Why you should explore different artistic mediums

By: Cally

Working with new mediums outside your comfort zone will always be scary, whether you’ve been doing art for one year, 15 years, or 50.

As an Illustration student, I speak for a lot of creatives when I say I was the “art kid” growing up, and having that label made me feel obligated to only do the one thing I was good at. When I branched off to try new unconventional mediums, I found myself feeling frustrated for not being up to the same level of polish and I think that’s what scares people away from doing experimental work—it’s chaotic, it looks amateur, and it’s humbling.

Photography and writing were fresh, and I wasn’t any good at it, but it was art that I made that people didn’t immediately clock as “my thing.” I was able to find inspiration from them for illustration, the same way I would when I saw photographs by professionals or published writing.

I love taking photos of animals; to me, they’re the most challenging to shoot (any non-stationary subject is) but also look the most lively when in focus. I understand that focus does not necessarily result in an artistic or ”good” photo, but I still aim for it. I also can’t tell you what specs make for a ”good” photo, or what settings you should shoot at, or what lens to use—but I can tell you that I’ve spent many hours sitting on a bench photographing pigeons.

While visual art does have its merit, it didn’t resonate with me like the written word. I can articulate things with it that aren’t feasible in drawing. Metaphorical art can be impactful, but nothing will match the level of abstract and personal connection as a metaphor conjured up in someone’s head when interpreting words. I think taking all visuals out of the medium made writing a challenge, but a rewarding one, for me, as there’s nuance in writing that I can’t grasp yet. It’s really about putting ideas down on paper, even if it means I have to revisit it later again and again as the sole audience.

Even within one creative medium, (art, for example) countless techniques might not look good but are fun in the process. I primarily use inks, coloured pencils, and digital software, but when I chose to pursue an art education, I was pushed into using unfamiliar mediums like block printing. Block printing was extremely tedious to me: it’s hard to get fine details, it’s messy, it’s pricy, and overall is an unforgiving medium—it all comes down to the print, and if it fails, it fails. I was relieved when I finished my mixed media course and could return to the safety net of inks. A year later, out of nowhere, I had a craving for those graphic, messy textures, and hands-on feel that came with softoleum print—something I couldn’t get with pens or even paint. I ended up making stamps, many of which were full of nicks and errors, but they made for such fun stationery pieces that I actually went to the store to buy more supplies. The designs I made came from an inker’s background, but the execution of the medium turned what would’ve been a simple project into a lengthy, engaging process.  

It’s not really about the end product when it comes to experimenting, it’s about finding techniques and combinations and overlaps that you can bring back to your comfort practice. It’s about making something self-indulgent, ugly, and different, and loving all your failed attempts. 

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