A Week of Experiments and Inspiration
A week of trying new things, experimenting, and finding inspiration. Join us as we share these moments, and we would love to hear your thoughts.
We welcome all our readers, wherever you may be reading our blog from. This week has been all about experimentation. And by that, I mean new things for all three of us. I believe it is very important for everyone to find new ways to channel their thoughts, concerns, and imagination. So, we decided to try a few new things, and it was fun for all of us. Let's take a look.
Mary paints beautifully. She has a talent that I believe is a gift and cannot really be taught. Even among similar works, hers stand out because of their shapes and technique. Unfortunately, time is limited, and all the canvases and paints are difficult to manage with our little one running around, so she decided to start a new hobby, air-dry clay.
Like every new hobby, it requires experimentation, effort, and small projects in the beginning until, as Maria says, you "break in" your hand. She started with a beautiful little heart, and once it is painted, it will become her first piece.
And now it is my turn. Although my greatest hobby is blogging and I truly love every word I type, Maria inspired me on the artistic side of things. Recently, we bought some crayons for our little boy, and I genuinely fell in love with them.
The scent of the wax, and the fact that they are not considered mainstream, really appealed to me. So I bought a sketchbook and some crayons and started looking for information so I could learn how to draw, mainly abstract art because I absolutely love it and find it therapeutic.
We would love to hear about your own hobbies and creations if you would like to share them with us. Please do not be too harsh when judging our work, because we are only just beginning. In fact, I strongly believe and I am generally against critics of art.
The same goes for books. Perhaps that sounds strict, but I believe that criticism can place pressure on the artist and introduce something toxic into the question of whether a work is good or bad. And that is something that should not exist in art.
If
you read all the way to the end, thank you. We would genuinely love to
hear your thoughts, memories, or feelings in the comments. And if you
ever feel like writing to us more personally, you can always send us a
letter at:
✉️ unplug.thrive@gmail.com
— Mary & Chris
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Your first photo is absolutely stunning! I really like your shelf!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Linda. That is the view we have from our home, and it is the place where all of our blog posts are written. The shelf really is lovely it has such a warm, old-fashioned feel to it. Thank you sincerely for your kind words.
DeleteI remember the fun my children had with a little pool when we lived no where near water. I'm sure you can dip your toes in even if its not big enough for a swim!
ReplyDeleteHello Elizabeth. We hope you are doing well. 😊 Thank you for your comment and suggestion. You are absolutely right we can enjoy a few refreshing moments ourselves, even if it means getting our feet a little wet. Coolness is coolness after all!
DeleteThe balcony pool looks like such a happy escape for your boy.
ReplyDeleteThat shelf is so handy.
It’s nice to see how small experiments can bring so much happiness into everyday life.
Hello Veronica, we are happy to have you here on our blog.The truth is that he loved it, and when he is not in it, he wants to watch the videos of himself being in it! 🤣 And the shelf has turned out to be very practical after all. We like things that remind us of another era.
DeleteNo hi ha res millor que la imaginació , per crear noves activitats i aficions. Et felicito i t'animo a seguir endevant amb les vostres : )
ReplyDeleteUnes imatges molt boniques, totes elles.
Bona setmana !!.
Hello Artur. Thank you for your lovely comment, and welcome to our little space. It really is wonderful to add new things to our lives. I would even say it is refreshing. Do you have any activities like that yourself? Thank you very much for stopping by.
DeleteYes, little ones love water play. Always a good way for them to spend some time.
ReplyDeleteHello Michelle. We are happy to have you here with us, and thank you very much for your comment. A pool really is such a special sensory experience for children, and of course a wonderfully refreshing one during the summer months.
DeleteSuch a lovely post! I have a family member who is a very talented artist though. She has done art on bags and given them as gifts. One day for her birthday, she wanted everyone at her birthday gathering to paint. I joined in for fun, but I didn’t think my painting would come out good. I told my family member that, and she told me to just try. She decided she’ll give me a little guidance, but refused to touch my painting and make adjustments in any way. I’m glad I joined in, and I’m glad my family member let me completely paint my painting myself. I usually tell people I’m a terrible artist, but I actually never really tried painting, so how can I really know I’m bad at it? The truth is I’m not a talented artist, but my painting actually came out pretty nice, and I’m proud of it. Thankyou fir sharing this post!
ReplyDeleteHello Charli. It is a great pleasure to have you here in our little online home. Thank you for sharing your experience it is a very powerful one.
DeleteDo you know that I had a very similar experience? Believing that I could not draw, the way I drew lines, the way I did not fill the whole page, the way I barely pressed the crayons, all showed how tense and careful I felt. But once I simply allowed myself to enjoy it and said, "Okay... I'm not going to put this in a gallery, so let me just enjoy using the colors," the whole experience changed. And somehow, you can see that change on the paper itself.
The tulips in the forefront of the picture give a sense of peacefulness and joy. It is a lovely painting.
ReplyDeleteI hope your little one has hours of fun in his own little "sea".
Granny Marigold
Granny Marigold. It is always a joy to read your comments. We hope your week is passing peacefully and creatively. Thank you for your lovely words. Nikolas absolutely loves water, and he reminds us of that every single day whether it is in the pool, in the bath, or in some cooking bowl filled with water that, of course, eventually ends up all over the carpet! 😄
DeleteMary and Chris, how fun that you are all trying new things! Some of my best memories with my boys, when they were little, are the ones of a little pool in the backyard. I would take a tray of snacks and juice cups and put my chair next to the pool. The boys would swim and run and play and that's how we started many of our summer mornings. And just yesterday, I decided to try my hand at drawing a scene of something, while watching a video. I like to keep busy while watching tv sometimes. I'm not a great artist, by any means. I do better with the written word. This weekend I will be putting my sewing skills to the test. It's so fun to create! Have a wonderful weekend and keep creating new things.
ReplyDeleteHello Debbie! We are so happy to have you here, and thank you for sharing your personal stories with us. You have given us a wonderful idea with the snacks. And since Nikolas is still very little, if he decides he does not want to eat while playing in the water, we will happily eat them ourselves, haha!
DeleteHow lovely that you are starting something new. We would love to see your creations, Debbie, and to hear how you feel about the process. We wish you a creative weekend and hope you will not be affected by the pressure of the final result, something that perhaps influences most of us when we begin a new hobby. We are sending our greetings and our love!
It's fun to learn and do new things. The sky is beautiful. Your shelf looks great. I've recently taken up Diamond Art and though I knit , I'm teaching myself to crochet.
ReplyDeleteDiamond Art... I absolutely love it. I started doing it myself for a while, and I found it to be one of the most therapeutic hobbies. What design are you working on at the moment? I once completed a small piece featuring two beautiful horses.
DeleteGood read and I have forgotten what crayons smell like.
ReplyDeleteSuch a glorious photo that first one, the colours are amazing, nature is wonderful at times.
Hello Margaret. We are so happy to have you here. Before I begin experimenting with my crayons, I always take a moment to enjoy their scent. It is such a lovely smell of wax, perhaps like any candle. If you do not have access to crayons, perhaps a beautiful scented candle might bring back that familiar and comforting aroma.
DeleteI've always enjoyed art (and writing) but can never find the time for art because I'm writing. Lol. Oh I remember the little kiddie pools for my boys. A great place to put them in, and I'd sit on the side with my feet in the pool reading. I spent 30 years combined, raising my boys, being a nanny and owning my family daycare in my home so the smell of crayons and play dough fresh out of the can brings back sweet memories.
ReplyDeleteHello Debby! Welcome to our little corner. I am certain that your children and grandchildren are very lucky to have had you by their side, doing all those activities that they will remember for the rest of their lives. I imagine your reading time was even more special because you were sharing it with the people you love. I often try to sit down and concentrate on a book, but little Nikolas usually has other plans and wants all of my attention. So... I still read, but these days it is mostly storybooks and fairy tales! 🤣 And who said that books are only novels anyway?
DeleteI agree that crayons are often forgotten tools that make great art!
ReplyDeleteCrayons really are a little overlooked these days, yet they create such a beautiful and wonderfully untamed result. I also find it therapeutic that they don't always cover the surface completely, so you have to return again and again, slowly building the colours and the image. There is something calming about that process. Thank you so much for spending time in our little space. We would be delighted to have you as part of our community.
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