Art ... What Happens During My Week?

I have to create some kind of art every day. I have to draw or paint or journal or something. I feel anxious when I don't have that internal peace from creating. This is a small sample of the items I have worked on this week. I am enjoying trying new things, using my sewing machine and I haven't been to the craft store in a month or more. I use whatever I have and amazingly I don't think I will run out any time soon!                                             

   

   

These are a set of tags I made based on my "one word" for this year. I chose the word "connect". I have been floating around it life for awhile now and recently found a happy place for myself.  In choosing "connect" I was thinking about connecting to different things now that my life was starting to make more sense. I wanted to connect with Art which I have in ways from online groups to creating in a way I haven't been so free in a long time. I used Dylusions ink sprays on white gessoed black yardstick. Then for the colorful painted bubble prints, mini mandalas created on under paper, beads, some stamped letters and finally a colored backing sewn on with colorful thread. SO much fun. I am such a vibrant color addict and this vivid array just makes me happy! 

This weeks DLP prompt was to use under paper and the journal prompt "what lies beneath". These two sides are large under papers I have had on my wall as art. I couldn't cut them up because I loved the colors so much. They worked perfect for this prompt which now leaves me an entire week to create freely since it's done! I will journal and write and doodle in it but I didn't want to cover any of the colors with other papers. 

My love for willowing.com and Tamara Laporte is inspiring me in new ways. I am not doing the LB2015, but I am following the style and projects I see from others. I do like that I am not following the class because I always want to make it my own. Seeing and idea and working it out for myself is so rewarding. I used to be horrible at drawing noses but I love how they have come along. I still make very large eyes sometimes, but what do they say "Eyes are the windows to the soul?" Well mine is big and needs a lot of space to get out into my art! :)

This girl is my favorite and I LOVE her hair. I think I may do that to my own in the near future. I am using a smaller lined journal from Office Depot because I love the size and thinner pages. It's still a good almost 8x10, but not as big as the Dylusions journal. I LOVE the lines to write on and to create whenever I want, not just the prompt and done for the week. I do have a gajillion other journals and projects, I don't and can't ever see myself limited to just one. 

My take on a beacon of light or art guardian. Again learning faces that are proportionate as well as whimsical. I love using gelatoes to make faces and blend colors. They are FANTASTIC for this purpose.  They don't dry like paint so if I don't like the thickness or color I wipe away until I achieve the colors I want. I also love to use my Gold glittery paint watered down so you can see through it but get a shimmer over the entire piece I want covered. WIP of course!
























This last project for the week I made during the first few days. I was expanding on the color wheel theme. I smeared bright random colors on a Strathmore Visual Journal, which are one of my favorite journals to work on. I discovered that wiping white gesso over the colored circles pulling color to the outside allows the circles to appear as bubbles. The butterfly on this page is one I created and have not been able to stop. I stamped harlequin diamonds on paper and cut tall skinny hearts. I then stamp the large butterfly on another brightly colored paper. Cut the butterfly in half. I sewed around the edge of the heart with a straight stitch and then glued the wings to the back. These are a favorite to make but I haven't figured out the best use for them yet. Doesn't matter it's art. It's just cool!

It's been a fun week and its still only Saturday!

In the Art Room...(Newly Renamed)..My Art Sanctuary

Creative Space. Ideas can strike at any place and time, but as an avid life-time creator and artist I have so many supplies, and I'm sure many can relate, that I need an entire room to house it all.  Organize it, not so much, but I do try to make things work smoothly for me to create.

It has taken years and time to come up with systems that works for me in creating a harmonious space. I always aspired to the all white, lined up, labeled, stacked, perfectly clean room..(Insert snicker and laugh here). Hello reality!! It doesn't have to be pretty, but it does have to be usable. I do like to combine some of the two where I can and that is what I have created to be My Art Sanctuary.

When I step into the room I am transported out of my "house" and into my creative space. I am immediately happy and no matter what I make, create, do, organize or stand there looking at .. I am completely content. We all deserve a space like that and need it.

Left if the door

Heading into the cove

Welcome to my Art Sanctuary. Do not take off your shoes first, you should already be in your fleece jammie pants, hoodie, and either barefoot or bring your slippers. You also have no need for make up, nice hair or a shower for that matter. Don't worry we don't smell, we are clean, just not made up to be at the Emmy's red carpet. My carpet is green by the way. It came with the house that color and I felt no need to change it as I welcome
paint drips, glitter spills and paper scraps on the floor.

The cove.

Around the wall, my desk and bulletin board

The wall to the right of the door. Yes I painted the chevrons.

I did not clean up to take these pictures because guess what?? This is where my stuff is almost 100% of the time!

This is my typical view when I am working on projects. I work a lot standing up and have my supplies on the tables on both sides of me. All of my pens are sorted into old Trader Joe's jelly jars. I have one for white pens, black pens, scissors, colored pencils and some randoms.
I like to display work I've done on my bulletin board before it's hidden in my drawers or journals forever. I have been an art docent in the past years for younger kids and always have a blast with those projects.

I have the never ending pile of paper scraps. Painted and designs and colored, you name it. I used to store by type or color but that was too much work to maintain and keep useful. For Christmas I received the wide 4 drawer organizer below. Large wide drawers are PERFECT for paper.

I also keep the middle drawer now for Happy Mail and specific scraps or pieces that I want to use. Right now they are in folded over page protectors, but I need to find a short box to sort them in so they are open to grab. I like this though because it is all in one place and I can easily see things by type.

                                             

Washi tape hung on a curtain rod across the length of the bulletin board. Sadly I have more that what is hanging so it is not "really" all in the same place.
The stencils are easily accessible as well on a picture hanging hook. I also hang my liquitex paints up for easy use and storage. More on the wall = more table to create!


On the desk..LABEL MAKER for Christmas as well! If it's labeled it has a permanent spot!

   

I picked up this most awesome dresser on Craigslist for $25! It was already this color and all of the drawers open and close smoothly. The main idea was more counter type work space..WELL that lasted for a few days. Now it houses a lot of my teaching art materials, my circuit and all the cartridges and is perfect for my sewing machine because I have all the the supplies and tools in the drawer directly below it! (also scored on craigslist $35!)

Well that's about all the fun stuff in my art room, a little about how I store things and where I spend my time creating.  

Thanks for stopping by! Back to making more art.

"Art is the only way to run away without leaving home." ~Twyla Tharp

Connect...My "one" Word

I was happily coerced into joining a 12 person tag swap. The idea was to take our one word of the year..our focus and make 12 tags with our word. Stumped I connected what I created in my journal to the tags I was going to make for this swap. I used my word connect and made mini mandalas on under paper which I sewed onto each tag.

The background is gesso, delusions spray inks wiped with paper towel, bubble wrap with the bright pink, orange, blue, green and purple colors, and a swipe of white gesso with my word connect stamped on top. My tags were flimsy as one layer so I decided to add the little bead string embellishments (held on by tape in the back) and used a different color thread to sew a zig zag stitch to the bright background paper.

I had so much fun creating these. In choosing the word connect, I tied it to many things. Connect with  art, community, nature, myself, my family, and friends. I have captured the essence in this connection through this tag swap. Full Circle.

Canson Large Mixed Media Notebook Art

Working on the larger scale of abstract and organic art. 

Part of my Alice phase of art. Texture and colors.

Colorful circles. Gelatos. Bead gel. Stabile black. Pastels.

Art Challenge 1 of 5 share. Inspired by the colors and design of the queen. She is a cut out from a Cirque Du Soleil program I picked up at a thrift store. So colorful.

DLP Journal Cover Inspiration Art

Mandala phase...(I go through phases often) 

Night inspired by a small side project. 

More proportionate stars. 

Inspired by DLP "Color Wheel" prompt. Color in motion. I was just going to swirl the paint all the way out on the page but decided to start paint spots. I love how it splatters out in a spiral.

After the Journal...

After the Journal...whether you are doing Lifebook with Tamara Laporte, DLP 2015, Dirty Footprints, Journal 52, or any other online journal project with a prompt, challenge, or project outcome...what do you do when you finish that challenge???

Sometimes I have an immediate idea about what I want my page to focus on, what I want it to look like, or at least jump in after a few page modifications. Other times I have to get inspired by a pinterest idea, but I always want to make it my own original my style art.

I have finished some journal prompts and absolutely LOVED them. Others I just do it to follow the prompt and work it until I can walk away with a satisfied feeling of a completed project or at least accomplish trying a new technique. If I have no focus and am creating blindly, I often end up with a million different aspects on a page..because that it what is floating around in my brain. It all looks good in there, but on paper it's still art. Maybe not my "ideal" piece every time. Embrace them ALL!!!


But them I'm done. It's not my end all for that prompt. If I don't like how my journal page turns out it is still in my mind. Do I smother the page in gesso and start over? NO! I just make my 2nd chance art that after I've walked away from the first piece I can really get out what I was trying to make in the first place. I may make a rough try out before I start in my dylusions journal, BUT if it just doesn't turn out, I don't just quit there. I learn from the experience take away what I can and start fresh. For example...

I wanted to make the DLP Week 3, poppies in all of my gelato and inktense block colors. First, to have an on hand reference in my journal of my colors and 2nd, to tie into the artist quote from Georgia O'Keefe.

 " I found I could say things with shapes and colors that I couldn't say any other way."

Here is my WIP and finished, not my usual style of art I created for the prompt. 


I did use sewing on my Dylusions page and it does show through on the back sided of course, but I will just glue some textures to cover it or incorporate it into next weeks design. I did have to use washi tape in the seam so it wouldn't seep onto my mandala page any more. I did notice it right away and was able to wipe off the minimal amount that did make it through.

I was envisioning this beautiful field of identical poppies for each color. After using these very smeary colors that aren't easy to write on my plan changed.  I used clear gesso to cover the whole page. If you apply it to your brush very thick and brush lightly across the art, it doesn't actually touch the colors to smear, AND it seals the whole page making it easier to write over with pen.  I drew the sketchy pen marks over and finished the page. I am a sucker for bright vivid expressive art, so to that end I have created an awesome colorful page that I love to look at. However, its not artistic in the way I would envision a "finished" piece I might usually create with a prompt. Don't get stuck trying to make it "right". 

What's next? 

1) Walk away from the original piece and call it done..accept what it is, not what it isn't.
2) Make another piece of art!


Here is the next piece. Instead of focusing on the quote, I focused on the color wheel and the clean colors. This piece is really "me".  By completing the project generated prompt/challenge,  I am trying the new technique or idea and being open to learning.  By continuing with that, I have endless opportunities to create and imagine and feed my artist soul. 

In creating this swirl color wheel, I was going to extend it out to the edge but I like how the fanned out brush marks make it look animated. I also created this piece to the right with the extra paint on my brush after I realized I should use it and not just clean the brush..I LOVE IT!!! The random creation is usually my most favorite.

Just because you don't have another page to use in your Dylusions journal doesn't mean you don't have options. These are some of the options I have available to work through the finished page conundrum of "what's next?". 







1) I have multiple journals, not just one. Don't limit your outlets for creativity. 

• I have the Dylusions journal, and an extra (40% off coupon at HL)
• A small sketch journal, (well a few of those)
• A journal with mandalas, 
• Another larger journal that I use to make zetti art, 
• A large 14 x 16 Canson mixed media pad that I do big collage fun pieces, 
• My dark journal for my not so public friendly art. (That is the skull front) Secret: it is an old photography book for a thrift store..."But it was 99 cents". Really it was. 
• A homemade journal I made for a swap that I loved so I made another for myself.

I don't stop just because I tried one thing in one journal. That idea can continue. It doesn't just end when I turn the page for the next prompt.

 

This journal is one I made for a handmade journal swap and sent to a partner. I didn't realize how much I LOVED making books. I have some that sit empty because they are just so much fun to construct. I took a book from the dollar store and cut the spine giving me sturdy front and back cover pages.














2) I make art every day. I have come to realize that art is like food. It fuels my body and enhances my well being. I make time for art every single day. I don't ignore ideas, I write them down or sketch them for later.  I create until my mind is clear and the idea has come to fruition.

3) Be inspired by others. I like to learn new things, especially art related. It has helped me personally grow in the way I view art, the way I approach it, and the way I enjoy it. I was inspired to join the DLP 2014 when I saw a blog post pinned on pinterest. The artists style caught my eye, so I read it instead of just "pinning it" for later.  It mentioned that the art was done for the DLP.  Being an artist of "I have to have everything match, and this should be perfect" mentality...I became interested in the grunge style of mixed media. Did I stop there? No. I taught myself how to do those styles of art by looking at samples. I did the same things with mandalas, zetti art, and pretty much mixed media in general.

4) Read about art.
5) Take pictures.

My point is art doesn't stop after the journal page. Make more art. Your opportunities are endless.