Yes, I LOVE letters, and I love LETTERS. But I really love X's and O's. And I love when I can make stuff from nothing, or practically nothing. You showed us you can too when you made your own snowflakes or shapes and used them in the last crusade.
Do it again. Get out the paint and the gesso. Grab your alphabet stamps. (I know you have several.) Or carve your own. Or cut stencils from plain paper. Or just use pens or brushes to mark X's and O's on your pages. Why these letters? Two reasons.
1). It's that time of year - Valentine's Day!
2). These letters are just shapes with meaning, especially when used together.
I have learned alot through my personal admiration of the letters. I see symbolic representations of them everywhere because my awareness is tuned into them. Think: a button with four holes. Criss cross the thread through it and you have an X and an O. Just playing with these letters in your journal is enough to sharpen your own vision, and soon you will see them everywhere. It's a playful exercise, but it may get you to think outside the box with your own favorite shapes in the weeks ahead.
For our global friends: X = kisses, O = hugs. I learned they aren't universal symbols when fellow crusader Inge asked me about it.
Refer back to previous crusades for additional help on making tools: Crusade No. 18 ~ Cut It Out (carving stamps), Crusade No. 19 ~ Cut It Out II (cutting stencils).
For painting tricks: Crusade No. 25 ~ Properties of Gesso, Crusade No. 28 ~ Portion Control, and Crusade No. 29 ~ Brush Effects.
You are welcome to interpret the challenge however you want. I suggest using X's and O's since they are easy shapes to recreate for your own tools. Keep it simple. Learn from the medium. Let the paint dry between layers. Playing with paint is main directive, adding letters is just part of it. Remember from the last crusade: having an assignment will hopefully take out most of the *thinking* and allow you to get to the *doing*.
To join us in the crusade: get out your journal and take on the assignment. Photograph or scan your work...blog about it, or upload to a photohosting site, then come back here and leave a comment with a link to your post. I will put all the links into the sidebar under Crusade No. 37, newest will be at the top. Please come back often to click on the links and leave your valuable words of encouragement for those who go out on a limb to share. We all learn from one another when we try similar things during the month and it so much fun to see all the work, especially if we have tried it ourselves.
Archived links have been moved from the link list to here - some may no longer be active.
Aimeslee
Belinda
Belinda Schneider
Carolanne
Carrie Gross
Dawn
Debra McWilliam
Gil Jussara
Helen
Imelda
Inge Bekaert
Jan J
Jane Royal
Janet
Kate Robertson
Kim Hutchinson
Kimberly (more)
Liz Ness & Jackie Wood
Lorraine
Maria
Maria (more)
Marilyn
Meg
Michelle Ward
Mona
Regina Rooks
Regina Rooks (more)
Rosemary Griffin
Sheila
Shona Bucaroff
Steph Block
Susan Sager Brown
Viki
Zura