Inchies Day 9

It is Day 9 of the Inchie Challenge and today’s prompt is “innovative.” The term innovative can be interpreted many different ways with illustration. It could be a light bulb over someone’s head, or an exclamation point to show a new idea. I decided to use innovative thinking to create a pattern out of something I usually use as a decorative border, a dash and a circle.

I started on the a 2×2 square with the dashes and circles, creating a pattern which included negative space. This is the square on the top left of the photo. I could have stopped there, but then I did a second one , top right.

Looking at the two, I figured, “OK, I did two. Why not a quad?” Before I knew it, squares 3 and 4 were finished. Then I took my photo. As I looked at the four together, I thought, “Why don’t I just color in the circles?” Filling them in gave the composition a whole new look.

I like how they can hold their own composition alone, and together as a set. This is an idea that is encouraged by Amy Maricle with her Inchies exercises. One Inchie can lead to an entire collection that can standalone as one square or be part of a large collection of squares. Last year I did 8 squares together as a set. I completely forgot about that until the “innovative” prompt. I have three more days of the Inchie Challenge to try a larger grouping.

If you are feeling a little stale in your creative practice, try creating art on separate panels, or breaking up a page in a sketchbook with squares divided like a window and then fill in each one with piece of a subject to look like you are seeing the scene from inside instead of outside. Or you could try adding different parts of the place where you are in each box so that each box has a piece of a location or subject and then the entire page is a compilation of the subject. The beauty of the Inchie Challenge/practice is the way it can clear your mind to inspire new approaches for creating art.

Four 2x2 squares with pen and ink dash and circle patterns. The 4 squares were created to have individual compositions separately but they are also combined to be part of a larger composition.
Inchie Day 9 Dashes and Circles
Four 2x2 squares with pen and ink dash and circle patterns. The 4 squares were created to have individual compositions separately but they are also combined to be part of a larger composition. The circles were filled in with this version
Inchies Day 9 with dashes and filled in circles

Inchie Day 8

Today’s prompt is “moth.”

I used my pre prepped cards for the background. The mixtures of blues and greens that worked for the ocean inchies also work for an evening sky. The white gel pen was the perfect choice for the moths. I added a hazy moon on the one piece because that area was already lighter in color which made the moon seem to look like it is peeking from behind some vegetation.

I like how the gel pen seemed to make the moths glow, almost like ghost moths. I tried to play with different angles to show them darting and dancing in the moonlight.

Moths are not a subject I normally draw so this was a fun change of pace. The Inchie Challenge is unlike many other internet challenges because we don’t get advanced notice of the prompt. The prompt comes first thing in the morning. The idea is to be spontaneous with your interpretation of the prompt and not get hung up on accurate representations.

There are only four more days to the Inchie Challenge. I will be sorry when it is over. I really like the size and not being concerned about whether or not they are masterpieces or playful exercises. The best part is just having fun and being loose. I have other prepped papers that I may cut down to Inchie size and just carry them in my handbag for when I want to play when I am out of the studio.

2x2 inch sized art displayed on a cutting mat to show the size. Colors palette od blues, greens and a white gel pen was used to draw moths over the darker repainted paper.
Moths Inchies Day 8

On another note, John and I found this plant popping up in our garden. It had funny bulb like protrusions like an artichoke. I picked one of the tiny little flowers and I said to Hubby that they looked like they were orchids. After much research, I finally identified the little flower. Much to my happiness and then dismay, I found that it was a Chinese Crown Orchid, also known as EULOPHIA GRAMINEA. Apparently this little orchid has slowly made its way up the Invasive species list here in Florida and it is commonly found in flower beds that have wood mulch. Bingo! Flower bed and wood mulch is where we found several of them. It pained us to have to pull them out but Florida has 5 native species of orchid and that don’t need the competition in already shrinking habitats. The EULOPHIA GRAMINEA has tiny seeds that blow like dust in the wind so it is very prolific and it is recommended that gardeners pull them out and destroy them. I felt really bad for the little plants that were happily blooming in my garden, but I had to do what was best for the native plants. So sad that whoever brought this plant into the country didn’t think of the consequences.

https://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/plant-directory/eulophia-graminea/ EULOPHIA GRAMINEA aka Chinese Crown Orchid
EULOPHIA GRAMINEA aka Chinese Crown Orchid

It was so pretty, too. It looked like a tiny cattleya orchid.

https://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/plant-directory/eulophia-graminea/

Inchies Day 7

The prompt for Day 7 is “mussel.” I added tiny eyes to my mussels and then I, uhm, had a little dark fun with wondering how the mussels would feel about being dinner. I kept thinking about the song by Squeeze, “Pulling Mussels (from the shell)” so I thought of a bowl full of streaming mussels and their relatives dismayed over their demise.

It’s almost Halloween. What can I say.

Mussels with little faces done in Ink and ink wash on 2x2 inch paper. Whimsy humor

Inchie Challenge – 2022

Amy Maricle of https://mindfulartstudio.com hosts an online Challenge called the Inchie Challenge. Inchies are small 2×2 Art that are a mindful way to get focused and relaxed. They are great warmups for helping creatives to show up at the desk and focus on creating. A 2×2 inch square is not very intimidating and you can create tiny art in a very short time from just about anywhere. I like doing Inchies because they help me switch gears from left to right brain very quickly. If you are an Urban Sketcher or Plein Air painter, Inchies are perfect for clearing your mind of clutter so you can quickly focus on painting or drawing. You could even use them as thumbnail sketches for the larger art. They are so tiny they fit in your pocket.

Another reason I like doing these is because they can lead to ideas for other work. And if I am stuck, I can play with an Inchie and then one thing leads to another and all of a sudden, I am in the middle of a project. They are wonderful for creative inspiration

This is my Inchie for today, Day 1. “Leaf” You can see the size from my cutting mat on my desk.

Tiny Art, Inchie, Leaves, Pen and Ink, 2x2 Inch Art, Design, Green, Pattern

 #mindfulartstudio #inchies #inchiechallenge2022 #inchiechallenge @amymaricle