by Melissa McClain

Happy Thursday Scribblers! How’s your Scribble Jam going? Have you gotten your colors out and started using them? I can’t wait to see your scribbles!

So, I heard earlier this week from the cool Scribblers at Scribble Blog that it’s National Clown Week and I’ve been following along with the celebration of the clown. It seemed natural to write something fun and creative about the clown today, but…

…Authentic blogging moment…

When I was a little girl I was REALLY afraid of clowns!!

I know it’s silly. It was just a doll and clowns are cute and fun…but irrational fears are real fears. We all have them, and so do our kids. So I decided to use this opportunity to work with my fear and find a creative way to clown around on the post today and move past the fear. After I thought about it, I was inspired by the color red and shapes.

A close-up on a metal sculpture creates shape and color fun. Red and turquoise balloons would make great balloon animals!

Clowns always have fun red hair and big red lips. Their clothes usually have fun colorful shapes and they make those really silly characters by twisting balloons into different animals.

So in honor of the clown, let’s get creative with colors and shapes this week! Look around you this weekend and see how many red shapes you can find.

Shapes are everywhere! Circles remind me of the polka dots on clown pants. I found this fun image only a block from my house. You don't have to go far to get creative.

Take some pictures of them and post them on Scribble Blog or on the Facebook page. The more unusual the better! Get close. Create some intrigue about your subject. Make us guess what the shape really is.  Clowns are notorious for intrigue.

Clown around with your Scribble Jam and use red in your scribbles. Include some fun new shapes inspired by the clown.

Colors reflecting in water created great shapes and colors, a pop of red like the nose on a clown.

If you are feeling REALLY daring, buy some balloons and try your hand at CREATING your own characters through shapes and colors.

Inside of every fear there is creativity waiting to be tapped. What are you afraid of? What fears do your children have? How can you use creativity to overcome the fear and turn it into a creative game that turns fear to fun?

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Zippy

Interviewer: Zippy

Zippindipity, it’s Zippy! Zippy runs on one speed – ZIP! He even talks at zip speed because his super positive brain overflows with gazillions of scribbley ideas. Zippy is one the creative characters from Scribble Town!  

Melissa McClain

Guest: Melissa McClain

Melissa McClain is the founder of melissaAnne COLORS. She rediscovered her childhood passion for art and design several years ago and believes that by “coloring out loud,” whether through her camera lens or with her favorite pastels, she has found her true voice in creating new ways to make a difference in the world.

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Zippy: Hi, Melissa. Welcome to Scribble Blog! Are you a scribbler?

Melissa: Absolutely!  I scribble with lots of cool stuff…including my camera!  You might be surprised to know that this piece of art was done with my camera!

Zippy: What do you like most about being an artist?

Melissa: I LOVE to scribble with pastels!  If there are crayons and coloring books around, you will find me on the floor scribbling with the little ones.  But, when it’s “my time” to scribble I get out the pastels or my camera!

What I truly like best is the COLORS!  I LOVE to “play” with color!!

Zippy:         When did you first start to scribble?

Melissa: Of course I scribbled as a kid…but, somewhere along the way I stopped. Thankfully the scribble found me again, initially with my camera about 4 years ago.  This year I became a Creatively Fit Coach  and I started using pastels and a paint brush.  At first, I wasn’t very good at it and it was really scary.  But now, I have a special journal that I color in every day!  It’s my secret place where I let myself run free and “color out loud”.  I even SHARE some of my scribbles now.  It’s not so scary any more.One of my favorite times of the day is when I’m coloring in my journal.  The more color I can put in there the better!  As I said, I love color…

Zippy:  That’s cool, it’s never too late to scribble!  You said you love color,  do you have a favorite color?

Melissa: I agree, Zippy!  It is never too late!!

Artist Dale Chihuly once said “I never met a color I didn’t like.”  I agree with him!  I like all colors, but, I do have a favorite.  I’m really passionate about the color Turquoise.  It shows up quite often in my scribbles.  I’m never far from my favorite Turquoise pen!

Zippy:  How do you express yourself through art?

Melissa: My most favorite thing about art is that it tells a story through colors and shapes.  I also love to find art where people don’t always look.  To discover beauty in the unexpected.  Like with my photography. My signature collection, Water Colors, are pictures of the bottoms of boats.  It may sound strange, but I see amazing stories and art in the colors and textures I find there.  I’m happiest when I’m in a boatyard seeing and imagining art.

Zippy: Wow, sounds fun! I hear our Chief Scribbler, Andi Thea, would like you to be a regular Guest Scribble Blogger! What type of stuff will you write about?

Melissa: Yes, I’m so excited to be one of the Guest Scribble Bloggers!

I think you’ll love my posts.  I’m going to write about color, creativity, and expressing yourself through art.

I believe creativity is so important for both kids and adults!  You don’t have to be an artist (or a kid) to be creative.  We’re all creative and finding a creative outlet makes life better and more “colorful”!

Zippy: Now, I think I heard the Chief Scribbler say you would be doing something called a “Scribble Challenge”…What’s that?

Melissa: The Scribble Challenge is really exciting!  The journal I showed you earlier is from a challenge I started a few months ago. I began calling it “coloring out LOUD” because it gave me a new way to get in touch with my “inner voice”, communicate my thoughts, and creatively express myself.  It’s also been a wonderful self-care routine!  Coloring in my journal changes my mindset and helps ease the stress from every day life.

I want the Scribble Blog readers to join me, so I’m going to challenge them to start their own “Scribble Journal” and start releasing their “inner scribbler!”

There will be more information on the Scribble Challenge in the coming weeks.  It’s going to be really fun and creative!

Zippy: Oooo, Sounds exciting!! I can’t wait to learn about the Scribble Challenge!

Well, that’s it Scribblers! Melissa McClain will be a Guest Scribble Blogger every Thursday, so be sure to check back next week to see what she has to say!

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Hi Scribblers!

We have some exciting news!! In addition to our regular posts and the featured Guest Scribble Blogger of The Week that posts on Tuesdays, we will be featuring a Guest Scribble Blogger to write for us every Thursday. Her name is Melissa McClain and we are super excited to have her writing for us!  Keep reading to learn more about Melissa!

About Melissa McClain

Melissa McClain, Guest Blogger featured every Thursday on ScribbleBlog.com!

Melissa McClain is the founder of melissaAnne COLORS, a brand that represents her abstract photography, designs, and creativity projects. Prior to becoming a full-time creative artist, Melissa was a crisis management specialist who designed programs and supported survivors and families of victims of aviation accidents, terrorist attacks, and natural disasters. Melissa rediscovered her childhood passion for art and design several years ago and believes that by “coloring out loud,” whether through her camera lens or with her favorite pastels, she has found her true voice in creating new ways to make a difference in the world. She is enjoying getting re-acquainted with her inner “scribbler” and helping others get in touch with their inner voice through color and art. Her vision for melissaAnne COLORS is to launch a textile line created from her abstract images and create unique and colorful accessories for the home by working with women’s cooperatives with a social mission to empower and support women. You can see Melissa photography portfolio at melissaAnneGallery.com

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