Blank Space: The Game you 100% Make Up

One summer day I realized I had a blank poster board lying around with nothing on it. To remedy this, I grabbed some coloring utensils, cereal boxes, scissors, glue, and dice, and asked my sister and Mom to gather at the dining room table.

My family has played a dozen different games together plenty of times, but never before had we made one from scratch.

The idea of the game I call “Blank Space” is simple. You start with a blank space that’s able to be defaced (normally a large sheet of cardboard or a posterboard) and you make a game on it. Of course this only works in a cooperative and fun-spirited manner, as winning is a bit of a myth. Rather, the fun is garnered from the joint creative process of making the game as opposed to actually playing it.

The poster board “Blank Space”s I’ve contributed to were both candy-land-esque games. Meaning they had a large, snaking line of squares through various decorated areas, and the squares sometimes had challenges on them. Some squares from the game with my Mom included “compliment the person in front of you” and “draw a smiley-face somewhere on the game board” when you landed on them. If you got to the end of the line of squares, you just added more squares with a marker.
It can grow infinitely. You could bring in more sheets of paper. You could bring in a box and build stairs up to it. You could develop a castle and play “protect the princess” in a tower you built. The possibilities are limited only by your collaborative imagination.

This was the result of the second-ever “Blank Space” poster board game two friends and I made.

I tried this idea with a dryer box too and called it “Blank Space World”. I set it up in my room and added a gridded map to it. We even came up with a six-page rules/instructions book, made health-bar bases for some figurines of mine to be used as game pieces, made cards for each of the figurines with different attacks and an energy system, added terrain blocks to differentiate rounds… the list goes on. It was a nicely developed game.
Did we play it? Nope. Was it fun to create it? Incredibly.

This was how far the board of “Blank Space World” got before I evicted the dryer box.

The game “Blank Space” is a concept that, if solidified into one set of rules would ruin its charm. A game can last minutes to hours to days to weeks to I don’t know… years. There’s no way to monetize it. The Dollar Tree already sells most everything you could need for it. The hardest part (I’d say) is getting people creative and crazy enough to play it with you.

Duck Architecture is SO COOL

My first interaction with Duck Architecture was, of course, via the internet. Of course I had seen the Oscar Mayer hot dog vehicle before, but that’s hardly architecture. Besides, the internet showed me Paperville on creativebloom.com. Instant hook. It’s paper. After I’d seen it, months went by with it tickling my mind every once in a while. Then, bam. I attended an art camp and made some awesome new friends.
Incredible, really.
Anyways, we have kept in touch and followed weekly art prompts. When it was my turn to choose I knew just what to do. Duck Architecture designs Inspired by “your favorite drink”.
Hence my Apple Juice Aldi.

This absolutely isn’t the most in-depth post, and I really don’t know much about Duck Architecture… I just know it’s a real pleasure to look at! So if you didn’t before, at least now you know about it.

Now THAT’S how you run an Art Camp

I recently had the pleasure of attending the Indiana Wesleyan University (IWU) Art + Design department’s second consecutive Academic Summer Camp. It is part of a larger collective of Academic camps that the school hosts including nursing, engineering, musical theater, and even urban farming. The 2022 art camp had seven campers, and was a blast, as it’s where my knife vest came to be. The summer of 2023 there were 24 campers. Was it any less of a blast? Absolutely not. Am I glad I had prior experience with the school, the profs, and even a couple other campers in a more tame environment? Extremely.

Now how do you host an “art” camp? Are group projects the answer? Is it a large collection of demos by various artists? How do you get the students to soak in all the strategies in such a short time?
I feel the IWU Art + Design department has the process down beautifully.

They begin with the standard tour of the department on the first day, as the camps are required and suggested to do. The second day is when it begins: starting with two or three back-to-back workshops demonstrating various fundamental art concepts at a collegiate level, segwaying into a prompt. The prompt is broad, but simple. This year’s prompt was a chair. How simple can you make a chair? The answer is quite. Presenting: the log. It’s a chair. You can sit on it. But who wants their chair to be that boring? Using the newly found (or freshly presented) knowledge of shape and form, the 24 campers were tasked with conceptualizing a chair that is more than the fundamental four legs, seat and a back.
The ideas that came forth were so varied yet so similar. Students flocked to nature, making mushroom stools, a sunflower cushion, a leaf-inspired seat, a spider web lounge, and even a roly-poly chair. Students made chairs out of cardboard books, into a viking throne, and an imposing snake. The variance of the ideas was present, and yet the concept was still closed-ended.
The year prior (2022) the prompt was “wearables” (as in you make something you can wear). Very broad. Yet specific. 2023’s was even more specific but somehow more broad. And that wasn’t all.

Any art professor understands their craft is to be taught over the course of weeks, if not months, after being learned for years, if not decades. The IWU profs are no exceptions. However, the art camp is four and a half days long, broken into nine 3-hour sessions. They don’t have weeks. So they warn the students about the overload of information and teach the fundamentals of graphic design in two hours as opposed to the week in which a college student would typically spend just familiarizing themselves with the program. Oh but also illustration… and sculpture… and photography.
The professors blend the proficiencies together seamlessly. That chair we designed? Used in the photography and incorporated in the lesson about photography lighting tools and strategies. The illustration and character design section? Used to conceptualize a character to sit in the chair we designed. The graphic design portion? Used to create a poster advertising our chair and/or character.
All the while the profs were interspersing just the right amount of student and prof-led demos demonstrating Procreate, Character design, Style, and Skecthbooking, among other things, between loosely individual studio time that could be used to collaborate or focus while creating.

It all flowed together. It wasn’t some imalgamation of different concepts and unrelated projects. It was comprehensive and related into two very clear larger projects. Yes there were process sketches and unused photos prior to the final results. But that is a hugely unrecognized part of art. For a final piece to be presented can mean dozens of undetailed or detailed sketches and ideas leading up to the creation of that final piece. The ideation process is hardly represented in mainstream media art. We were reminded of the story of how the character “Boss Baby” came to be. A simple sketch that sat ruminating on a bulletin board for years before it became the animated film and huge success it is today. Major motion pictures originated in napking sketches. The sketches show how an artist thinks, the final pieces just show what they can do.

If you already knew about the concepts like form and shape, or already knew how to use Procreate, InDesign, and Photoshop, fantastic. That just meant you could dive deeper and pick out the more minute details in each of the lessons that someone learning it for the first time is unable to decipher.

And that’s why I’m thrilled for next summer already.

Thoughts about My First Ever Workshop

Well first off, it was amazing. Second off, it was tiring.

There’s simply a way about kids that brings energy and yet saps energy at the same time. I’m not talking my age of “kid”, rather around the tween age (9-12). The group for my first ever workshop was an amazing group of tweens who regularly attend a group my library calls “Between Makers” (very clever naming). There were about 8 who really got into the activity, and it was amazing guiding them through the creation process. As intently as they could, they listened to my little presentation, in which I basically told them not to burn themselves with hot glue (the trick is to make it dry really fast by rubbing it if it gets on your skin). I’m glad I didn’t make the slideshow much longer, because they were ready to get making.

I provided a theme. Did they follow it? Mostly.
The theme was superheroes, and the task was to squish your favorite superhero to fit on a single cube, using smart detail simplification to condense the well known character into an adorable size.
Here was my example:

Did anybody end up doing it like that? Maybe one or two. Were there awesome results? Definitely.

Some of the library managers participated too! As far as I know, everyone was really happy with their results, and I think having the cubes pre-made helped them take the step to the final product immensely. The results all looked substantial, because their base was substantial, but the decorations were up to them and they knocked it out of the park.

My method of instruction was more or less that of my high school art teacher. A method where you circle the room, talking to each individual about their thoughts for the project, and helping them where needed. Some students are quite independent, some need a bit more of a nudge, and all of them get regular check-ins, though durations may vary. From my managers’ compliments I’ve gathered it works well in the setting I was in just as well as the high school setting.

What did I learn? I learned that tweens are a very creative bunch, and if they’re invested in something, they’ll see it through for two hours straight. The thing must be incredibly engaging though, so much so that they lose track of time. That’s the hard part. Different things engage different people, so having multiple options and things to switch back and forth from helps garner focus. With every detail I learn from these workshops, I can work to make the next even better.

The Legend that is Harry Smiles

I actually didn’t know who Harry Styles was until I was 14. If you still don’t know, Harry Styles is an English singer, songwriter, and actor (according to Google). He was a part of the famous boy band One Direction until they broke apart, and he still holds the hearts of so many teenage girls to this day. I had never joined the One Direction listeners, nor followed them into their individual music careers until a friend of mine forcefully recommended I do. 

I guess I kind of enjoy upbeat music, so I didn’t stop listening after three songs. But this is an art blog, not a music blog:

When I still didn’t really know who Harry Styles was, and that friend of mine did, I did the obvious thing. I drew a turtle with a microphone and a wavy swoosh of hair and named it “Harry Smiles”.
First I drew it on paper, but then I saw my friend’s white water bottle. With permission, I drew the turtle on the water bottle in pencil, then eventually in sharpie markers. It was fabulous, and is commonly referenced today, though the friend has been using various water bottles since.

Fast forward several, several months, and I am now regularly making cardboard figurines. Hence a Harry Smiles one..

Magnificent.

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Something about inside jokes and having the ability to keep them going far longer than they should, and make them so much bigger than they have a right to be, continues to be a joy of mine. There are so many interactions I have on a regular basis that are fantastic because of these small, trivial things both of us remember from a very insignificant moment that one of us found amusing.
Some of the best jokes are repeated time and again. The real art is the deliverance, and not overdoing it.

I think I’ve got it almost to a science.

The Heads or Tails Machine

A.K.A. another post about “What is really pointless?” Just kidding. This machine doesn’t even make an argument of usefulness.

The idea was sparked when I heard about a “probability” themed project in sixth grade Pre-Algebra. The idea being an overengineered coin flipping machine… of course.

Did we ever have the project assigned? Nope. Did I make the machine? Yup.

It was pretty cool to me at least, designing the little flipper, the slopes in the box to centralize the coin into a little viewing tray, the finger placement spot, the tally board on the side, the clip to hold the chalk. As a sixth grader it was pretty impressive. 

It’s gone now. Has been for years. But it shall live on as a fabulously unnecessary attempt at a good grade in prealgebra.

The significance of June 25th

Some preliminary research reveals that June 25th is National Catfish Day (I’m assuming the actual fish) as well as Strawberry Parfait Day, Color TV Day, Log Cabin Day, and Global Beatles Day. It was also the day North Korea invaded South Korea and began the Korean war, and was the day of the Battle of Little Big Horn (a day that left us questioning if it was just a medium-sized horn).
But it’s also the day my Instagram account will be deleted. On purpose.
I understand that Instagram can be a huge asset for artists in sharing their work, finding inspiration, and networking. However, returning to my personal definition of success as an artist: “Art is what I make of it” (paraphrased), I find that the comparative nature of social media is simply unecessary.
Sure, I could scroll for hours and come away with tons of cool ideas, inspiration, and newly followed accounts. But it’s just as likely that I don’t. It’s just as likely I will see a 30 second clip of a project that took an artist months. And I won’t see all the practice and perfection of the craft that prefaced such a masterpiece. It’s just as likely I come away dissapointed in my seemingly sheer lack of skill as a whopping sixteen-year-old looking at these artworks done by professional adults.
I’ve decided to stray from social media also because of its significantly negative effects, with ease of loss of time being the most unnerving one for me. Each individual has a relatively predestined duration of life on this earth, with too many being cut short, but few going past age ninety. However insted of using gaps in attention to better oneself by thinking, far too many Americans today fill it with the scroll of social media. So much research shows that these gaps in attention are crucial to personal development and thought processing. If you’re bored, it’s a good thing, as it is letting your brain rest. This gap so often filled with instant media should be used for individual thinking and processing, not more intake.
I could preach the benefits of removing social media all day, but only when I follow my own advice can I be sound in my beliefs.

June 25th it ends. But this website (a way to grow and develop personally, with my focused comparison being on my past self instead of those around me) will continue.

Preserved Through Planning

This was actually the first time I had heard directed at me “So I have these cool, valuable items that no longer really serve a utilitarian purpose, and would love a display made for them.” 

Well, not exactly that wording, but basically that message.

The calipers in mention were those of my Great Great Grandfather, or someone that caliper of antique-ness, and six was the perfect number for a cool display.

When I brought them back to my room I set them down, and for some reason decided to deep-clean my entire room. Through the process I found the perfect little wooden case with intact snaps and a handle (fulfilling step one: find a prior acquisition that fits means). 

With the case in hand, I recalled watching a Colin Furze video in which he builds his dream workshop, featuring Shadow Foam. The foam is a gorgeous way to build a custom and practical display for his tools. Boy would I love to do something like that someday. (Step two: use prior knowledge to formulate a next step).

In the meantime I knew I could buy a cheaper, thinner foam online and try my hand with it. 

It took plenty of time to measure and cut everything, but the result was fantastic. 

The process had me comparing myself to YouTube creator Jazza, who likes to try new mediums with a “Dabble, then Dive” approach. I had watched the video from which I gained a bit of knowledge about the foam, then I tested a knife on a piece I bought in order to see how it worked, then I created a display! (Step three: create what you wanted to in the first place and be proud of your handiwork).

All in all a fantastic crafting experience.

Behind the Business (Cards)

For the longest time, cutting straight lines was a nightmare. Anything professional-looking has straight lines (or perfectly curved lines). The second something looks like it was hand-cut by scissors is when it loses credibility. 

I cut hundreds of bookmarks by hand for my Moosey Club, but that practice never resulted in perfection, and even years later I still cannot hand-cut a perfectly straight line.

That is, until I got a new office chair. 

So you see, Staples offers a warranty option with chairs, so when we bought the chair, we got the warranty with it. Thank goodness too, because within a week my hundred dollar chair had a massive rip in the seat. I stuck a pillow case over it, so it works just fine, but since we got the warranty we called Staples up. Instead of giving me a replacement chair, they refunded me the purchase price in a gift voucher for their store. So there I went to buy an incredible, eighty dollar, guillotine-style paper cutter from Staples with all the justification in the world. 

Boy has it been worth it. I can make birthday cards, bookmarks, trim laminated papers, cut down posterboards, cut cereal box tabs off, and most importantly: make business cards. 

I came up with the idea of making business cards out of cereal boxes shortly before the opportunity to purchase the paper cutter arose, so when I got it, I jumped straight to making them. 

I tested a couple sizes, found the best one, then cut hundreds of them. Hundreds. 

Of course, if my intent was to produce a professional-looking card, there’s no way I could handwrite my information on these things, as that’s the opposite of professional. So there I went to Vistaprint.com to order myself a large, self-inking stamp. So worth it. And

So. Satisfying. 

Yeah, factory work turns tiring eventually, but for me nothing was more enjoyable in those moments. Try self-inking stamps sometime… they’re quite therapeutic.

My first batch of cards included my name, a nice-looking scissor line I found on canva, and then my phone number, email, and instagram. 

My newer cards are basically the same, but rather have the Cardboard Enthusiast title and my website (which you’re on! congrats) replacing the phone number and instagram, as my Instagram is on the website, and I’m not sure if I needed to be giving out my phone number anyways. I also made the font a bit clearer, and marginally larger.

The response I tend to get when I hand someone a business card is one of surprise. I’m not saying cardboard business cards are unique to me (in fact, Western Michigan University’s Paper Pilot Plant produces recycled paper cards out of their food service’s boxes for their outreach coordinator) but I am saying it’s a bit rare for a sixteen year old to hand someone something so professional-looking and resourceful. They tend to ask what it’s made out of, and most of the time I can identify the exact box just by the small rectangle (often the nutritional facts side bar of the original box). It’s quite a fun little game. (The part where I have a .com website is always fun to get reactions for as well). 

Anyways, if you want to surprise people, don’t necessarily make business cards out of cereal boxes (that’s my thing), but do something unique. I read a book recently in which the author explained his deliberate wearing of bright yellow shoes to networking events. He was able to have a lucrative talk with a high-demand venture capitalist thanks to his outlandish shoes attracting their attention. People will notice something of importance in you, beit good or bad. You might as well design it yourself in the greatest way possible so as to leave the most accurate impression possible.

My Kind of American Football

You know those “hat days” that American schools have every so often? One of those was incredible for me thanks to my previous clumsiness.

Of course I didn’t mean to bump my ceramic-ish moose head off its spot on the wall and let it crash to the floor, only saving an antler… twice… but it resulted in a cool project.

This may have well been the first significant art project I made with my Dad in which we went out and actively bought supplies for it. Sure the supplies just included some fastenings, brown fur, and foam padding, but it was significant for me, as I was in my “moose” phase.

Quite a long duration of my elementary and early middle school life was centered around an obsession with moose (and yes, for the love of Pete, the plural of moose is moose). I collected dozens, if not hundreds of moose-themed and related items over those years, as well as made an entire club around a character named “Moosey” in which we participated in service projects and made moose/Moosey-themed crafts I directed.

So yeah I had a ceramic moose head on my wall from the hunting/knife store my Dad was quite fond of. 

Three different times. 

The third one I still have intact (knock on wood), but the first two ended in a heaping pile of shattered pieces, except for one antler from each.

These antlers would go on to create the best football helmet I’ve ever seen:

It’s been many years since we made it (I think it was around the start of the sixth grade) so I don’t recall the exact steps we took, but I remember there was some drilling, attaching, glueing, and decorating at my Grandad’s workshop. What I do remember quite fondly is the day I wore it to school… and the teachers could do nothing about it, as it was an American School system “hat day”.

The number of looks I got was phenomenal. 

I understand the negative connotations with anyone self-absorbed, but I have to admit I quite enjoy showing off the hard work (even if my Dad did most of it in this case). It was fantastic.