Every Thursday in the Freelance Jungle, we invite freelancers to share creative projects, client works, the things they are learning, side hustles and more.
The resulting monthly blogs act as a celebration of these Thursday threads.
Creative projects are a big part of helping freelancers reset their heads, sharpen their skills and simply enjoy themselves. Their inclusion is about encouraging self-care practices and celebrating creativity generally.
Here’s what some of our freelancers were working on as creative projects between mid-July to mid-August 2020.
Unusual creativity
From pulling out the tools through to building online objects, these are the creative projects that don’t always fit neatly in the standard categories.
Shaney Hudson with furniture restoration
Art Deco furniture restoration is a new love and a talent.
Pretty Shilling with Suzie Eisfelder
I finished these. I call them the Pretty Shilling. I need to send three of them to team members for our AGM on Sunday week.
Wire work with Janny Grant
I’m weaving a 1900’s style wire dress, it’s a mirror mounted sculpture for an upcoming art competition entry. Still have to add sleeves, upper neck and other bits.
Kitchen times with Fleur Adams
In-between working on getting events happening again and recovering from surgery I have been getting my kitchen done using timbers I have collected over 15+ years.
Toy making with Kelly Davis
This is part two of toy making. I’m learning to whittle as well. This is Mum and Dad from my family series I’m making. I am using balsa wood for these, so it’s unlikely Harper will get to play with them (it’s too soft) but they’ll make a nice display piece.
Giraffe Cake with Georgina Auton
Giraffe cake this week for my friend’s birthday.
Game building with Tim Hanslow
I spent some time working on a system to build random things using a wave form collapse. I didn’t write the code, I just grabbed pieces to throw in and told it how they could connect together.
Sometimes it made things that started to look like a dungeon.
Motion design with Sheree Dillon
I’ve been learning a few new things with motion design this year. I’ve just finished doing this icon design with Adobe After Effects as part of a little UI design project I’m working on for my portfolio. The animation is rendering a bit slow on here though.
Wearable creative projects
Wearable creative projects are having a big revival at the moment. Winter has brought an interest clothing and of course COVID-19 is turning us all into markers with masks.
Kaz Wolter with Halloween
This is Doris, she will soon be a zombie for Halloween. Made from Styrofoam head, loo paper and PVA glue. The teeth are next.
Yes, I’m a big kid and I love Halloween! Scaring the pants off the kids in our estate is so much fun.
This year it’s a zombie apocalypse.
Jodie Woodward with Crochet
I finally finished crocheting this blanket for my son. It’s the perfect activity to do while watching TV or a webinar – and it stops the mindless social media scrolling!
Undies with Rebecca Carroll-Bell
Undies! These are for a client, but they’re so cute, I think I’ll make myself some too.
Masks for the family with Jessica Harkins
I hand-stitched some masks for me and my family using scraps of my fabrics.
Crochet with Jess Horton
I’m making a Christmas present for a cousin who is also making me something (she has her own indie clothing label so hers will be more technical than mine!). This picture was right before I started again though 😅 Realised a new stitch I’d used was actually making the pattern smaller 😭
Crochet jumpers with Lorna Hendry
I spent about 100 hours and $100 crocheting a jumper (my first attempt at something that big). To be honest, I’m a bit disappointed. It’s weirdly baggy at the seams, the sleeves are too tight and it’s a bit itchy. I still have to sew in the loose ends, but that feels like throwing good time after bad! But I’m still kind of a bit proud of the effort.
Creative projects involving art and design
A standard and lovely fare of the creative projects often found on the I made this Thursday thread, art, design and photography give us the opportunity to play, give to others, learn new skills and more.
Illustrated treats with Lauren Rosenberg
Finalising my sets of prints. I have this one (Sweet Treats), and a Fruit and Veggies one too. I think they would suit a kid’s room, a kitchen—or wherever you decide to put it 🥳🥳 I’m more a maker than a drawer, so I’m a bit nervous about releasing these into the wild. But I think it’s time to take the leap (maybe something good can come out of 2020 after all).
Birthday painting with Stacey Lewis
I made this for my boyfriend, whose birthday we are celebrating at the snow next week (fingers crossed). Turns out learning an entirely new painting technique (while also never having painted much in my life) was probably a tad ambitious. It nearly went in the bin about 13 times.
Meena Azzollini with Art Card for Health Carers Project
Created this card (watercolour and pen) for the Art Card for Health Carers project by Microgalleries. Had so much fun painting this. I have more paintings in the pipeline including one watercolour and another in acrylics and oils!
Kid’s birthday invites with Gabriel Cunnett
I’ve been struggling with client work this week – but I did manage to make these super cute invitations for my daughter’s birthday party! (she loved them, so at least I can say I’ve made one client happy this week 😬).
Still life with Kelly Hackett
My first still life oil painting- I generally do more landscapes. Have recently set up a Bluethumb art account (though I am yet to post to it). Will try and sell online.
Lockdown art with Mariela Diaz-Rojas
Yes- you heard right Melbourne is on lockdown 2.0. So here come the posters.
Mask up Melbourne and stay home!
https://www.facebook.com/305412470016056/posts/687834481773851/
More stay home Melbourne content with Adrian Elton
Outside of the ol’ fee paying work, I’ve been busily makin’ memes encouraging Melbourne to stay the flock at home, and to wear a freakin’ mask. Here are some of those efforts including an updated image of me for my email signature, leading by example.
Portraits with Jen Ava Goodwin
I finished a painting. With the recent world changes, working from home whilst full time parenting three small people (one of whom also hates sleep) has been HARD. But getting one “real” thing finished has been a huge boost in convincing myself I don’t have to wait for the world to return to normal before I start achieving things again.
Fencing with Rebecca Stewart
Well my fencing art exhibition was postponed a second time, so I got a professional to come in and document the works. He was great and the images came up great. Doing this has allowed me to enter a bunch of art prizes I may have missed out on due to general COVID-19 faff.
Jaccob William Laurence McKay- Lockdown photography with the kids
They were playing with some packaging materials, so we got creative with it.
Creative projects of the plant-based kind
No isolation or COVID-19 based creativity wrap up is complete without taking a look at plant-based creative projects.
Terrariums with Rebecca Freeman
Bunnings were selling terrariums and I loved the idea of getting one, but they are $50, so instead I bought a fishbowl from Kmart, some plants and materials and made my own.
Flower picking with Andrea Rowe
I’m just back from walking and picking roadside foraging to make sage smudge sticks with my tween. Mother daughter exercise this weekend to fill in the long lockdown hours (not plants stolen. All sanctioned by great neighbours bless ‘em!).
New gardens with Hayley Rollason-Jones
I’m not making it per se, but our raised garden is going in and I am so excited I might pop. 56m² of planting space.
A final project to leave you on is a birthday poem by Sandy Shailes
Does a naughty birthday poem I wrote to my cousin count?
I thought I’d write something funny, my dear cousin Dee,
But at your ripe old age it would just make you pee.
You’d run in circles trying to squeeze shut your flaps,
The bouncing doing bad things to your saggy old paps.
The pee would keep flowing till it leaked to the floor,
Just as your hubby walked in through the door.
You’d then reach the limit of your poor ancient heart,
It would skip a few beats causing you to then shart.
Now sharting your pants while they’re already wet,
Is about as bad as it could possibly get.
So, I’ll spare you the horror, the despair and the shame,
Of everyone laughing when they hear your name.
Instead I’ll just hope you had a great day,
And feel safe after this knowing I live far away!