November 2018 - Organizing Tips
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With fall having now arrived and winter approaching, many people have turned to reorganizing closets, cleaning out garages, getting living spaces and studios organized. Here are some tips that may help with some of the organizing challenges:

• If you have trouble keeping your clothes closet tidy and organized, here are two ideas that may work for you: organize by type of clothes, eg. shirts together, pants, skirts, etc.  -- or organize it by colour. This last one works for me. When I get up in the morning, my choice is about what colour to wear. See which one of these works for you.
• Clear, plastic shoe boxes and other clear totes work great for storing supplies, as you can easily see the contents. For small items, try mason jars, an attractive way to keep multiples of one item on hand.
• It's easy to lose paint colour chips, and paint cans don't always have the information or sometimes get painted over. Keep all your paint chips in one spot, and indicate on the chip which room the paint is for.
• A binder with sheet protectors works great to keep those loose papers organized that you need to keep but don't really have a spot for - things like take-out menus, a phone list from a club, papers from the school ...
• Use a tray to organize items on a table top or kitchen island.
• A pretty bowl is great for tossing keys into that may get misplaced otherwise.
• Old coffee cups can hold pens, pencils and paint brushes.
• Re-use old spice jars to store beads and other small craft items.
• String up an old clothesline or rope in your workshop, and use paperclips, bulldog clips or clothespins to pin up ideas, notes and works in progress. 

October 2018 Tips

We often hear people say "I don't have a creative bone in my body". We disagree. People are born  creative, but often we believe we are not creative as we grow up. Everyone is creative in different ways, expressing their creativity through everyday life, activities, relationships. It could be the way you tell a story, planning meals for family and friends, projects around the home, problem solving at the office. No special talent is required, just a desire and a willingness to learn and grow. What does creativity mean to you? 

The Navan Fine Arts Group plans to share a palette of tips each month on different aspects of creativity that we hope will be useful for you. This month's tips focuses on creating a look - whether you're painting a picture, or making a table centrepiece perhaps for Thanksgiving, or another project. 

⦁ Consider working with an unusual shape or size.

⦁ Arrangements look best when there is an odd number of items, adding some rhythm to the overall look. 

⦁ Add impact and interest by putting objects off-centre, or if making a picture, having objects look like they fall of the edge of the canvas.  

⦁ Consider unusual perspectives: worm's-eye view or bird's eye view

⦁ Adding a contrasting colour can make a display much more dynamic than a monotone arrangement. If you’re not sure about a colour to add or where to place an object, try painting it on acetate sheet first or taking a photo and altering the look in one of the design softwares. 

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