I only have another week....

I have 3 Christmas packages to get out soon. The bulk of them will be art and/or handmade. So...the heat is on. I can't share pictures because well....because they're a secret. So I have to bear all the frustrations and failures all by my little lonesome. I was feeling quite blocked for awhile there, but my mind seems to have cleared some and I'm making progress.

I'm having loads of fun with one "fun" gift. I made a prototype and it turned out well, so now I'm onto the "real" gift. Its fun and quirky and.... well....fun! Nothing artsy about it.

So this weekend was devoted mostly to these gift packages, which will consist of a large or larger item and several small things. I've got 2 of the big things totally done. No big gift yet for the 3rd package. I'm still deciding what to do on that one.

Of the smaller items. One gift, a large drawing isn't panning out too well. I actually like it, but its not turning out to give the mood its supposed to. So...I may have to start all over. Tho I'll save this for later. A second piece, same size is watercolor and ink; it's turning out well. I've got the watercolor washes down and just need to add the ink work. This is the time consuming part, but I can work at it in fits and spurts. And then there is the fun piece. Again something I can work on it fits and spurts, so I work on it when I need a break on the others.

I only have another week to get them in the mail. Oh geez.....I only have another week.

My first Tarot cards...

These were done as part of a project on iATCs. My assignment was the Fool and the 6 of Cups.

Well, this isn't my usual type of drawing and I found this exercise extremely difficult. So....after numerous failed or half failed attempts, here they are.

ATC Recipe for Collage

Some time ago at the now defunct ATCards.com, I hosted a swap that was based on an idea that I had gotten from the internet. I believe it was teacher's art project for her students. I can't for the life of me find the site or page now.

Lately, though, there has been some renewed interest in using this theme for teaching kids how to make ATCs using collage as an example.

The idea is that a good collage is made up of multiple layers and should include:

1. pleasing colors
   
2. contrast
   
3. use of lines and texture
4. a focal point/ balance
5. uneven numbers of elements or layers (3 minimum, 5 is better)

So this recipe includes certain ingredients which will help satisfy those necessary components.
The ingredients:

• 2 toothpicks
  
• 5 punched dots
• fabric
  
• 2 visual textures
  
• original background

You are encouraged to use your imagination. You may use the toothpicks whole or break them. All ingredients may be cut or otherwise altered.

Here are some examples of what was submitted for the swap.



First Row:

• Smullis
  

2nd Row (left to right):

• Goatgoddess
• Chatty
• Glenwine

3rd Row:

• Scrappylicious
• CarolynMinto
• BlueRue

A good resource for collage is: 5-Layer Collage by Carole Pivarnik

The Baby Quilt

I thought it rather ironic really. The night before Amanda went into labour, I finished the baby quilt. I remember thinking "now the peanut has nana's permission to be born". LOL I was just teasing of course, but there you have it, he listens to his nana.

Getting back in the artsy groove

Things are settling down in the world of websites, so I'm trying desperately to get back to some art.

I finished up a Famous Artists piece that I had started for a Pick a Theme swap and doodled a bit in the car. I'm calling the doodles "Zoodles" since I was inspired by the Zentangle craze.

They're ATC sized. Not too bad given all the jiggling in the car. I like the idea of using the doodling to help me get through blocks. In ways they're quite freeing.

Back to art again?

Hopefully, I'll be able to get back to some art now. After the demise of ATCards.com and TheMailArtist, a group of keeners got together and created first ATCsforall and then MailArtWorld to replace our lost homes. I offered some assistance and have been a support admin person for them. Both are now up and running smoothly and don't take up much time now, so hopefully.....

However, I am taking an oil painting class, which has given me a creative opportunity for the last 2 weeks. So far, I've created nothing worth bragging about or showing. Hopefully that will change with practice.

In the meantime, what other little craftsy time I've had, I've had to give to the quilt. But it's coming along and I may even finish it before the little guy (the Peanut) decides he's ready to face the world.

My first acrylic still life

Well, I have been able to do at least something creative every day. Often just work on an ATC, usually I'll also work a bit on the baby quilt. Recently tho, as part of a a-thon at IllustratedATCs.com a group of us painted and drew from the same photo to see if the others could blindly tell whose was whose based on their familiarity of the artists style.

Really just meant to be a fun exercise, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I often work in watercolor and pen and suspect that is what people might have expected from me, but this painting done on 8x12 canvas board was done in acryllic. I'm quite new to acrylic, so don't have the technique down quite yet. But for one of my first attempts, it wasn't too bad.

Progress on the quilt

Progress on the quilt is slow but sure.

I've had the background done for awhile. It's really just sky and water, so was easy. Onto that I've appliqued a rainbow and Noah's arc and am adding the animals now. Each day I'm trying to get at least one more animal on.

Originally I was thinking of having more animals along the outside border. I'm beginning to think that might make it too busy. Will have to decide soon though. Here is my original pencil sketch, I quite like its simplicity.

So far, there is the giraffe, cat, elephant, lamb, and monkey. The little monkey is dangling from the elephants trunk. Later I'll add the embroidery detail on the animals.

So here it is. The clouds aren't on, that is only the pattern that I've cut. And there are still a few pins in the lamb.

All done with my Frida cards

I finally got my Frida Kahlo cards done. I'm not sure I'll try her again. I started out using the cards as an exercise in colored pencil portraits. But notice that none of them really look like Frida, nor do any of them even look like the same person. Hmmmm.

Something artsy each day....

I'm trying to squeeze something artsy in each day. Even if its only

tidying up my area (yes, I did get it done).
Even if its only working on 1 little ATC or ACEO.

So far, so good.

I altered a couple of needlecases that I had due and worked on a fun swap for the ATCards site. Theme was "We're Canadian" so I had fun with Bob and Doug MacKenzie. What's more Canadian than beer, snowshoes and touques? Anyway, it was all in fun.

There is a Frida Kahlo swap that I tried to stay away from, but it keeps calling me back so I thought I'd tackle one or two and see.

I saw the movie about her life years ago and have been interested in her ever since. This is the first time I've tackled Frida. Her bold, lusty style is sooo different than my own.

For my first card, I decided I wanted to combine Frida with the sexual fruit she was so fond of painting. So I adapted her Sun and Life painting to include her. I titled it "Diego Forgets".

Also worked on the baby quilt some more.

An artsy day

Today I was able to do crafty/artsy stuff almost all day. What a nice change of pace.

I took pictures of some jewelry to get it ready to put on Etsy. And I'm making gains on catching up on my art commitments. I've now finished all of the Famous Artists PAT for IllustratedATCs.com. Including a hostess card for Meran (the Eve card) for being such a fab hostess.

But I also got a card done for the EtsyARTery team AND a card for my secret Valentine. I can't show it just yet. I called this "h 'ARTery". The idea came to me yesterday and after playing with it, this is what I came up with. This is about as abstract as I get I'm afraid.

AND, I even worked on the baby quilt today. YEAH!

Haunted by commitments

I've been trying desperately to get caught up on all my artsy commitments. Here's what is still haunting me.

1. Valentine package swap - need to send next week
2. 2 altered needlecases - 1 done (due end of month)
3. Famous Artists PAT - 3 done including hostess card, so 1 more needed (due end of month)
4. 3 Zetti Tarot cards (the ones I'm sweating buckets over) - sketches made ( I have time here)
5. fabric postcard - overdue, but I'm struggling with this one too, and she said she's ok. I have started it (but then I did 3 previous versions that I didn't like, so....)
6. 2 8 x 11 paintings green - not due till June

I had to drop a art quilt swap I was in. I hated to, but the timing was killing me. It looks like it will be an ongoing thing, so I hope to pick up some spots after I have to finish that baby quilt I'm working on. But I gotta get that quilt done and that is what's stressing me. I only have 4 more months. So, once I get the due now stuff out of the way, then I can focus on the quilt and work on the tarot cards and green paintings here and there for a break from the quilt.

So, this weekend is the time I've alotted myself to get those first 3 caught up and hopefully the postcard too. Once those are done, then the heat is off.

Resolutions

I know...every year you make em and break em almost as fast.

I made quite a few this year, which is unusual for me. I usually try to keep them manageable, but I still end up only doing 1 or 2. So this year, DH and I made categories of resolutions and put at least 2 to 4 in each category.

So...for me and my creative endeavours these were my resolutions

• more bigger art
• less time playing on the computer at home (yes, this is related to art as the computer time digs into creativity time)
• take at least 1 artsy worskhop or mini course
• finish the baby quilt (before June)

So...today I will tidy up my creative space so that I can reasonably tackle my resolutions. Wish me luck. Oh.... and if I don't post for several days, I'm either lost among the clutter or the dust bunnies ate me.

Struggling through Zetti

I've agreed to participate in a group tarot card project through Illustrated ATCs.
I'm excited about (and intimidated by) the 3 cards I need to make. You see Zetti is like a foreign language to me. I understand the basics and love seeing Zetti art, but for me to create something in that style that I find pleasing is a whole other matter.

My 3 cards are The Fool and The Five and Six of Cups.
I've created a couple of prototypes of The Fool to work my way through it all, and I've come up with aspects of each that I like and want to incorporate into the final product.

• I like the face of whistling guy #2, I sorta like the donkey with chicken legs idea too though.
• I really like the edge of cliff in #4 and like the sky and swirlie idea there too.
• I like the pogo rolly thing in the last guy, and I like the sun, but I don't like his tummy hanging out like that. *sigh*

So far the 5 and 6 of cups are only at the pencil sketch stage. *double sigh*

Art journals and exercising creativity

I fear that I lack creativity. I tend to paint and draw what I see, quite literally only what I see, exactly as I see it. Now maybe I'll look at something and notice something that another person might not, but it's still a literal interpretation. And I so admire the abilities of others to interpret and to create something new!!! I want to go there!!

So how do you start exercising creativity?

Not really sure, but to start, I bought and were given a few art journals. I never got into them before and am always amazed when I see other people's journals exploding with creativity. I think getting used to carrying one around and using it for ideas and doodles or whatever might help with my creative issues. Also, if I carry a journal with me while we travel, I can sketch and paint on the road. I bought this little watercolor field kit and just adore it. It's so handy and I love the quality of the paint.

So, here's the plan. One journal for at work, a teensy one in my purse, and another one or two laying around the house.

Here is my first journal painting. Done while on a recent trip to Portugal. This tuft of decorative grass was right outside our apartment window and we were both just enthralled by it.

My first post

My first post on my blog. Where do I start?

Ok, I'll start with why I need this.

To get motivated, to get me off my butt, to help my creative process. And I'll be honest, maybe a little tooting of my own horn a bit too. It doesn't matter if NO ONE reads it. By posting, I'm hoping I can work through some of my creative issues. Like inspiration and allowing my art to grow.

This blog is really for me, but you're welcome to come along for the ride.