Monday, February 19, 2007

Optimistic Namelians!

Over on Steve's blog last Friday he was showcasing the Namelien creations of his 5th graders. Go and have a look because they're alot of fun.

To create a namelien you:

a. fold a piece of paper in half
b. open your paper up
c. turn your paper so the fold is horizontal
d. write your name in cursive, "real big" on the fold line (a thick-tipped, dark-colored marker, crayon, or pencil works best)
e. keep your paper where it is, fold it up again, and trace the name you wrote (a thin sheet, a lightbox, or holding the paper against a window with good light can help make the tracing easier, if needed)
f. open your paper again
g. trace over your name again (write on the original, front side), this time you'll be writing it backwards
h. turn your paper so that the fold line in the middle is now vertical--choose which way is rightside up (you will now see an interesting, symmetrical design created from your name)
i. have fun adding things (we make ours totally symmetrical)--such as eyes, arms, legs, antennae, wings, hands, claws, feet, hair, patterns, textures, colors, etc.
j. create a nonsymmetrical background/environment for your namelien (optional)

I enjoyed the post so much, and thought it was such a cool idea I decided to create my own, just to clarify Jo is short for Joanna!



The thing is creativity is all about having fun, immersing yourself in the things you enjoy, otherwise what would be the point. Sometimes we spend far too much time stressing over the results instead of just enjoying the process.

What I would really like to see is for the namelian to become a new kind of meme...I'm not going to tag anyone, but just for the fun of it I'd like to see my friends having a go...(how about you and Gracie, Marianne?)...and posting the results unashamedly on their blogs!

I have also signed up to undertake a new creative journey called Finding Water, a 12 week course by the author of the Artists Way, Julia Cameron.

We started week 1: Uncovering A Sense of Optimism, on Saturday.

So far I am feeling a sense of optimism and positivity. I don't really know where the journey will lead but I am going to try and enjoy the ride.

12 comments:

steve said...

Brilliant Jo!! Love the results and what a wonderful idea. I'm going to qwork on some today then. And yes, it's all about chillin' out and simply having fun, immersing yourself in the creative aspect of it all.

Ms. Knitingale said...

Oh, that turned out so cute! I love your namelian. Can't wait to hear how your classes go, too.

Marianne said...

How fun and cool is that! tuesday is a Gracie day so when she gets here I'll show her your blog and the photo of your namelian and really, it shouldn't be too hard to convince her we could give it a go.
Definitely Jo, enjoying the ride, that's what 'making good time' is all about, not how fast you can get to the end at all.

Charity said...

Namelians are so much fun! I like how yours turned out! :0)

Artis-Anne said...

Oh how cool ,I love your namelian :) Look forward to seeing how your classes go, have fun and jump in :)

Caroline said...

Thanks for the idea - I'd missed this on Steve's. I've done my own and tagged a few people too...

;-)

Anonymous said...

What a fun meme - I've just been tagged by Caroline to do one, and I came to find out how. Now I also see you've joined in "Finding Water" which I'm also participating in. Nice to meet you - thank you for the fun idea!

TutleyMutley said...

I had to have a go at this straightaway! Now I've got to colour it in - Love it!

I'd already done the wierd meme, Jo, but I'm up for this one.
Namelian here I come...

Kath said...

Hi, love the idea for the Namelian! Great fun! Enjoy your classes - go for it and get those creative jucies flowing! The Noro-esque yarn is from America and is called Rhythm - I don't think it's a big brand though, just something I found on ebay. Freedom spirit is lovely and DK weight not aran.

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