What to swap?

As Art and Soul approaches I'm starting to feel a bit anxious about the fact that I have not made anything to swap. I'm back the same place again...questioning if I'm good enough, will my work be worthy of a swap. I've been on the forum for the retreat several times and felt overwhelmed when I saw posts discussing bad swap experiences...can I face that kind of rejection when my artist soul is still so tender? I'm not sure, but I do plan to test it out. I have an idea for charms to make and swap, I had to place an order online to get some of the parts, so hopefully they will arrive soon. I also need to make my small collages for the soldering class and I need to send my photos to the instructor for the door class. It's getting close and I am getting excited! I can't wait to shop at collage....though secretly I'm scared Michaels will find out what I said about them...and never let me shop there again...they are all I have!

So onward to practicing my art. My latest project came about as a complete surprise. I read an article in CPS awhile back about mixed media on silver spoons. I've had my eye out for some spoons and hadn't had the luck to find any so far...until I went to work this past week where a teacher was selling some old things in the teachers lounge. Guess what I found?! Spoons and a few other utensils...all silver! Oh my goodness I was so excited, I never have that kind luck finding something. So I got a whole hand full of silver utensils and a cool crock bowl that I will use for my water when I'm painting. I dug out that magazine and my alcohol inks and went to town on those spoons. I even broke out the Dremel which I haven't used in a while. I think the spoons came out great and I gave the first ones I made to the teacher who sold them to me. She was thrilled, which did a lot to boost my confidence in what I do. I will be making several more sets of them, possibly to give away or maybe even to sell! (Am I that brave?)


I have also made a notebook for my friend Chris which I collaged with a Hattera/OuterBanks theme. She loved it. Which made me happy. She is one of muses that supports me in what I do. I love making stuff for my friends to use and enjoying.


So I guess I've made some progress. I'm attending an all day work shop at the PFAC on creativity. I'm looking forward to the class, which is being taught by someone I have wanted to meet since last years Art and Soul. She runs the Monart studio in Hampton. Anyhow, I think I will enjoy the class and perhaps it will help me to erase some of this self doubt I've felt lately.

Last thing...found this cool site where the artist makes bracelets from old gift cards, especially from Starbucks (yum). I should get it in a couple of days, can't wait to show it to my Starbucks addicted friends at Yates. Here is her Etsy shop link...sorry you can't get a bracelet just like mine...it was the last one! www.jupita.etsy.com

OBX Art

This weekend has been girls weekend in Nags Head. Loads of laughs and lots of shopping. I finally was able to catch the Art Council in Manteo open. I added another piece to my Art O Mat collection. The Art O Mat is a refurbished cigarette machine that depenses art instead of cigarettes. They are located all over the place. The link for the website is included in my list of favorite sites on this blog.

I was inspired by the work I saw at the Art Council. They have a very nice collection of pieces there, including some assemblage work which you don't normally see. Of course I couldn't escape without opening my wallet. I bought two lovely glass pieces by a bead artist. I got a necklace and a pair of earrings. The art of making those glass beads is really amazing. It is something I would like to try but it looks so hard to do. I just don't get how they keep if from turning into a ugly blob of glass. Here is the artists website. Her work is great. http://www.janepulley.com/.

I brought my art journal with me to work on if the mood struck (and of course it did). I completed just one page and doodled on a second page. It really is fun to work in an art journal because it will never be published. It's a great place for me to work on my need for perfection and to try to let it go and just let it be.

So here we are early on Sunday morning, with rain drops dripping from the sky, and the beach is still a beautiful place. I'm looking out the back door of the cottage where there is a small view of the ocean wondering what treasures I might find on the shore if I were to take a walk on the wet sand. But then again there is something to be said about the mystery of possibilities...and inside it's dry, the coffee is hot and the realities of daily life are just around the corner...I think I'll just stay put.

It's been a long time!

I can't believe how long it's been since I last posted to this blog! The year has flown by as it usually does. Once school starts the momentum just keeps building and before I know it, Christmas is here. Sad but not surprising that I have barely touched my art stuff in all this time. I get caught up in the trappings of working and life in general. Soccer season is over and Futsal hasn't started. Christmas shopping is done and gifts are wrapped. So guess what I did yesterday. I went to my sunroom studio, cranked the radio and three hours later I had a collage done and was covered in paint...I think I felt my spirit expand or atleast take it's first really deep breath in a long while. I've been doing some thinking lately about what to do next. I've looked into going back to school to take some classes and work towards my degree in art, who knows. I'm very excited that I got to enroll early in Art and Soul and got all my classes I wanted. Glenny is the best! I am so excited and can't wait for it to be here. As fast as the time is flying it will be here very soon!!!

And the Art Goes On

I registered for Art and Soul this week. Oh my gosh I could have spent twice as much as I did and taken twice as many classes. As it is I feel guilty for spending that kind of money on myself. At the same time I can't imagine not going to the retreat. It feels like the only time I get to me my true self. I was excited because I was invited to rigister early and was able to get into both of the all day classes I really wanted to take. I'm so excited and counting the days!

A really good read, Taking Flight Inspiration and Techniques to give your Creative spirit wings by Kelly Rae Roberts. I picked it up at Barnes and Noble one day last week. I love this book. It really speaks to my artistic soul. She writes about the journey to finding your creative self. A while back I came up with the winged S as a way to sign my art. It symbolizes me finding my wings and taking flight to find the artist within. So when I saw the title of the book and the many wings in all the pictures I knew this book and I would connect...and I was right. Some of the things she speaks about I have experienced already and some made me think differently than I had before. Mixed in with the advice are some really cool techniques for mixed media art. I've already tried a few, great stuff! I also love her artwork you can see it at http://www.kellyraeroberts.com/index.html.html and at her etsy shop.

I discovered a group in Flickr called Collage Images. You have to join but once you do, you can download all kinds of ephemera. You can search the pool of pictures posted by the group. Great stuff!

So here is my latest ATC for the exchange. It's called Pumpkin Pi? I drew the pumpkins and vine with watercolor pencils. Then I scanned them into my computer and resized them. I created a background of the number pi to the 10th or so decimal, copy/pasted it over and over to fill the page. I then selected all the texted and changed it to a very pale gray. I ran the paper through again and printed the pumpkins on top. I used a maroon Sharpie to write in Pumpkin Pi? and inked the edges with an orange ink pad. I think they came out pretty good.

Camp memories

My brother came by last week. We had a great chat about the camp we both went to as kids. The same camp my mom had attended as a teenager. I had missed a reunion and wanted to hear about all the folks I hadn't seen in so long. I realized as we were talking how important some of those memories were to me. I also realized my experiences were far different from his. He stayed on much longer than I did and moved into the mysterious realm of "counselor". I started when I was very young and my mom was camp nurse. I never had the experiences with the romances, parties and subculture of young adult friendships. Later when I sat down in my studio to work, instead of painting or some other project, I really felt like writing. I let the memories flow and as they started to manifest on paper, things long forgotten started to bubble to the surface. Here is what I wrote that night:

Camp Nimrod for Girls

White skorts, white shirts, white sandals, the strong smell of bug spray, the itch of grass on the back of my legs, the geode that was rumored to be a fallen star and a Sunday evening sunset….Vespars.

Dust, sweat, the smell of hay and horses, the creak of leather, the soft felt on my hat, a small white pony who owned my six year old heart~Paulette, the evil eye pendant on my neck, jodphers, boots and the Goshen show….riding lessons

A steep path down, clinging to the rail, tripping over roots, the smell of earth meeting crystal clear water, the clink of buddy tags hitting the board, the bang~clang~sway~dip walking down the floating docks, that first cold heavenly rush as you hit the water, the smooth curve of river rocks under your feet…the Cow Pasture River

A medicinal smell that can’t be described (perhaps a mixture of rubbing alcohol, just opened bandaids and cough syrup), metal cabinets filled with mysterious vials and cotton balls, orange Methialate drawings on scraped shins and knees, wasps nests in the closet on the back porch, and my home base…the infirmary

The slam of a wooden door, big green adirondack chairs on the porch, sitting on the railing, snacks and ice cold glass bottle sodas in the back room, an Eagle painted on a wooden plaque, grown ups laughing and talking…the office.

The wonderful smell of food, a letter home to get in on Sunday (and being a little confused why I had to do it when my mom was next door in the infirmary?!), long tables, surrounded by friends, laughter, a quick finger to the side of the nose or you run around the table pig, a napkin to tell the tale of a girl who could not pay the rent…daily meals in the nest

The walk from the rec hall with beams of flash lights swinging across the path, gathering at the flag pole, singing “Green trees around me….hearts beating true as Camp Nimrod says good night to you” arms crossed swaying, looking up from the circle of campers to see the circle of trees swaying as well, taps, jumping in your bunk ~no covers~ too hot, waking in the middle of the night curled in a ball freezing in the damp air…bedtime on a mountain

A complete and utter hush and stillness just before Revelry blasted out, the smell of toothpaste messages written on screens, the rush to get ready, the run to the flag pole to see whose underwear would be on display…the start of a another great day

Camping out at Pots Springs, floating candles down the river, being afraid of small snappish black and brown dogs, plastic lace braided lanyards, name tags sewn on all my clothing, an old trunk painted lavender, and memories of never wanting summer to end…Camp Nimrod for Girls

When I was done I realized how fortunate I was to have such memories, how many amazing people had influenced my life at an early age...and I felt that familiar ache for a mother I miss so dearly, the one who allowed me the freedom to run off and be a camper but was always there if I needed a quick hug or some methialate on a scraped knee. As far as I'm concerned I had the best of both worlds.

My First Swap and other stuff

I participated in my first online ATC swap! So exciting! I love the cards I got back. The theme was water. It's so interesting to see all the different ways that people interpret a theme and the different look of the cards. I'm planning on participating in this month's swap too. The theme is fire, so of course my first idea was fireballs my favorite candy. Then I did some cards on hot flashes...not looking forward to those in my not too distant future. I have been coming home everyday and working atleast 15 to 30 minutes on cards. The ones for the swap are finished and I've worked on a few others as well. I've learned to be brave and experiment, but not to be too attached to the ones I'm working on...cause some experiments go badly. You won't know if you don't try! My new stamps from Stampotique came this week so I've had fun experimenting with those. The stamps they have are very different, like vintage pictures and things.

Another first and something to check off my list of things I wanted to try...I took an old piece of linoleum, flipped it over, primed it and painted it as a floor cloth. I had so much fun and it turned out really good. I put it out in the mud room in front of my washer and dryer...love it! I can sweep right over it, no rugs to wash, it's just lovely. So now I'm thinking of all the shapes I can cut out and paint and give as gifts. Fun for me and cheap to make. Oh la la that's a good combination.

So what next? Good grief I have so many unfinished projects and untried things, I could do this as a full time job...now wouldn't that be nice :)

Focus on the positive

It has been a truly strange month for me. I won't go into all the negative details but it seems to be one thing after another. So I decided that on my blog I will only focus on the positive... so here are some positive things that have happened to me since my last post. I had an article published in Today's Creative HomeArts magazine. I even got paid for it! Very exciting in my little world. I have two newly renovated bathrooms in my house and some awesome built-in cabinets in my dining room. Love the new look, not so much the process, it was worth every minute of renovations. I had so much fun choosing fixtures, lights, and paint. Still not done with the accessories but I'm savoring the experience of decorating these two rooms. I have made several ATCs using new techniques I learned online and in some great books I recently bought. One new technique was really cool and completely on accident, I thought I was using water on tissue paper and it was rubbing alcohol instead. Came out great though. I even did a collage journal for my trip to the beach last week. Oh and my daughter and I went to this great art store in Manteo NC. I went to do fused glass and did a mosaic and made silver jewelry with silver clay instead. Two really great experiences and time spent with my twelve year old. We plan to go again. Here is the website to check out, if you are headed that way. http://www.artglassnfire.com/

I'm rereading a book I read awhile ago called The Nine Modern Day Muses (and a Bodyguard) by Jill Badonsky, M. Ed. Great read, really gets me thinking. What I find really interesting is that I enjoyed it before but this time the meaning is really hitting me and I feel I'm getting so much more out of it. I think some of my recent experiences have affected me more deeply than I thought. I am empowering myself and feel more comfortable calling myself an artist. There is art in every expression and though I may not paint like DaVinci, my ideas and expressions are just as valid. I find it easier each day to let go of my hesitations. I feel that I am finally on the journey that will lead me to myself.

So although July has been Murphy's Law incarnated...I still feel good about where I am.