A Special Day

Whether a li'l bunny

Or a princess fairy

She will always be my angel.

Happy Birthday my little child.

Three years passes all too fast.

Dance & Enjoy The Sun

We visited the Indianapolis Zoo a couple of weekends ago.  It was a gorgeous day - ample opportunity for laughs and learning for the kids and the adults, and of course, for photos. 

Taking photos leads to opportunities to view moments in ways differently than I might otherwise view them.

This "little" fellow was amazing.  He was standing with his eyes closed, swaying side-to-side.  He was dancing to his own music and we were allowed the privelege of watching.

And what of this guy?  Do you think "yuck" as you see him (as my daughter proclaimed) or perhaps think of what he might be experiencing - a blissful moment feeling the warmth on his face?

Perhaps we are fortunate to be human because we can re-member the true nature, simplicity, and beauty of life.

Or perhaps we are unfortunate because we can (and all too often, do) forget. 

Bit 'O Inspiration

Just a few things that have recently been brought to my attention...things that might benefit you as well.

ONE

First, for those of you not yet aware of Karen Maezen Miller, I cannot stress enough how important it could be for your life to check out all she has to share.  (Nope.  Not being overly dramatic.)

My words don't do it justice.  Check out her blog at: http://www.karenmaezenmiller.com/ and this stunning video for her upcoming book, Hand Wash Cold.



PLEASE, if nothing else, take just a minute after you finish reading this to jaunt over to her site.  If you allow yourself just a few minutes to look around, I promise you'll find a seed (that if you allow it to grow) may just change your life.

TWO

Second, this workshop (Handmade Writer) was recently brought to my attention - and what perfect timing!  The workshop "is about exploring the world and looking for inspiration around you".  Honestly, we could ALL benefit from taking that beauty that is all around us, soaking it in, then using our own voice to share it back with the world.  (The course starts on April 12th and runs for 6 weeks)

Amy has a beautiful site at http://bringyourself.com/ (and a blog at http://bring-yourself.blogspot.com/) ...it is worth checking out, along with the course!

THREE

Finally, I love those posts where I am just SO glad I happened to read it.  Kelli Russell Agodon at http://ofkells.blogspot.com/ recently posted one of those.  She shared a YouTube video, The Fairy Scientist.  I could post it here, but I want you to visit her blog, too. :)

Check out the video and her post here.

So much more to share, but I don't want to over-inspire you. ;)

Enjoy!!

Evening Art

Created late last night:

Watercolors (background), stamps, markers....and a little bit of oil pastels around the edges. (Colored stamps achieved by using markers to color directly on stamp, then stamping image on paper.)

Late night, being surrounded by a plethora of materials, and simply moving lead to a deep insight: 

Creating stuff is fun.

Don't Be Afraid. Be Board.

I love books.  I adore them.  Always have.  New books, old books, used books, small books, big books. 

My heaven?  A bookstore.  That offers chai.  And comfy chairs.

So you can imagine my interest when I first discovered mixed media work where typed words crept around the edges of an altered book or scripted fonts in a foreign language whispered around soft, muted bits of worn paper in a collage.  This was quickly followed by a horror, though:

They PAINTED and GLUED in a BOOK?!  They TORE the pages of an OLD BOOK?  *Gasp*

However, my fascination kept growing with each work of art I discovered that incorporated actual books.  This past summer, at a Red Cross book fair, I came across several old books that were falling apart...and only $.50 each.  Fifty cents?  With a big, anxious sigh I purchased a large grouping and knew I was about to do something that I'd either love...or regret and cause me to go to therapy.

As I prepare to unleash the big project at which I keep hinting, I thought I'd revisit some of the journeys and projects that got me to this place.  This particular sucker was a doozie.  I started and completed it back in January.

WARNING: This is a tad long & photo-laden.  I decided to share most of my steps for a few reasons:

• I know we all start somewhere...and keep starting, and starting, and starting.  I'm trying to share my "oops-es" and foibles to encourage every single reader to be honest with your work...and most importantly, to enjoy the process and not fret over the final outcome! 

• I have learned a great deal from other kind souls who have posted their processes on their blogs & websites.  I want to continue to pay forward the kindness...hopefully at least one reader will find at least one helpful tip in here.

• It's a nifty way for me to document my own process.  (admittedly selfish!)

(1) 

I had a great amount of distress ripping that first page out of that first old book. Seriously. There should be a psychology group for artists. But I remembering reading somewhere (see how valuable reading is?!) about the lack of good an item does just sitting on a dusty old shelf. The value comes in how it is loved and shared. How better to honor this lovely book and preserve the work of its author than to breathe new life into it through infusing it into more art? (At least that's how I've come to terms with it.)

(2)

I had collected a variety of scrapbooking papers in the colors to both complement and enhance the beauty of the old pages. I played around with the layout (knowing I wanted to keep a few of those lovely French words visible) and just snipped away.

One tip?  I'd let the paper hang over the board (just a rectangular scrap of plywood) knowing I'd cut it after.  Silly me, I tried to use my craft knife and cut with the board facing up...ever so delicately trying to follow the unseen side of the board.  (You can see I made a slight error up there.)  I figured out about halfway through to turn the board over and cut the paper from the back.  The craft knife can just trace along the side of the board, leaving a nice, clean cut paper edge.  Just call me Mrs. Obvious.

(3)

The final board, covered with the papers and the beloved bok pages.  I believe I had inked the sides of the pages (take a distressing ink pad, such as the Ranger ones, or a matching ink color, and press the ink pad along the edges of the paper) before adhering.

I used good old Mod Podge and a foam brush to adhere each of these.

(4)

Speaking of Tim Holtz / Ranger inks...I used this ink pad to randomly stamp the top and edges of the board.  I literally just pushed it down on the top...I wanted a very worn look.

(5)

Heh heh heh...

Ok, I want to quickly explain.  As with my longing / fear dynamic with ripping old books, so too do I have a longing / fear of drawing faces / human figures.  I knew I wanted to incorporate one here.  I sketched her on a regular piece of copy paper and decided to use chalk pastels to color her in.

First, I'm not happy with the face.  She looks too out of proportion, too cartoony...but she is the work I had drawn and I knew I just had to keep going.

When I pulled out the pastels, I simply could not get the skin tone right.  (I've since learned that if you are going for Caucasion, pink seems to be the color with which to start)  Seriously, she looks totally jaundiced here.  I kinda freaked out when I saw this color.

But, I knew that once I started to let JUDGEMENT speak up, my art was done for.  So I kept playing, kept moving.

(6)

I finger-tore the drawing from the copy paper, Mod-Podged her to the board (no turning back now!), and started inking the heck out of her using my finger....hoping that with enough distressing she might look "normal"...or at least blend in enough to not look too out of place. 

Fingers are funny tools...sometimes they can just be too big and squishy to work.  In this case, I think I was trying to provide shading for the side of her neck and ended up giving her a 5-o'clock shadow.  S/He eventually glared at me that enough was enough...so I moved on.

(7)

I found this stamp awhile ago and couldn't get the quote out of my head.  "The artist's duty is keeping awake the sense of wonder in the world." - GK Chesterton. 

Here, I stamped the stamp in clear ink, stamped the board, poured gold embossing powder over it, lightly tapped off the excess, and used the heat gun to heat emboss the remaining powder on the phrase.  (In case you haven't done this or can't tell, the embossing leaves a gorgeous raised image.)

(8)

I repeated the embossing with letter stamps (to spell out "I am") and stamped a few more images (a bird in gold, the white "adore" and red flower you see here).  I decided the letters didn't stick out enough so I took a black brush marker (I think I found these in the kid's section of Hobby Lobby) and provided shadowing/outlining for the letters. (fairly easy since the embossing raises the letters...you can just trace along the side)

(9)

My poor little girl (whose 5 o'clock shadow I had worked into more of a scruffy "I've just been playing in the dirt" type look by rubbing with my fingers) was still looking a bit lost. (I had used some markers to outline her shirt and add some lowlights to her hair...ah, if only beauty were so easy.)

Since I had the black brush pen in my hand, I decided to try and enhance her eyes at the least.  Unfortunately, this pen/marker was a bit thick...she ended up looking like she was trying a bit too hard.  I've apologized but she's still a bit embarassed...so I've agreed to be a good friend and totally over-do my makeup if we ever go out.  80's night anyone?!?!

(10)

Never one to turn away from bling, I decided to add a small jewel to the center of the red flower I'd stamped.  (It helped divert a bit of attention from the mascara, too.)

I used my fun CropADile Big Bite (with which I have a love-hate relationship...) to chomp a hole.  (This tool pops 1/8 and 3/16 inch holes through massively thick materials and sets eyelets and grommets with a simple push of the handle.  I love it when it works...but have had numerous occasions of ruined eyelets.  We're still learning how to get together.)

I then added a crystal brad through the hole.  (Hey!  With a 5 o'clock shadow and oodles of mascara, that could be my girl's name...Crystal Brad!  Wow.  *groan*  And yet, I'm not hitting backspace to delete that.)

(11)

Once I was at a comfortable stopping point, I figured it might be a good idea to have a way to hang this little piece of art.  Again using the big bite, I put eyelets at the top corners of the board.  (This is the back side of the eyelet that gets smashed...like flower petals opening...to secure it to the board.) 

I used a piece of twine through the eyelet holes for a method to hang it (if I ever choose to).

(Prior to doing this, I gesso-ed the back of the board, drew a few flowers back there just because, and put a coat of Mod Podge over both the front and back to protect it.)

(12)

In case you are interested, here are all of the materials I used to create this.  (There's a better picture of the finished board further down in this post.)  If you have any questions about the materials, I'd be happy to answer.  For those new to art-ing, please know that even this small pile of stuff was collected over several months...much of it using coupons and found on sale.  I love having a wide variety of materials and tools with which to play, but also don't have oodles of money to spend!

See the book in the corner?  It is missing a page.  It sacrificed it for the greater good of ART.  *sigh*  May we please take a moment of silence....

(13)

Speaking of that lovely book, I had to use every single bit of the page I tore from it.  (Kinda like certain cultures respect a killed animal by using every bit of it for food or shelter or clothing or the like?)  I had a remaining scrap, so I Mod Podged it to the back and reminded myself that I created it (and when).

(14)

The final piece of art.  (You can click on it to see it larger if so desired.)

I was so happy that I literally carried it around with me - I even put it on my nightstand that night.  While the girl on the side still taunted me (I'm not done!  I've too much around my eyes!  Shave my chin!), this whole thing represented a huge leap over a few giant fears.  It was part of the beginning of this wonderous journey I am on ...

Might you leap over a few of your fears and join me?

Back On Track

I found my way back on the train!!  Thanks for the helping hands lovely visitors!  I can still see Mr. Sick sitting a few cars back, but we've come to terms.  And...WHEW.  My energy is off the chart.

Because of this newfound energy, many projects I've had in the works are actually now getting worked on. (Go figure.)  And because of THAT, I don't have a lot of time to write about them.  HOWEVER, I wouldn't leave you hanging.  Never!

As a heads up, you may notice a few odd things over the next few days while visiting this blog.  If things look a little different, don't fret.  You are in the right place.

You are always in the right place.

I'm finally getting around to implementing this big project I've been discussing (i'm such a Tease...tee hee) and it may cause things to look a bit abnormal on this site.  Ah, but the final results will be worth it.

While I work on that, here are some photos of what's been keeping me busy over the past few weeks in between coughs:

Amidst working through Shona's book & among the many others I still have scattered around...I made my way through this one.  I LOVE IT.  I cannot speak highly enough.  I'll probably revisit it during a later post.

I've pulled out my yoga mat a few times over the past few weeks.  Dilana is always right there beside me - literally.  She has her own mat, but prefers to use mine...particularly if I'm on it.

This is usually what Savasana (the peace at the end of practice) usually looks like.  Hey, this is what yoga is all about.

Aw, look at that sad face.  I decided it was finally time to get that hair cut.  Too many times of tangles, too much trouble every morning.  And just Blah.  It is spring - time for change.

Ahhh! Much better.  (Yea Indiana University!!)

Artistic photo of my Artistic Journal and ...an Artistic soul.

My new discovery! 

(Paint pen.  Ok, not that exciting, but doesn't the photo make it look like it?! 

Admit it.  You're excited.)

The art journal page on which I used that snazzy paint pen.

This reads "Enlightenment for the wave happens when it realizes it is the water", and was taken from a sign outside a Unitarian church here in town.

The background is a random mixing and play of acrylic paints, watercolors, & oil pastels.

The pocket is ....get ready for it....Wax paper!  I just crinkled it up and colored it with oil pastels (on the backside so I wouldn't get it all over myself every time I opened the page).  The pocket is adhered on the sides & bottom with double-sided tape.

The words are written with that lovely new paint pen and outlined with some other nifty glittery paint pens I had lying around.

Inside the pocket are little cards detailing who I know I am...once I allow myself to realize it.

And these babies?  Carried me NINE POINT THREE MILES yesterday.  I ended up having to walk some...my muscles still aren't up to par after being booted around by Mr. Sick.  I'm cool with it.

What I'm kinda bummed about?  My path leads me to a halfway point at a local Starbucks.  (Yeah, I torture myself.)  I learned after my run that it was FREE pastry day at Starbucks!! 

You better believe I would have stopped to take advantage of that goodness had I known.

Silly faces for the sake of being silly.

I've been taking some photos of the kids partly under the guise for the Artistic Mother's Group projects but honestly...I take oodles of photos of the kids anyway.  I hardly ever pose them - I like to remember times like this because this is who they truly are.  *sigh*

We've also visited parks, the zoo, cooked (ok, my husband cooked), rearranged the house, ...you get the idea.  Life stuff.

I'm fumbling for words now which means it is time to get busy moving. 

A little humorous think-able for our parting:

“I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.” -Robert McCloskey

(Try throwing that one into your next disagreement with someone.)

Temporarily Off Track

Please forgive my absence.

As most of you know, I've been doing rather well at training (my body, my mind, and my creative self). I've been quite enjoying my ride!



Well, at the beginning of the week, as I was watching the beautiful scenery during my ride on that Training Train, that mean old time robber, Mr. Sick (Boo, Hiss!), pulled me out of my seat, dragged me towards the open door, and kicked me in the tooshy...sending me flying. I landed face first in a pile of dusty laundry and prickly whines from those still needing me while tumbleweeds of projects I've been meaning to tackle bounced silently on by.



My friends, if I've learned anything over the past several months, it is that it is the gettin' up and doin' that makes the difference.



So in my perceived absence (from blogging and most certainly from training), I've been running alongside the train...grabbing on again and again to those friendly hands that keep trying to pull me up (oh, you lovely commenters, you!) and smiling right back at friends and family who know I'll jump back on any minute.

Train image from GoogleImages Search, http://www.archives.gov.on.ca/english/on-line-exhibits/tourism/big/big_18_grand_trunk.aspx.

I'm using the well-deserved rest that Mr. Sick inadvertently allowed me to re-discover a stronger me than the one that was booted off of the train. I simply keep my eyes on the train as I chug right along side it, slowing when I need to in order to let my health catch up, but never letting the caboose pass me up.



It's funny...while I've been trying to catch back up and find a way to jump on, I've noticed several little goodies alongside the tracks.



I've picked up some fun techniques that I'll be sharing with you through art journal pages, some delicious ingredients for that project I keep promising to share with you, oodles of inspiration from blogs I've still been able to catch, and even a few books blowing along in the wind that I can't wait to recommend. That is, once I catch my breath.



I see an open door coming up behind me and can feel the strength coursing up through my legs as I prepare for the jump. I'm tucking those last few tissues in my pocket (...I'm not going to litter for heavens sake!) and taking a last few scans to make sure Mr. Sick isn't hanging out ready to push me right back off.



And baby, I'm jumpin' back on with an energy the likes of which the passengers on this train have never seen.



Chugga chugga CHOO Ch.....Ah CHOO! Pardon me.



Ok, I'll be back soon.