art

The best relationship art depicts the highs and lows of the authentic couple.

Happiness is ... a papercut
If I spoke to you of powerful cocktails, you might believe my happiness lies in a glass of a well-mixed alcoholic beverage. But you would be wrong. Well, maybe not totally wrong, I love the art and science involved in the making of a perfect Tequila Sunrise or a Blue Daiquiri, but that isn't the kind of cocktail I'm referring to here. What I'm talking about is the potent blend of dread and despair that used to face me in the form of the blank page, and how I chanced upon the sheer, surreal, creative joy of paper cutting.
By Elaine Ruth White5 years ago in Humans
PaperSoul
PaperSoul The collage work as well as the business I created in 2010 is called PaperSoul. I spent many years in the poetry, and spoken word scene in New York City absorbing the essence of my hometown. All the images, faces, and textures I had encountered on a cellular level were not always translating into the medium I was always so comfortable expressing myself in. One Day I went to a local bookstore to pick out a journal as a gift for a coworker, and wasn’t moved by any of them. None of them really represented or reflected the things she was into. So I decided to grab my scissors, glue, a blank cover journal, and printed out some images of her favorite things and got to work. The outcome was a beautiful journal customized just for her. Pretty soon other co-workers of mine were asking for one too. I then decided to start a small business shortly after.
By Kristina Stumpf5 years ago in Humans
The dream continues...
The Dad’s Rags Story As a resale shop owner for many years, I would get boxes of men’s suits and ties and always wonder what stories went along with these items. Was this his lucky suit for job interviews, did he get married in this one and how did he pick his tie or was it his kid that did that part…..some of the ties were just beautiful and made from amazing fabrics.
By Jean Wiesley5 years ago in Humans
My Journey with my Needle, Thread, and Scissors
My love affair with creating things with my own hands began when in the late 1950s. I was young enough to sit and watch my mother and grandmother knit and crochet. Their hands moved quickly, turning yarn into sweaters, blankets, socks, and doilies. I was fascinated, but had no idea then that my interest in creating with a needle and thread would bring me to where I am today.
By Susan Albers5 years ago in Humans
Soul Searching With Scissors
For several years I have found scissors to have a unique significance in my life, as they are, without a doubt, a contraption that I could not live without. Meticulous cutting in my process as a collage artist is essential for all creations I produce. While I have tried using craft knives, I feel that the motions of my hands with scissors allow a more therapeutic aspect. Cutting and curving through the images that I work with soothe my soul, healing me in a way that cannot be compared with any other tool. The process of the scissors sliding and looping as I work allow me to travel beyond the stresses of life and into worlds in which I create within my mind through my collection of pictures and patterns. Not only do I see my scissors as therapeutic, but they are the source from which my creativity is channeled into the medium of art in which I choose to express myself. If I was told that I had to throw all my art supplies away but could keep only one tool, I would without question choose my scissors, as I see them as a noteworthy tool in both my creative and personal healing process.
By Stevi Vaughn5 years ago in Humans
Letters
I have a question that has been eating at me lately. Does anyone write letters anymore? You know, the pen and paper kind? Does anyone still do that anymore? Having that pen in your hand and a crisp fresh piece of paper just waiting to be written on. With all this technology now it's hard to find someone that still writes letters. I know I write letters. I love writing letters. There's an intimacy to it.
By Michelle Hill5 years ago in Humans
Collages of Reality
“Everything happens for a reason.” Were the harsh words that penetrated my ears and echoed in my brain at the age of 13. My sister died. What reason was there for that!? I spent years thinking back to that moment when someone offered those words as a form of their sympathy and condolences. I said to myself, “they should have just said nothing!” Every time I thought of it, I became angry. There is no reason for my older sister to be buried in the ground. I could not even bring myself to stand over that ground; or think of that ridiculous phrase ˗ everything happens for a reason!
By Alee5 years ago in Humans
A Body of Yarn
Teaching is an embodied profession. I bound in front of the white board to add a new idea from a student during a class brainstorm session. You can find me coughing through axe body spray or mango hand lotion as I lean over to ask a leading question of a collaborating small group. I circle students at desks in the back of the room, one hand holding the short story in front of my face, the other gesturing as my posture and vocal intonations shift back and forth between Bilbo and Gollum exchanging riddles in the dark.
By Sarah Frase5 years ago in Humans
How my HANDS became the gateway to my Incredible new life
My hands, a true reflection of my dining room table, both having weathered the storms of the pandemic and years prior. Fingers that were once slender now slowly trying to escape the memories of quarantine fifteen. The streaks of brown engrained in my skin, each having its own story; battle scars as a reward for completing a new recipe or learning a new skill to keep the mental demons from coming in. Unpolished, untrimmed fingernails, excess skin blocking the lunula, cracked, dry hands once a representative of rigidity like concrete, built for providing strength and resilience, now a product of repetitive tensile stresses.
By Ali SP5 years ago in Humans
Mixed Together
About 5 years ago I met someone new who gifted me a mix CD after much reluctance to accept it on my end. I was scared the songs would forever be tied to this person and I would no longer enjoy them on their own. The mix had a cut out piece of paper colored to look like a rainbow with a simple title and list of songs and artists. I still think of the process they went through: choosing and ordering the songs, titling the mix, coloring the case. I picture them on the floor cutting out a slip of paper to fit perfectly in the case and rearranging the songs before burning the CD. About a year ago I decided to make one. I loved the process and thoughtfulness required to craft the perfect mix and I now have no fear of the connection that is also crafted as a result of a gift like this. Music is a beautiful connector since every song can evoke different memories from one person to the next and thinking of someone when a song comes on should be craved not feared.
By Casey Bergin5 years ago in Humans
Little Fishes (Creature Fear Music Video)
Being a creative can be pretty difficult sometimes. Especially when you need to support yourself financially through what you love. It can often turn into a love hate relationship and you can start resenting the thing you adore the most. Despite this struggle, the passion for it always wins when you realise it fuels you, makes you happy and feel alive. When COVID hit, our relationship with creativity had to change drastically and move quickly with the volatile environment we were all thrown into.
By Amy Pollock5 years ago in Humans
You will become dizzy
Nobody cares when I dance at the thrift store, the place where my passion begins. I can’t help but move to the Motown, disco and rock as I flip through hangers in a slot machine player’s trance. Will the next shirt be a winner? Will the next tee show an orange tabby cat riding a unicorn toward a space ship? As I flip and groove nobody seems to care. The other customers are caught up in their own dreams of what a new, old piece of clothing can bring – maybe money, confidence or love.
By Edie Everette5 years ago in Humans