Meanderings

Come over to the new blog

2010-05-25T09:48:00.001-06:00

For anyone finding this blog and enjoying the old posts you can find more recent activity on my new blog http://thequeenofcreativity.blogspot.com/ Come check it out.

Happy Fourth of July

2009-07-04T13:11:00.003-06:00

A happy fourth of July to all my American readers and a happy Saturday to everyone else. I guess the fourth is always for celebrations so I have one too. This is my 788th post for this blog and I had posted under the name at tripod before that so it has been a long time under one name and format. The times they are a changing.

I have been working with a coach and finding the process eye opening and life changing. One of the things I have discovered is that my purpose has always been creativity. I just tend to explore it in many ways. One day on a call I said oh I am the Creativity Queen and thought what a great name for a blog, So after some thought I decided to step up to that name and create a new blog and see where that takes me.

So I hope you will come visit me at my new site

Some art while I was away

2009-06-30T08:35:00.009-06:00

Even though I was at a conference I did manage a little work in my journal. This one had the spray painted background already done.

I played with some collage elements over some spray painting.

This pen and ink was fun to do just doodle my way through a lecture.

I tried another castle/princess drawing in pencil. These are more fun to do in color.

I drew in the notebook that I took for writing too.

Another face I drew in that notebook.

Sarah is here for a short visit to renew her license and go to the dentist and all that jazz. Its great to be able to see her again so soon.

Stenciling Some Journal Covers

2009-06-22T17:49:00.008-06:00

It just occurred to me that I am almost done with a journal and I still have not done anything with the covers so today I went outside and grabbed the spray paint.

Inside the cover must have something on it to. Now everyone will know this is my journal

Here is the inside back cover. I tried overlaying a stencil and adding paint again. It seems to give more depth that way. I don't know if I will tire of this stenciling with spray paint. The possibilities are really endless.

The back cover uses one of my favorite papers as a stencil. I like using this paper with lots of different colors. I may add something else to this one later

Early in the morning I will be headed to Salt Lake City for the UU General Assembly Conference. I won't be blogging for a week. See you then.

Little castles

2009-06-21T09:46:00.004-06:00

Sharon over at All Norah's Art has been doing these paintings with this tall houses or castle. I thought I would try one. I think she is painting the entire piece. I took a little different tact at it. I had the entire background spray painted. I made my houses with collage papers and some stamping and paint on top. My lady's face was done with Shiva paintsticks and the rest Golden fluid acrylics. It seems I always resort to using painsticks when the face I paint is not turning out.

One of these days I will remember that if you do the same thing the same way you get the same results. I think its time I watched Paulette and Sharon's videos on painting faces again. Maybe it will click this time.

Have a wonderful Fathers Day!

Wreck this Journal Week 3

2009-06-19T15:24:00.002-06:00

I took the journal to Hamilton last weekend. My friends Amy and Debbie helped wreck part of it. My daughter came to visit with roommate Brenna and boyfriend Kyle. They managed to add their contributions too!

Play Day

2009-06-18T09:26:00.005-06:00

Its the first day this week I have had a chance to be in in the studio so I did play at lots of things.

First I cut this Buddha stencil. There was a mistake but I tried it anyways. Then paint got under the stencil but it was already in my journal so I am stuck with it but that's ok.

I did more spray painting, some success but more that didn't turn out some days it is frustrating.

Then I tackled lesson 5 or 6 I can't remember which, in my layer love class. Several of the lessons were pretty much the same thing so I won't be doing them all. Some of you know I really don't like pink so I am skipping that one for sure. We were to pick colors or a picture we like or a combination of the two and do a background with it as inspiration. I love this picture of this glass bowl. I have been planning on using it in a journal page but haven't so far.

And here is my background. I may try next time to use less colors but I like it. I didn't add the drips because they are ok but I don't want them in every painting.

I also did some more wrecking of the journal but that is for tomorrows post.

I found out that Golden has this great guide on paint mixing. I didn't know such a thing existed so I printed it out right away. If you use these paints or need help mixing colors this might be helpful to you too. Here in the link http://www.goldenpaints.com/artist/mixguide.php

Guest Posting

2009-06-16T21:28:00.004-06:00

My very first guest post has been published. Check out Meet your Muse, its a blog on creativity by writer Jennie Nash. It was a real thrill to be asked to do this. I hope you pop on over and see what I wrote about. Then look at some of her previous posts as there are some real gems there.

Returning from Hamilton

2009-06-16T07:48:00.009-06:00

I had a great time at The Fiber Festival I went to. Sarah came to visit so that was the best part.

Brenna, Sarah and Kyle willing post for me. It was so great to see all of the kids.

Here is a picture that Sarah drew in my sketchbook. A profile drawing of Kyle.

Of course I had to get a few new goodies while I was there. This necklace was being sold by a women selling all her old jewelry. Its a birds nest and the eggs are freshwater pearls. It seemed to fit me well.

This is a skein of merino/bamboo/nylon sock yarn. A friend was knitting with it and I really liked the way all the color was playing out in the sock as she knit it. It has many shades of green.

I also bought this pair of fingerless mits. They were the right color and they were really inexpensive. I have always wanted a pair of these, so now I don't need to make them myself.

There is a wonderful article at Creativity Portal. Its called Aging techniques, Mixed Media and collage by Tatiana Kuzyk. There are several pages to look at but it covers a lot of ground and uses all sorts of mediums. If you have never been to Creativity Portal it is wonderful. Its full of projects and articles to inspire and get you going creatively.

The Kestrel House

2009-06-12T11:38:00.004-06:00

A few years ago we put up this bird house for a kestrel. We haven't seen any activity until this year. We decided to check it out this year.

Here Dave is unhooking the roof so we can look in.

Inside we find the male sitting on the nest. We sure hope there are some eggs underneath him. Its kind of exciting like we are the proud parents waiting for the babies to be born. This story will continue....

Wreck This Journal week 2

2009-06-12T07:15:00.000-06:00

Its now week 2 for Wreck This Journal and I had a blast destroying it this time. I look like hell in the video but oh well. I guess my makeup artist didn't show before we began filming. I hope you enjoy the fun.

I will be heading out this afternoon to the Big Sky Fiber Fest in Hamilton Montana. Have a great weekend everybody.

If Today Was Your Last Day

2009-06-11T17:26:00.003-06:00

I saw this on Kim's site the Queen of Arts and just loved it so I had to share it with all of you. I so loved it, I downloaded it and it will soon be on my ipod. Enjoy!

I love this

2009-06-11T11:30:00.003-06:00

I saw this video on Patti Digh's blog and I love it. I am the woman dancing and singing with this group called Naturally 7. Not really me but I would be. In fact I have been known to sing to the music over the P.A. at Michaels and other stores. Life is too short not to have wonderful moments like this.

Choose to sing and dance when the moment strikes. It is so fun.

SP Wednesday

2009-06-10T16:57:00.006-06:00

I know 3 posts today but I will be gone for the weekend so this will make up for not posting then.

My self portrait looks a little misty today.

My order from Dick Blick arrived, yippee. After seeing an article in Cloth Paper Scissors using gouache watercolors I wanted to try them. I bought a set of 24 and they are really nice. I love the intense colors.

I tried out my new gouache paints last night and I really like them. This bird is the result.

This is a pick of 2 collages that I did a little while ago. That is enough for today.

They are so cute

2009-06-10T08:46:00.007-06:00

As promised the Yellowstone pictures continued.

This is the resident Great Horned Owl that hangs out near park headquarters in Mammoth Hot Springs. It had a nest and babies this year.

And now for my daughter the Badger pictures.

They were so cute playing in and around their den. When they went back into the den it was butt first. They entertained us for some time.

Be sure to click on these for a closer look.

Another cute one, I can't seem to stop showing these cute badger babies.

There is some fantastic scenery in Yellowstone too.

I spent some time just relaxing and enjoying the beauty of the area.

We made our way home south through the park and then through Teton National Park. I love it here I love to just sit in front of these mountains and just be. Sometimes its hard to believe there are such beautiful places in the world. I am so blessed to be living close to them.

This is Jackson Lake. Someday soon I'd love to take my kayak out on this lake.

This is Mount Moran. I love to sit in front of her and just enjoy the beauty and really feel the energy of this special place. Its wonderful to journal or draw in this setting.

Crow Saves the Day

2009-06-10T08:29:00.003-06:00

For all you crow and raven lovers here is a short film by a very creative mom. I found her on Gary Reef's ning site Art for the Heart. lpatencio is her YouTube channel name. Check her out. Also Gary's site is full of wonderful things, a real support for artists.

More pics from Yellowstone

2009-06-07T09:05:00.008-06:00

The second time I went to Yellowstone this year I took hundreds of pictures so its taking some time to go over them all and find the good ones. Here is a first look at some of htem.

This little bluebird entertained us while we waited for Old faithful to erupt.

Here she is erupting. When she got to her height all I got was steam so the pictures were not great.

Big horned sheep on the hillsides

Another Momma and lamb. The lambs were so cute to watch.

I loved seeing this fox's tale, isn't the size of it amazing.

The fox eventually crossed the road right in front of us.

This wolf we watched for a long time. He was looking for a place to cross the road. He eventually found it but we watched him for a long time

This wolf was on the hillside at an Elk carcass. With think this is 302M the alpha male of the Blacktail pack. He is a favorite of mine. 302M is the Casanova of the Yellowstone wolves. He started out as Alpha of the Druid pack and then let his brother have the duties. He was more interested in visiting the ladies of several other packs. He is quite a character and I love hearing his story and all his adventures as they unfold.

I loved this reflection picture I was able to take.

A pelican just sitting on the water and then....

I was snapping away when the pelican decided to take flight. It was pretty great to get these shots.

I think the water looks so amazing. And no that is not all the pictures, baby badgers in my next post.

Wreck This Journal

2009-06-05T22:19:00.004-06:00

I am part of the group The Next Chapter Book Blogging Group and we have just started with the book Wreck This Journal. If you want to take part you can sign up here The wonderful Jamie Ridler is leading the group again. Its going to be a fun read for this summer why don't you join us too! Some of us are doing vlogs to start so here is my short video.

Here we have my finished page. I added some color and some journaling to the page. I think its going to be a lot of fun doing the book with this group.

The babies are growing up

2009-06-04T10:37:00.007-06:00

Over the past couple weeks we went back to see the Great Horned Owl babies.

Here they are still in the nest. there were actually 3 Owls in there but I never got a picture of them all. Its really hard to get a picture with all the twigs in the
way.

Here they are a few weks later. Now they are out of the nest.

The feathers are still growing as you can see the little tufts at the top of their heads are really small.

They were really fun to watch them grow up. I imagine that the next time we go we won't find them at all.

Sp Just One Thing

2009-06-03T09:46:00.006-06:00

This is my self portrait lately.

Or perhaps its this one, you can see all those lovely laugh lines close up.

I started this new eating plan a couple months ago and had steady weight loss. Then I hit a snag with all this time away. On this plan there is so much you have to change and I knew I could not do it all at once so I haven't. I was thinking yesterday what is one thing that I could do easily this week that might help matters along. Then I thought of water. The plan calls for eating 12-8 oz glasses of water a day. I am not drinking anywhere near this. So my next step in the eating adventure is to ad the water to my diet.

Now this led to thinking about the concept of one thing. So many times when we attempt to make changes on our lives and the changes see so huge. Maybe we would all be more successful if we broke things down to a smaller level. This relates to anything in your life. What simple thing could you do to make your Art a little different? Mine was painting that bird. Or what could you do to make your relationships better? Maybe taking that extra time doing something for another person will make a difference. If you're a writer what could you do? perhaps just do morning pages or a timed writing every day. Why don't you try just one new thing in your life and see how it goes. If you do I'd love to hear how it went.

Just Do It

2009-06-02T21:20:00.004-06:00

I am going to borrow the phrase from Nike today. I was looking at Dj Pettit's blog and she has these darling painted birds on fabric. I thought I have always wanted to draw and paint birds. Now why haven't I done so, no reason so I decided then and there I was going to paint a bird. I didn't have a model or anything just decided I would paint a blue bird and it was so much fun. I know I will be dong more now. Its funny how we put off so much for no real reason either. Is there something you have been meaning to try? Why don't you give it a go today.

The texture on this page was done with gesso and a texture tool and a stamp. Bird was painted with Golden fluid acrylics.

This on also used a gesso technique which didn't quite work out so I covered it with one of my spray painting experiments. I liked the idea of using the branches of the tree to list things. What would your tree look like.

Lots of Playing today

2009-05-31T00:41:00.008-06:00

I am playing catch up in the Layer Love class. Here is my painting for lesson 3. Its supposed to have that old world look about it. I really didn't blend it the way it is supposed to be done but I will really like it. I used a new product on this one called Polymer Medium gloss. It really adds a glossy texture to the piece. This is one of the reasons I like taking on line classes. You learn about new techniques and new materials and how to use them.

I tried a technique mentioned in the latest Cloth Paper Scissors. They suggested to use up that leftover paint on your palette in your journal. You can add glazing medium or water for a wash and paint backgrounds with any extra paint. I thought it was a great idea. So I tried it on this page. You can see all the colors I was using in the first picture. I will be adding a lot more to this page but thought I would share its beginnings. I love learning new little techniques like this.

I got to play with the spray paint today and started these journal pages. They are all in progress of sorts. They had been pages I painted in my journal but I was not inspired by the background so nothing became of them. So I added a little spray paint and the magic began. I like this page so much I may not put anything else on it. I hate covering up all the wonderful colors.

About all I did here was add the stencil, some Japanese fabric tape and a stamp. I may journal or add some text later.

I tried a mask on this page and kept making mistakes in the spray painting. I think with some journaling on the page it will look great.

I bought this lace template that made a great stencil. Its really for a scrapbook page but I think it turned out great as a stencil. Janet if you don't have this one let me know, I got 3 in the package and I can send one to you.

CED Drawing in Ink

2009-05-29T09:23:00.007-06:00

Its time I posted something for Creative Every Day challenge. While I was in Yellowstone Park this past week I managed to do a little drawing.

This is a ink drawing I did of the Yellowstone picnic area where we stopped to have lunch.

These were some examples from a book that I trried to emulate. Now I am ready to try some from real life.

This is a drawing I finished this past week, I really liked the way she turned out.

I drew this one in while relaxing in the same picnic area in Yellowstone.

Layer Love

2009-05-23T22:48:00.005-06:00

I have signed up for Julie Prichard's Layer Love class and I finally got around to trying some painting today.

This one is is all about reds. I had my challenges with this one but that is they way when you are learning a new technique.

This is for lesson 2, there are some collage papers used. I actually liked it better before I added all the dark green. The drips I ended up making are so light you can't even see them. Anyways I think that both of these pages will be great backgrounds to use in my journal so all is good.

Speaking of journals this page fell together really easily, I am happy with it. The image makes me smile and I suddenly feel more at peace when I look at it.

I will be out of town for a few days so no posts till at least Friday.

Surprise Visit

2009-05-21T11:11:00.008-06:00

The Snake River Fiber Fair was this past weekend and as usual it was lots of fun. I picked up a few goodies for myself.

This is some yak/silk top. I plan to spin it up and make a shawl out of the yarn. It is really yummy to the touch.

Sarah wants me to make her some of these.

This is the fiber that she picked out. They should look great in this color.

This is some green merino wool. I really liked the color, I think it would make a lovely scarf.

My friend AMy took a class on making felted vessels. She is going to show me how, I bought this corriedale wool fiber to make it.

There was a big sale on sock yarn so I got these 3 colors. The light colored one is bamboo. If you have never had bamboo socks before I suggest you try a pair, they are wonderful. I may send these to my sis to knit up on her sock knitting machine.

This is a wool/bamboo blend. I really liked this color green. These are earth friendly socks. The 75% wool they have is recycled.

I found this Laurel Birch purse that was just perfect for me. The more I use it the more I like it.

In addition my daughter Sarah came home for a surprise this past weekend. I had not seen her since January so this was a fantastic surprise. When she left on Monday it was so sad, too short of a visit. I miss the days when she came home for the summer. We did manage to work in going to see Star Trek again. I just love that movie. I need to find someone else who has not seen it so I can go again. She brought along her boyfriend and her roommate. It was nice getting to know both of them a little better.

Yesterday I went to lunch with my friend Gari and she gave me this birthday gift. It was a long time coming because she had problems making it but well worth the wait. It really is gorgeous in person. That's a goddess as the pendant and its made of freshwater pearls in greens and bronze colors I love it.

This is the only artsy thing I have done of late, a page in my journal.

Some words of Wisdom

2009-05-20T07:27:00.003-06:00

On of the blogs I read is Meet Your Muse written by author Jennie Nash. Her latest post had some real gems in it. I asked her I could post it here and she kindly consented. Thanks Jennie.

Writing and Faith

I wrote these words for Eric over at Topic Turtle. I thought they had a place here, too....

Sitting alone in a room putting words on a page in the hope that someone, someday will read them and be moved by them can easily be seen as an act of folly or desperation. We live at a time, after all, when many people struggle to pay for health care and put food on the table. In this economic climate, it’s easy to think that storytelling is superfluous, unnecessary, narcissistic — or worse. In order to continue doing it, day after day, with little or no encouragement or support, is an act of faith — even if you’re “just” doing it for half an hour in the morning before work, or on your lunch break, or in whatever time you can snatch in between carpooling the kids and doing the dishes. But the question is, how do you maintain the kind of faith that’s necessary? What do you to tell yourself to continue to carry on? Here are five suggestions:

1. I Have the Power. It helps to remind yourself that you have what it takes to write a story that will move people. We all have what it takes. We have been crafting stories and telling stories, and listening to stories our entire lives. My friend Lisa Cron, who has been a script reader and story analyst in New York and Hollywood for many years, says that there is a secret language of storytelling – and that we all know it by heart. The problem is that when the challenges of writing overwhelm us, we forget what we know. We forget our power. We give in to the doubt and the voices that tell us that we should quit. When this happens, remind yourself that the ability to tell stories is as uniquely human an asset an as opposable thumb – and start typing again.

2. I Have the Desire. I go to an ophthalmologist who is absolutely stunned that anyone would spend their days writing. “So are you still writing?” he asks me, every time I visit – and his tone is not merely idle office chit chat; I can tell that what he really means is, So you really sit there all day making up stories? and that what he is waiting for me to say is, Oh no, I finally gave that up that silly practice. I used to be offended by his tone, but on this last visit, he told me that he has attempted to finish the same book on each of his last five vacations but he can never seem to do it; suddenly I got it. My ophthalmologist is a man of science, a man who served this country in the armed forces, a man who has successfully run his own business, but he is not a reader and he therefore can’t understand why anyone would be a writer. If you, unlike my eye doctor, feel drawn in by words and stories, if you feel the desire to write, if you feel called, don’t fight it. Take faith from its existence in your life, because not everyone feels it. And it means something.

3. I Am Part of a Noble Tradition. At a certain point, faith in your own desire and your own power isn’t enough. In order to continue, you have to believe in something bigger than your own small self. For some people this faith can take the form of belief in god, but for writers across the entire spectrum of spiritual belief, it helps to believe in the great writers who have gone before you. Rather than be deflated by their brilliance (easy to do when you read something that soars and has lasted for centuries, or something that soars and just made the New York Times Bestseller List), you can be uplifted by your shared reality. My favorite explanation of this kind of faith comes from guitarist Glenn Kurtz, author of the book, Practicing: A Musician’s Return to Music: Everything I need to make music is here, my hands, my instrument, my imaginations, and these notes. For most of their lives, Segovia, Casals, Bach, and Stravinksy were also just men sitting alone in a room with these same raw materials, looking out the window at people on the street. Like me, they must at times have wondered how to grasp the immensity of music’s promise in a few simple notes, how to hold fast to their devotions against a cutting doubt that would kill it.

4. I Don’t Have to Write a Blockbuster. The fastest way to kill your faith in writing is to tie your notion of success to the marketplace. The publishing business is too fickle and unpredictable, and books aren’t like ketchup or dish soap; no one knows why, exactly, one book sells 5 million copies and another doesn’t sell any, and you can’t game the system by trying to figure it out. All you can do is tell your story in the most crisp, clear, engaging way you can, and hope that you will be lucky enough to connect with even a small audience who is moved by your story. You can always hope that your story will be the one plucked from obscurity and celebrated all over the world, but hope is different from reality. You can’t take hope to the bank. You can enjoy it, and use it, and be motivated by it. But hope can't be what makes you write. Bookseller Christine Deavel, co-owner of Open Books in Seattle, Washington, sums up this reality nicely. “Most people in the book business know they will not make a lot of money,” she says, “There’s never been a bubble burst here — we never had a bubble. We find other rewards. There are still poetry lovers. Just a few minutes ago, I had a conversation with someone about Robinson Jeffers and Emily Dickinson. That is a form of payment for me.”

5. Writing Matters. If you lose faith in yourself as a writer, have faith, instead, in the power of writing itself. Writing has the power to illuminate, to heal, to amaze, to shock, to galvanize, and it can do so one-on-one, or within entire nations. Your story may seem small to you, but it could be enormously important to someone else. When you feel doubt about what you are doing, try to recall a book that had an impact in your own life. Think back to a writer who helped you over a hurdle, gave you an epiphany or brought you a measure of peace. Your feeling of gratitude for that experience can be enough to push you forward with your own work. It can remind you of why you’re doing what you’re doing, alone in your room, while the recession rages on. As Junot Díaz, author of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, says, “What we do might be done in solitude and with great desperation, but it tends to produce exactly the opposite. It tends to produce community and in many people hope and joy.”

Written by Jennie Nash.

You might want to check out her blog and website too. Jennie has a new book out called The Only True Genius in the Family, it is a story about an artist's search for the source of inspiration and the limits of love. There is an excerpt from the book on her website I was really captivated by the first chapter and can't wait to get my hands on the rest of the book.

Animal Dreams

2009-05-14T13:36:00.000-06:00

My short trip to Yellowstone was all about the animals. We have been there so many times that we don't even go see the geysers much anymore.

I have a real affinity with Ravens so I love trying to get their pictures.

I love this close up of their feathers. For a black bird there is so much variation in the color of their feathers.

This is a Great Grey Owl, I was excited to see one of these. They are not really rare in numbers but we have tried finding them before but with little success, This was a first for us so that was really exciting.

We saw lots of bears. This black bear was just on the side of the road grazing through a meadow.

This is a grizzly, if you click and make the photo bigger you can see his paw on the left and those long claws. He had a tussle with a porcupine and has quills in that paw. When he climbed down that ravine he didn't put any weight on it. The ranger said he will figure out a way to remove them.

Here he is trying to maneuver himself to get down the hill side.

This is the same grizzly just grazing on the hillside.

We saw about 6-7 wolves at different times. One of these days i am going to get a close up wolf picture.

The same wolf a little closer. Usually I don't even attempt a picture, just look at the animal through the scope. This wolf was closer and my lens is pretty good so at least you can tell its a wolf. This wolf is from the Druid pack.

There were many Pronghorn or Antelopes close by. Usually you don't see them close to the road. They looked really healthy this year.

You always see Buffalo in Yellowstone and there were many in the areas that we traveled. They too looked pretty healthy this year compared to last year when the winter was really bad. There is something about seeing these beasts in the wild that brings back the old west when they were plentiful across the plains.

Some of the females had babies that looked just like this one. They are really cute to see. They always stick really close to their mothers.

We saw this marmot sitting on a rock like he was posing so of course I took a few shots of him too.

This is a bull elk whose antlers are in velvet. As they get bigger he will rub off the velvet on trees.

This was a yearling elk eating on the side of the road. I snapped this right out my window.

This is a coyote and he was punching on things in this field and moving back and forth like he was hunting something.

We also saw some Ospreys sitting on their nest which was way too far away for pictures. The Sandhill Cranes were not on their nest yet. The 2 Great Horned Owl Nests we used to see were vacant of birds this year. Perhaps they have moved. I hoped you all enjoyed seeing these animals. I never tire of seeing them.

Spending the day in clay

2009-05-12T22:27:00.004-06:00

Today I spent part of my day in this wonderful creative bubble. I am part of the Ambiance Committee for the Unitarian Universalist General Assembly to be held in Salt Lake city next month. We are making decorations for 25 tables in the theme of the four elements. For earth we are making pots that will hold some native grasses.

We met at my friend Jen's studio. Oh what fun that was, she has a small house for her studio. The walls are painted all different colors. From beautiful green to bright yellow and a fantastic turquoise. When I walked in I thought oh this is definetly an Artists house. She works in ceramics so all her art for sale was on display in one room. Then there were areas for her kiln and slab roller and work tables. So all afternoon we made these clay pots. None of us were very experienced but Jen guided us and we did great.

It was so much fun being in a room with five women doing this creative project. The energy of the studio was so pleasant. I could have stayed all day. What a wonderful place she had to create. Although I love the room I have dedicated as a studio this place was so much more. Even the garden and yard were inspiring with the sculptures and flowers everywhere. I neglected to bring my camera so no pics to share. I plan to next week when we work on glazing the pots.

So much of my artistic creative time is spent alone. This was so different from that. I can see how collaborating on a project with other Artists would be so rewarding.

Investing in Yourself

2009-05-11T10:55:00.008-06:00

My weekend trip was great. We had beautiful weather and I took lots of pictures. I will show them in a few days when I get them all sorted out. The new lens on my camera was fantastic.

On Thursday I pulled a muscle in my left arm and shoulder that was really painful. Being in Yellowstone before all the facilities were open was a handicap. I had to wait till Monday to get it checked out. After a trip to the doctors today I discover yes it was only a muscle pull. Now I have some meds for the pain and a muscle relaxant to take. Prognosis is if its not better in 10 days then I will need a MRI. I of course am hoping that the meds and some time will heal this. I was afraid I needed shoulder surgery so I am happy that is not the case.

I realized I had not done a journal page in some time so I finished this one today. I see the up stretched arms of my silhouette as a way to embrace life. I found it cathartic to write out ways that I might embrace life more fully. Is there one simple thing that can you do to make your life more fulfilling?

While I was away this weekend I drew these two ladies.

I had a pre coaching session with Jamie Ridler and it was wonderful and enlightening. I really look forward to working with her in the coming month. I think it will be a great investment in myself. Now that is interesting, its easy to invest in many other things like art supplies or classes or redecorating a room but how often have I invested in myself. I know this really feels like a great time to be doing this. Have you invested anything in yourself lately? Maybe now is the time.

Early Mothers Day

2009-05-07T14:35:00.004-06:00

I got my mothers day present a few days early. Its a new lens for my camera. A 70-300mm lens will let me do a lot more. Tomorrow we are headed to Yellowstone to see if we can capture some wolves on film. I am sure we'll see other things too. Pictures will follow.

The Wool Trek.

2009-05-07T00:01:00.002-06:00

On Saturday I took a Wool trek to Notlwonk Springs Farm that is owned by my friends Fred and Jo Knowlton. Its an annual event that they hold to sell their wool fleeces and rovings. We drove down to Cornish Utah for the event.

My friends Debbie and Amy and I went together. Here is Amy enjoying herself.

We saw this coke machine out in the middle of nowhere and thought it was funny for some reason.

Look at what the sign on the machine says.

Here is my friend Cyndi and her son Colton. This was the first time I got to meet Colton and he is almost a teenager now.

Here we have what is known as the skirt scramble. All this wool is pulled out onto the floor. Its the areas that are removed before a fleece is sold. It is still really nice wool. The Knowltons give it away. Everyone gets a bag and then its a free for all.

I took pictures instead of getting lost in the craziness.

Here is Tina Howard describing the rug she is making. Its all made out of roving that is braided and then felted and then sewn.

Here is a closeup of the rug,its going to be pretty amazing when its finished.

I came home with 2 half fleeces. I really didn't need 2 whole fleece so I split one with both Debbie and Amy. That's what friends are for. This is the white one I bought

and this is the grey one. I washed them both today so soon they will be on their way to becoming some beautiful yarn.

SP Wednesday

2009-05-06T21:38:00.005-06:00

Its Wednesday again and I keep forgetting about this Self Portrait thing until I see one on someone else's blog. This is a shot that was taken of me last Saturday when I was at my friend farm. It will have to do.

Journal Bliss

2009-05-06T07:00:00.000-06:00

My friend Violette has had her first book published. Its called Journal Bliss and it is a fun and whimsical guide to visual journaling. Violette teaches you lettering, drawing faces, making transfers, decorative backgrounds and more. She has great ideas on borders and making art on envelopes. There are also wonderful prompts to get you started on your own journals. One of my favorites is Symbolic Stories and the Journal page about the Strapless Ball Gown. With Violette's permission I show it here.

Here is the page describing symbolic stories

I love the journal page that goes with it.

Here are Violette and myself when we met last year in Sedona.

Blog Book Tour

I am delighted to be a part of her blog book tour. As part of promoting Violette's book I am including a short interview with her. I hope you enjoy it.

1. What advice can you give about actually finishing a big project. I often get bogged down and lose my desire to work on something. With a project as big as Journal Bliss I know you had to stay focused and motivated. How did you do that?

Good question Kate. As you know (since you've known me for a few years) I have difficulty maintaining my interest for long periods of time so this was a challenge. The cool thing was though that if I looked at Journal Bliss like being several mini books - like several essays rather than one very long book then I felt it was doable. In the book I talk about eating an elephant one bite at a time - if I didn't do it this way it would have been too overwhelming to complete. I looked at each chapter as manageable. Then each chapter was broken down further - what do I need to cover in Doodling?? And then it would be broken down even more. Journal Bliss was fast tracked meaning I was told to do it in half the time of a normal book so that helped me to stay focussed. The book was my main project for over 6 months - I lived, ate and breathed it! So my advice to you is to break down your project into sections - for example, backgrounds, borders, faces and lettering. Look at each section as one project......before you know it these baby steps will lead you to a completed project! You'll look back and think....now that wasn't so bad was it?

2. Do you have any process you use when you are getting ready to create, like putting on an apron, doing a small meditation, etc? Just how do you bring your creativity out to play?

I'd really like to say that I do and in fact I encourage others to do so if it works for them. Basically though I surround myself with my creative tools and quite frankly I live in an insanely creative place with art and colour everywhere not to mention inspiring messages plastered in every nook and cranny. That makes it easier to create I believe. If everywhere you look there is inspiration and reminders of one's innate creative spirit then the creative process is a joy and needs only be given the word to spill open onto the latest project. But on another note.....sometimes I will don a funky red hat and pretend that I'm a housecleaner - it sometimes tricks me into thinking I'm someone else! Maybe one day I'll make a "Colourful Magic Hat" like the coat in Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat. Donning the magic hat will help put me in the creative space. I'll let you know how that works out!

3. I think there can be a lot fear in Art, how do you access your inner bravery and conquer that fear?

Yes there can be fear - the fear of not being good enough, not having anything of value to convey etc. I access my inner bravery (by the way I really like that saying!) by simply showing up and doing the work. I've learned that I have come into the world to show up and create art and that creating art is pure joy for me. Sometimes though I simply have to draw or paint the fear - the fear can show up as the Inner Critic as in one of my Journal Pieces. Giving the fear a face whether it be 2D or 3D is very powerful juju! Somehow some of the charge on it is released by the very act of giving it an outlet. It's almost as though I say "Here you go......I am giving you life so please could you go away now?" Basically what I'm saying is approach your fear. Often when you do the fear dissipates.

4. When you feel like you have been doing the same old thing how do you find new inspiration? How do you translate that inspiration into your own style?

Well that's the beauty of the net don't you think? Inspiration is just a click away - plus with all of the paper arts and alternative magazines out there one is never short on different avenues to take artistically speaking. I'll often look at something and it twigs an idea in my mind to create a piece - rarely is it exactly like the piece I saw on the net or in a magazine. A while ago I was at a bookstore and I saw an illustration of a Sun which was whimsical. I was so inspired by it that I rushed home and did my own version. When I returned to the store and looked at the Sun illustration which was my original inspiration I noticed that my version was radically different. It's a good idea to not have the other artists work in front of you - just the thought or idea of it can spark a new piece. For example you may see a necklace that you really love in Belle Armoire Jewellery - it's a beaded piece with sections of copper wire twisted here and there. Now let's say that you're a doll artist. So you decide to make a similar necklace but the difference would be that you add a miniature doll as the focal point or pendant. Voila! Your piece is now uniquely yours! Do you see what I mean - we can put our own spin on things and create something originally ours. Remember everything has been done before, nothing is new just revamped and sometimes improved.

5. What is the biggest surprise you learned about yourself or your art while writing Journal Bliss?

The biggest surprise was that I could actually stick to something for that long a period.......I mean usually one month is the longest I stick to one project. That's probably why I'm not too fond of one year long round robins. I need immediate gratification most of the time in order to satisfy that little "I need a quick fix in order to not get bored inner child". So like I mentioned above I needed to reframe creating the book by seeing it as a series of mini books or essays and projects. Once I could wrap my head around that then I was good to go. Don't get me wrong - there were many days I was whining to my partner about all of the work that had to be done however generally speaking I surprised myself by just doing it. Another thing that surprised me was the journal pages that kept showing up that were relevant and poignant. It's as though they had a life of their own and were lining up asking to be given life. I love it when that happens!

Thanks Violette for such a wonderful interview. You can check out her blog for further information on her blog book tour and see many more fun interviews.

A few faces on the way

2009-05-04T07:22:00.007-06:00

This was drawn at church a few weeks ago, just another face.

Here I was trying a little girl using a painting I saw on the net for inspiration.

I drew her in the car while I was riding to the Wool Trek on Saturday.

I used a different kind of pencil here. It was more an experiment of trying the pencil than anything else.

Just for fun I drew this bicycle. I call it Amy's bike because Amy was driving the car I was in and she rides a lot. Of course her real bike looks nothing like this.

Sue Bleiweiss posted this fun project on making books out of cereal boxes. It sure looked fun and easy. I ave been saving cereal boxes to use for ATC's but this is another great way to recycle an everyday item for Art. I love that idea. On the site she links you to there are a whole group of projects you might find interesting. She and Terri Stegmiler have a site called Two creative Studios where they offer classes and some free projects. What fun things they are doing.

Sacred Life Sunday - Owls

2009-05-03T14:14:00.006-06:00

For your Sunday enjoyment from a Great Horned Owl nest.

This picture was taken by Dave yesterday. If you look closely there is a branchling (baby owl) on the left, the mother to the right and some fluffy white feathers to the right of her is the other branchling. You can see them better if you click on the photo. There may be a third one but its hard to tell for sure.

I feel a change coming

2009-04-30T15:57:00.004-06:00

Since I did not write on Tuesday I set up a writing date with my writing buddy Kate. We met at the Villa at 10:00. Unfortunetly I brought my frustrated writer self with me. I can always figure out other peoples problems and help them see what is wrong and what they need to do so why can't I do that for myself. OK I thought I will try and pretend I am helping someone else. What questions would I ask this imaginary person. After some thought I came up with a series of questions. This was my list.

* Why do you want to write?
* What are your themes?
* What Is compelling to you about each story that you are considering?
* What would make your main character more interesting?
* What is it about the plot that is compelling to you?
* Why do you feel you need to write this story?
* Name ten ideas that you think are interesting to write about?
- Would these ideas work better as a short story or a novel?
* If you never finished either of these stories can you let go of the ideas and
move on to something else ?
* What is it that is really frustrating you?
* If you came up with a plan and a schedule would that work? Would you be willing
to follow a schedule?
* Would stepping away from the novel and writing a short story help you focus on
technique better?
* Would hiring a personal coach be the motivation you need?

Now several things resulted from this. I have been toying with the coach idea but really couldn't afford it before. I have some funds from my income tax return that I could devote to this. The only thing holding me back really is fear. So I proceeded to look at some of my favorite coaches sites and make a decision. I decided to do a free session with Jamie Ridler. I got to know her a little better when I did the 12 secrets book club and I seem to resonate with her. So I have scheduled an introductory session with her and then we'll decide if we are a good match. If so I will do a month of coaching and see where we go from there. After I made the decision I knew it was right, I had tears of joy as evidence. It was as though something was released from me. I see good things happening because of this decision

I continued on and started answering some of my own questions and came up with 2 short story ideas that I am excited about. So I think this asking your own questions of yourself can be a profound and motivating exercise. If you find you are stuck you might like to try this yourself.

SP - what do my eyes see

2009-04-29T13:23:00.005-06:00

I almost forgot it was Wednesday and that means bloggers all over are doing self portraits. This one is really too close but better than all the others I did so its what you get. I think this one is all about the eyes. Just what do your eyes see.
I know that sometimes I see the world with hope and promise and I am excited to just begin the day and then on other days frustration seems to reign. Here's to a day of hope.

I just signed up for Julie Prichard's Layer Love Class. Class starts May 18 and it looks like it is going to be a good one. Check out her blog for more details.

Speaking of classes the great stencil and spray paint classes I have been taking with Mary Ann Moss is going to be offered again in August. I think its one of the best online classes I have taken. Her blog will also have more details.

Lynn asked what a mask was so here is my simple explanation. When you cut a stencil, usually out of plastic, most times you have the image you cut out intact, this is a mask. When you place the mask down and spray paint around it the mask covers what was in the background and that is what the image will look like. When you use a stencil, the color paint that you choose is the color the image will be. With both these techniques you can get 2 different looks using the same image. I hope that clears it up a little bit.

Stenciling Experiments

2009-04-28T11:40:00.006-06:00

My hand is better but still not 100%. Its been quite a journey in one short week. Many of you said to relax and just enjoy the break. I found not being able to use my hand to be real torture. Sure I loved the excuse that I couldn't wash pans but not to be able to do Art or knit or weave or any of the things that I do to express my creative soul was really hard. I can do some things but cutting a stencil is hard, I can draw but my hand gets sore if I do too much. So I find I can still be creative but there are limits that I have to live by. The redeeming part is that I know its getting better every day. My stenciling class continues so I will share some of my latest experiments.

I put my portfolio together, added some initials and highlighted them with white gel pen.

This is a mask I bought of trees. You lay the piece down and spray around it so you can have many different effects depending on the background. In one I sprayed black and in another I sprayed white paint.

Here is another tree I tried, I like the colors in this one.

This is a mask I made from a magazine image. I just repeated it several times.

More playing with masks.

Playing with initials and more papers. The scroll is a mask from Tim Holtz.

This was my first try at cutting a face stencil, you may recognize Amelie. That movie is such a delight. I kept redoing the corner stencil, I still don't like it but perhaps I will journal over it.

This is full of experiments including stencils masks and a stencil of my profile picture. I think that is enough for now

Day 3

2009-04-23T18:19:00.003-06:00

I feel much better today. Got to take a shower and wash my hair and the big bandage came off. It is amazing how sometimes the simplest things can make you feel so much better. I got all the staining off my fingers, I could sear it looked like nikel azo gold paint. The mark made on my finger with permanent marker will take a little longer to come off. Each day I have a little bit more mobility so that feels good.

Thanks to all of you who left kind wishes for me, I really do appreciate it.

Dave was home so we went out to breakfast and then to Market Lake. I got to see a baby owl(great horned) in its nest. That was so cool. I wish that I had a picture of that for you. By the time D got to my location the baby owl had moved. Sometimes its only a moment in time. I have the picture in my head but that is all. It was so neat to see that. We also saw some snow geese, grebes, white faced ibis, sand hill cranes and various ducks including cinnamon teal and shoveler's. It was a nice morning.

I hope you had a chance to see some of the earth's beauty today.

Self Portrait Wednesday

2009-04-22T13:47:00.006-06:00

I found it a tad different taking a pic with my left hand but here are shots from my life today. I know not too exciting but at least I can now type a little.

It is the most beautiful day out today. I am not supposed to drive for 24 hours or I'd be down at the river. Instead I spent time sitting in my swing in the back yard enjoying the sun.

I hope you had some time with Mother Earth today. Happy Earth Day!

Update

2009-04-21T17:06:00.000-06:00

My surgery went well, but typing this with one hand is a little slow. I think its time for another nap.

Thats what its all about

2009-04-20T19:02:00.003-06:00

Well I have tried blogging all day and blogger refuses to upload my images and my post is useless without them so I guess I will leave that post for another time.

I had a great weekend, the weather is finally nice. I have been enjoying it by taking walks with Flynn. On Friday I attended a healing circle and then a reiki session. I haven't done reiki in a long time so this felt really great. On Saturday I had my writers group meeting and then I went to a Poetry Slam. It was lots of fun. I ended the evening at Chili's with a drink and conversation with a good friend. You can't beat that.

On Sunday at church we had a musical guest from Montana named Judy Fjell and she is always fun. I bet you didn't know that the Hoky Poky originated in the Jewish tradition of getting ready for the sabbath. It was a time when you had a weekly bath on Saturday. You put your right toe in to check the bath water temperature, then you shake it all around and so forth till its right and you put your whole self in. So I am sure that I am the only person you know who has done the hoky poky in church. What fun we had that day. I ended up staying after and visiting with people I have not seen in awhile so it was a great day.

Today I did a little stenciling and then ran to town to do some errands and found some more papers that will make great stencils. I stopped in at Lowes to look at their spray paint and that found out that they had a teal color I had been looking for and some colors that were being discontinued so now I have a light blue, teal and watermelon pink added to my already bursting collection of spray paint colors. I have started cutting some stencils too. I did some work with masks but you will have to wait for pictures at another time.

My surgery is at 10:00 tomorrow. So I will be back here blogging again as soon as I can type again.

Finally some time for Stencil work

2009-04-16T13:25:00.009-06:00

The wind dyed so I could get to the garage to do these. Its still cold but I managed to play a little.

Some of these I really liked and other not but I figured these are just backgrounds and other things will be put on top so that is ok. The crow is a stencil I cut. I like how it looks.

This was my attempts at a brighter color and I like it.

The dragonfly didn't come out too well but that alright, who knows maybe I will collage over it.

Not much to say about this one, just playing with different colors

This one had all these blotches of gold paint but I still added to it.

This one was a combination of reds and blacks. The frustrating thing is the colors look so much better in person than I can seem to photograph.

As you can see I had a little bit of difficulty stopping. This is really so much fun. Now I want more stencils and more colors of paint. I think I am hooked on this technique.

Taking off my practical hat

2009-04-15T15:44:00.005-06:00

I had one of those days where its hard to get motivated. Now the weather did not help much, rain and snow again. I will be glad when this storm has passed on by. I ended up having a nice lunch with my friend Kate and her Mom. On my way home I took a detour to Barnes and Noble. Unfortunetly I did not hear the Danger Danger Kate Robertson Danger warning. So I came home with these.

I will have some good reading material for next week when I have my hand surgery. I looked at these several times in the store and figured I had better get my copies before they are all gone.

Then I discovered I could get this lovely number for just 4.95 if I bought 2 things in the store. I already had the magazines so I now have a pretty tote to carry things in. The older I get the more I seem to want pretty things for those everyday events. In some ways its all about celebrating the little things. I am learning more an more to take off my practical hat and go for the fun stuff.

The Shrines are in

2009-04-13T09:18:00.006-06:00

I was in a matchbox shrine swap and these are the shrines I recieved. I think they are awesome. Artists are Pam, Kai, Mahala Ninnie and Sheryl.

This is what they look like inside. They are really incredible.

This is the one that I sent out. I didn't make one for myself or I would have grouped it with the other pictures.

Here are some journal pages from last week.

I am planning on having surgery on my hand next week. It is what is commonly known as trigger finger. A simple procedure but I figure not to have full use of my hand for a week or two. My posts will definetly be shorter if I am typing left handed.

This past weekend I had spinning friends over for the day. I was spinning white cotton and then ran into difficulty and switched to some dyed blue and lavender and oh I am loving spinning it. I am hooked again. I will show a skein when its finished which may be awhile since it take a long time to spin. I picked up this shawl I had been knitting which has been a problem but I am determined to figure it out and finish it. Its nice to be reacquainted with old projects. Its almost like connecting with old friends.

Spray Paint and Stencils

2009-04-10T16:29:00.006-06:00

I am taking this stencil/spray paint class with Mary Ann Moss and we had our first class today. All I can say is wow! Its just incredible. We are making covers for our stencil portfolios. Here is my front cover.

and the inside front cover. I used many things as stencils, a plastic placemat, cake doilies, great papers sent to me by Janet. I used black, silver, white, blue, green, lt turquoise and purple on my pages so far.

Here is my back cover, I also used lace and pieces of lace fabric and some hand cut stencils.

and the inside of the back cover. I definetly found that Mary Ann makes it look so easy. I had problem with the spray paint dripping blobs of paint that I did not like. I just blotted it and painted over it. I think these pages are ok for my first try at it. Plus I may but putting more things on these covers after they sit for a little while. This class is sure going to be fun.

Finishing a Scarf

2009-04-09T10:18:00.007-06:00

It took me awhile to finish this scarf, I just set it aside and forgot about it for some reason. So as I watched LOST last night I twisted fringe, it took several hours but I washed the scarf this morning and this is the result.

I am putting another scarf on the loom while I spend the time figuring out how to do my color sample fabric. Its another chenille one. It will be black with some lines of blues to make a window pane check. It was a warp I wound years ago and forgot about. I seem to be finding things lately and bringing them back to the forefront. Not sure what that means but it can't be a bad thing. The last time it was art supplies and this time weaving, hmm I wonder what will be next.

Last night I had writers dreams, first I there was the dream about Neil Gaiman(no ladies not that kind of dream). I met him somewhere and at first he was at the table and I wasn't aloud to go approach him or talk to him. A restriction was put on me. Then later we are having a conversation. When I mentioned that I was a writer and a weaver and a mixed media artist he was interested in talking to me. I guess I was not one of those hapless writers looking for advice or perhaps its the whole me that was interesting. Then I had a dream about Laini Taylor and it was something about being at a venue with her. I went and touched her hair and said wow your hair really is pink. Yes it was a stupid thing to say, but this is a dream. I think that was a result of reading her blog lately. She had been at some writers event and looks like she was having a blast with a whole group of other writers. Perhaps its something I want to experience.

I loved this question and answer on Neil Gaiman's blog today.

"What do you think is the best way to start writing a novel?"

I think the best way to start writing a novel is to start writing a novel.

I got a chuckle at that one because it is so true. We spend so much time thinking about doing it instead of just doing it. On that note I think I will go do some writing.

New books to inspire

2009-04-08T10:18:00.007-06:00

This is my friend Kate who I talk about a lot. I took her up to Market Lake to see the nesting Owls. The day was beautiful and we had a wonderful time. We saw Swans and Great Horned Owls, coots, bohemian waxwings and lots of Canadian Geese and Ring billed gulls but no Snow geese. Later on we had a nice lunch. I like simple days like that.

My books came in the mail, I have been anxiously awaiting these two wonderful books. I had not see this book on Vision Boards in person but it had been mentioned on many blogs so I ordered sight unseen. It is so much more than I ever expected. I think this will take my vision boards and my life to the next level.

I often browse through all the new mixed media books out there. There are so many new ones it is almost a glut on the market. Most are I wonderful but I decide that I don't really need them. I thought different when I saw this one. Creative Awakenings is so different, more than just a show and tell project book. It comes with its own deck of transformation cards plus instructions on making your own. I really love these. Then there are wonderful projects and insights. I am so looking forward to working with the ideas in this book. There is also a ning site for this book. Ning sites are communities on line where you connect with others doing the same thing. I really like the format. Many of the online classes I have taken have been in this format.

Today's journal page I did at 2 in the morning when I couldn't sleep. I just love that tape on the right side. I found it in a drawer the other day when I was looking for something else. I completely forgot about it. The background was done with water soluble oil crayons. I hadn't used them in awhile so it was fun playing with them again. I am slowly trying to take the ideas from Kelly Kilmer's class and incorporating other mediums and techniques of my own. It fun to see where that will take me next.

Working on Balance

2009-04-07T08:31:00.002-06:00

Today's Journal Page is a result of the little challenge at Goddess Leonie's site She has taken her word or intention for the year and made a painting of it. I plan to do that but this journal page was a faster way to do it at least for today. I need to find a canvas to do a word painting or maybe I will just use watercolor paper. My plan is to hang it in my studio as a reminder.

I was reading blogs and Collage Diva did this post on maps and personal map making and I just loved it. Here is the link if you are interested.

I spent the day at Market Lake with Kate. It was just beautiful out. We saw Owls and swans and ducks galore. Then we had a nice lunch at Applebees. I came home to take the cat to the vet only top find out she is being Houdini. I still haven't found her. It turns out our appointment was for tomorrow at 4. So I get to play the game again tomorrow. So after moving the couches looking for the cat and discovering all the dirt behind them I am now vacuuming, what a mess. I hope you all had a fun filled day.

Celebrations

2009-04-04T09:07:00.008-06:00

It was snowing this day and I really felt like being out in some beautiful spring weather but it was not to be. Soon I hope to be out on the river again.

I like how this page evolved. First I had this really different background that I kept tweaking with. Since it had a pink tinge to it I decided to look for a kids image and then it seemed all about friends. Our girlfriend are the glue that holds us together. I salute all of you with this page.

I am happy to report that I finally got a crown that had no problems. So I do not have to visit the dentist for another six months. YES......

The 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women book group concluded with a celebration call that was wonderful. Jamie Ridler who is just the best facilitator/coach has put together a package of all the inspiring interviews from the 12 weeks plus some added pdf's. Goddess Leonie has a special pdf included that I love. She is wonderful reminds me a lot of SARK. Check out her site it is wonderful. These interviews are really awesome, I know that when I need a pick me up I will be listening to them again and again.

One of the things on the call was to celebrate everything. I have just been moving from project to project not really taking the time to celebrate the accomplishment. Its time to change that. I had just taken that scarf of the loom and even tough it needs some finishing done I was already putting something new on. I decided to step back a little and enjoy the accomplishment of this piece at least for a day or so. As soon as I have the fringe prepared and washed then I will be able to post it and celebrate it with all of you. Celebrating is important and I will now make it part of my creative process.

How do you celebrate your projects, accomplishments, life? If you don't I think its time you started too!

Using Precious Supplies

2009-04-02T09:06:00.006-06:00

I am continuing with the journaling every day. I was struck by this image, the ladies appear to be having so much fun. I wish it were warm enough to sit in my hammock but alas it is snowing again.

This one is started in my new journal that I made last week. I really am ready for a road trip. I went to Sedona this time last year and sure wish I could go back. It was a lovely trip. I met wonderful bloggers and the scenery is so fantastic. Wat a trip that was.

I am weaving on my scarf today and starting to think about my next project. In the past five years I have had several weaving and spinning friends die and as their fibers are passed on to me I think how sad it is that they never got around to using something they bought and loved. We never know how long we have in this life and I decided at that point that I was the one who is going to use my stash.

I was looking at this yarn the other day remembering how excited I was when I bought it. That was over ten years ago and I haven't used it yet because I couldn't figure out what I wanted to do with it. The yarn was so expensive that I didn't want to ruin it. I could use all the colors and make fabric, do a series of scarves, towels or a vest. I could weave it in plain weave or a twill or a lace weave. There are lots of decisions to make. I plan to go through old weaving magazines for ideas and then just choose something. So it will be my next project.

Is there something in your collection that you've been afraid to use, like the fabric that is so exquisite you are afraid to cut it, or the journal with the handmade paper in it, or the expensive yarn you bought on vacation. Pull it out and work with it, enjoy it and have fun with it.

Monday Musings

2009-03-29T20:19:00.010-06:00

This page has evolved over time. First I put masking tape on it and painted it, hated the color and painted it again. The it sat since I still didn't like it. Ripped off most of the tape and painted with black gesso. Decided to collage over it since it was a smooth page anymore. I like it now. So don't give up on pages as they sometimes can have a 2nd or 3rd life or more.

This is what is on my loom. Its going to be a rayon chenille scarf. The yarn was dyed by a friend. Its almost finished so I should be able to show the finished project later in the week. Sometimes the rhythm of weaving is so meditative, I enjoy sending time doing it when everything is in the flow.

We had high winds and a snow storm yesterday and today its all melting with beautiful blue skies. I didn't even have to wear a coat, weather in the spring is always so amazing in its diversity.

I put myself back on a schedule and although I did not follow it totally today it does feel good to be on track again. I am making some goals for all my creative endeavors and it seems like that fact of writing them down somehow sets their life in motion. I have 2 weaving projects to plan, a writing plan and ideas to finish paintings, make journals and enjoy the classes that I will be taking in April. It feels good to have goals for some reason. Usually I balk at that but it seems different now I am not sure why. Perhaps I can see their use and that they are a tool that really does help me. It makes me feel empowered and ready to go.

How about you, Do you find having goals motivates you?

Secret # 12 Planning to Achieve Your Goals

2009-03-29T19:11:00.000-06:00

This is the final chapter for the 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women. Its amazing how quickly the twelve weeks have gone.

This chapter seemed to bring it all together for me which is what one would expect for the final chapter of a book. I resonated with the sections on Deciding about Sharing your Work and Setting Creative Goals. I think that is where I am in the process. The simple thought came to me if I truly want to be out there selling my work I do need to spend a good portion of my time in the studio, exploring, creating and expanding. Its time to start setting goals for what I want to accomplish and then set about doing them. I also need to come up with some ideas on how I would want to market my work. Its a twofold approach that I had not considered before.

To help in that process Gail McMeekin included a monthly Plans for Today sheet that we can copy for a month and put into practice. I could see using it like you would a day planner. Then there is also that old nemesis procrastination. There is also a procrastination worksheet that looks like it really helps. I see these as great tools to help get you from where you are to where you want to be. I know that this seems simple and straight forward but I think sometimes when we are in the process we don't see the big picture even though its pretty obvious what we should be doing.

I really liked this book and especially the journey I went on with it. At first I thought I was already a Highly Creative Woman so why should I bother with the book. It turned out I didn't know as much as I thought. The journey through this book opened my eyes to many new ideas and concepts. I now know I want to set about making some creative goals for myself that are specific and I have the tools to set then in motion.

If you have been following these posts and have been intrigued by the subject or resonated with anything I have said I highly recommend that you pick up a copy of this book and do an exploration of your own. Lets live truly creative lives.

The last of the journal pages

2009-03-28T21:02:00.007-06:00

Well March is almost over so here are my last journal pages for the month. I have to say I learned a lot taking Kelly Kilmer's class and I highly recommend it. She starts a new one on April 1st so if you are interested just head over to her blog.

March 30

March 31

This next month I am taking Mary Ann Moss's class on stenciling. We'll be cutting stencils and using spray paint, color wash and other inks. This is something I know nothing about so I am existed to take the plunge.

One of the things I did was go looking for items that might be used for stencils at thrift and dollar stores and came up empty, I thought I would stop in a local craft store to look at precut stencils and got a pleasant surprise. I walked in and they handed me a flyer. I said is this something special and she said yes its our anniversary and you get a 10.00 gift card, they also had a 50% off coupon too. I was almost the last person to get one. Lucky me. So I got a 32.99 stencil burner for 6.50 so I can cut my own now. What a deal. Wouldn't it be great if every time you went shopping the store would give you a gift card.

I hope you are having a great weekend.

Mishaps at the Dentist

2009-03-27T20:48:00.005-06:00

I went to the dentist to get my last crown and after having a shot of Novocaine because the tooth next to it is really sensitive and then doing a temporary fit of the crown. The dentist left for a minute and it ended up being several minutes and I thought oh this is not good. So when they got back I was not surprised there was a problem. The lab made the crown for the wrong tooth. They ended up used the one they made as a temporary crown even though it doesn't quite fit. I need to wait another week for another crown. I sure hope that it all works this time. Its been quite a saga so far.

More journal pages.

March 26

March 27

March 28

Writing

I was organizing things to do my taxes and found that Sarah has sent me a hard copy critique of a part of my novel. It was a piece my writers group had critiqued last year. They were all pretty nice but Sarah treated it like they do in one of her classes so it was full of red pen. Some of the suggestions others had made and she had new ones. Some I agreed with an others I did not. As I sat looking at it and how much needed to be done with this small amount the enormity of actually the task completely hit me. Like if I can't write several thousand words well than how can I expect to write the pages needed for a novel.

So yes that inner voice reared its ugly head once more. This time I didn't dwell in the pit though. I came up with a plan, actually I have 3 plans to improve my writing.

1. I am revising the piece and I plan to work on it over and over until I am satisfied and then I'll send it out for a critique again.

2. I am choosing a book to go through to learn from. I will look at how the author develops her major and minor characters, and how she moves the story along, setting, plot etc. I plan to work on one chapter a day. With 13 chapters it will take me a couple weeks but I will have learned a lot by then.

3. I want to write a short story so now I am making a list of some ideas that I have and then I will choose one and go for it.

I feel good about these decisions. We were out driving when I fleshed out these ideas and I couldn't wait to get home to start writing. I think that's a good sign.

What a Wonderful World

2009-03-26T09:14:00.000-06:00

Oh I loved this, you can't help but smile afterwards.

Secret # 11 Subtracting Serenity Stealers

2009-03-25T08:34:00.004-06:00

In the Next Chapter blogging book group we are now on Secret #11, wow that is hard to believe its almost over. What a journey its been.

Now on to this chapter, its talks a lot about burnout and life situations that take away your creative time. The section I seem to be resonating with is Understanding your creative style. The ones that jumped out for me were:

1. I don't have the skills I need to do my creative work. Although I feel this is true I have been working on this by taking whatever on line classes I can find. The more I do this the better I do get and I just need to remember that.

2. I don't know what to do next. I deal with this all the time, I will start painting a face and its not right so I let it sit and go back to it at another time. Sometimes it takes me forever to want to tackle it. If I wait too long the fear of not being good enough takes over. Or I get the desire to just start something new.

3. I seem to move from one deadline to the next. I tend to get involved in swaps and classes and although they are fun they do have deadlines and commitments attached to them. I find I spend all my time on them instead of other Art that I want to do.

4. I have no clear creative goals Maybe this is really my main issue after all. The only goal I really have is to paint female faces and to start working on composition so I have something else besides just a face. Although I realize that is a goal but it seems so open ended. I mean how do I know when I have reached that goal. What are my conditions of satisfaction that will let me know I have succeeded. These are questions I need to ask myself and then explore the answers. Do I want to paint just for me to express a part of myself that needs expressing or is there another level here. Do I want to be good enough to sell my Art. Am I confident enough to see if anyone would want it. I think all Artists deep down want someone to appreciate what they did or get some joy out it. That seems to be while we are all blogging and sharing what we are doing.

Gail Mc Meekin goes on to talk about a magic wand to remove ten negative things in your life. Wouldn't that be great to have. Some of mine would have to do with the issues I already talked about. Perhaps by going through exercises like this and making changes in the way we think and operate that we really do have a magic wand for change and it is us. We are the magic wand and we just need to have the courage to go on that journey, do the exploring, take the risks and change.

These are my favorite quotes from the chapter.

"Courage is the power to let go of the familiar" - Mary Bryant Native American Leader

"Act boldly and unseen forces will come to your aide" -Dorthea Brande writer

"If you play it safe in life, you've decided that you don't want to grow anymore" - Shirley Hufstedler, lawyer

A trip back in time

2009-03-25T07:56:00.004-06:00

Day 24, this page really brought back the memories of my trip with Sarah overseas. Lots of good times, I really want to go back. I want to go to Cornwall and I want to go to Ireland and see the land of my ancestors. Hopefully someday soon.

Day 25, I wish that I were on a beach today, I really love this image. I want to take a walk there right now. I envy all of you who live near the beach, go enjoy a walk for me.

Today I am spending most of the day at home, I do need to go to the gym so I will do that this afternoon. I will clean up the studio and get back to a painting that keeps staring at me every time I walk in here. I tend to get stuck, I know the work needs something but am not sure where to begin. I hope that my muse Zoe will show up to play.

Making Art Journals

2009-03-24T08:02:00.003-06:00

Some of you may have seen this but for those who haven't these are videos on making an Art Journal out of a composition book and manilla folders. Its done by Samantha Kira. You could easily substitute watercolor paper if you like that better.

I haven't made one this way but it looks pretty simple. The ones I have done are using canvas boards as covers but I put it together the same way. I think all Art Journalers at some point start making their own books. They are relatively easy to do and then you can make it any size and also add the paper that you like.

Sacred Life Sunday

2009-03-22T13:31:00.003-06:00

I saw this on Swirly Girl and it so nice that I thought I would share on this rainy Sunday, oops I have to change that since its snowing now. I love all the wonderful quotes withing it. Enjoy!

Making Journals

2009-03-20T23:02:00.007-06:00

Today I have been playing with my bind it all tool. Its the tool that binds books. First I made the small book and then went on to make a full size journal. I had a 11 x 15 140lb cold press watercolor pad and I folded the sheets in half and cut the holes in the edge. Then I used the hard back of the pad to make the covers. I will probably decorate them and use this for my next Art journal.

March 23rd journal page from my class with Kelly Kilmer.

March 22nd journal page.

I found out on Friday that I have diabetes so the wellness plan I have been planning on going on is of primary importance now. I also went to have my crowns put in and one of them was defective so I had to have another temporary one put in. I have to wait another week for the lab to make a new one. Then I found out that my friend Annette who has been struggling with cancer had died on Monday. The funeral was today and it was a sad time. She was so full of life and truly lived out loud, I am going to miss her.

Secret #10 Living in Abundance with Positive Priorities

2009-03-19T09:50:00.000-06:00

We are now on Secret 10, all about Abundance. I really liked this chapter perhaps because I having been working on Abundance for some time. My ideas of what it means have changed over time. I do believe that Gratitude is a major part of it. I've carried a gratitude rock in my pocket and I have written a gratitude list for several years now. I really do think it makes a difference.

There are always quotes in each chapter that are thought provoking. This week I found these to be inspiring.

"Prosperity is having the power to create a life of your choice -- to get what you really want, not just what your handed." - Ruth Ross, writer

"One of the Secrets of a Happy life is continuous small treats." - Iris Murdoch, writer. I especially like this idea small treats are something easy to do.

"We all live in suspense day to day; in other words you are the hero of your own story. Mary McCarthy, writer. Oh I like this one too I do like being the heroine of my own story. It seems to uplift the mundane a little. Its sometimes easy to forget that we all have stories and our lives are interesting to others, we truly are the heroes of those stories.

"Synchronicity holds the promise that if we change within, the patterns of our outer life will change also. Jean Shinoda Bolen, author. I think my focus has been inner change and I have seen the outer respond in kind.

The chapter also had a section on Personal Positive Priorities. I found this to be essential. You really need to know what you want. I have done exercises like these several times and interestingly enough they change. We often find what we may have thought was essential is not so important anymore. We change and so do our priorities, our dreams and desires. I think this is a section well worth visiting yearly or even every six months.

I like the idea of doing a prosperity road map, putting it all down graphically puts it into perspective, makes it real. I believe that visual images have great power. In some sense a vision board is just that, portraying visually what you want to have happen in your life. I've used vision boards in the past few years and truly find they seem to help in the creating and manifesting the life I want.

I learned a few things this week

2009-03-18T11:35:00.005-06:00

I drew this on Sunday, I forgot I had not posted it yet;

Some more journal pages to post.

I really liked this image of this planet, the colors in it are so beautiful.

I have learned some things this week that I should have known. When you get those clear stamps you only have to buy one acrylic block. I bought one and some of Tim Holtz's clear stamps and I really like them. What a great idea this is. The block has a grid on it so you can really see where you are stamping.

White gel pens, most of you know that the white gel pen Uniball Signo is the one to get. I was given one at the retreat I went to a couple years ago and then I ordered some from jetpens.com . Now the ones I ordered looked different and they don't work as well but I could never figure out why. Little did I know there are 2 white gel pens made by Uniball, they both say uniball signo on them but they are different one is called the angelic and the other the broad. The broad is the one you want, so now if you ever order from them you now know which one to get. Here is the link

The other thing is to not schedule too many medical appointments in the same month. I think I am starting to get overwhelmed about it all. Tomorrow I will get my permanent crowns and that will be great at least the dental stuff will be over with. I also have to discuss my insulin resistance test with my doctor tomorrow. Since I have to have an appointment for this something tells me the news will not be good. Next week I have a mammogram and ultrasound. I am so looking forward to this all being over with. Once again I remembered that Art heals so I worked on journal pages today. There is something about paint and paper and pen that is calming.

Tree Flags

2009-03-15T14:46:00.005-06:00

Warning: these are addictive.

Sharon from All Norah's Art posted a video on making these and I couldn't resist. I picked up some medium weight cotton fabric and cut it into 3" wide strips. Sharon used a micron pen but all I had was a Faber-Castell Pitt Artist pens so I used that to draw the ladies or tree sprites as I like to call them. Then just as Sharon did I used Caran d'Ache neocolor II watercolor crayons to color in the areas. I used a small filbert brush and water to bring out the color. I was only going to try one but as you can see I couldn't stop. Check out her video on the process here

I have to admit this was the most fun little art project that I have done. The possibilities are endless. I had to force myself to stop doing them or I won't get the laundry done or cook any dinner and so forth. I think I will go out and tie them on some of my trees now.

Here they are in their new natural surroundings

A Beautiful Day

2009-03-14T15:59:00.005-06:00

I made it to the gym today. I so often have plans to go but blow them off. It feels good to have followed through. It was a beautiful day out, really felt like spring. stopped at Michaels on my way home and was delighted. My store is carrying more Tim Holtz products. I have been wanting to try grunge board for a long time. I got the elements pack that has scrolls, keys, hearts, wings etc. They also had some great new stamps of his that I know I will eventually want to get. My pocketbook told me I had to wait. I also found another script stamp in the clearance bin. Here is a video showing Tim working with grungeboard. It really is amazing stuff.

and now more journal pages.....

March 14

March 15

Trying out the Background Tutorial

2009-03-12T14:26:00.006-06:00

I know 3 posts in a day but what can I say. My friend Kate canceled our art date so whats a girl to do. i decided to play on my own. First I finished these 2 journal pages.

Then I tried doing the background tutorial from Karen site that I mentioned earlier today. I didn't like the color green I ended up but I still think I can do something with these by adding other collage items. It was really fun and easy to do. The one thing I learned even if what you think you did is crappy you'll be surprised once you cut it all up into the ATC size.

These 2 I added words to. I added varnish to the first but I think it looks better without. I also used a gold pen to spice up the edges a little.

Validation

2009-03-12T10:53:00.000-06:00

I know its long but its wonderful and it will make you smile.

The Next 90 Days

2009-03-12T09:49:00.006-06:00

I was on twitter this morning and my friend Jen Louden posted this link to a blog called A box of Crayons. I really liked what the author said. Its about looking at how the first 90 days of the year have gone and start thinking about the next 90.

At first thought I really don't think they first 90 have been all that great. If I don't take control and make some changes my next 90 could be more of the same. I think I would like to make the next 90 days extraordinary. How about you.

Here is a drawing I did while at the Doctors office yesterday. I like her eyes, they are a little different than I usually do.

My friend Kate and I are going to have an Art Date today. We'll play in the studio with paint and paper. I am not sure what we'll do but I think it will be fun. I need to start making my matchbox shrines for a swap and then Karen at Art in the Garage has a great tutorial on backgrounds that you make into ATC's. I might try that, I think I have a cereal box that is almost empty.

12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women #9

2009-03-11T12:29:00.003-06:00

Secret #9 Transcending rejection and roadblocks. At first I really did not resonate with this chapter at all. I feel like the newbie who is still discovering what kind of Art she wants to make or what kind of stories to write. I haven't put myself out there yet. I have an etsy shop but I have never put anything in it. I don't think I am at the point where anyone would want to purchase what I have done. I think I am still in the learning stage. I post what I do on my blog so I do open myself up there. People are always nice; I never get any negative comments.

I think the rejection thing won't happen for me until I try to publish something, or offer work for sale and so forth. Any roadblocks that I encounter are ones that I put in front of myself. Whenever I am doubting myself or my abilities I always like to remember Brenda Euland's quote. "Everyone is talented, original and has something important to say."

When I wonder if I should still write or make Art, I try to not do it and it becomes impossible. I get antsy if I am out and don't have a pen and notebook with me. If I haven't done a journal page or worked on a painting or tried a new technique I become depressed. It is like these actions are part of me, the same as breathing. I will always be a writer and an Artist because that is what I do.

YES Paste to the rescue

2009-03-10T00:12:00.004-06:00

Here are a couple journal pages.

March 10

March 11 journal page.

I have started to use YES paste to glue collage papers and so forth. Its pricey but it does a great job. Michaels sells it, so wait for a coupon to get some. Every time I use gel medium or a glue stick I find myself going back and re-gluing some of the pieces. With the YES paste it works the first time. I just spread it on with my finger and it works great.

I spent part of the day working on a painting. Its will be awhile before I can show it. I made some good progress today so that felt pretty good.

In the morning I am having an insulin resistance test done. I don't get to eat until 11 am. It will be hard but I will reward myself with a nice breakfast at Perkins.

Journal pages and a winner

2009-03-09T15:36:00.004-06:00

I have been playing catchup with my journal page a day so here are the latest pages. I have been sharing information on what we have been doing but I I can no longer do that since this is from an ongoing class. Although I can not tell what the prompt was, you can still enlarge the piece if you want to look at it.

Birthday giveaway

Well I forgot all about the journal I had planned to give away from my birthday. So without further ado the winner is Gillian of Indigo Blue. I'll be sending off the package as soon as I locate Gillian's address. I think I have it somewhere. Thanks to all who participated.

I am slowly getting used to the huge temporary crown I have. Thankfully its only 2 weeks that I have to wear the thing. Imagine having a wad of gum over your teeth and that's what it feels like. This too shall pass.

I watched a production called the Impressionists. Its a 3 part series I found on Netflix. If you think its hard being an Artist you should see what Monet and Renoir had to go through. It is a very nice production. I found a great desire to paint a landscape after watching it. Check it out, you might find it inspiring.

We are ok, we are alright

2009-03-06T07:14:00.002-07:00

This movie is such a delight. Its been done by the Dancing Mermaid otherwise known as McCabe I have signed up to take her class on teaching my own little mermaids this month. I am sure it will be awesome.

Doing Fine

2009-03-05T19:34:00.003-07:00

Just thought I would let you all know I survived the dental ordeal and am doing fine. I was in the chair for 2 hours and it wasn't that bad. I took some Advil before hand and I think that helped. I am just sore and tired and trying to get used to this monstrosity in my mouth, otherwise known as a temporary crown. Its like wearing a retainer that you can't take out. Sure you don't have to floss but it still feels so strange. In two weeks I'll have the permanent crowns and that will be so much better.

My camera died

2009-03-05T00:05:00.000-07:00

Lots going on today. The kitten my little nemesis did a number today so she is in the dog house. In trying to get her off my table she pulled down my Lumix Panasonic camera. It hit the concrete floor with a bang and now its toast. I turn it on and it says please turn the camera off and then on. I reseated the battery and memory card but nothing works so I guess the camera is a loss. I really liked that camera too, it fit in my purse so easily. Well at least I have my Canon so I can still take photographs.

I have been trying to finish a few things before I have to do the dental thing. Here are more journal pages from Kelly's class. I was hoping to get 3 done but I am stuck on the third one so it will have to wait. This one we are to write about the last gift I received. I recently got a pendant that my sister had made and sent me so I journaled about that. I loved the image of this woman and the tree was so compelling to me.

Here we are to talk about faith and whatever that means to us. Once a gain the haunting look of the woman in the picture called to me. I see her walking out of that mist to some unknown destiny. These pages a fun but challenging. The painting part is easy it is the collage part I have difficulty with but I am staring to feel better about my choices. I like both of these pages.

The Apprentice

2009-03-04T08:43:00.003-07:00

As you can see I don't mean the Donald Trump reality show. Its Somerset Studios new special issue magazine. Yes its fantastic, yes you want it I know you do. I found mine at Barnes and Noble. It has some things I thought were too basic but others I want to try right away. Sharon has a great article in it. One thing I have never managed sucessfully is doing transfers and their are several artists in the magazine doing them. So its time to try again.

My friend Kate and I were paying hooky from our writing date at the Villa. It was too nice outside to be in a dark cafe. It must have been 50 degrees with the sun shining and the bluest of skies. We planned to go to lunch instead but stopped to see if B&N had the magazine yet. It was funny to see both of us reading our copies while we waited to get a table at Johnny Carinos. It was a fun day enjoying the weather. We ended up at the Art museum seeing a display of prints done from copper plate etchings. Quite a process that was. It was a great day.

Tomorrow I am having major dental work done so I don't know if I will be blogging for a few days. I am having 6 crowns done and have no idea about how long the recovery time will be. I imagine I'll be sleeping a lot in the next few days.

Secret #8 Partnerships

2009-03-04T07:53:00.004-07:00

This week's secret is Selecting Empowering Partnerships & Alliances. In some ways I did not really connect with the premise of the chapter. I have never felt inclined to be in partnership with another. Too much of an individualist I guess. As I started to read what other bloggers wrote about this challenge I changed my mind a little bit. I think of it now in terms of it takes a village to raise a child. Perhaps it take a village to raise an Artist too.

I am discovering I have some alliances that I didn't think about. In some ways any Artist who publishes in a magazine how they work or gives details on a process in a blog is in alliance with me. As a self taught artist that is how I learn and grow. So I thank all of you for being in partnership with me. The way I give back to them is by commenting and supporting them when I can.

Another partnership is my friend Kate who supports my artistic journey by her guidance and opinion. We sometimes learn new things together and that is so fun to have someone else to do that with.

I don't have a personal coach but I do frequent coaches blogs and I gain help and insight by what they talk about. They help me grow in ways I wouldn't have done alone. I was going to list some favorites but started to realized there are so many gifted women out there offering support it would make this post too long.

I also think that my writers group is a big alliance for me. Without that structure and association with these gifted writers I may have given up that dream long ago.

I think the one thing this chapter has done for me is to look at this idea of alliances and partnerships in a different way. I also now see how having them is essential to my growth and success as a creative person. I also hope that I am offering the same thing to someone else.

New journal pages

2009-03-02T16:48:00.003-07:00

I am taking a journaling class with Kelly Kilmer. I will be showing the journal pages that we make out of the class.

This first one's prompt was What are we happy about right now.

The second one is about our own invention and what it could be. I created the magic button that with one push takes you to a place of wonder and awe. Too bad there is no such thing. Well unless you count ones imagination.

I hope you are having an Art filled day.

Pink Roses and a Painting

2009-03-01T00:01:00.008-07:00

I took someones advice and bought myself flowers for my birthday. A dozen roses were the same price as a bouquet of mixed flowers so I opted for the roses and aren't they just beautiful. What pleasure I have gotten out of a 6.99 purchase. I need to do this more often. I had a wonderful birthday. A special thanks to all of you who sent me birthday greetings, you are the best.

I had fun playing around with the camera trying to get some close ups. I thought this was just lovely.

Here is a painting/collage that I have been working on. I was trying out Kelly Rae's way of collaging with decorative papers. I was using her wonderful book Taking Flight. Its was a fun project. I really learned a lot. Here's to trying new things.

Its a wonderful day

2009-02-27T10:38:00.004-07:00

I am having a wonderful day so far. My husband sang me Happy Birthday this morning. Then I started the day writing in my journal and then Yoga and made my cake. Soon I will be off to enjoy the beautiful day with my camera. Skies are blue and the sun is out.

Here is a treat for you today: Neil Gaiman reading his new book.

I spent the yesterday with my friend Kate. She wants to learn to draw faces so we had a beginning lesson. We also celebrated my birthday.

We had a wonderful lunch. I made Fettuccine Alfredo and she brought these birthday cupcakes too. Carrot cake and chocolate, they were yummy. I also had an opportunity to use my new tea cups so that was a lot of fun. I had her pick the teapot we would use and made tea the way my Irish mother taught me to. I had a feeling she was there with us.

Now what else might a girl want... well presents of course. Here is a close up of the scarf she gave me., It is really gorgeous. Thanks to Kate for making the day special.

A story for you

2009-02-26T07:20:00.002-07:00

I saw this story on this blog about the men who rescued those dolphins that were trapped. Click here to read.

Its a heartwarming story that reminds us that there are so many good people in this world of ours and that good things still happen. I wish the news would show things like this instead of all their doom and gloom.

Celebrations

2009-02-25T17:42:00.004-07:00

As I said earlier my birthday is Friday and I have been at a loss on how to celebrate it. Last year I went out to dinner with 20 friends and it was really so much fun. I thought to do that again but started running into problems. One person can't come and the other is a on a restrictive diet until March so she wants me to wait. Sure I can celebrate in a couple weeks. That still leaves what do I do on Friday.

I was painting in the studio today and the thought came to mind well How would you like to spend the day? What would make you happy? The idea to be able to spend most of the day making Art was what came to me. If I can't have all my friends over I would love to just play with paint and paper and stamps and ink and on and on.

You are all invited over to come play with me. I have plenty of art supplies so just come as you are. Now wouldn't that be the treat if all my blogging friends could just appear. I think I will have to pretend that it going to happen.

I also decided to make my own birthday cake this year. Since my daughter left home I don't get a cake anymore. We seem to always go out to dinner and have dessert there. This year I am having a cake and I am going to enjoy every single bite.

I also have a question for you. How do you spend your birthday? I mean besides the usual with friends and family. Have you ever done anything really different or fun. I'd love to hear about it.

Don't forget to enter my drawing for the journal I am giving away. Its in the previous post.

A Birthday Gift

2009-02-25T11:31:00.006-07:00

Its my birthday on Friday and I have 2 of these journals given to me by a friend. I thought I would give one of them away as a gift. It is spiral bound and this is the cover. The pages already have drawings on them but you could alter the page or not. They drawings are only on half of the page so there is room to write or draw or whatever you choose.

Here are what some of the pages look like.

Just leave a comment on this post and I will pick a winner in a week.

CED some faces

2009-02-24T16:57:00.005-07:00

I drew some faces while watching the Oscars the other night. I have no clue why one side of the face is darker than the other.

The other drawing I did would not photograph well so I tried a scan. The arms look funny here but not in the original and the scan looks to light. I have yet to figure a good way to photograph graphite drawings.

It seemed like I had something to say when I started and now I am at a loss for what it was. So I will either edit this later or just leave as is and do another post when my memory comes back.

Secret #7 Consulting with Guides

2009-02-23T15:36:00.005-07:00

Its time I wrote for the 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women book group. This weeks chapter was all about consulting with guides. I have created several circles of guides for myself. First the Glitter Sisters are a group of woman I met at Violette's message board. We have shared so much together and last year we created a retreat in Sedona, Arizona where we could all meet. It was a wonderful meeting of Artistic Souls that continues to this day.

I have connected with other women by just visiting their blogs and having a dialogue with them through comments and emails. I have been encouraged by others comments on my work and by seeing what they do online. Its nourished me in many ways. The bloggers who host events like drawing for a month or how to be brave or journaling for a month or creating every day have offered me opportunities for growth and community. I thank them for their efforts.

I have fewer local sources but there are still a couple women I regularly consult on ideas and plans for creative pursuits. I don't think I could continue to create without the support of other women who are artists and writers.

I truly believe in passing it on. A friend mentioned that if they could draw doing Art journal pages would be more fun. so I offered to teach them to draw. I will be passing on a little of what I know this week. I also like to share on my blog and in videos I have made. I feel sharing what supplies and tools I have used and my process of creating will help someone else.

My broken toe

2009-02-22T16:33:00.004-07:00

I haven't posted in afew days. No real excuses just have not felt like it. I need to post for the 12 secrets group an more but I think I will wait till I am inspired.

Having 2 cats a dog and a new kitten in the house has been challenging to say the least. I've dealt with fighting cats all week. Early I got attacked by one of them and the scratches on my neck are a reminder. I just put them outside when they fight but its getting old. Last night one tripped me when I was coming up the stairs and I did something to my big toe. Sure feels like its broke and they can't do anything for toes so I live with it. I was using the cane earlier but now I am on my own. Its just pretty painful when I put any pressure on it. There went all my plans for the day. I am just sitting so I could be doing Art but my hearts just not in it today. Maybe tomorrow things will look up.

My Writers group met yesterday and I have to say it was one of our best meetings yet. We did timed writings and then read our work. What a varied group we are, I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. We have some writers who do humor really well.

Dave wanted to show me a truck he is thinking about getting., So I ask what color, he says a light green. So I think I wonder what color it really is. He is color blind so its always interesting to find out what color he thinks things are. Yes of course the truck was not light green it was beige. He is so funny sometimes.

I got my book back from the Round Robin I participated in last year and it was well worth the wait. It is truly amazing. I will have to make a video about it soon. There are too many pages to do pictures of but I think a video will be easier too.

Ps. In the next few weeks I will be revamping the blog, so if I have removed your link its not personal so don't be offended I am just trying to come up with a new look.

A journal page of insight

2009-02-19T00:05:00.000-07:00

I have been working on this page for days. First the black gesso and then it sat for days. Then I added the borders and still it sat I didn't know what else to do it. Then last night I started adding images and words. No I am not sure I like it at all. Maybe the images are now cohesive or something. I think sometimes when we work in an Art Journal we are expecting some great work of Art but that really isn't the point. I think its just an expression of where we are at any given time. I see lots of lessons to learn with this page

As I look at this piece now I see that it has Asian influences like Kwan Yin flags and the lotus and bodhi flowers. They could be telling me to take time to meditate. Then I have the crow and feathers and an eye. Perhaps that imagery is telling me something, something that I am not seeing. Then I have the little girl in the corner and I tend to think maybe that is me when I was young and free to play. Now the word seem to be so more more, where the images seemed scattered before I now see them as expressions of my soul and a form of guidance. It really is all about creating yourself, the self you want to be. Art tends to lead us to places that we had no attention of going to. Who knew the page would be so prophetic for me.

Do you remember the face that I painted on fabric, well I took it and made it into a tote bag. I had a series of fat quarters and I used them to make a strip pieced bag. The back is one solid color of the edging fabric. Its pretty plain so I did not take a pic of it. I put a small pocket on the inside and now I am ready to haul small projects in it. It will be my first chance to take my own art around with me. I think that will be fun.

Lets Celebrate Mistake Day

2009-02-18T00:30:00.005-07:00

Toast of the Day: Here's to the silly mistakes that turn in to creative discoveries.

As I mentioned in a previous post today is the day I get to interview the wonderful Jill Badonsky. I believe that I first encountered Jill in an issue of Somerset Studio. I was delighted by her wonderful drawings and attitude towards creativity. Then she showed up at Creativity Portal and i loved reading her articles there too. I had bought her book The Nine Modern Day Muses and a bodyguard when I first heard about it and it is wonderful. When I heard that she had written a new book I knew I would want it. When the opportunity came around to participate in her blogging book tour I jumped at the chance. If you know nothing about Jill you are in for a treat. Her new book the Awe Manac is based on the idea of the Farmers Almanac but its focus is on creativity. There is a page for everyday of the year full of ideas and fun ways to spark your creativity.

Here is my interview with Jill.

The Awe-Manac is full of wonderful ideas for every day of the year. I haven't decided what is my favorite idea yet. I have enjoyed celebrating some of the fun days like National Chocolate Cake day. Was it hard to limit the number of these offerings? This seemed like such a big project how did you break it down into manageable tasks?

Thanks for that nice compliment. It was hard to limit what was offered on each day since only so much could fit on the 6 by 9 inch pages. But I felt like I was auditioning certain events and had to accept the ones I intuitively thought would bring the most inspiration, activation of creative juices or laughter to readers. I'm hoping I get to do another issue called The Awe-manac Reloaded (I have enough information to do an Awe-manac each year for long time) where I can include some of the things that got cut.

It was actually like a puzzle to break it down to manageable tasks. I had a file for every day of the year and put events on them as I found them – the discovery of what would work was a blast. I made sure to honor people I admired and who had great quotes and events that lent themselves to creative prompts or inspiration. It was not a linear process though, I was all over the board filling in days until eventually every day was complete. It seemed endless for awhile – the key was that it was fun.

Do you have a preferred way to work with the book?

I use it according to my intuitive mood du jour. Sometimes I just read the page of the day to see what energizes me, sometimes I read ahead or review what I've already read. Sometimes I let the daily prompts be a springboard for something I'm more in the mood to do than what they suggest. I simply read the page if I have no time to dive into prompts but even five minutes or a few sentences of playing with an idea brings some new creative energy.

I often have so many ideas that sometimes it's paralyzing. What do you do to focus on just one and follow it through, Do you have any techniques you use to manage it all?

That's not uncommon in the world of creative ideas. My rule is working on three ideas at a time. I will put ideas on index cards and chose the top three that energize my body rather than using the shoulds or linearly logical rationale that sometimes comes from my mind.
Rotating three ideas at a time, even if daydreaming about one of them is all I do, seems to feed the other ideas and keep me from resistance, resentment or blandness. As you can tell, much of my style depends on my intuition but what I know from years of coaching is that changing ideas too much is a form of avoidance. Staying with an idea during the creative chaos that frequently comes up is a triumph only about 15% of us attain.

What do you do when you are creatively stuck? Do you find there is one thing that helps you every time?

Again, because my creative process is fickle, one thing does not help every time – in Kaizen-Muse Creativity Coaching we have 10 main solutions for creativity stuckery. But the thing that comes close to working every time is breaking things down into small, fun, adventures that encourage imperfection at the beginning and authenticity throughout.

Can you tell my readers about the Kaizen Muse Creativity Course? I have been thinking about taking this course myself and I am sure my readers would love to hear more about it.

Thanks for asking. The best way to learn about it is to beam yourself over to http://www.kaizenmuse.com/kmcctraining . The next training is in August.

What I can tell you that's not at the site is that it was invented because life coaching blocked my creativity. I wanted to provide a coaching method that was compassionate, non-linear, intuitive based, filled with tools that appealed to the kid-like spirit so vital to my creativity. It is a coaching model that includes a creative experience in every session so it's not all about accountability and being told what to do. One of the last things many of us want is another person telling us what to do and adding another activity to our overwhelming to–do list. KMCC is all about easing into creative habits through the back door and creating one of those momentums that take you with it effortlessly.. like a current of bliss. It's about accepting ourselves as splendidly imperfect souls that need to get out of own way sometimes.. it's all already there for all of us.

and a gift from Jill this is today's page from the Awe Manac. I couldn't get it to enlarge so I hope by clicking on it you will be able to read it.

Secret #6 Conquering Saboteurs

2009-02-16T21:41:00.004-07:00

This weeks secret in the blogging book group reading the 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women is all about saboteurs. You know those things you do or thoughts you have about the creative process. The inner critic and other forms a gremlins that seem to sabotage our creative dreams.

We are asked to list what are saboteurs are. Well of course there is the inner critic. Those voices that say I have no talent, that no one will want to buy my art or read what I have written. Or the thoughts that say you will never be as good as...

Sometimes the saboteur is myself and I am the one telling me all those negative statements. Or one thing I do is when I am making Art that little voice says you should be writing or weaving or cleaning the house. Its a distraction that limits my ability to focus on what I am doing. When that happens I try and say no this is my time for Art and I get to focus on that now. There will be time for the other things later. I find that if I work on staying in the moment it helps.

My latest tool that I am trying is using a simple day planner. Mine lets me see the entire week and I have section for different times in the day. I find if I schedule time for painting or meditation then I tend to do those things on that given day. Blocking out time just for me seems to help me focus on the things I really want to do.

I also am adding some rituals that say, now its time to create. I have been wearing a painting shirt when I paint or sometimes an apron. I play music and I close the door to my studio. I do the same when I am weaving, since it has a separate room with a door too. When writing I like to go to a cafe but when writing at home I really don't have a set ritual other than sitting in a comfortable place and open files and just beginning. It looks like I need to come up for a ritual for that. The fact that sometimes I write on the couch and others times at a desk or table or in a cafe its not like I can just close a door and let that be the signal that says, I am writing now. I think I will try and come up with a ritual just for writing.

The one constant that I try to remember is to not wait for inspiration to come. To just show up for creative time and begin and know that the muse will come. To just be present for whatever gifts will come and to do it again the next day and the next.

Some more sketches

2009-02-15T15:03:00.005-07:00

I managed two sketches today. One while listening to the sermon at church,

The second during a forum talk afterwards. Another sketch of a mother daughter. I think I will do several of these and then try to paint it.

Since I started using this large sketchbook and doing drawings in it I somehow feel more like an artist. When I was drawing in church the person next to me commented that she thought I was really good. It was nice to be complimented and I did say thank you but I also said that I was learning. In hindsight I think I said that to excuse any mistakes in the drawing but on the other hand its true I am learning I am teaching myself to draw by drawing more. So maybe I did own myself as an artist today.

I have been watching a series called the Impressionists and it tells the story of Claude Monet and his contemporaries Renoir, Bazille, Manet and Degas. It is really fascinating to see what they had to go through for their art. They were so ridiculed for their styles. I have seen episode 1 and 2 and look forward to the rest.

Sacred Life Sunday - Housework

2009-02-15T09:46:00.003-07:00

I have been on a whirlwind cleaning binge and its just about done. This morning I have washed the kitchen floors, dusted, bathroom floors, bathroom sink toilet and all the yucky parts too, washed mirrors door jams and more. Its been a flowing experience. So I am thinking housework when you are in the zone can really be sacred. Its like I am getting the house ready for the week. after this I can devote time to other things like art and writing and weaving. A great way to start the week.

I am off to church now, we are having a forum to discuss the book My stroke of Insight. Should be fascinating.

I hope you have a day filled with Sacred moments.

Coraline

2009-02-14T15:40:00.005-07:00

Stop what you are doing and go out and see this movie. It is so incredibly awesome that I can't believe it. I have been following Neil Gaiman on twitter and he had said it will only be available in 3d for the next 2 weeks. That is due to another movie coming out. I figured I had better get to the theater right away. Having read the book and being fan of his other books too I wanted to see it. I was stunned visually. The 3d aspects are so amazing that they are even hard to describe. I think the movie will still be wonderful in 2d but you will be missing out on some amazing footage. The creativity in this piece is boundless. On top of all this it is truly a visual treat for all artists. Of course I love the idea that the heroine is a girl with smarts who has to save the day.

Here is another interesting tidbit. The sweaters in the film were knit by a woman sorry I don't know her name. She specializes in micro knitting and had a blog about it. The producers found her on the web and that's how she got the job. The star sweater that Coraline wears took 2 weeks to knit and she had to make 14 of them. Here is a fun clip with Teri Hatcher who plays the mom.

CED - some sketches and a painted face

2009-02-13T09:44:00.004-07:00

My entries for Creative Every Day this week. the first was done in a moleskine journal.

... the second an artist sketchbook. I have been looking to try new poses so I have been using paintings of other artists as inspiration.

... and this one I did using some of Sharons work as inspiration. I am trying to do the 2 women she did as friends as more a mother and daughter look. I find it hard to show age on a face. Do you think one looks younger? I think I will do another sketch and try to have the mother have her arm around the daughter.

I decided to paint another face in my journal
trying out a new fluid color for the background. for a shade of purple I think it is more magenta like.

and a picture of the kitten for my daughter.

One World One Heart Winner

2009-02-12T09:26:00.004-07:00

... and the winner is Miri at My Child Diary Congratulations an email has been sent requesting your address. A special thanks to all of you who took the time to comment. Its been nice meeting all of you. Its amazing to me that my prize is going all the was to Israel. It truly in One world One Heart. A special thanks to Lisa for hosting this wonderful event.

Last day for One World One heart

2009-02-11T08:59:00.003-07:00

It the last day to enter my drawing for the One World One Heart event. Go here for the original post and information on how to enter. You have until midnight(mountain time) tonight(feb 11). Good Luck everyone.

Fires in Australia

2009-02-09T22:15:00.001-07:00

I know many of you know about the disaster going on in Australia. Its really heartbreaking to hear the stories and all the loss of life. To all my Australian friends I hope you are ok. My thoughts are with you. To find out more and ways you can help go here .

What am I willing to give up

2009-02-09T10:07:00.007-07:00

i have been thinking about writing a lot lately. just what it means to me and what i am willing to do for it. this morning i recalled what heather sellers who wrote Chapter after Chapter,said about finishing a novel. you are going to need to give something up to finish. now just what am i willing to give up to finish a book. to think that in my current life i wouldn't need to give anything up is being naive. to truly come up with a good list i need to take a look at what i spend my time doing

here's my list

1. TV
2. weaving
3. spinning
4. limit time on the phone,
5. Art
6. blogging
7. reading blogs
8. reading books
9. email
10.book groups, classes

now some of these I would be willing to give up for a certain duration but others i would have to consider limiting the time spent on them. Of all these i most likely can not give up art or blogging but i could reduce the time spent on their activities.

i made the decision last night to start revising the first novel i wrote for nanowrimo, its a mystery set at a fiber festival in the world of weavers and spinners. its the closest thing i have to completion so its time for a second draft. i also committed to working on it every day, the amount of time doesn't matter just as long as i am working on it. the one thing that nanowrimo teaches is to consistently write everyday. its time i got back to that.

what are you willing to give up to make your dreams come true...

Secret # 5 Committing to Self Focus

2009-02-08T19:36:00.000-07:00

We are on to Secret #5 in the blogging booking group facilitated by Jamie Riddler

In this chapter the focus is on self focus. At times I find I let others interrupt my creative time. Or I don't even set up a creative time but try to grab it here and there, which is not very successful. I would have to say I am my own worst enemy. I talk myself out of creative time by taking that time to do something else, it may be talking on the phone, meeting someone for lunch, doing another volunteer job and so on and on.

Since there are so many creative things that I like to do I have started setting aside days to focus on one thing. I have been able to devote Tuesdays to writing. I seem to change the date for Art some weeks its Monday and others its Wednesday. The day doesn't matter just the fact that I do it does. On those days when I do stay home the challenge for me is to stay focused on the creativity and not let the internet or household chores interfere. That is a constant struggle for me. I guess I need to just make the choice to put my creative pursuits first, like they are my job. When I was working with my grandparents letters the job was so big that I ended up having to treat it like I was working on a thesis and worked on it every day. That technique seemed to work. I may need to try that again.

Getting back to Art

2009-02-07T08:08:00.005-07:00

in my attempt to come back to normal i took my sketchbook to town with me. i sat along the river and sketched this lady. it was really satisfying to do and reminded me that i love to draw and need to work it back into my life.

... later that evening i decided to try painting on fabric. in kelli rae's book Taking Flight she does a little exercise on this in her section featuring dj pettit. earlier i had taken muslin and fused it to some interfacing to stabilize it. i added a layer of clear gesso and let it dry.
my first attempt was just sloshing paint on the fabric in a random matter. i trimmed the piece with pinking shears.

and here i decided to try a face. painting on fabric is different for sure. i was using golden fluid acrylics and perhaps heavy bodied would be better. i will try that next time. i used titan buff as my skin tone base and i liked using it instead of titanium white. it gave a different shade to the skin, i will play with this some more. i am not sure what i will do with her, perhaps make a bag with some fabrics around the face to make the panel bigger. i know she was fun to do and i can't wait to try some more fabric painting. sometimes trying something new will get you back in the groove.

Gray is my color these days

2009-02-06T12:05:00.005-07:00

moods and feelings are funny things. i have been up and motivated all week in fact for several weeks. then last night i found myself in such a despair about my writing goals and aspirations. i am ready to just give it all up again. one thing i realized is that i have been here before. i traveled down this road at the writers spa in taos, i came out of it stronger and i do hope that happens again. sometimes i wonder why do i want to be a writer anyway, it is so hard. where did this idea come from in the first place... i have been trying to remember that line from the alchemist "When you want something all the universe conspires to help you achieve it" ...part of me keeps saying ok universe get to conspiring because I am just not feeling it lately.

when i was at the writers spa the meltdown occurred when i put too high of expectations on myself. its the same project that is causing all the trauma... is this a sign to let it go and move on to something else or is it just giving me one more opportunity to work through it all. sometimes its hard to know where your next step should be.

i have not been doing any art at all so this gray page was a way to start again and dump my feelings on to the page once more in hope i will soon come out on the other side. i decided earlier that i would go take photographs but the weather is not cooperating at all. so i will head to town for an artist date of sorts, maybe a trip to an art store or a museum, i need some way to get out of the space i am in.

Zoe' is my muse

2009-02-05T10:19:00.006-07:00

Jessie from Diary of a self-portrait did a post on the Muse and I had commented about not really feeling connected with a muse. She kindly wrote me back and suggested a dialogue to discover my muse. So I did this little free writing exercise.

My Muse

I have always liked the idea that Sharon had a muse named Norah and that she regularly had dialogue with her. I wasn't sure if I had a muse at all. Sure I have those creative urges but is that my muse. I have decided that is what it is. Now yesterday I spent the day on weaving projects. I finished up the red shawl and I wound a new warp and even started on weaving on my rug. I seemed to flow from one of those projects to the next. Having done the journaling last month I needed a break from that daily commitment. I have not done really any art in February and it is already the 5th of the month. Yesterday I recall my inner voice saying "I am ready to do some art" I now think this was my muse talking to me. I am wanting to do some new paintings and I did end up in the library looking at Art books as reference materials. Maybe it was my muse that sent me there. I looked at Hastings last night too. Neither one of those excursions gave me what I needed. I have been thinking maybe some Dover books would have female styles and figures that I am looking for. I have not been to Barnes and Noble yet. Or perhaps the Internet will have some ideas for me. All these urgings are really my muse preparing me for the Art I am gong to be making next. Ok then since I have now firmly established my muse's existence just what is her name. I know it’s a she of that I am certain. Its just that no name seems to be popping in my head. Ok my lovely muse just who are you? Still a blank, ok I will do a little mini meditation. What names have I been drawn to before, I always like those French and exotic names like Chloe, Sophie, Collette, Celeste, Carmen, Zoe. Hmm maybe her name is Zoe. I have been using Claire a lot in my writing so maybe she is Claire. No I keep getting Zoe in my head that is if that is how its spelled. Zoe has the .. Over the e but I do not know how to do that on the keyboard, so I will just do it like this Zoe' and that will have to do.

Now after doing this little exercise I am finding that I am connecting with Zoe. I think she is my inner bohemian gypsy girl. I may have to draw or paint her now. She wears those flowing skirts and shawls and sometimes is found with paint on her nose. Long curly red hair is held in place by a colorful babushka. I am beginning to see her more clearly now. She is the one that takes me out to play. Oh what fun this has been.

If you are doubting you ave a muse just try this little exercise and see what happens, that is all I did and I am having a blast with it.