Checking in

I haven’t posted for a while. I have been so busy this spring! Oh my studio is a mess. I haven’t created art for months. Spring rains flooded my basement studio and I had to move everything over to the middles. Now we are going to create a gutter and add a sump pump so that this yearly occurrence doesn’t happen again. Finally after all these years of sucking up water off the floor, out of the carpets, this year it was just too unmanageable and mom agreed to doing something constructive about it. To be fair, years ago, only the worst springs would bring water, and only seepage at that. But the last 2 or 3 years have been enough to make one crazy.

Because of the dampness, and mold during this time I can’t be in the studio during this time…and this year it is driving me crazy. I have also been so busy with life that I haven’t been able to do much more than a few sketches and journal entries. But life is good. I am working on the final requirements for my life purpose coaching certification. I love coaching so much. It is like I have come home and found what I am good at, really good at, finally. Not that I haven’t been good at other things in my life, I have. But there is something wonderful about walking the pathway with women as they navigate toward finding what their life calling is. It is an amazing thing to see the shift of understanding in their eyes as they realize that God loves them enough to not only call them to do what they have harbored in their hearts and only dreamed of doing, but that He is the originator of that dream and wants to collaborate in living out that dream.

I wish I had something to scan and show today, but I don’t. I have been keeping lists, jotting down ideas for works, and nose deep in books and hip deep in the web looking at other artists works for inspiration. And inspired I am…now itching to get back and unpack my studio.

Palette Colors

These are the colors that I have now in my watercolor collection. Many of my colors were dried up. It has been a while since I have done much watercolor work. I am wondering which colors I should add to my collection, if any?
The Field palatte seems to be a wierd collection of colors. I have not worked with this palatte much (it was a giftand just haven't used it) Any suggestions on colors to loose or colors to add?

I don't do any work in particular when I am out and about doing sketching, I seem to do a variety of things; landscapes, people, buildings, a little water, our city is on a river, etc. I live in the midwest so no oceans or mountains.I have a list of Winsor & Newton London series (I think these are student grade) colors that have dried in the tubes. I am wondering if I can slice the tubes open and use them like cake watercolors. Anyone know?

I am going to be going to Laguna Beach, CA for a week for training to become a life coach. I will be staying right on the beach. I would like to spend my free time doing some ocean studies and sketches. I have never been near the ocean at a time when I wanted to try my hand at it. Any suggestions on colors to add or do I have enough to mix and play with?

Artist's Way Check In

I am still not giving up on participating with this. I am struggling to do the daily pages and the exercises. But I am not giving up. I did do an Artist's date last weekend. I did some cleaning and purging, it felt good. I think I may repeat it again this weekend. I know that it isn't much of a date, but for me the need to declutter results in a renewed creative burst for me. It is so past time to purge and declutter and get the last of my studio moved and set up so that I can create without distraction or feeling guilty for everything being piled and unorganized.

But it is interesting how just making the commitment to participate puts you in a certain mindframe to be open to change and inspiration in your life. Since I have gone through this book a couple of times before, I have found, like some others, that many of the emotional issues have been dealt with. But that said, I have found that this time through the daily pages have been very productive in terms of working practical problems out, quieting the fears, making or trying on plans, and working though ideas for future pieces. Somehow just writing the ideas down makes it more real and I find that I "think on them" through out the day as I work or do other stuff. This is why I am feeling the pressure to finish up the last of the decluttering and moving the studio. It is the last little bit of jobs like these that are so challenging. It is the stuff you don't quite want to ditch, but don't quite want to keep and don't quite have a place to store them. Why am I such a pack rat? And why is it that the minute you throw something out you need it? Even after years of not even thinking about it or remembering that you had it in the first place? How neurotic is that?

But all in all things are moving along nicely. I know I am getting to the ending point because already I am wanting to rearrange furniture and stuff so that it is more "workable". I know this phase...I remember it from all those years of moving around when I was in theatre. This signals that I am almost finished and am feeling like it is home. But it still is the hardest part to stick to and get it finished. Completion! What a concept.

52 Fragments - Caught Up!

Woo Hoo I am finally caught up on the 52 Fragments. I have enjoyed this so much. Thaks Swirly! I liked this weeks. After spending most of my adult life as a costume designer you know that it was inevitable that at least once I dreamed of what I would say if that day ever came. To many Ocsar and Tony parties with theatre friends and co-workers in watching the TV on awards night to not dream.

52 Fragments

I am already behind on participating in 52 Fragments but today I got caught up. I have uploaded what I have sent to Swirly here because it is about the only art I got in this week. I am going to like being part of this project! It is wonderful to see how differently everyone answers the questions.

Artist's Way

I have not been keeping up with posting here about the Artist's way but I have been doing most of the work. I hope to get some stuff updated this weekend, but no promises. Quickly, this time around I have found that many of the exercises are issues I have worked through and have laid at rest. This is good and has been very encouraging for me. The daily pages have been a struggle, mostly because I am keeping 2 different journals (one is a personal journal and one for class) so I am kinda burnt out about journaling...but I still think that the daily pages serve a different purpose than regular journaling, so I am trying to be as consistent as possible. More later this weekend.

Perfectly Clean

Another Soul Card. Collage of various clippings. I haven't been doing a lot of art each day, but I am doing some. That is progress.

I have begun the daily pages (I have been doing them at night). I find them filled with whining and regrets. This seems to be normal for me. The first few days of the pages every time I have done the AW has been this way. Whining about what I am not doing and why I am not doing it and regretting not doing what my heart longs to do. Why am I like this? I was reading Kat's blog a couple of days ago and she was talking about having time to create and all of a sudden she is tired and a hundred other things distract her. Ok...Was she in my head? I need to get a handle on this. When I was in theatre designing costumes I didn't have this problem. I needed to design costumes for a show I sat at the table and got the designs cranked out. I did some procrastinating; sharpening all the pencils, making sure the exact right music was on, making sure the dishes were done, going through the research one last time to make sure the inspiration was there, but usually within a very reasonable time I was on my way to sketching and painting the renderings. I don't seem to have that kind of discipline now that I don't have the structure of deadlines, production meetings, and people waiting in the costume shop to build the costumes.

So, how do I get myself in the studio creating?

I like the goals that Swirly has set. 500 pieces this year. I so understand setting goals above and beyond what you think you can accomplish. It sets you up to go beyond what you can possibly do. I love what she says:

But right now my passion is to do just that - to be nuts, howl at the moon and ride a whale. I want to set goals that seem unattainable and reach farther than seems possible because in the end, even if I don't reach the top of the highest tree in the forest, I'll be a lot higher than if I play it safe.

That kind of thinking will get me out of the rut I have dug for myself. The rut from 6 months of being unemployed and another 6 months of being at a job that is mind numbingly boring. But to look at the positive, that 6 months were transformational! I spend the time going through AW. I spend about 4 hours every morning on AW, studying, and journaling. And the fruits of that has led me to this wonderful adventure of getting trained as a Life Purpose Coach. And this mind numbing job is one that I strictly work 9 hours m-th and 4 hours on Friday and walk away from at the end of the day with no taking the job home at all. In all reality it is a precious gift. It pays well - particularly for a temp job. Paradigm shift!

Excitement

God seems to be up to something. There is something in the works, I can't yet say what is up, I am not sure yet myself, I am praying about what to do next. But it seems that somehow my PTP training and my art might collide in a wonderful God like way. God is so cool. Here I am, compartmentalizing my life like always and then out of the blue God knocks my socks off! Just goes to show you that we are completely wholly integrated beings. Everything we are, do, feel and think is connected. I will keep you posted as I know what will be coming up next. But I do know I will be making studio time a priority.

A little over 2 months ago I felt that God was impressing upon me to simplify my life, to organize and get rid of the clutter, he was going to bring me into a new phase for my life. Although I have been working on that, I wish I would have taken that impression with more urgency and action. Another lesson learned: When God nudges act - now! I just feel that by spring things will be moving along at a different pace than they are now and I will need to be free of clutter and disorganization in my life. So...guess what I will be doing on my weekends?

morning pages. I am doing them at night. I just realized that I had started them this time last year and made it through June doing daily pages, then I started work and they went by the wayside. I haven't read any of them since I wrote them. I think I might go back and read them this weekend. I don't even remember what I wrote. I am thinking that my artists date this week will be spending the day decluttering. I know that isn't really a fun thing, but I think it is the best gift I can give my artist self right now...an organized and finished studio. Decluttering, letting go, lightening the load. Right now it also feels like letting go of distractions as well.

I didn't do any art today. My hands hurt as I spent a lot of time on the computer at work today. But I did jot ideas and simple sketches in my sketch book tonight.

Grow, Dance, Write, Sing

This is what I have been working on all week. I imagined them as a set. I am thinking that they will need to be mounted on a matboard background.

I am not completely happy with them. Using stamps and inks always seem a roll of the dice for me, you never know how the image will come out. Sometimes the image is pale and not all the stamp came out. Maybe I just need to work with them more.

In my heart I love the collage, using bits of paper and stuff, but I also love the transparency factor that stamps give. I think that I want to experiment with this technique and idea though. Using small pieces and words and watercolors backgrounds. Maybe next time I will try using more of a college with paper stuffs next time.

But I also have to admit that I struggle with the whole copywrite issues of using stamps in my artwork. I am not organized enough to keep track of where the stamps come from and I usually take the rubber off the wood to make it easier to place the stamp. I guess the answer to that would be to create my own stamps. I am beginning to learn about my own personal iconography that I think it might be about time to think about this. And the other thing about stamps is that you really never have the exact stamp you need...and they take up so much room.

Starting

Tonight I started a 4 piece group that I think will be a collage. I laid in the watercolor backgrounds. I am pretty happy with them. They are about 4 inches square and will be focused around the words Laugh, Speak, Sing, and Dance. When they are finished I will post them.

I can tell that it will be about making the decision to just do it when it comes to being creative each day. I don't care if I finish something, just that I spend some time creating each day.