DIY ART Project for “Non-Artists”

DIY Art project is an interesting experience to look back at when I had made art for the first time. I was a little girl living in India with my parents. They always encouraged me to be creative and had given me some very basic supplies that lay untouched for months. Then one day during one of our many moves through numerous rental houses, I found them…and decided to create something….a masterpiece!

So I set out with high expectations of what this piece would represent. It was far from beautiful! Yet it represented “me”, so therefore I thought somehow it must be good? But regardless of whether you enjoy your artwork or not, the most important thing is that you are creating! Art doesn’t have to be perfect. Sometimes the most imperfect DIY art pieces are the ones that touch people’s hearts in a way that more polished works fail to do.

Art has no boundaries or rules, it is open to interpretation and your creativity should not be limited by other people’s expectations. Remember there are no mistakes in art, only opportunities for creative solutions!

I was reminded of this while visiting my children’s school…there was a child who had created something amazing on one of the classroom walls. The teacher asked him what he would like her to put next to his picture and what she thought she saw, wasn’t what he wanted at all! So he drew over his original picture and started again.

As you open yourself up to creating art, remember that the only rules are the ones you make for yourself. I have a few simple steps to get you started in making your own “masterpiece”!

1) Decide on an art piece you want to create. Be it a painting, a mixed-media creation or something else. It can be big or small and whatever your artistic ability level is. All that matters is that you have fun!

2) Find some paper or card stock of various sizes and colors to create your different layers/textures. Look at magazines, books and online to find good quality stock images if you need inspiration…no copyright law here…use them with pride! Here are some good sites to check out:

• PIXABAY
• FREEPIK

3) Gather your tools – scissors, glue stick, pencil, eraser, ruler and a good quality art marker/pencils. It is useful to have a paper trimmer or cutting mat too if you can find one. Scissors are used for cutting the thick card stock into desired sizes/shapes and they can also be used to create any torn edges that give certain artwork an added dimension. Glue sticks for attaching the images together and then onto your chosen surface…search Google Images for many different ideas…so inspiring! Pencils (preferably black because other colors show up “ghostly” on the back of the images you use…you can color them in with markers if necessary to fix this) and an eraser for drawing onto your paper. A ruler is useful for creating straight lines, but not absolutely necessary as you can “eye-ball it” too…it’s all about creativity!

4) Get creative! Glue down your chosen images either side by side or overlapping one another. Use a ruler if you need to create straight lines between two pieces, otherwise, it looks best when the borders bleed into each other. Play around with different colors and shapes until you come up with a design that reflects who you are as an artist! Markers are brilliant for adding shading and tone to your piece once complete. Use your imagination, the possibilities are endless!

5) Once completely satisfied with your final creation and you feel it is worthy of sharing, take a photo to preserve the moment and share it on our Facebook group: “Not-So-Serious Artists”. If we like it, we will share it with the world!

So there you have it! a DIY Art project that will help YOU get started on making your own masterpiece.

Remember that creating is just as much about the process as it is about the end result, so make every mark count and remember you are not defined by other people’s opinions but by yourself…so get creative!! 🙂

Here is the link to my works of art!

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