Connections

I've recently mentioned here and across other social media that I'm finally getting the ball rolling with both my dormant YouTube channel and Patreon feed.

 

I'm thrilled to be flexing some creative muscles that I wasn't sure I was ready to use. But in the process of creating new content in new ways, I'm realizing that it's not a far cry from what I've already been doing, and actually feeding my inspiration to create even more. It reminds me of a quote attributed to Pablo Picasso: "inspiration exists, but it has to find you working", meaning, you don't gain inspiration being idle, you start, and then the ideas start flowing. Crazy, right? 

Monday on Target- Focusing!

The other day something made me realize that I forgot to plan. Yeah, that sounds pretty silly.

Many of us are good at setting goals and putting new things into practice, like exercise, reading, starting a garden, etc. But then we get busy and sometimes lose sight of what we meant to do and why we started.

I've had success with something that I'm sure many people dispel as "hokey", silly, or pointless. But for me, it's been effective- I've seen results. And with new developments in my personal and professional lives, it occurred to me that I was falling off in one area in particular. One that seems to affect all the other areas. My vision boards. 

About Faces

coincidence: my face for #womenempoweringwomen 
trending recently on Instagram

Recently I launched my very first virtual art exhibit. After some planning, writing, and more editing than I initially bargained for, it was finally live online. Not just with art, but with interactive links and info related to the content. The name of the show is "Faces", and the topic is, well, faces. 

I created it in response to the cancellation of in-person events caused by the pandemic, and to the surge of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Pandemic Living

Recent weeks mired in the mess of a global pandemic have basically meant an upheaval of life as we know it. For some of us.

What I mean by that is that as a professional artist, introvert, (okay,  add Scorpio to the list of offenses), and general homebody, the idea of staying/working/eating/exercising/existing from home is, by no means a stretch. It's actually pretty routine for me, (and many of my introverted artist friends!). Don't get me wrong, I love to explore, interact with other humans, get fresh air as much as the next person. But doing all the major things of life from home is not uncommon for me, it's sometimes preferred.

Throw a Blog a Bone

Okay, so I know I'm overdue to throw this blog some action. It has been far too long for someone like me, who actually enjoys writing. So I thought I'd share a thought I was having about my work this week. As an artist, I've had to experiment with different disciplines over the years, to find the ones I was most passionate about, hone the ones that stuck, and build on them.

Part of my artistic growth over the years has involved taking commissioned projects and freelance work. For the sake of gaining experience, and earning a living, I have done creative work all over the spectrum of possibilities.

Things I Make for Me: Nesting Instincts

What is it about a rainy Sunday at home that inspires a certain range of activities for me? Reading, relaxing, snoozing, and today, nesting. Post late morning coffee and a few magazines, I found myself drawn to clean up and pretty up a little corner in my bedroom. This corner was already a spot that held a nightstand and a little gallery of elders. A sort of abstract family tree of parents, grands, and great grandparents, arranged in a manner loosely guided by feng shui (courtesy of Google University) to watch over and inspire me. Today I carefully disassembled most of it, cleaned and dusted, and reassembled with some additions. I was already happy with this corner, but allergies and ideas motivated me to address the state of it. Here it is now, clean and reworked.

 

It is still a work in progress, and I hope to find more old pictures to add. As a bonus, I had the time to clean the dust off of the ceiling fan in said room. I'm NOT lazy about cleaning, lol. In fact, the control freak in me requires that I clean throughout the week. But, like pretty much everybody else, I'm always busy.

But home is my sanctuary, my escape. So I'm happy to have found time to make it even more comfy. And now back to my regularly scheduled Sunday stuff. Which, after I wrote this, involved me concocting an apple pie cinnamon roll cake thingee from my overactive imagination for my sister-in-law's birthday. So much for a lazy Sunday (what is wrong with me?), lol.

Throwback: A Rare Repro

Recently I did a rare recreation of an old watercolor painting for a customer. I say rare, because I almost never revisit paintings. I guess I feel I might not be able to capture the spirit of the original. 

But I took this on partly because this is a long-standing loyal customer, and partly because I wanted to see if I could do it, maybe improve on it armed with greater experience and knowledge. Of myself, the subject matter, and some of the natural elements in the composition. 

For reference to the original, I used the only print of this painting that I have in stock. My approach was to block in things just like the original, then see if I felt like adding a little something as far as color, lighting, form, etc. Here's the process in a few photos.

print next to new sketch

starting color wash

details

fleshing out the background

finally, the hands

done!

I have to say that I was surprised that I didn't end up altering much. Given more time, I might have done so, but since there were constraints and a budget in place, I had to find a stopping point. Also, I could now imagine recreating other versions of this concept. Learn more about the inspiration behind this piece and purchase the print I have available in my store at the link below. 

Walls of Wisdom

If you hit a wall, stop. Common sense, right? 

More than good advice for everyday life, this nugget of wisdom applies to things in my studio, too.

Years ago as I attempted to develop discipline and greater stamina in my work, this approach emerged. I would be attempting to complete a project within a set time frame, but would often hit a stalemate before I could finish. I was surrounded by pieces that had been started and completely abandoned. Even work that had begun highly charged with inspiration, motivation, and a feeling of urgency to see it done would sometimes come to a crossroads of not knowing "what next?".

Thankfully, for the sake of my sanity, I began what I refer to in my mind as "flitting". 

Picasso reportedly once said 

"inspiration exists, but it has to find you working". 

That concept resonates with me to my very depths, and has proven true for me over and over. When I hit a wall with one project or piece, I simply "flit" around my studio, spending time on others until a solution, answer, lightning bolt, whatever, comes to me about the one that has stalled out. I get to continue the joy of creation, without banging my head against said wall. And I get to still feel productive. It is the main reason that on any given day, I could walk into my studio and fiddle with one or several of ten or more works-in-progress and get creative satisfaction. One gets some paint, one gets details sculpted, one gets photographed, one gets finished and put away till it's sold (and so on and so forth).

Nothing forced creatively ever really works out well (for me, at least). So, for years now, it has been common procedure in my studio to just STOP. And fix or focus on something else entirely. Just let it go. It works like a charm! And I'm getting better at it all the time.

How do you/would you apply this approach?

Photographic Inspiration

I haven't posted here in quite a while, as the business of being an artist/business person has consumed much of my time! A recent chain of events made a brief pause necessary. And within that pause, I was able to take a moment for myself to just look around and notice little things. While I try to do that every single day, I don't always have time to take pictures, make mental notes, and just absorb. 

The other morning I could/did. And I wanted to share my pictures, which, to me are visual notes. Taken in downtown Atlanta on one block of the city:

Prayed for Rain

If I can be a bit transparent for a sec... While I've been busying myself with orders and new projects over the past couple weeks, world and local events, and personal and professional expectations and goals have had me in a bit of a funk. I've also been thinking about those of us who need clean water, and those of us who just need precipitation after 40-some odd days of drought and damaging fires.

I get impatient when I can't make, do, or fix things for myself and the world around me the minute they emerge into my consciousness. I know that's not how it works, lol. Thankfully, in addition to a ridiculous level of obsessive, perfectionist thinking, I also have the gifts of flexibility, optimism, and resourcefulness. How's that for insanity? Surprisingly, it balances me out.

ANYway, last night and this morning, some much needed rain finally hit us in Georgia, softening the brittle, dry fall. Illuminating the vibrant leaves to their full potential. And, as it happens, adding to that cocktail of thoughts swirling in me to make the perfect creative tonic (as a creative, I NEED nature and rainy days). Rain is a total, cathartic balm sometimes, whether it's coming from the sky, from a source of inspiration, or from one's eyes.  And I'll take the rain as a sign of refreshing for me and my planet, to just keep going, keep helping, keep creating...

Passionate Harmony

The other day as I was prepping veggies for a pretty little salad, an image came to mind. It was inspired as I thought of how my passions often sort of overlap into and feed each other. As some might be well aware, if you ask any type of artist or creative person, they will likely tell you that they have other interests that may exist in harmony with their creative work. And actually, isn't that true of everyone, not just artists? One might be able to quickly discern from my blog, website, and social accounts that I'm an artist, and painting, sculpting, creating is pretty important to me. But some of my other passions include growing, prepping, [and eating] fresh, organic
food. building things and organizing, and snapping pics. I also love physical activity, and staying fit. And all these things seem to prove pretty useful to each other on a regular basis. I like to think that that's not accidental, and that we each have a toolbox of things we like or do well. And often the seemingly unrelated tools are used together for unique or special results. What are your passions and tools?

💡 One Tip Tuesday: Roll Call

I'm so ashamed (okay, not really ashamed). I started One Tip Tuesday a few years back, with nothing but good intentions, but other things got in the way of those good intentions. 

But it's never too late to amend one's ways and to try again to get it right. So I'm recommitting to this, because I have a laundry list of things I'd like to share on the creative, DIY, and art fronts. In many years of building, tearing apart, and rebuilding my studio, the work I do there, and my approach, I have managed to create shortcuts, time savers, and my own favorite approach to everything from making things, planning things, and being organized while doing those things. 

Don't get me wrong, I'm absolutely not touting myself as some sort of expert. But I do want to share (for anyone who is interested) things I've figured out along the way that have made my life easier. I actually would like my whole blog to take something of that tone. BUT the purpose of OTT (WHOA- I just made it an acronym! And we're on our way!!) is quick tips in short posts that I share, that can be reshared, and that I can refer back to myself. These are meant to be no-fuss quickies that I hope will have value, based on my own experience, not on things I read about something I have never tried. So, for instance, this will probably be the single longest OTT, as I'm rambling about my personal ground rules. Going forward, comprehensive info on any of the tips will hopefully not be necessary, as this will just be a couple pictures and a short paragraph. That way, hopefully, I can stay on track with it. And I can still answer questions in comments. I am still shooting to do longer posts on specific projects and techniques, but those would be something separate. 

If you already follow my blog, you may know that I struggle to find time for ONE post a month. Don't worry, you won't suddenly receive twice-weekly post notifications with ads and begging for shares, lol. Like you, I don't have a bunch of time to devote to blogging or reading blogs. But I am hoping to achieve more reasonable consistency, without writing useless fluff.

All that said, here is the first in the new chapter of One Tip Tuesdays. Today I'm sharing some of the useful rolled stuff I try to keep on hand in the studio.  Here's a shortlist:

• Clear Plastic Wrap- great for lining molds to make pulling items out when they're dry easier. Also great for stretch wrapping items together, no hair dryer required.

• wax paper- ball up into shapes for sculpture armatures, use as homemade transfer paper, wrap leftover clays short term, disposable palette paper

• GLAD brand Press'n Seal- cover leftover paint in pots or on a palette to use later, seal small parts onto bigger things so they are visible and won't get lost, short term patch for rips

• freezer paper- create a non-stick work surface, draw on the non-coated side like banner paper

• banner roll- mount onto a curtain rod to create a continuous sketch area on a wall or table, use to create a smooth, seamless backround for pictures, use as a heavy duty wrapping medium- stamp patterns for custom paper

• dollar store brown wrapping paper (in print or plain) wrap things big and small, crumple to fill boxes or bags, make gift bags, cover salvaged boxes, books, or cans for storage

• thrift store fabrics- keep on hand for all kinds of quick projects: patching things, covering things, making scented sachets, covering things, adding layers to projects, photo backgrounds

The possibilities are endless. I don't think I  even covered half. And having these around for a last minute or unexpected project makes my life easier.  Hope this tip gives you some inspiration to make yours easier, too. Feel free to share your own uses in comments! Rock and roll! (sorry 😛)