sarahhulst creativestylebook - Flipbook - Page 16
THE IMPACT OF
In middle school, I discovered
YouTube. I was a nerdy kid who
liked art and realized there
were people creating videos
featuring tutorials for different crafts and techniques for
drawing. I instantly fell in love;
I spent my free time watching
videos and discovering new
people I looked up to. Some of
my favorites were Sarah from
SoCraftastic, and the weekly
“Crafty Friday videos,” Baylee
Jae and her Copic marker
artwork, Moriah Elizabeth
was known for her series of
Wreck this Journal art, and her
contributions to her own book,
Create This Book. Other artists
I looked up to were Valerie
from Art ala Carte and Kristy
Partridge’s colored pencil
drawing techniques.
I am a very introverted person,
especially in middle school, so
when kids my age spent time
hanging out with friends, I
was in my room making art. I
dabbled with various mediums,
such as polymer clay, and made
little charms; then, I tried making my own jewelry. YouTube
helped me figure out what
sized wire would work best
for specific projects and how
to secure eye pins in charms if
they were to fall out. I started
16
SOCIAL
MEDIA
my own collections of craft
supplies like seed beads, string,
lots of glue, and markers of
every color. These three years
of my life contributed so much
to my understanding of art and
helped me define my art style.
I learned how to paint with oils
and watercolors. I studied the
pencil marks on others’ drawings, making notes on using
their techniques in my own
works. I remember looking up
to multiple creators, excited
for the day I would be an adult
spending the majority of my
day creating.
Another social media platform
that has impacted my life to
this very day is Pinterest.
Before I was introduced to the
app, I would google keywords
of something I wanted to look
at for inspiration for an art
project and screenshot everything I liked. I had hundreds
of screenshots on my iPhone
5s. Then one day, my storage
was full on my phone, which
was no surprise, and I went up
to my mom, asking her what
to do. She was shocked at
how many photos I had saved
on my phone and told me to
delete them so my phone’s
storage would be free again
and to download Pinterest. I
was in absolute awe; this app
was gold in my eyes. So, when
I had my first phone to myself
and downloaded Pinterest, I
ended up spending about 90%
of my screen time on that app.
I created so many boards organizing my different ideas for
future paintings and drawings.
Then I would organize the pins
in my boards into sections,
making it extremely organized.
There are downsides to social
media when entering the online art world. At times I would
feel discouraged and compare
my art to others. By changing
my perspective to admire and
take inspiration from others
instead of self pity. Social
media has been a great tool for
my art to get ideas, create, and
promote.
UNIQUE SHOES
With my obsession with art videos on YouTube, I was introduced to fabric markers.
one of my favorite YouTuber of the time, SoCraftastic, made a handful of videos about
fabric markers and thWe style of Zentangle
doodles. These videos inpired me to get my
own set of fabric markers, so I could draw on
clothes and wear my art and show it off to
my friends and family.
In 2015 I received a pair of pure white
converse sneakers, the perfect canvas for
my art. I had put a lot of stress on myself
with this fun project because I wanted to
draw something that would look good since
I would see it every time I would wear the
shoes. I decided to go with a black and white
color scheme to keep the shoes semi-neutral so that I could pair them with a variety
of outfits. After a day’s worth of work, I
completed the shoes; I mirrored the design
on one shoe and did it twice on the second
shoe. While wearing the shoes out and
about, I would constantly get compliments
on them.
After a good couple of years, the shoes started to wear down
and were getting uncomfortable to walk in, so in 2018, I
bought myself a new Wpair of white converses and created
another unique pair of shoes. My newer pair was still black and
white and were identical on both shoes. I enjoyed the zentangle design I did on my first pair, so I created a similar design
with more floral elements. I also included the year I created
them on the back. Yet again, when I wore them out, I would get
compliments that made me feel very proud about my work and
encouraged me to continue creating.
WHERE I’VE WORN THE SHOES
17
