ITAC'17
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August 18th, 2017
Challenge 2 - Asia!
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We’re continuing our journey around the world and this time we’re headed to Asia.
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Challenge 2 - Asia
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...Art as meditation!
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With an area covering over 43 million km2 and a population of around 4.3 billion, welcome to the largest and most populous continent on earth!
The continent of Asia is rich in COLOURS and SCENTS and invites you to meditation and self reflection. For the Buddhist monks of Tibet who regularly use the MANDALA in their meditation, everything that exists in the world is born from just one central source of energy and everything that exists is organised around one centre.
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The origins of textile printing can be traced back to Asia where the arts of weaving and DYEING FABRIC have been passed down from generation to generation since ancient times.
Monuments are adorned with splendid glazed TILES and GEOMETRIC MOTIFS which have enthralled travellers for millennia as has the continent’s ever present CALLIGRAPHY with its captivating convolutions.
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Each project (Scrapbook Layout, Card, Canvas, Art Journal, Assemblage... or any other project) for this challenge, regardless of the format or techniques used, should take inspiration from the image below and should include at least one of the following elements;
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· Motifs inspired by mandalas
· Geometric shapes
· Tiles - ceramic, pantiles, glazed tiles, or their designs...
· Asiatic flowers, such as cherry blossom, chrysanthemum, orchids, lotus, Frangipani, lilies, hibiscus etc..
· Calligraphy or handwriting
· Fabric, faded or dyed
· Powdered pigments
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Go CRAZY and treat yourself to some fun: you don't have to include all the suggested elements in the instructions, but why not have some fun seeing how many you can fit in. The more the merrier!
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Our jury will also be taking into account - your designs, techniques, how you have expressed the themes... They will be looking for originality and will keeping an eye out for any individual outstanding creations for special awards.
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You also have the chance of earning some bonus points;
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2 extra points if you use any of AALL & Create’s exclusive products.
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1 extra point if you use any product from our partners and sponsors.
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Get some inspiration by taking a look at the fabulous work of the artists from our Asia group; Fiona Paltridge, HeeSun Kim, Jenn Engle, Manuela Jamet and Seth Apter!
Fiona Paltridge - Six Moments of Meditation
The luscious colours of Asia always entice my senses and looking at our moodboard most definitely excited my creative brain. I incorporated as many ideas as I could from using tiles as a design idea to incorporating eco died cloth and pigment powders into my project. Each canvas I made was a small moment of meditation.
HeeSun Kim - Mini Album
Salvador Dalí has always had a curious relationship with portraits and faces. I was inspired by his eccentricity and the colours of his homeland in making this piece of work. I mixed together colours and textures using a Steampunk style with touches of golden colour. I also included text and letters to bring to mind his fascination with poetry and his relationship with Federico Garcia Lorca
Jenn Engle - Mediation Box
I find art to be very meditative, so I made a box that will sit on my art desk and house some of my favorite quotes that help keep me centered. I used several of the elements from our challenge like pigment powders, Asian flowers, and the colors from the mood board. I played around with Distress Oxide inks and techniques like stamping on acetate and coloring gloss gel medium with pigment powders.
Manuela Jamet - Book Cover
For this cover I was inspired by the small traditional wooden Kokeshi dolls from Japan. I have used colours which are evocative of Asia for me : turquoise, fuschia, golden-green and gold. I chose patterns that were both geometric and floral at the same time, as well as using lace designs, bringing together all of the ingredients to create something which could transport you to faraway lands.
Seth Apter - Mini Book
I made a mini book, measuring 2.75 x 3.5 inches, that highlights two of my favorite elements of Asian culture: shibori and calligraphy. Shibori is a Japanese resist dyeing technique that was used to create the fabric on my book covers and pages. I also love to use text in my artwork and I find Japanese calligraphy to be beautiful, lyrical and magical.
Tracy Evans - Canvas
I was first inspired by the moodboard, those turquoise, orange and lemons in particular. I was also inspired by the Mandala Pattern Influences and incorporated two using image transfer, only a subtle touch but perfect for a background layer. I also wanted to incorporate tiles in some shape or form and opted to use Seth’s Robo Square die to help with that element. AALLandCreate Exclusive Stamps also helped with my layers in the background. I really enjoyed playing along with this challenge!
Jasmina Scrap - Layout
Pour faire cette page, je suis partie de l'idée d'une mosaïque de photos pour rappeler la consigne "Tiles". J'ai choisi des paysages de mes vacances et le résultat me faisait vraiment penser à une carte postale.
Pour ma page, j'ai voulu accentuer l'idée de faune et flore paradisiaque en intégrant beaucoup de feuillages, les fleurs d’hibiscus, le flamant rose et le toucan.
If you are taking part you will need to;
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Create a piece of artwork following the theme and instructions for the challenge.
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Post your work on the AALL & Create Fanatics Facebook group in the Challenge 2 Asia album. Please note that only work posted in the correct albums will be eligible for inclusion.
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Anyone who does not have a Facebook account but who still wants to take part can do so by posting their work on their own blog or website and emailing the link to contact@aallandcreate.com or just by mailing us the image of the work.
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Post your work on your own social networking account pages and/or blogs along with the link for the challenge and the hashtags #itac17 #itac17challenge2 #aallandcreate
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There’s only ONE deadline: September 24th, 2017 End of our international tournament.
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- Fiona has made an in depth video tutorial for all of our subscribers explaining how she made her project for this week.
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- You can also check out the tutorial from HeeSun Kim showing all the stages of the creation of her project.
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- Take a look at Jenn’s video where she shares her advice on the techniques she used to create her wonderful box as well as some other details and tips.
- The step-by-step guide from Seth shows how to bind the book he made.
- Follow the video from Manuela to see how to create your own “fabric and paper” book covers as well as some other details and tips.
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- And Manuela’s generosity doesn’t stop there, she is also giving away a must-have digital stamp created exclusively for this tournament.
BUT that’s not all! We told you that we would have lots of surprises for everyone:
- This week our sponsor L'encre et L'image is giving away some sets of the popular ‘Couleur du monde' stamp sets (GIVEAWAY HERE)
- Also this week the AALL & Create team is giving away access to your choice of our online workshops (GIVEAWAY HERE)
- Someone can win the original artwork "Six moments of meditation" gifted by the artist Fiona (GIVEAWAY HERE)
To mark this second challenge in the tournament we are giving you FREE shipping costs on all orders over £29.99 in the United Kingdom and £49.99 in the rest of the world!
(Offer available until midnight GMT 24th August 2017)
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Have fun, enjoy making and creating – we can’t wait to see what you produce!
The AALL & Create Team
Your Colour Gurus