Good morning! I wanted to share a new Instagram hashtag project that I just started working on this week: #MB_AtoZ. I created this exercise to practice writing about my art, creative process, personal artistic journey, and the inspiration behind my artwork. I’ve felt a strong need, particularly within the past year, to start writing more…to share inspiration, concepts, mood boards, process – basically all of the things that other artists do that I used to connect to, love, and share right here on this blog.
It may sound kind of strange that I feel the need to “practice” writing, since my first creative endeavor was in fact, being a writer.
I’ve logged many hours and articles writing about other artists and their work, as well as developing and writing marketing plans for creative business owners. But it’s different when you turn that spotlight on yourself. That’s what I’m doing now – getting more comfortable sharing my own stories, inspiration, and process around my art. Doing it regularly, doing it with purpose, and doing it with ease.
What better way to begin than with the first letter of the alphabet and continue all the way to Z?
<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-version="7" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:1024px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:8px;"> <div style=" background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:50.0% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"> <div style=" background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div> <p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BWYFgftAYdg/" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">#mb_AtoZ All right! Ready?* A is for ANDY WARHOL. . . Andy Warhol was my first artist crush. I learned about him and his work when I was 18 or 19. I wasn't exposed to much art growing up. I lived in a super small town in north Louisiana most of my childhood. There was one art museum nearby but I didn't visit it until I was older, after I had met and made artist friends. When I started learning about Andy - his personality, his process, The Factory, his beginnings, Edie, his obsessions, his multidisciplinary creative interests - I couldn't get enough info about him. Before the Internet - (I KNOW, RIGHT?!) - I took a road trip with a friend all the way from Louisiana to NYC and ended up lugging a bunch of heavy books about Andy all the way home from @strandbookstore. I still have some of them. . . I've noticed that I'm super inspired by people who use a lot of different mediums to express their creativity. Much of my observations about my own artistic influences are in retrospect since I didn't start making a lot of art until much later in life. I dabbled in writing since childhood, started doing it regularly nearly 20 years ago. I dabbled in photography as a kid too - started doing it regularly about 10 years ago. Graphic design came next, then fine art (in my 40s!). Save the best for last, maybe? . . See @thewarholmuseum for more Andy. . . *If you have no idea what I'm doing/talking about here, see previous post. #melaniebiehle_creativeprocess #melaniebiehle_inspiration #melaniebiehle_sketchbook</a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by Melanie Biehle | Artist (@melanie_biehle) on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2017-07-10T18:36:49+00:00">Jul 10, 2017 at 11:36am PDT</time></p></div></blockquote><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><script async defer src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script>
<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-version="7" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:1024px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:8px;"> <div style=" background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:50% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"> <div style=" background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div> <p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BWahg-Dg4Y_/" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">Day 2: #mb_AtoZ When I started planning out this art inspiration/process documenting project, I realized that one item for each one letter of the alphabet wouldn't be enough. I mean, I'm okay with one for the letter X (spoiler alert: Xanadu, duh) but some letters need more. So here's another A - A is for @acehotelpalmsprings. This place is a magical oasis of inspiration in the Palm Springs desert. I've stayed there a couple of times and feel complete inspired and relaxed when I leave. The hotel itself was flawlessly designed by @communedesign and I'm obsessed with the details, color palettes, and California cool vibe. I even created an art print based on this place! You can see it at the end of this slideshow, after some of the details that make the Ace Hotel and Swim Club special to me. #melaniebiehle #melaniebiehle_inspiration #melaniebiehle_creativeprocess</a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by Melanie Biehle | Artist (@melanie_biehle) on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2017-07-11T17:20:02+00:00">Jul 11, 2017 at 10:20am PDT</time></p></div></blockquote><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><script async defer src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script>
<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-version="7" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:1024px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:8px;"> <div style=" background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:50.0% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"> <div style=" background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div> <p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BWc2L_xg6B2/" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">Day 3: #mb_AtoZ | B is for BLOGGING ••• Blogging was my gateway drug to becoming an artist and designer. In 2009, after I moved back to Seattle (for the 4th time) from Los Angeles (2nd time), I started a blog to get back into the habit of writing again. The first time I lived in L.A. my goal was to become a screenwriter - instead I worked in film marketing, which can suck the life out of writing for yourself or even wanting to write scripts anymore. Back in Seattle I started Inward Facing Girl - a personal blog that ended up being a journey of writing, creativity, obsessions, motherhood, travel, design, photography, art, and ultimately, finding myself. I learned about @altsummit and saw that people were combining lots of creative skills and using their blogs to create their own brands and businesses. I taught myself photography and graphic design, at first just to make my blog look the way I wanted it to look, but eventually paired those skills with writing and marketing to start my own creative consulting business. For years I shared and praised the artwork of others, but remained an observer/appreciator. In 2013 I began to dabble - playing in sketchbooks a bit, eventually taking a weekend abstract composition workshop with @juliarick at @gageacademy that I did as a photography/writing assignment for my weekly column at @seattlerefined. That story changed my life. It was in 2014 that I began to take real steps toward becoming an artist, and it all sprung from starting a personal blog. #melaniebiehle #melaniebiehle_inspiration #melaniebiehle_creativeprocess</a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by Melanie Biehle | Artist (@melanie_biehle) on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2017-07-12T14:59:09+00:00">Jul 12, 2017 at 7:59am PDT</time></p></div></blockquote><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><script async defer src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script>
I hope you’ll follow along with me along this alphabetical exploration. I think we’ll both learn something new. xoxo
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