Reflection Post #1
Hi everyone and welcome to my very first progress report for my Genius Hour.
Just as a refresher for some of you, I have decided to document my "mastery" in the skill of nail and string art. This has been something I have done for a couple of years, and as of recently, have wanted to make a business out of it. However, I felt that all of my designs looked pretty much the same, and what better way to push myself out of my comfort zone than with this project.
Here is an image of a past piece I have made for a family member:
So here we go- piece number 1. I decided to keep things simple in order to refine my skills and really note what needs some improvement and what I can do better on.
Step 1
I need to design the image that I will use as a stencil for my nails. Since I have an IPad, this step was fairly easy. I used the Procreate App (which is amazing might I add and would recommend purchasing if you are into designing or drawing) to create a simple design of a maple leaf. From there I printed it out and began to center it on my wood.
Side note:
My wood is some excess barn board that I have used before. This was not a material I was focusing much on since I knew it held the nails well and was thick enough for the nails I was using. My main focus this week was more so on my technique.
Step 2
This part was really tricky for me, putting the image perfectly center and straight on the board. I need to fix a few things here. For starters, I sloppily cut around the maple leaf to make it smaller and this created an illusion of it being straight when it was not. I think next time I will center the image perfectly in my app and then cut my image down to the size of the board. Although it was placed properly in the center of the board, this took A LOT of time, and even if the final image looks amazing, the beauty is in the details.
Step 3
I began nailing. This part was pretty easy for me as I have done more round pieces in the past which require the nails to be very close together. Since I was dealing with mostly straight lines at specific points it was pretty easy to get the general shape. This part was VERY therapeutic might I add. My biggest tip for this part is to have some plyers handy, especially if your hand-eye coordination is not completely accurate (like mine). No need to worry though, plyers can bend those nails right back into place (and by place I mean straight).
Step 4
Time to string! This part allows for so much creativity. If you are interested in looking at some designs that really showcase the variety in string art designs, click here for my Pinterest board that gives me so much variation. I hope one day my designs can look like those.
I noticed specifically that my piece had some blank spots, and this had to do with no nails being in that area. I no know that for my next design, if I want a specific spacing with my string, the nails need to be evenly spread out. Any large gaps in nails will result in a gap in the string or a messy pattern to fill an area. Something I was really proud of here was the way I outlined the piece at the end. This is something I have never done before and figured out by looking at images and playing around with my technique. Although I thought I was done with this piece, I decided to go one step further and really push my technique to create something I am so proud of.
Final Thoughts
Here is the final piece!
For my next piece- I am going to challenge my design. I am hoping to do a specific pattern with my string which will require strategic placement for my nails. I also will make a more circular design to make sure my technique improves for that next piece. I am excited to see a more complex piece come to life!!
Talk to you all next time,
Catherine
Just as a refresher for some of you, I have decided to document my "mastery" in the skill of nail and string art. This has been something I have done for a couple of years, and as of recently, have wanted to make a business out of it. However, I felt that all of my designs looked pretty much the same, and what better way to push myself out of my comfort zone than with this project.
Here is an image of a past piece I have made for a family member:
So here we go- piece number 1. I decided to keep things simple in order to refine my skills and really note what needs some improvement and what I can do better on.
Step 1
I need to design the image that I will use as a stencil for my nails. Since I have an IPad, this step was fairly easy. I used the Procreate App (which is amazing might I add and would recommend purchasing if you are into designing or drawing) to create a simple design of a maple leaf. From there I printed it out and began to center it on my wood.
Side note:
My wood is some excess barn board that I have used before. This was not a material I was focusing much on since I knew it held the nails well and was thick enough for the nails I was using. My main focus this week was more so on my technique.
Step 2
This part was really tricky for me, putting the image perfectly center and straight on the board. I need to fix a few things here. For starters, I sloppily cut around the maple leaf to make it smaller and this created an illusion of it being straight when it was not. I think next time I will center the image perfectly in my app and then cut my image down to the size of the board. Although it was placed properly in the center of the board, this took A LOT of time, and even if the final image looks amazing, the beauty is in the details.
Step 3
I began nailing. This part was pretty easy for me as I have done more round pieces in the past which require the nails to be very close together. Since I was dealing with mostly straight lines at specific points it was pretty easy to get the general shape. This part was VERY therapeutic might I add. My biggest tip for this part is to have some plyers handy, especially if your hand-eye coordination is not completely accurate (like mine). No need to worry though, plyers can bend those nails right back into place (and by place I mean straight).
Step 4
Time to string! This part allows for so much creativity. If you are interested in looking at some designs that really showcase the variety in string art designs, click here for my Pinterest board that gives me so much variation. I hope one day my designs can look like those.
I noticed specifically that my piece had some blank spots, and this had to do with no nails being in that area. I no know that for my next design, if I want a specific spacing with my string, the nails need to be evenly spread out. Any large gaps in nails will result in a gap in the string or a messy pattern to fill an area. Something I was really proud of here was the way I outlined the piece at the end. This is something I have never done before and figured out by looking at images and playing around with my technique. Although I thought I was done with this piece, I decided to go one step further and really push my technique to create something I am so proud of.
Final Thoughts
Here is the final piece!
For my next piece- I am going to challenge my design. I am hoping to do a specific pattern with my string which will require strategic placement for my nails. I also will make a more circular design to make sure my technique improves for that next piece. I am excited to see a more complex piece come to life!!
Talk to you all next time,
Catherine
Hi Cath, your blog is SO organized! I love your use of headings and pictures. Great job, artist!
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