Happy New Year!

I'm not much for making resolutions. This given my prior years disappointing carry through!  So  I generally take a moment to access my current accomplishments, short comings, dreams, and desires as I set approach the future.
Created on paper towel covered card stock.
Art and creating has become a very important focal point in my life this past year that I can only hope to continue my creative journey in 2013.  Wishing all a Happy New Years!

Keeping the Faith!

Ten days and counting until Christmas!
Shopping done?-----almost!
House cleaned?-----is it ever "really" clean?
Gifts wrapped?---- YES, so far!!
House decorated?----YES!  (Thanks to those in the family that make that happen!)
Time to play?----NO!
This little ornament is all I've had time to quickly do. (The sparkles and finish really not showing well in the photo.)

I'd love to spend some quality time in the studio as I've got ideas rolling around in my head!
But as much as I want to get in the glue, and paint and markers I  embrace the season, my family, friends  and my faith. Always keep the faith! 




Exterior Illumination

So it's Sunday, and Thanksgiving is behind us.  Yes, done a bit of shopping but today, yes today, begins the Christmas season at our house.  While the weather feels nothing like fall or winter we forge on un-thwarted by what it feels like outside and the men of the house take on the seasons need for.....drum roll please......Exterior Illumination!!

Our family checklist of seasonal activities began with the annual viewing of Christmas Vacation.  Done a bit earlier than normal this year but done now none the least.  Next comes the exterior illumination activities, closely followed with the tree selection and decorating.  (Next week!)
So as the activities embrace us all Best wishes for a happy "season" can never be wished too early!

Thanksgiving weekend come and gone!

I hope you and your family had a wonderful Thanksgiving and maybe even a bit of shopping too!  Ventured out to do a bit of that on Black Friday myself.  Nothing crazy like stand in a mass of people awaiting doors to open or anything.   So what have I done with the rest of my long weekend?
Cleaning and re-organizing my art studio space.
Saturday I started off (mid-day by the time I slept in of course), with grand plans of achievement. Now today is Sunday and I am still on the same project.  I would love to say I have accomplished what I wanted but, well.... that is just silly at this point.  Progress has been made but this is an ongoing project for me.  To make matters worse here it is at the end of 4 days off and I have yet to do any art!  Disgraceful!  So without lingering I leave you with my doodled thoughts.

I have few excuses!

I don't know why I haven't posted for a few weeks, but I'm sure there is good reason!

1)  The maid never shows up.....leaving me to commit precious art time to other shall we say less desirable chores.
2)  That M-F, 8 to 5 nagging irritation that also grabs away precious creating time. What ever happened to women staying home while the men worked?  Apparently art supplies were not available leaving us idle and bored, precariously venturing into the M-F trap.  Shame on us!  If we'd only knew then what we know now!
3)  Then of course there has been the attendance to a Nascar Race, several movies probably, and even an evening of dancing.
So that pretty much explains it!
Nevertheless, I have stolen a few minutes to touch some paint, papers, and markers.

Hope you have a few minutes in your days to create too!

Lots of Sunshine!

Wow! It is just gorgeous outside with Fall in the air!  Looking forward to festivals, (especially the crafting kind), this weekend and next.  Before we know it Christmas will be here.  Did I say that out loud?
While lounging in front of the tv this week this little saying/song came to mind so I created a little piece of art because of it.
                                               Hope your weekend is fabulous too!!

Kindness

We all need a little of this these days!  It is so easy to overlook the little things that equate to acts of kindness towards others.  When I was working on this piece I immediately knew what it should say.
Spread Kindness!

Inspiration block

I've been creating a lot of these over the past couple of months.  They make a quick canvas and provide that sense of completion at one setting! On this particular one I utilized modeling paste and pre-dried.
Hope you like it!
 

Go Big or Go Home



 Okay, maybe not BIG, but bigger than my normal work.  I've always been a bit intimidated by working on big areas.  Why?  Don't really know, just had the voices in my head saying....what will you put here or here or there?  Surely, I am not alone with this self challenged thinking!


 
So of late I have been tackling the very thing that has been nagging me and that is to go bigger.  Like most self imposed thoughts of potential failure I have found I couldn't have been more wrong.  My creativity actually flows a bit more readily.  So take that self!

Bliss

Finding it, keeping it, De-mystifying it is my personal project presently.  Most of all is recognizing it comes in all forms.  Bliss can be dancing with my husband, alone in my art studio, just sitting and being quiet.  So I am on a much, much, much needed hiatus to clear the brain from the mundane activities of day to day to analyze, re-prioritize, and recapture my knowing that I already have a lot of Bliss in my life.
Where else can I find it?

Dreaming

I do alot of this...dreaming that is.  I dream about what I would like to do with my life that I haven't, what I would like to be able to do for my family, what it would be like to rich.  (Tell me I'm not alone on this one!)  And well as you can see I just dream.  I dream of as much time as I want to do art also.  Dreaming for me just means I still have hopes and ambitions and imagination. Cause really, loose those and whats the point right?!
p.s.  I dream of doing something with the etsy account I created too!

Sharing Love Notes!

So last night I was excited that the weekend was starting.  Didn't want to go to bed and had a little creative flow going.  The only one left up I decided to draw a love note to leave on the counter for the next morning.  It was met with a little return note by the time I awoke this morning!  Show and share a bit of love with someone this weekend!

Happy Mothers Day!

To all of us busy moms we need to just kick up our heels a bit!  Enjoy, relax and don't worry about everything we aren't going to get to that needs done.  Never enough hours or at least the energy to do everything!  So accept that, and have a Happy Mothers Day!

Not the dreaded sewing machine!

Having been sick all week, (sinus infection), today was the first day I have felt like spending time in the studio.  Yes, this causes me great distress but nothing I can or could do about it. 
I came across an article in the recent Somerset Life magazine and found a bit of inspiration put into action today. Teresa McFayden, had a piece published where she had created some small "folio's" which I thought were very cute.  My first thought was not the dreaded sewing machine! I own one, don't know how to use it well, and don't have and never will desire to invest the time or brain cells necessary to efficiently operate one!  My second small obstacle was I had only flipped through the magazine, not purchasing it in lieu of a book I invested in.
So armed with resources I had available, and including some simple stitching on the ends of my folio with the sewing machine, here is my folio!

Arts Festival Weekend



Hooray it was Arts Festival weekend this weekend!  One couldn't have asked for a better day to enjoy the art.
This year had new artists and returning artists also.
One of my favorites this year was Kina Crow.
Check out her website www.kinacrow.com
another of my favorites was Amanda Murphy and her photography.  Not what you would expect when one thinks of photography or subject matter but made me laugh.  Visit her site at www.amandamurphyphotography.com

I've been busy working on some new things but not ready for a big reveal just yet.   I did re-work this CD holder recently.  Never had used it....still had the tags on it....probably just needed a little jazzing up!



Outside my Window

Today is such a beautiful day outside I feel almost bad spending it in the studio.  But the window is wide open right next to me and I am taking in all the wonderfulness that the season is blowing my way. Allergens and all!
Today I found myself back on canvas, mixing up those pretty colors.
But before I did this canvas I had completed viewing the  "Art of Wild Abondonment" class I had
signed up for just a while back.
Junelle Jacobsen is quite an inspiration and a very sweet spirit.  She and class organizer
Christy Tomlinson presented a really nice series.  It was my very first class ever!  These two gals are a couple of my favorites for inspiration so I knew I could not go wrong.  I know have idea overload!

This and that

Resourcefulness should be the title of this entry.  I utilized everything imaginable to do this little piece.
Here's the list:
Mixed media paper
Tissue paper
Stamps, pens, ink pad, acrylic paint & soft pastels
Meat paper...yes...really. The kind you wrap sandwiches in or place between before freezing. Don't ask!
Old book paper and last but not least scrap paper.
Sometimes a girls got to use what she has! :)


Spring planting

I have not spent alot of time sketching in the past as I didn't think it was something I should or could do.  I tend to think what I sketch has to be exact or porportioned perfectly and detailed just right.  Such a waste of my creative energy fretting over these things!
When I quit focusing on that so much and just relaxed more like I do with doodling it has started to come
together for me.  Imperfections are actually what makes it the mark of my style I suppose.  So if you are looking for perfect drawing and follow my blog at all you are going to be sadly disappointed!  Scribbles, doodles and whatever flows out rein supreme!! :)

Grace and Beauty

Today is absolutely beautiful!  Spring is everywhere I look and while I have to draw a flower before the day is over I managed to create this.  Also with a bit of whimsical spring feeling about it.

Spring Fever

Spring is coming!  Not that you could tell  by the weather of this weekend but I suppose the thought of spring fever inspired this snapshot in my mind. Hope you had a wonderful weekend!

Paperbag Canvas

Canvas, as I said in my last post, is probably my favorite medium to work with. It just makes me happy!  But I ventured onto paper bag recently.  Very rarely do you end up with paperbags these days but this one was not super thick or real, real heavy so I ripped off a piece and started working with it.  A little bit of gesso initially in  a strip in the middle because I didn't know where I was going to go with it.  Figured I had to prep it right?  I added the blue color and then added more gesso around the edges of the blue.  I liked the look of that so stopped there.  The rest was done with marker and thread for the stems.  Using a paper bag was fun!

Doodle

Weekends are precious hours to me.  I never seem to get enough done when it comes to my "play" time and during the week I can't always find the time to hit the studio.  So I will pre-paint a canvas sheet so it will be ready for a doodle during the week.
Yes a doodle!  Canvas has always had more appeal to me than papers.   So the majority of what I  do takes place on canvas.  With the pre-painted canvas I can sit and doodle....my way of journaling.

Work in Progress

I've been working on getting this blog organized  and transitioned this weekend so itching to get my hands into the paint and glue!  Here is a recent canvas I've been working on.  Not quite finished but getting there.

Blog Make-Over


Ever had someone encourage you to pursue a dream, make the first move, tell you they’ll follow you onto the dance floor, or not to let doubt and disbelief stand in your way?
I have several of those people in my life who have remarked about my writings, their entertainment value, my observances, personal stories or rants of some sort.  That was the original reason for this blog back in 2009 which at the time was a natural extension of the then Twist of Pink E-Magazine.
I found myself with a love for paper, paint, markers and canvas.  So besides sarcasm and writing I realized a great joy in creating anything that doesn’t involve a sewing machine!  When empty nesting happened a few years back I seized the opportunity to turn now vacant space, (thank you son), into a creative room. Sure the family scoffed and figured this would pass, encouraging me with rolled eyes, just sure that this was a passing fancy. However, now several years later and in a different creative space I am still discovering the delights of mixed media art and looking forward to sharing with those of you who visit Twist of Pink. :)