It doesn’t matter how boring the meeting, how long the wait at the airport or doctor’s office, as long as I have a couple of good black pens and a small pad of paper, I am HAPPY! I love to doodle, and I have binders full of doodle designs to attest for that fact. At one of the workshops I attended, the instructor, trained as a fine artist, was appalled to hear the word doodling: drawing or sketching would be the correct terms. However, there is an effective psychological factor of not taking one’s self too seriously, which makes doodling not only acceptable, but preferable. I am an avid doodler: it makes me giggle just to say it!
So, you’re wondering, just what do I do with all those doodles?
I am soooo glad you asked. At one time, I made papier mache jewelry: earrings, brooches, special beads for small bags. Nowadays, I take them into Photoshop Elements and layer, repeat, flip, apply filters, paint new layers, and then start all over again! These results can be printed onto fabric or tissue paper, and become part of a new mixed media art quilt (MMAQ). They can also become the basis of painted tissue paper for collage, or stamps and stencils. I will post some examples, soon.
I have a pattern hero: this woman uses pattern masterfully. Her name is Anne Bagby. As she says:
I get my patterns from everywhere — fabric stores, wall paper and Dover books. The stamps are cut with lino-cutters using the v-tips. for small stamps, I use an exacto knife. I print layers of pattern, texture and glazes — watercolor first, then acrylic, brushes, squeeze bottles and sponges. This process produces a rich, complex surface.
What an inspiration for anyone who wants to use pattern effectively!
Of course, now I also have my small digital camera, as well, so I can collect images and subject them to the same treatment as the doodle, or combine them!
The fun just goes on and on and on . . . . .
Carry on doodling, Carol. It comes straight from the ‘proper bit’ of the brain when you don’t think too much about what you are doing. Some of my best pieces of work have been born out of doodles.