5 Day Art Challenge – Exploring Surrealism

This week for ‘Heartwork Week’ in the MADEby Mini Makes Art Club we are exploring creative calm and mindful making. Plus we are going use all of your made and collected bits to create your very own Surrealist inspired piece of Art – like this image of a painting by Salvador Dali called Lobster Telephone.⠀
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So….follow the instructions for each day’s challenge below. Then tune into the video here (WEEK 7) to create your fabulous Creative Collage of Calm to capture your mindfully creative week.⠀
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Go on…take the creative challenge!

DAY 1

Find 2 pictures of two items that wouldn’t normally be seen together e.g. here I have a picture of a watermelon and another of an Artist’s dummy (also see previous image featuring a painting by Salvador Dali called Lobster Telephone).

You could cut them out of magazines or newspapers, take a photo and print out (if you have a printer), draw a picture of each object or even write a poem about them.

DAY 2

Pause in your day and take some time to think about creativity and Art. Think of 1 word that can be associated with Art e.g. creative, imagination, calming, freedom etc. It can be anything you like. Cut letters out of a magazine or newspaper, or draw the letters out. Experiment with different styles and sizes.⠀
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Optional extra: Find quotes or phrases that express how you feel about Art and being creative in general.

DAY 3

Collect 3-4 images (from wherever you like e.g. magazines, photos, postcards, newspapers, leaflets, adverts etc), that you find interesting. They do not have to be linked in any way. In fact the more random the better. It could be that they have an unusual pattern, colour or shape, they could make you laugh or think, or it could just be something that stirs up some kind of emotion inside you.⠀
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For instance in this picture I chose the crumpled ball of paper image because it made me think of all the happy mistakes I’ve made in being creative. I chose a little bottle of green salts because it reminded me of making imaginative potions. I chose the green plant image because I loved the texture and movement it expressed to me. Plus it felt like the little green fingers were all alive like little worms, popping up to say hello.⠀

DAY 4

Explore nature and the outdoors. Mindfully walk around and listen to the sounds, smell the flowers, take in all the colours and patterns of your surroundings. When you find something interesting that can act as a memento of your experience collect it (as long as it is not animals or wildlife). Ideally you want 2-3 items that can be glued to your collage e.g. an unusual leaf or a pretty flower head.

DAY 5

See the blog post about Intuitive Painting here