Make Your Own Mark!
Have you signed up to the 2 week free online retreat hosted by Curated? It is called The Language of Marks and starts this Sunday. I am one of 20 artists who will be sharing ways that they make marks in their work to bring them to life. The 20 sessions will all be available to watch from September 14 and will cover so many ideas from gel printing to drawing to stitch. I would love it if you could join us - it is going to be a fun and inspiration filled fortnight with interviews, prizes, surprises and a FB group where everyone can share their aha moments! Click on the link below to sign up.....it is an affiliate link which means that I will earn some commission if you decide to upgrade your ticket :)
Being part of Curated has got me thinking about mark making and what it means for me and my creative practice. Like our handwriting, I genuinely think that the marks we make are unique to us. And, as a result, they become an important part of our personal artistic voice. Do you have marks that you keep returning to? Marks that make your project feel complete or 'right'? That is your intuition guiding you to create art that feels personal to you. No one else can make it!
To be honest, I used to feel reluctant to make decorative marks on top of a project for fear that I would 'mess it up'. In fact, I am still nervous about using my handwriting as I don't really like it :) There is often that moment of hesitation, isn't there, when we think - does it need anything else, is it finished, I don't want to cover things up, what if it goes wrong?
Here are some strategies that I have developed to loosen up and become more comfortable with adding marks to my projects:
Add loose, expressive marks to your first layer. This is the place where nothing can go wrong - you literally can't mess it up! Making big scribble marks or doing some journalling can be a great way to activate the blank page and most of it will get covered up so the stakes are low! This is a good place to experiment with your mark making and mark making tools :)
Play and experiment off the page! Create a little reference guide of shapes and marks that you like - try them in different sizes, with different implements and different mediums. A circle will look very different drawn neatly with a pencil compared to loosely with a wide paintbrush! Exploring, repeating and playing with marks will make them feel more natural and make adding them to a project feel less risky :) We are exploring mark making in The Funky Fossil Studio on Patreon this month and I have provided a set of prompts to help you get started on some mark making play. Check them out here.
Add your marks as a separate layer. Still feeling nervous? Try making marks on a translucent surface like wet strength tissue paper. You can adhere that on top of a project with matte medium and it will become almost transparent. That way you can try out your marks in various places before you need to commit.
Messy scribbles and collage as first layers on an art journal page....
A chunky chisel tip posca pen forces you to make bold marks!
The black dots and white asemic writing were made on tissue paper and collaged over this piece.
Try one or all of the above to see how that changes your relationship with mark making. I have to say that I absolutely love to make big, 'messy' marks as a base layer. It feels so relaxing and gets me in to a more playful mindset. Some people may ask, 'what is the point if it is all going to get covered up'. Personally I think that all of the layers we add to a project play a crucial role. Each layer that we add is affected by the layer beneath and the finished result is so much richer because of the marks, collage, paint etc that sit beneath the surface. However, that feels like another blog post on building layers! And of course the simple answer 'because it is fun' is also good enough too :)
The term mark making itself can cover a whole range of interpretations - everthing from a paint splatter that you can't control, through to a detailed hand drawn pattern makes a mark that changes the surface you are working on. Many of you will know that I love to decorate my projects with stitch and that will be the focus of my session during the Curated event. Adding stitches over the top of your collage (which also carries lots of mark making) adds both physical and visual texture. It is a great way to add your 'hand' to the project and can be bold and organic or delicate and subtle. I also find the slow stitching process to be mindful and relaxing - you just can't rush it :)
I really hope to see you during the Curated fortnight - I am looking forward to learning from all of the other sessions and developing my mark making further! In the meantime, leave a comment below and let me know what your favourite mark or mark making tool is :)
Thanks for reading!
Sarah x
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