What do Artuary, Paletteuary, Creatuanary and Whimsuary have in common? Did you recognize them as made-up names for creative art challenges being held during the month of January? Or did you guess they are all words that would not pass muster in a Scrabble game?
January is a popular time for art challenges because they’re a great way to get motivated and kick off the new year creatively. The challenges all seem to follow a similar format whereby an organizer publishes a daily (or weekly) prompt and invites their audience to create a piece of art in response to the prompt. Prompts are typically single words, short phrases or creative suggestions. Participants are encouraged to share their responses—typically on Instagram with the designated hashtag. The type of creative work varies from challenge to challenge—some focus on a specific medium (eg watercolor painting, calendar art) while others are wide-open inviting poetry, photos, drawings, paintings, videos, animations, sewing and more. Anyone can follow along to enjoy the responses and, hopefully, get inspired themselves.
I’ve been following #TheJanuaryChallenge2024 hosted by 64 Million Artists which is “a social enterprise inviting everyone in the UK to explore their creative potential and use it to challenge the status quo”. You can see some of the prompts on this Instagram screenshot.
You may be wondering if I’m participating in one of these organized creative art challenges. I’m not. But the challenges have inspired me to set a creative challenge for myself. My personal January challenge is to focus on Earth-friendly maker projects. To jumpstart the process, I’m sharing a roundup of previous Earth-friendly maker projects and initiatives from the blog.
Several FanningSparks’ blog posts feature the work of artists who repurpose waste materials in impressive ways. Thomas Dambo, the Danish recycle art activist, builds super-sized, wooden trolls out of discarded wood and other salvaged materials. In the blog post, Towering Trolls in the Garden, I shared a look at his outdoor art installation Trolls: Save the Humans which was showcased at the Atlanta Botanical Garden. Since then, I’ve had a chance to visit the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay, Maine to see the Guardians of the Seeds trolls. There are five trolls tucked away in the forest. Each one represents a tree part including the trunk, leaves, branches, roots and flowers. Actually finding all five trolls takes a bit of effort but it’s worth it!
In the blog post, Found Object Sculptures, I shared the found object assemblage work of Johnston Foster. He uses discarded and broken furniture to create amazing sculptures like this one titled Maze Cutter.
The post also included a peek at the work of artist Sayaka Ganz who uses discarded plastic to create her stunning three-dimensional forms.
Vollis Simpson started making massive, kinetic sculptures because he didn’t want to junk or salvage the material left over from his machinery repair shop. As explained in my previous blog post Twisting in the Wind, many of his most astonishing sculptures are displayed at the Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park in Wilson, North Carolina.
At the Reinvented & Reclaimed exhibition, featured in the blog post From Discards to Wearable Art, artists shared several examples of wearable art created from recycled materials. One of the works on display was Jessica Varsa’s vintage book dress shown below.
Another work included in the exhibition was the FanningSparks Maker Apron made by yours truly. The Maker Apron is made from a pair of thrifted denim jeans. I shared a full tutorial in the blog post Maker Apron – DIY Tutorial.
The Maker Apron is one of several projects I’ve shared on the blog which use repurposed materials. The FanningSparks Drawstring Backpack also uses reclaimed denim as its primary material. See FanningSparks Drawstring Backpack – DIY Tutorial for step-by-step instructions.
By converting it into an infinity scarf and inserting a secret zipped pocket, this plain, rectangular scarf was given a new purpose as a specialized travel accessory. See the blog post Traveler’s Infinity Scarf with Secret Zipped Pocket – DIY Tutorial for all the details.
Not all of my repurposed projects involve sewing. The Maker’s Cabinet shown below is made from a thrifted, wooden entertainment center. It is one of the first projects I shared here on the blog—see The Ultimate Maker’s Cabinet—and remains one of my all-time favorites.
This next project started with a neglected, copper-roofed bird feeder. After converting it into a multi-compartment birdhouse, I covered it with broken china mosaic. Check out A Transformation Worthy of HGTV blog post for the details.
This pretty little keepsake box was made from a vintage bangle. See Vintage Bangle to Keepsake Box – DIY Tutorial.
The small, decorative tray holding flower vases in the below photo was made from a thrifted picture frame. See Thrifted Frame to Small Tray.
This vintage teacup and saucer, a cherished family heirloom, enjoys a new life as a pincushion. See Teacup Pincushion – DIY Tutorial.
A thrifted silver-plated creamer and several pieces of cutlery were used to create this charming set of wind chimes. See Old Silver Wind Chimes – DIY Tutorial.
Old sports trophies were transformed into a set of quirky hose guards in Trophy-Topped Hose Guard – DIY Tutorial.
“ReFashioning”, a new word I learned while researching this blog post, refers to used clothing that has been altered, remade or upcycled into a reimagined garment. Pinterest is brimming over with ideas for these types of projects. I’ve done a little refashioning of my own with these two denim jackets. See From Classic Jacket to Wearable Art and A Denim Jacket with Sashiko Flair.
Not all maker projects can leverage repurposed items—often new materials must be acquired. Understanding art supplies and materials from an Earth-friendly perspective becomes an important consideration.
Traditional objects made with time-honored techniques are more likely to use locally sourced, natural materials. Many of the skills I learned and several of the projects I made at the John C Campbell Folk School leverage natural materials. Wood turning (Making Wood Shavings Fly, needle felting (Needle Felting: Makers Stabbing Wool), pine needle basketry (Pine Needles at Olive’s Porch), and broom making (Swept Away by Broom Making) are all examples.
Other examples of projects which leverage natural materials include a gourd birdhouse (New Chickadee Gourd Nest Box Goes on the Market), a wooden display block with dried lavender (Stop and Smell the Lavender), naturally-dyed decorative paper (Natural Dye Making) and seed-embedded, handmade paper (From Tulip Paper to Natural Fiber Papermaking).
In summary, there’s much to consider in my challenge to make Earth-friendly art.
More Info
Check out the REPURPOSE sub-category in the MAKE section of the FanningSparks’ blog for an easy way to access all the blog posts about transforming, upcycling and repurposing.
You can use the following Instagram hashtags to check out some of the January creative art challenges:
#Artuary2024
#Creatuanary2024
#Paletteuary2024
#TheJanuaryChallenge2024
#Whimsuary2024
Today’s Takeaways
1. Many professional artists successfully create great art with reclaimed materials.
2. Unwanted or discarded objects can often be repurposed to extend their usefulness.
3. Consider using natural materials and supplies for artmaking.
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