Chrysalis Creativity

LeMakoo : Michael Wright’s Art at the Malta Trade Fair

Shai — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 23:32:57 PDT

LeMakoo features the art work of Australian artist Michael Wright. After living in Sydney and London, Michael decided to be based in beautiful Malta.

The artworks from LeMakoo are interesting, full of vibrant colours and depth. They look at interesting landscapes and cultural textures.

If you wish to view art from LeMakoo, visit the Malta Trade Fair, from the 25th of June to the 5th July 2009. LeMakoo will be exhibiting all available paintings and prints for sale. The exhibit will be held at the Malta Fairs and Convention Centre - Ta’ Qali, from 6.30pm to 11.30pm. If you’re interested, visit the LeMakoo booth.

From a collector:
I happen to be one of the lucky owners of a few pieces of art produced by Michael. I can sincerely state that his work has brought me much inspiration and an understanding to the beauty which surrounds us. Must keeps forever ! - Joanna Frendo

Note: This is a sponsored post.

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Top 9 Creativity Goals for 2009

Shai — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 05:02:51 PST

The new year is always a great time to start anew. To create new goals and set new targets. And often, I like to make these types of lists, addressing various aspects of my life - for personal growth and relationships to creativity and career.

When it comes to creativity, here are the top goals on my list for this year -

1. Update the look and approach of Chrysalis Creativity. I think I’ve outgrown the past ideals of Chrysalis Creativity, so I decided that one of the things that I’d do this year is to change its look and approach. So, if you’re checking out our site, you’ll see a brand new theme/design… And, a magazine-style look to the blog/site. I’ve also cleaned up the categories - and re-structured it. I’m not sure yet if its existing structure will stick. I intend to test out ideas first, so this may continue to undergo some changes in the next few months.

2. Read at least 3 creativity-related books. I love reading. Last year, I managed to read quite a few - from photography and scrapbooking to design and children’s writing. So, I’m being conservative here when I say to read at least 3. But hopefully, part of the plan is that I’d be able to write reviews for at least those 3 books that I get to read and share them here with you.

3. Learn at least 1 new creative practice. Last year, my main “new” creative endeavour was sewing. But, I also learned another skill when creating mixed media art, which is nice. And yes, I attended a workshop in children’s writing. So hopefully, I’ll get to add more this year.

4. Create at least 1 teaching material on creativity. I used to engage in workshops and training. But lately, I haven’t done much of such things. So hopefully, I can start developing new teaching materials again, so I can pass things along.

5. Hold at least 1 creative gathering/party. I’ve been meaning to put together a creativity group for some time now. But, some things keep holding me back. Hopefully, this year is the year that I’d get to go for it.

6. Finish at least 1 “creative work” a month. It doesn’t matter what it is - a new sewing project, a poem, a story, a painting, a scrapbook… I just want to be in the habit of coming up with completed works so I’d feel more creatively satisfied.

7. Interview creatively inspiring people. Last year, I only managed to do a couple of such interviews, which I shared one on my personal blog. It was great fun, so I hope to do it again. It’s definitely a great way to learn - and to get inspired.

8. Keep a more organised study/office/studio. I know things always get “messy” when I’m in the middle of a project. But, I’m hoping that I’ll learn to keep things a lot neater this year.

9. Stay in touch with creative folks and make new creative friends. I guess this is related to #5 and #7. But, this one’s really about growing through networking.

What about you? What are your top creativity goals for the year?

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What’s Up for 2009?

Shai — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 07:01:19 PST

Hello and welcome to 2009! I can’t believe that it’s the start of another year once again. And, as I look at this blog - ChrysalisCreativity.com - I’m even more taken aback.

You see, 2008 passed with hardly a new post here on this blog. In fact, for the whole year, I’ve only managed to update this a measly three times. And, I do apologise for the lack of posts. You see, I’ve been re-evaluating this blog and I wanted to see how I can ‘take it to the next level’ so to speak. In this process, I’ve realised that I need to make some changes in order for me to do this here. And, that includes a site overhaul.

Since I have yet to finalise some of my plans for Chrysalis Creativity, I won’t list any detailed planned changes just yet. But, some things that you can expect in 2009 include: a re-focusing of the site, a blog-wide re-organisation (category changes, etc) to reflect the new focus, and a simple blog re-design.

In any case, I want to say THANK YOU for your continued support of this blog. And, I wish you all a happy new year!

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“Under the Sea” Birthday Party Invitations

Shai — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 19:33:59 PDT

For my baby girl’s 1st birthday party, I decided on the theme of “Under the Sea” because I know how she loves the beach - and water in general. With this theme in mind, I started making lists of things to do and buy.

One of the first things that needed to be done was creating the Guest List and the Party Invitations. Always a tough one. I had the additional dilemma of whether to buy invites - or create them myself. I decided on the latter. And, I thought I’d share with you my step-by-step procedure for creating these “Under the Sea”-inspired invitations.

Step One:

After deciding on the theme, the next thing I did was sketch a design for the invites. Since I knew I’m planning to use my gocco machine for the base of the invites, I created my final drawing with a Riso carbon pen.

Step Two:

After creating my drawing, I burned a screen on the gocco machine. And, used ink blocks to separate certain areas, since I knew I wanted to use different inks on the same screen. I then printed on blank white notecards I bought from the local craft shop.

Step Three:

After allowing the prints to dry, I hand painted the design with goauche paints. I used the goauche more like a watercolour here - and allowing the gocco inks to be my guide as outlines.

Step Four:

After the paints are dry, I hand-stamped the main text “Hali’s 1st Birthday Bash” plus the invite text (To, You’re Invited, Date, Time, Place, RSVP) using clear acrylic stamps from my stamp collection. I decided to use Staz On ink (instead of the usual pigment/dye inks), to make sure that it will stamp properly over gocco inks and paint. I did not experiment with the other types of stamp inks because I didn’t have the time. So, I’m not sure if those can actually work.

Step Five:
After the inks are dry, I embellished the invitations with a fabric flower embellishment. Just to add a 3D/textural element to the invitation.

The next steps after these are: Filling out the invitations (To, Date, Time, etc)… and then sending them off, of course.

Oh, and yes, I also created matching envelopes by using the same gocco screen - but only printing part of the design on one side of the envelope.

Note: Everyday Creativity is a new section here, where I wish to share creative ideas and projects that I’ve done for use in my daily life. Instead of turning to store-bought or off-the-shelf items, I like trying to make them more personal by injecting creative touches.

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Creative Recycling

Shai — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 00:20:35 PDT

Even though I don’t consider myself a ‘greenie’ - I still like to be able to do little things to help make our planet a bit more sustainable. This isn’t an easy thing as a crafter/artist. We’re often consuming things, buying things. So, every little bit of creative recycling is always a good thing.

Reused Crafts - If you want to get into recycled crafting, this site offers you plenty of ideas.
Cushion Covers from Fabric Scraps - Karen Cheng also did her own bit of creative recycling when she found herself with excess fabric from another sewing project.
iHanna’s Blog - This is actually full of artsy craftsy goodness. Lots of recycling ideas - from creating decoupaged second hand trays to creating containers out of used empty tin cans and wallpaper scraps.
Chopstick Art - Create all sorts of art and craft projects from recycled chopsticks.
35 Accessories Made from Recycled Materials - Necklaces, bracelets and more from bottle caps, wires, etc.

The photo you see here is my own contribution to creative recycling. These birthday gifts are all wrapped using recycled or re-purposed materials. The square boxed present, for example, was wrapped with butcher paper that was stamped. Also used a brown paper bag, old ribbons, and old wrapping papers.

Would love to see your own creative recycling projects!