Art from Start to Finish

International swap

You must have at least a 4.5 rating to participate.

No newbies – sorry!

I want to find out about the process that other people go through when they make a piece of original artwork – are there lots of screwed up pieces of paper on the floor when you are trying to finalise an idea, or do you just go for it?

For this swap you will share with ONE partner the creative journey that you go through as an artist by creating a piece of original artwork for your partner, and documenting the process from start to finish.

*How do you get an idea for a piece of art? Is it a theme you return to again and again, or are you inspired by something in the street or something you read? Do you take a photograph, an ‘on the spot’ sketch, or make a mental note of it?

*How do you take that idea further? Lots of preliminary sketches, a mood board, notes and scribbles about that idea? Or do you just sit down and get the paints/pencils/clay/paper out and just let the creative juices flow?

*What materials do you use? Tell you partner about why and how you choose different art materials. What colours or textures work best in your piece? Did you try lots of different colours before deciding on one?

*How and where do you work? Describe your ‘studio space’ (mine is the study and the dining room table!). Why do you work there – is it practical or inspirational? Do you work best in the morning, or in the evening after a glass of wine?

You will send your partner –

The piece of original artwork you created for this swap.

A letter explaining your creative process. This can be typed or handwritten, but must be at least two pages.

A photograph of the materials you used.

A photograph of your work space.

At least three photographs of the work at various stages of completion.

Your early sketches/photographs/ideas that you used as inspiration for the finished piece(you can send the original sketches if you want, but good quality copies of sketchbook pages are fine). For example, I often see something inspiring on a country walk so I take a photograph of it, and work it into a number of sketches at home. I would send my partner the original photograph (and tell them about why it inspired me and where I saw it), and I would scan and print out the relevant pages of my sketchbook.

You can make any kind of artwork you like using any theme – but it has to be an original piece by you. There are so many mediums you could use - oil, watercolours, pen and ink, charcoal, pencil, collage, printmaking (lino, wood, engraving, etching, screen printing etc), wood carving, clay, pottery etc etc.

I don’t want to put lots of restrictions on what you can create BUT this is not a swap for photography. As a photographer myself I appreciate the artistic effort, time and skill that goes into taking a brilliant photograph, especially on film, but this swap is about learning about and sharing other artistic mediums. This is also not an ATC/handmade postcard swap. Sorry!

This swap is about YOUR artwork and the journey that YOU go through when creating it. However, have a look at your partner’s profile to see what they are interested in, and at the very least, don’t send them something they are likely to be offended by!

This is my first time hosting a swap, and I want everyone to enjoy themselves, and their artistic journey! Please get in touch if you have any questions or suggestions.