readaudrey:

My very first Mixel.

Not that my opinion matters much, but I was sitting on the train today and felt really strongly about writing something about my morning using Mixel.  In short, it was wonderful.

It’s been a rough few days at my startup. I feel discouraged, lost and very much alone in my new venture  and really didn’t want to do my usual rush to the office.  So I went on Flipboard and discovered an article about Mixel.  Installed. 

I breezed through the UI, discovered my friends using it, and was presented with a blank slate.  ”Time to make the donuts!”.  My startup involves dogs, so I naturally picked out some cute images of puppies.  Cropping, sizing - easy breezy.  

Here’s my ‘aha’ moment.  With some swift finger strokes, I slowly created a scene that was more than just puppies - it was how I was feeling in that exact moment.  The images started forming the first ever ‘visual self-expression’ I’ve done in a long time.  I remember my art teacher in 2nd grade applauding my knack for cutting nice lines and making collages, but I never considered myself an artist by any means.  My stick figures are disproportionate, my color choice is always awkward and I dress without style.

But kinda like Tumblr helped me believe I can be a writer, Mixel helped me believe I can be an artist. Sure - I’ll never be famous like Andy Warhol or Picasso, but I love that I have a tool where I can make something visual that tells people who I am and how I’m feeling.  I got my very first ‘like’ for my very first Mixel, and that made this average Thursday morning into an exceptional one.

Hrag Vartanian at Hyperallergic.com ”got the Mixel bug” and created Mixels for the biggest art stories of last week. See them all here.

You can use words from existing images or create your own letters!

Take a closer look at the Batman and Aquaman collages.

One cute puppy became the focus of many remixes in this thread. 

See them all here.