DIY Word Art

My gorgeous studio has one giant wall, and I'll admit to being overwhelmed by it when it came to figure out what to hang there. I thought about doing a gallery wall again, but it seemed like it would be too much in the space. I intentionally chose a lot of color for my studio, but I also need there to be some breathing room in there. And when I pictured a thousand frames on the wall, I felt claustrophobic.

Instead I wanted one large, simple piece that inspired me. And since I had already spent a bundle on paint, I decided I'd make it myself (after getting an inexpensive 50% off canvas at A.C. Moore).

Here's how I did it:

Supplies:
Metallic craft paint
Painers tape
Pencil with unused eraser
Something to pour paint onto (can be as simple as a paper plate)
Pencil to write with
Sharpie
Ruler
Canvas

1. Pick a bowl that has a rim the width of the circle that you'd like to use on your canvas. Using painters tape and a flat surface (like a floor or counter), tape out a large enough square that you can draw the outline of the bowl on the square.

2. Draw the outline and cut out the circle.

3. Using a tape measure diagonally across the canvas, mark the center with a pencil. (Sorry I didn't get a picture of this!)

4. Place your circle of tape onto the canvas so that the center is directly in the middle. This took a little maneuvering for me. I measured until my center dot was directly in the center of the circle.

5. Dip the unused eraser of a pencil into your metallic paint and press it onto the canvas to make a dot outside the circle marked by your painters tape.

6. Continue to make dots across the canvas in the pattern that you'd like. I made dots somewhat randomly across the whole canvas (minus the circle) and then went back in closer to the circle and added more, gradually decreasing as I got closer to the edges of the canvas. I also went in with a second color (gold glitter) to add more dots.

7. Place a piece of tape straight across the center of your circle. Use a level if necessary to make sure that it's straight. Then, using a pencil, write out whatever word you want to put inside the circle. Paint over your pencil lines with the metallic paint.

9. Wait for the paint to dry, pull off the painters tape, and hang your artwork.

I'm hoping that the single word there reminds me that my purpose in this studio is simply to create. It's not to create beauty or create magic or create perfection or create anything in particular at all. It's just to create - whatever that means at any given moment. 


p.s. I like words on canvas - I made this piece a couple years ago, and it's hanging in my bedroom now.