Think Small!

If the thought of creating art feels daunting because you imagine that you must paint a huge canvas, fill a thick sketchbook, or sew an entire quilt, then I have an art form for you to “try on for size”. I have recently discovered “Inchies,” and thought I would share:

10 Reasons to LOVE Inchies.

1. You can create an inchie in any art form you choose to practice—drawing, collage, watercolor, rubber stamping, chalks, fabric, polymer clay, whatever your medium of choice. Here are some Valentine's Day-inspired collaged inchies:

2. Inchies are a great way to create art daily, even when you are pressed for time. At 1 inch by 1 inch, it doesn’t take long to make an inchie!

3. At 1 inch by 1 inch, there isn’t much point worrying how they turn out. You have only invested a little bit of time and a few resources. If you don’t like one, set it aside and make another! Here are some illustrated inchies, done at the beginning of the year before I set my goal to learn more about drawing. I took images from illustrations I saw other places. Many aren't that great, but, hey, they're only an inch square!

4. Inchies are a fun, small “canvas” or “sketchbook” to practice something you’ve been working on. For example, I used inchies to practice tangles when I started making Zentangles.

5. Inchies are so small that they are a great way to use bits and scraps that you have lying around. Once you start making collaged inchies, you will hesitate to throw ANYTHING away again.

6. An inchie is interesting to look at; a collection of nine, fifteen, or thirty inchies is FASCINATING!

7. Making several related (or, I suppose, unrelated, for that matter) inchies allows you to make other art and crafts projects, like greeting cards, journal pages, and decorated picture frames. I made this card after seeing a blog post by one of my favorites, Julie Fei-Fan Balzer, where she used inchies to make Valentine cards.

8. If you draw several 1 inch by 1 inch squares on a piece of paper ahead of time, illustrated inchies make a great art project to do on-the-go; you basically just doodle in the boxes and come away with a whole set of inchies to cut out and use however you choose.

9. Inchies are an art form that even small children can enjoy! This piece, which can officially be called "mixed-media," as it was created with both graphite and ink (that is, pencil and pen!) was created when my 3-year-old saw my page of squares and couldn't resist making her own mark on them!

10. If inchies feel too small, or you want to move on to something new, you can make your squares two-by-two, and you’re making “twinchies”! I haven't tried that size yet; I haven't tired of inchies yet!