An artist friend recently shared with me an article they wrote titled “The ABCs of Underground Art”. I really enjoyed it, and they encouraged me to write my own ABC’s of the type of art that I do as a fun journaling prompt to use to unwind and organize your thoughts. Those that have followed me for awhile know that I don’t typically stick to just one type of art, so to open up the limits I decided to make my “alphabet” the ABC’s of Creation. I have assigned a word to each letter, along with a video of my illustrating a cool little ACEO sized letter inspired visual to go with each word. Read, listen, or both – whatever works! 

E is for Equalize. Creating is a great equalizer in my opinion, because there are so many different ways to go at it even with certain limitations. I work with students with disabilities, some of whom have a lot of trouble with fine motor skills or dexterity. Large, overarching strokes, wobbly lines, lopsided sculpting … Some people try to achieve these peculiarities on purpose!  There is a way to make qualities you may view as imperfections part of your signature look. How cool is it that when creating, we can take something that is typically viewed as a difficulty and transform it into something that enhances our end result.

Above are just a snapshot of the beautiful works of art my students have created over the years. I strongly believe that beginning my career as an instructor with the Express Yourself Artshop inclusive program in my hometown (as someone who wasn’t even planning to become an art instructor at that point!) made me a better teacher.

(Psst! We do have a Redbubble Shop as well, if you want to show some love.)