Eat Dessert First

Yesterday was a cold, blustery rainy day. Imagine my surprise when I found a flier neatly tucked under our front door inviting us to an ice cream social. I don’t know about you, but ice cream is the last thing on my mind when the weather is so dreary and cold.

The funny thing is, later on, we couldn’t stop thinking about ice cream! lol Hopefully by the time the event takes place in two weeks, the sun will be shining and the weather much nicer than it has been.

However, for me, there is an upside to all the rain. It gives me more time to explore and let my creative wild woman out to play. The mixed media collage below is what happens when some Japanese stamps, gesso, newsprint and one rain crazed baby boomer woman with a glint in her eye meet on a blank canvas. I had such a great time I started two more collages.

Yes, for every season there is a time to play, to create and eat dessert first!

See You There – Mixed Media Collage -8 x 10 inches on canvas

thoughts for the day; “Nourish your eye and spirit with inspiring things. They will bloom with your tending.” – SARK

“The point of art is not simply to express ourselves, but to create an external, concrete form in which the soul of our lives can be evoked and contained.” – Clarissa Pinkola Estes

Journey Of Courage

It takes courage to try new things and explore uncharted waters. Especially when our inner critic keeps whispering in our ear  . . . I wouldn’t do that if I were you!  You really don’t have time for this! Remember how frustrated you can get with Photoshop!

Today, I played around with some photographs taken over the past couple of months, and tried my hand at creating a photomontage/collage using Photoshop & Painter 7.

I tried several different techniques I had read about, and ended up merging them all together in this one image. Some of the techniques worked and some didn’t, but I sure had fun!

Photoshop and I have an uneasy relationship, and one of these days I am going to take a class. I know it would make my life so much easier!

thought for the day;

“Another word for creativity is courage.” – George Prince

“Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, and having fun.” – Mary Lou Cook

A Healer’s Touch

Yesterday as I was cleaning the studio, I came across a couple of watercolor and acrylic paintings, which were works in progress. They were my first attempt to break out of the cyclic creative block that I seemed unable to shake this past week.

One of them represented the different emotional and psychological imprints that can happen when one has a chronic illness. The woman figure symbolizes a medical practitioner, the flower in the vintage lab beaker is representative of our creative adaptability and  innate biological ability to heal. The bird symbolizes tapping into our own creative and healing energies.

I had covered the other canvas with sections of one of my favorite articles about a grandmother who used plant medicine to heal her granddaughter, and her ability to blend her will with the energies of the earth to nourish and sustain her family.

As I looked at these two separate paintings, I suddenly felt inspired to scan both images and thought why not combine both of them together, so I did.

I had to cut, rearrange and then merge all the different images to make them fit together. The whole process took me a couple of hours and it really helped me to break out of my creative slump. I used Photoshop & Painter IX to create the image above  from my original paintings.

So  here’s a very heartfelt thank you to all the women, mothers and grandmothers who inspire, nurture and sustain us throughout our lives.

Monday

I have been a busy bee over the past week or so. Unfortunately, this means I have had less time for blogging.

I’ve been in the studio everyday from early morning to late afternoon working on two paintings for the Egyptian series. Yes, I have been hard at play and loving every moment of it!

Sekmet -Acrylic Art – Mixed Media Collage – 17 x 21 inches on paper

thought for the day: “If you want to get better at painting or making art, then do it everyday (passionately/religiously) as if there is no tomorrow. Let go of the judge within, and be surrounded by positive, supportive people. Be gentle on yourself and others. Give. Never hold back. – Nancy Davies Bilbro

Butterflies in the Garden

There were butterflies in the garden this morning . . . .  So beautiful and so fragile! They inspired me to want to do something creative. I have been so busy with other projects, I haven’t had the time or inclination to work in the studio.

At times when I am feeling blocked, but feel the need to create something, I pull out my stamps, watercolors and various papers and create whatever comes to mind. I find it helps me to get the creative juices flowing again.

When I had finished this piece, I took it into Photoshop and added one of my favorite  quotes.

“Creativity is a type of learning process where the teacher and pupil are located in the same individual.” – Arthur Koestler

“You need chaos in your soul to give birth to a dancing star.” – Nietzsche

« Previous Entries