I’ve been blogging for a while now and 2 years ago I did a 30 day blog challenge run by Sarah and Paul Arrow at Sarkemedia. I’ve tried to repeat the process again with varying results. This month I’m trying again and, in a post to help motivate and inspire us Sarah shared some of the more obscure “days” and one caught my attention. Drinking straw day! I kid you not. My immediate reaction was
OMG, there’s a Drinking Straw day!
This might possibly be the most relevant day for my artwork. OK, so perhaps I exaggerate. But I love straws and use them in my painting all the time. Those of you’ve who’ve seen me in action will know that straws are used in a key stage of my painting, very near the end.
We all know straws are good for drinking. We may even remember using them at school or preschool for painting. With thick paint that didn’t move very far. Well, I still use them for painting.
Here’s my version of Drinking Straw Art
It’s a little more detailed than the blown pictures children produce but If you’ve ever been to one of my workshops or demonstrations then you’ll know that’s how I get all those tendrils. Here’s some on my earlier work close up.
2011 Cathy Read – A Meeting of minds detail – Mixed_media
My early use of straws was crude, and left me out of breath quite rapidly.
I wasn’t very fit which didn’t help, but the need to breathe was the main issue. Sometimes you have to blow hard for a long time because, if you stop, that lovely run of ink turns into a big fat blob. I’ll call it the “Puff factor”. Still I persevered and mastered the technique and am no longer out of breath. I eventually got the knack.
My work has been steadily getting larger which presents a new issue.
One of reach…
Let me explain, I work on the painting flat on a table. If the work is small I can easily turn it around and lean over the area I’m working on. Larger work means leaning over further, slightly hazardous with wet ink. The alternative is a longer straw. People don’t take you seriously if you ask for longer straws. It was like when my friends daughter was doing a gap year in Tanzania and was trying to prepare by learning some basic Swahili. She eventually gave up her pursuit.
Anyway, I digress. I’ve tried various tubes but the “puff factor” in these is not as good as with straws. I’m still looking…
But this isn’t the only drinking straw art?
Of course, I’m not the only freaky artist who uses straws for her art. There’s a whole world of Straw Art out there
But perhaps, that’s best left for another post…
Maybe next Drinking Straw Day?
Like the painting of Manchester Town Hall. See the rest of the Manchester Series in my Manchester Series Portfolio
Your artwork is so beautiful! 😊
Thank you Natalija! I really appreciate it.