Picking Your Muse

By Definition, a “Muse” is one of the Nine Sister Goddesses, each residing over a specific domain of theater or art. They were once said to inspire their chose craft and those craftsmen so devoted.

Its also a band, but we really won’t delve to much into that right now.

But even if Calliope, Thalia, Urania and their sisters aren’t your thing or you come up bare when thinking of them, that doesn’t mean that you won’t find inspiration else where. In fact, we’ll help you get over that!

Everybody has their share of ideas – both good and bad. Some more good than others… some more bad than others, but that is entirely to be expected. And when it comes to art, ideas are fuel. They drive our passions forward and our passions drive our ideas.

We all have our Muses. All of us. Each one is different though, for each and everyone of us. What one person sees as absolultly inspiring, another will just look at with half-hearted interest. It can’t be helped – and in fact, its actually a good thing.
And who is to say that I Muse has to be something tangeble, something coporeal? Why not think a little broader – the options really could open up to so much more.

One person may find inspiration in that of a beautiful woman, as what one would typically think of as a Muse. Another may find their creativity unfrul at the sight of her lips. Another may find interest in nature, the leaves or a flowers around them, right out their vary window. Another might even see the window as inspiration itself, opening up new thoughts. Another person may find music inspiring, compelling them to create what they hear, driving them forward with a few lines of music.
Other things, invisible things are even vast wellsprings for inspiration – time, something you can’t visibly see can be inspiring, capturing thoughts of mortality, of adventure and the unknown. Seasons, while not quite time, are very inspiring for some. They conjure up well known and ingraned thoughts of the times, of the weather, of holidays and festivals. I myself find Autumn to be very invigorating.
A simple Fall afternoon with a cool breeze during sundown, just when the light hits the bare trees right. I can’t really think of a more inspiring time for myself. But others may have other seasons, other thoughts and other things that drive them.

And believe it or not, lack of inspiration has actually been inspiration before. Some works of art come about solely from the sheer lack of ideas for something else, an act of desperation in some fashion. A head on the piano isn’t all that uncommon when a muscian can’t think of anything, a blank stare on a photographers face, a brush just resting in cleaner, or even a sheet of stark white paper. People have made their lack of ideas work for them – in esscense, an idea from the lack of ideas. How it works, I’m not entirely sure and I wouldn’t entirely rule out the whole Quantum Mechanics thing – but I never specialized in Theoretical Physics…

If you don’t feel inspired, then maybe you just haven’t found your muse yet. You’ll know it when you see it.

New Motivational and Geeky Prints Now Available!

We’ve got another update finished up and listed, and this time there are plenty of prints for everyone!

First up, we’ve got some fun new motivational prints, perfect for getting you started in the morning – and some to help remind you to end the day right!

We decided to add something for the non-coffee drinkers out there – which, rumor has it, exist! Perfect for those who don’t think that Coffee is there Cup of Tea.

We also have some prints for those who want to let the world know that they are indeed geeks – and proud of it! And why not, it truly is the age of the Geek, so let your allegiance be known!

All these prints are now available in our online store!

Fresh Typography!

We’ve got another big update here at Indelible Ink Workshop, once more we’ll be releasing another wave of Typographical Prints! We’ve got plenty to choose from this time around, plenty that we’re sure you’ll love!

We’ve also got another round on the near horizon – more retro science fiction posters are on the way! Something tells us that we’ll be exploring the outer parts of the solar system soon and see what else is out there…

But till we get out past the asteroid belt and see what the deeper realms of outer space have in store for us, we’ve got a large number of motivation and inspirational typography coming out this week – so be sure to stop by the Etsy Shop and check out all the new releases!

Being an Artist

There are many advantages to being an artist – one is certainly being able to create visually what you would like to see in this world. Though it takes time, you can always hone your art form or hobby, with patience and practice to be able to craft what you want to see made. Sometimes this is something that no one else is doing, no one else is crafting, something that one else has thought of. So, you yourself have to fill in this void.

This is actually how a lot of great things got there start and how countless more will find their way too.

But being an artist is like any other job, it has its perks and it has its disadvantages. One of the major perks sets it aside from most other professions and hobbies, or at least ones that I’ve always been fond of, is that being an artist is being able to do a little of everything. We get to try a taste of everything, get to learn some of this, dabble in a little of that and at the end of the day pick and choose what we take. Not necessarily “how”, but most certainly “what”.

As an artist you learn to see the world around you in a completely different way, somehow appreciating it more. And unless you were born with a paintbrush in hand, you’ll probably spend some serious time learning, studying paintings, drawings and other art – and most certainly your subjects.

I remember as a child, I was always given a pencil, crayons and paper – generally to keep me busy at group functions and gatherings, but it was something that I enjoyed doing. While modest, the pencil, crayons and simple printer paper still form the basis of nearly everyone’s artistic careers. Some just get bigger and more expensive toys – others learn to make what they started with work for them, improving on it.

My Artistic Career started when I saw my parents drawing something for me to try to copy, as I would imagine a lot of kids paths begin. When you first start to draw or paint, your picture may not look like their’s – or even close for that matter. But you knew that it was fun and you want another go – and when that happens you start to see how they did it and begin to dissect it. And this is where the magic begins, where we first start learning, in picking apart what has been put before us. Not critics eyes, no. Just curious eyes.

Maybe your next plane doesn’t look like the one that your parents drew either, so you feverishly go back and erase it or grab a fresh piece of paper when your experiments start covering up the sheet that you had and try again. In doing so, studying their drawing, you see the general shape, the feel, which helps. Then you start again, drawing the wings and end up with something that more resembles taffy on a hot day than that sleek, vintage world war two era mustang that your dad drew.

But this isn’t a problem. Its learning. And it takes time.

We realize that our wings don’t look like theirs and wonder why. So, going back over them, realizing that they are shaped differently, like elongated water drops. Then you may ask why exactly their shaped like that, which would take you down another long avenue, sparking a whole different conversation. But one that would undoubtably help in drawing that aircraft that we were after. By simply wanting to learn how to draw a plane, even as a child, you can start to figure out what makes that plane fly and why, what makes it stay up in the air and not just fall straight down like an African Sparrow carrying a Coconut – which in turn only makes your art that much the better.

While sometimes we may want something to not look conventional, go out on a limb, say Dali or M.C. Escher as examples. While both of those people drew utterly bizarre and remarkable things – they were firmly rooted in some sort of world, generally ours to some extent or other, even if one that made little to no sense. Salvador Dali with his abstract clocks and creatures from other worlds, they still bore some logic, if unorthodox. His clocks just melted rather than told time. As for Escher – his illustrations merely defied the laws of physics and architecture – but still somehow in the end made a certain bizarre sense to the eyes. Both of these men knew the world, what it looked liked – and that gave them the ability to change it upon the canvas and art across the world.

You learn by observing, other’s work as well as your own. Its how we as artists get better. We ask questions so we learn. So to do we observe. Humans are after all a very visual creature, we like to see what we’re doing.

And the best part, whether you think that you’re the greatest that ever walked or just a humble person with a pen and paper, someone who just likes to dabble or who spends countless hours on just one project, whether you sell thousands of designs or just do a drawing for your childs amusement – everyone can be an artist. Everyone puts that hat on sometime in their life regardless of if they ever make a cent doing it. All it takes is a little time and effort to keep that hat on.

There are many more prints coming out soon! The above, Art is Messy, will soon be available in the shop. Till then, you can check out all of our other available prints here!

We’ve also got a page on Deviant Art as well now, so you can go join in the art and follow along there as well!

Ray Guns and Rockets!

Get ready to travel the Solar system in style with our new vintage-inspired travel posters! With a vintage sci-fi feel, they show the galaxy how it may once have been imagined, a place of exploration and adventure, were one could jump in their own rocket and go off for the weekend to see the moon – and who’s to say it still isn’t that way!

With the first wave in the Ray Guns and Rockets series (yes, we’ve got plenty more coming soon), we’ll be releasing posters for the Sun, Mercury, Venus, The Moon and even Mars. With these, we’ll also be releasing our first few sets of stickers, with the promise of more sets on the horizon.

We’re also happy to announce that bigger prints will soon be out as well, printed on much larger, high quality, glossy paper to help show off which worlds that you’ve explored, sights that you’ve seen, or adventures that you’ve had – or the ones that you’re looking forward to!

We’ve also got plenty more of our typography prints in the works, so look forward to those as well! We’ll have more updates coming through the pipelines soon, so check back often and see what’s on the Horizon.

The New Prints are now available in the Store!

Throw back the Dial – New Prints Preview!

We may have been silent here for a while – but don’t worry – we’ve been busy! Oh yes, very busy! We’ve been hard at work on some great new prints, many that we’re sure that you’ll love. There are lots of good things on the horizon and we’re very eager to share them with you.

We haven’t stopped working on the typographical and inspirational prints, we’ll still be making plenty more of those – and in fact, there are a few more of those right on the horizon as well. But we also have been busy working on some other fun designs.

We’ve even decided to expand our range and include something that we haven’t offered before – Stickers! Made from high quality vinyl, they’re made to last! In-door, out-door – where ever you’d like to put them. And we’ve got plenty of designs for those coming out now too as well as many more on the horizon.

So get ready to turn back the dial and go back some to a golden era. Get ready for a little bit of time travel and lot of great fun.

Get ready for a time of High Fashion – A Time of High Adventure – A Time of High Science!

The Blank Canvas

A blank canvas is one of those very interesting parts in art – something that holds unbound potential just waiting to be tapped into. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, around here, we get excited to see that blank void, it usually means something great is about to happen, something exciting.

When that first stroke touches down, you know you’re in for a wild ride. Your face lights up as the white expanses recede and your work starts to take up the empty spaces. That’s when art happens, that is where it all starts. Everyone out there goes through that same process when creating, no matter what medium you may be talking about. It’s all the same in that regard.

No matter what you’re working, we all have the blank canvas together. We all go through that same creative step to get to the work that we’re trying to chisel out and create. And that’s part of the fun.

There are innumerable different kinds of canvas – of course the most obvious being, well, a canvas. But in truth, they take many forms and guises, many are hiding right under your noise right this very second, waiting to be tapped into.

Canvas and Paper are the ones that spring up right away, bringing with them thoughts of grey-scale sketches and vibrant paintings. Those may very well be the most common, certainly the most readily available. But that is only the beginning, especially for those who are willing to put in a little more time and effort, to delve deeper and discover other potential and other possibilities.

You can find more just by taking a walk through a craft store or searching the Internet, for each hobby there is another. The list is staggering, even among those that are common, there are still dozens if not hundreds, far to many to name individually.

But for the unconventional, there are many, many more. For someone with an open mind and a little free time, there are no limits. The worn brick wall. The bare ceiling. The untouched backyard. With a little work, and certainly some  effort, each can be turned into a masterpiece.

You can work anything to turn it into a piece of art, anything that you can set your hands on, helping to add another extra little detail and helping to brighten your day – and maybe someone else’s too. Art isn’t just for museums after all. It isn’t something to only be appreciated in your leisure with a fine wine at some fancy presentation.

Think back to when you were a child, back when the side-walk held so much potential, stretching on for miles untold and those chalk drawings were absolute masterpieces in the making.

When you get right down to it, anything can be a canvas, waiting for you to work it. Anything. Any place you can find inspiration, any where there is a place big enough to work, any where that you may find yourself, there is a blank canvas just waiting for you to make your mark and leave an impression, maybe even bring a smile to someones face in the process. The potential is untold. You just have to get out there and give it a try.

Project Monogamy

No, this isn’t an article about a crack commando raid or the grand plans for foreign invasion. Not really about world domination either. No, this is about something rather different. Probably a little less exciting, but we hope you’ll still find it to be interesting. Sorry if your hopes were dashed.

Often times, I’ll find myself knee-deep in a project, working feverishly to get it completed on some crude, near non-existent time-table that was cruelly self-imposed to drive me onward. And sometimes that works, it helps keep me focused so that I can get things done that need doing. And sometimes it doesn’t work.

But it’s usually during this time, when things do need to get done that I get an idea, a new project dawns on me. The perfect way to do something, something new and interesting. Whether this is exploring a completely new medium, diving head-first into something different that I’ve never tried or thought of before or if it’s just a new technique with an old skill that has nothing to do with what is at hand. Usually, this will lead into a whole new project and sometimes with the result of putting the previous one on the back burner, left to simmer for a time.

And that is okay. That is where project monogamy comes in. If you’re like us here at Indelible Ink Workshop, you’ve probably experienced it before to. The urge to tackle something else, something fresh when you probably know full well that you need to continue the one that you’re on. Maybe you feel guilty. Maybe you feel like you’ve abandoned it. But don’t.

There are many areas in life that Monogamy is necessary, many places where it is suggested in life and highly encouraged. Marriage and relationships are but some of many.

Art however is not one on that list.

Art is about doing what you like and seeing what happens. It’s about trying new things, new techniques and new ideas. Yes, there are tried and true methods, patterns, ways of doing things and certain things that you should know. Getting those things down will go a long way in insuring you some success in your artistic path. But they aren’t necessary nor do they guarantee anything. But that is another post for another day.

Unless you have an absolute dead-line and that candle is burning pretty close, you shouldn’t feel guilty about not completing your project right this very second. If you are an artist by trade, you should probably keep on track and get things done on a suitable time-table, but sometimes it’s a good idea to take a step back and work on something else, something completely different. It’s refreshing to work on a side project, it helps invigorate you, to get your creative juices flowing again – and sometimes it just might help to inspire a new way to complete an old project. Often times, it helps us to get another view on past projects, to see a new path. We can learn things from one project that will invariably help with another. That was why I said simmer on the back burner, not to let it just go cold.

There are those times though when you’ll want to stay on task. As stated earlier, its a pretty solid idea if you’re project is a work related one. You’ll want to stay dedicated to the task at hand, devoting your time to what the customer wants. And there will also be those times when you’re working feverishly on something great, something that you’re doing for your own enjoyment and you’ll want to pour every ounce of creative energy into it, putting your heart and soul into it and staying on till its finished no matter the cost. That is okay too. For some people, that is what works best and is completely understandable. So do what works for you, art isn’t science after all.

Usually by the time one thing is off my desk and stamped “done”, I’ve already gotten the next project lined up. Actually, the next two or three things that I want to work on, which helps me get motivated to complete the one that I’m on. But that isn’t to say that I won’t work on another project for myself on the side. It helps to keep things moving in the attic, get the cogs spinning again when I think their stuck.

Art is a wonderful thing, there is always something that you can do with it. There are so many different paths, so many different options and techniques, you should never honestly get board with it. Even if you lose interest in the project you’ve got before you, there will be a multitude of others just waiting for you to try.

So get out there and open the flood gates on your creative juices. You don’t have to work on just one thing at a time, so don’t feel guilty. Things may take a little longer to complete, sometimes a lot longer, but you’ll be able to put the quality in it that your project deserves.  Just roll up your sleeves, take a deep breath, smile and get ready to get your hands dirty – with another project.

Your Worst Critic

Artist are a large and rather diverse lot – actually, the most diverse lot there is! They come in all shapes, all sizes, all walks of life. They draw their inspiration, their ideas, their concepts from a million different sources. Each one is as unique as the next. They come from all over the world, from every corner of existence. Each one has a different way of doing the exact same thing and a different medium to dabble in. Some have dedicated their whole lives to their trade, others have only just picked up the tools of their interest, eager to ply their way to fame or just to have some fun. But as diverse as each one is, they all share one thing in common – at least a majority of them anyway.
An artist’s worst critic is the artist themselves.

True, there are some bold ones out there – and good for them, secure in their confidence and knowledge that they are indeed the best of their trade – regardless of whether or not this is indeed fact or merely their idea, its real enough for them and that is what counts.
It doesn’t matter to them, their work is good regardless of what anyone thinks of it. And that isn’t a bad mentality to have regardless of how good the actual product is, so long as the artist is enjoying themselves.
But for the majority of artists out there, or at least the ones that I’ve had the pleasure of meeting, they have all wondered if their work was good enough, always wanting to do another touch here or another drop of color there. That isn’t a bad thing either, wanting to go the extra mile or two to make sure their work is the best it can be or at least do everything that they can do to make it that way. But you should never question your work to the point that you don’t share it.
Sharing your art, your work, your passion is the best thing you can do with art. It isn’t a spectator sport, it’s a get your hands dirty and grin sort of affair. It isn’t what makes you an artist, sharing your work – you are, by definition and truth already one if you have made art, even if you are withholding it from your eager audience.
Sharing your art is a good idea, showing it off, letting people know and see what you do and what you are capable of. You should have the mentality of the child showing their parent the picture you drew, the one that they want hung on the fridge, proudly displayed for all to see.
When you share your art, when you get over the initial fear of criticism, the better you will be. Criticism isn’t bad – especially when its constructive-criticism. There is a big difference between criticism (or constructive criticism) and just knit-picking, a rather large difference. When you share your work, when you take that plunge, along with all the negative, there comes the positive, the comments (those are the good ones). You hear what people think of your work, how much they like or dislike it. And most importantly, you hear their take on it and a few new techniques. It’s good to have your own way of doing things and figure things our for yourself, but it’s always a good idea it be able to talk to someone about your passion and get their suggestions for improvement. Not all of them are going to work for you, that is true of anything really. But between the ones that won’t work, there are a good number that will and that you’ll love.

You don’t have to just go run out there and start showing off your latest painting or drawing on the streets, running up to someone and spinning them around with your work. That is actually a terrible idea and will probably not help facilitate a future in art – at all.
And you shouldn’t expect to see your work emblazoned on the billboards in Time-square either, at least not right away. But if you work hard enough, you practice your trade, you may just get there one day.
There are many good places to share your work, especially if you are looking for suggestions, input and constructive criticism. There are actually many websites solely dedicated to sharing your art with many devoted communities just waiting to see what you’ve got and to discuss it with you.
One great website if you are looking is Deviant Art. It’s a great place to start if you’re an amateur looking to simply get your feet wet and share your art or if you’re a serious professional with a portfolio a mile wide, it doesn’t matter. They’ve got plenty of discussion areas and people who look forward to seeing what all you’ve made, eager to hear how you did it and to make some suggestions for future projects.
A word of caution though, when dealing with the internet and forums, you should make sure that your work is perfectly marked. This prevents people from stealing it and also to make sure that you get credit for it. Watermarks are your friend.
The world didn’t get where it was over night and that is a very important lesson to learn, the sooner the better. It took time. Lots of time.
Nobody started off a legend, nobody got where they are today by simply picking up a pencil – they got their by picking up that pencil and picking it up and picking it up again and again till they got where they wanted to be. It took practice, many hours of patient practice.
As clichéd as it can be, Michelangelo didn’t just decide one day that he would paint the Sistine Chapel, thinking he would just throw some paint up there and see how it looked. In reality, it took him years to plan and years more to paint. It was a massive undertaking, carefully and thoughtfully done. It was also one of his last works, meaning he had plenty of experience and practice under his belt before he even began the project. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t do something that will be remembered throughout the ages as something spectacular. It just means that you have to try to remember that being thought of as one of the greats throughout time immemorial isn’t a tangible or worthy goal, but to create great works that you love and have a passion for is more than a worthwhile goal, its something to go after.
You just have to try.
So go share your art, pull it out from hiding and let the light shine on your creations, let your yet to be adoring audience let you know what they think of your passion. Take a
break from being your own critic, let someone else have a turn. You may just like what you
hear.
I assure you, it can’t be as bad as what you would have it. You can rest assured of that.
And remember, Everyone, Everywhere started somewhere and at sometime.
There is only one way you can improve. Take the plunge.

The Internet, Art, and the Freedonian Market

It’s an interesting thought, how the world has become so connected in the past one hundred years, how the social networks and internet have both completely revolutionized the way we as humans interact, how we deal with each other, and how we communicate our thoughts and ideas. They have their perks and drawbacks to be sure, but for the time being both appear to be staying right where they are – if not growing substantially. They have invariably tied us all together, weaving quite a literal web about us – and yes, there may have been just a little pun intended. They have brought us together, all across the globe, as a whole, more than ever before.

For the first time ever we’ve been able to have nearly instantaneous communication with anyone, anywhere. We’ve never had the luxury of debating the price of eggs in China and actually being able to simultaneously find out just how much they really are, proving you right (or wrong) instantly. There are, without a doubt, a number of far more useful applications for the internet, such as research, medical advice, educational purposes, online dictionaries and reference material comprising hundreds of thousands of man hours, and humor all clearly being toward the top of the list – things for which it was clearly designed for.

With the communal web way that we’ve seemed to have woven, we’ve been tied together – for better or worse. Things that impact one country won’t long be overlooked, what affects one nation will soon ripple across the web and alert us all, like a fly hitting a spider’s web, sending out those thrumming vibrations that will soon attract the masses. And it doesn’t take long for something to become a literal overnight success, attaining instant stardom in the blink of an eye. What took years or decades before can happen in the blink of an eye.

Its true, that to an extent, our economies, as with ourselves, have been tied together. We’ve truly become a global market. When one country hurts, its likely others will feel the effects soon enough. And when the market crashes in Freedonia, you can bet top dollar that the people of Sylvania will soon hear about it and react accordingly – in no small part due to the internet. It doesn’t really matter if they are next door neighbors or thousands of miles apart when the internet is involved.

As our economies and lives have been linked inexplicably together, so to have our hobbies with them, our interests and our crafts. And this can be a truly great thing where art is concerned, tapping into the vast creative potential offered up and the talents and know how of some very skilled, very creative people. Some of it can get lost in the shuffle to be true, but every little bit does help in the end. Tutorials, examples, concepts, ideas, techniques, tools. There are a lot of good uses out there. And just like any tool, the internet can be used in hundreds of ways.

But right now the world has entered a time when funding is in short order, a time of economic recession. During these times, things can get tight and very difficult. People are starting to be more frugal, looking how they budget, how they spend their money and to what ends it goes to. And this doesn’t just affect one nation – its spread out to us all. While we’ve been bound together for better or worse, we’ve also been tied together for richer or poorer. Thankfully it’s usually around this time when people start looking into other methods of doing things, more hands on and artistic approaches.

It’s a good feeling when you can step back and see something that you’ve made, whether your creation is for many people or simply something that you made for your own enjoyment. It’s during times like this when people need art to brighten up their lives, to bring a smile and spark creativity. If we can go that extra mile to put that one extra little embellishment in our project, it usually brings a smile to our faces and another idea with it. By putting just a little more effort into our project, we can have that effect, that inspiration for the next project before this one is even finished. On top of making things a bit more interesting for our daily humdrum, art is also a great release. It offers us a creative outlet, an activity to get our mind off the daily things that drive us mad. A blank piece of paper can be a great therapy, one with limitless potential. And sometimes all we really want to do is get our hands dirty and do something worthwhile.

Right now, all across the world, people are looking back into different techniques, more hands on approaches. The saying is true, fortune favors the brave – and especially right now. We just have to try, but more importantly, keep trying. It’s fine and dandy to try, and fail once, then walk away, but to keep trying is really the challenge.
What you do doesn’t have to be much, it doesn’t have to be big either. You just need to keep doing what you love to do and make it work for you.