welcome page where you can find details on what we will be doing in Belfast! For those of you who just read the Welcome page, you might be thinking, "Wait! It's May and you're already blogging... did you move to Belfast early?" No, silly! We're still stateside until August but we are frantically preparing, and putting together a blog is part of the process. This month marks the first wave of "endings" as Ben completes his final on-campus semester at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) and I end my position as Student Life Intern at Goshen College. This summer, we will spend time visiting family, celebrating weddings, and working our summer jobs (Ben with AMBS maintenance crew; Laurel at Rachel's Bread, an artisan bakery in Goshen). In June, we move out of our current apartment. In July and August, we visit Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and Colorado. In August, we leave the country. Woah. We may not keep up with our monthly blogging goal this summer but we will try to include significant moments along the way. One final note: Ben and I decided to work on our collaboration skills this month since we know we'll need them next year. See the blog post "Ben and Laurel make art" for more on that collaborative process! The result was several greeting card prints. If you would like to help support us next year, consider purchasing this exciting card series! Email [email protected] to order. |
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September 2017
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