Renewed Sense of Direction

I've spent the last two days in the studio doing a lot on the computer.  I've sorted photos, cleaned off the full camera memory chip (only after a panicky double back-up on CD of ever photo on it, just in case) and watched a zillion videos by Teesha Moore while I worked and my feet turned blue from lack of movement.

I think one of the big reasons for my getting so little art done is that I flounder about exactly what to do.  As I've fussed over and over about, there are so many areas in which I wish I were skilled, but I always let those too-many ideas block me from making progress.  As my good friend has advised, narrow it down!  I love working with fabric and paint.  That's probably what I enjoy most about my figurative work/art dolls so much.  They give me the opportunity to make a single piece that incorporates painting and sewing, with a little bit of playing with clay.  But sometimes the stress of the sculpting part takes the fun out of it (I know, I induce the stress myself which is totally dumb and a waste of time), but I've been looking at book after book about projects that include both the fabric and paint and just hadn't found anything that excited me.

Yesterday I was looking at an old copy of Artful Blogging and a very colourful spread caught my eye.  I went to the artist's blog and looked around until I hit the jackpot.  It wasn't until I saw Teesha Moore's videos on art journals that I got really, really excited about a new project.  The journals include everything I love doing, from using the bright fabrics and hand quilting bits to make journal covers, to the collage techniques in the individual pages.  I thought of other things I'd add, including personal images on fabric and interesting embellishments, and am so eager to start.  I have journaled since I was 12 and this is a great time to incorporate the journaling with art.  I really can't wait!  I can try the sketching ideas that my friend Debbie has helped with, and talk with my sister about ideas for painting cloth...the ideas are swimming in my head in a GOOD way for a change!  How fun to dip into the stash for something new and different.

Today is an especially good day.

The dust has settled

It's so nice to sit in the studio, even if it is just to upload photos from the camera to the computer, then the computer to the web.  I played a little with Corel and my Bamboo tablet for a little artsy fun too.  It's been too long!

My first big time commitment was having my "old" friend Julie visit for a week from Georgia.  We had not seen each other since we were in Middle School in 1974!  I was nervous, hoping we'd still like each other.  What a terrific and pleasant surprise.  I'm sure I blabbered her ears off (I'm so shy ;-) because she was remarkably easy to talk with and laugh!  We laughed a lot and it was so much fun.  We enjoyed a lot of wine on the deck in the evenings and got to know each other again.  I only wish I'd had a little makeup handy before I said, "Cheese!"  Hahaha.

Next came getting the house ready for my charming husband's birthday celebration.  Why, oh why, do I decide to make major improvements right before a party?  This is going to sound so shallow, but I was nervous about his Orange County co-workers coming to our little (old) house for the first time and seeing peeling plaster around the front door, the unfinished bathroom in the laundry room that I was sure would be used.  I made myself bonkers, but the house sure looks great.  We had a wonderful gathering of friends and enjoyed a fantastic backyard barbecue, catered so that we could really enjoy our friends.  It was just the best.

My sister and her children will be visiting from MN in early July, but they are the easiest and most relaxing house guests in the world.  It will be nice to enjoy time with family, especially since Lisa is an artist and inspires me so much.  We are plotting projects or swaps that we can do together, motivating me to get back into the swing of things.  I look at my friend Debbie's work and re-read her advice often, encouraging me to do something every day.  Now I can again.  Time to work on that balance between being a mom and making art.

Ditto

I still can't seem to find the time to make anything.  I've had a busy time with a long-time friend whom I haven't seen since 1974 visiting for a while, in addition to making home repairs, getting ready for a big party this next week (H's birthday), family visiting soon after that, then vacation.  Whoohoo!  We were quite serious about our New Year's resolution of returning to entertaining.  Seems there's a trade off that I hadn't thought about.

Today I received a survey request from an online source for inspiration as well as art supplies.  The survey asked the usual questions about age, etc.  Then there was a looong list of activities to tick off in terms of activities I'd done in the last year.  There were a lot of choices, but I didn't have many boxes to tick.  Oops.  The list was a reminder of all the things I COULD be doing, but haven't.  I was able to check off that I've sewn something, quilted something, purchased a bound book, made an ATC (along with something else that's skipping around in the back of my head that I can't recall...) and more that I wish I'd tried.  Another goal for the year!

As busy as this week is sure to be, I'm going to try to set aside just a pinch of art time.   What to do with so little time and so many choices?!?  Maybe just a few short sketches a la Debbie's suggested method, maybe an ATC.  In any event, I'll get a little something done.  Then it's party time!

When WILL I find time?

The "When I Find Time" of my blog title is so spot on these days.  After the PC was assulated by a wicked, wicked trojan that has kept me working on restoring it's life for DAYS, I've had little time to think about art.  Except for yesterday evening.

Long-time friends know that I come from one heck of a wonky family.  My parents were bonkers, and my relationship with my sisters was challenging because of that wonkiness.  In the past year, I've had the absolute joy and pleasure to get to know my older sister in a way that is completely new and foreign to me.  As she said when we talked yesterday (for more than two hours!), we are now friends.  For some people, I'm sure that this is a bizarre notion, NOT feeling friendly or close with siblings.  But we had a very challenging upbringing, a good sized age gap, and she was gone and on her own on the opposite coast by the time I was 13 years old.  That's a big bridge to gap.  We grew up with nothing in common but the same parents and siblings.  Quite literally.

How things have changed.

Lisa is a terrific person, happy and cheerful, positive and knows how to roll with the punches.  She's also a terrific artist.  She calls with ideas about things we can both do, with me in California and her in Minnesota, bridging the gap with the phone and computer.  I'm determined to find more of that artistic time so that we can share in creating together.  I've gotten great advice my my cyber-buddy Debbie to help steer the course and expect to make good on that adventure.

Life is good.

Collage Lab

While I went to the fabric store to pick up some buttons, I decided to check out the overpriced craft books.  Haven't I sworn off the books?  Oops.

I found the book Collage Lab by Bee Shay.  I've always enjoyed looking at good collage work, but have never attempted it myself and find it intimidating.  It's easy to just glue junk to a surface, but hard to make it look thoughtfully composed.  In the introduction, the author notes that she found herself fighting her long-time original skill sets in a struggle to learn new ways to express her artistic self.  Heck, I'd take just having a good long-time skill set!  The book is filled with labs that can be done in any order and encourages exploring and experimenting with materials and techniques and "is about getting your hands moving and getting your head out of the way."  Just what I need!  As I've expressed many times before, I find it frustrating to sit in a studio surrounded by so many art-making materials with a blank brain and an empty hand.  I needed a teeny, tiny nudge that meant getting my hands dirty and just playing with a single baby step to get me moving ahead and try to develop a new set of skills without an end project in mind.

The first step involved creating a basic  gesso surface on watercolor paper, tinting the gesso just a bit with a pale acrylic so I could see what I was doing.  I didn't create any masterpiece, but that was the fun in this play day.  No pressure!  I did appreciate having prompts to follow and asking myself the questions about what worked, what didn't work, what happens when multiple layers of gesso are applied, what tools/items can be used to manipulate the surface...it was very relaxing. 

This is what I ended up with.  I used a rubber stamp in the yellow one, the end of the paintbrush handle in the pink one, and a shim that had been nicked on the edges for texture.  I was inspired enough to just goof off with the extra piece of watercolor paper I had left and play with watercolor pencils and liquid acrylics.  


While I have a few errands to run tomorrow, I should be able to find the time for another one of the gesso labs.

No Art? What Am I Thinking?!?

My husband was in China for over a week, so I had the perfect opportunity to work in the studio without pressure.  Not that he adds pressure, but I pressure myself to spend time doing things like mopping up coffee spills from the kitchen floor or grocery shopping before I make art which never seems to happen these days.  I was so worried and so stressed for so much of the time that I just froze.  No more!  I'm going to get on the ball and, to quote Lisa Vollrath, just make something!  It may not be a big or major something, but I need to get into the practice of making art every day.

In the meantime, I'm enjoying my husband's tales of his big adventure.   As an Air Force brat, I have traveled a lot, including a three year tour of duty in the Philippines.  This trip to China was his first to Asia.  He brought me a most magnificent black pearl and diamond pendant along with a couple of gorgeous fans, newspapers (my funny reqeust) and the mandatory refrigerator magnets (a regular addition to our collection for any trip we make, whether as a family or solo).   

I'm glad I was able to help him prepare for the trip, including making sure he got the appropriate injections and medications (the "just in case" kind).  He had a magnificent trip.  We were up until 2:30 a.m. with him sharing photos and stories.  I can't wait until he retires and we can make these trips together.  He's a terrific and really funny travel buddy.  We ARE the Simpsons!

Tomorrow the focus returns to art.  I've goofed around and allowed myself to be distracted, but I'm going to get back to business.  I'll have to post whatever I do.  There's some pressure!  :-)

In The Garden

I love pulling weeds just as it's starting to rain.  The brisk breeze and refreshing drizzle is invigorating.  There isn't often time to get much done before it hits hard, but I try.  This week, the dying basil had to come out.  I have no idea what was ailing the plants because I have absolutely no clue what I'm doing out there.  Posting photos of the few miracles that occur in my garden might lead someone to think I have a lovely garden.  This, for example, is one of the blooms on the chive plant that I believe would survive a nuclear bomb (thus I will be planting more).

But then there's the truth of the matter.  It's a good thing that my herb garden is in the back yard where there are fewer witnesses.  This is what the raised bed garden that I had built last year looks like today.  That's one huge Italian flat leaf parsley plant, just beyond the spot where I pulled out the basil.  Just beyond that are a couple of newer herbs - tarragon and rosemary - and the anemic pepper plants barely visible at the far end.  I laugh every time I go outside and look at them.  In any event, I enjoy digging in the dirt and making believe that I can garden.  The other herb garden has a crazy mass of oregano and thyme.  For the garden challenged, plant those if you want to feel successful outdoors.

On the art front, I've been messing around and re-working one of my figurative pieces.  I can't say it looks much better, but I'm trying to just play, see what happens, and enjoy the solitude in the studio.  My creative juices are a bit muddled and syrupy instead of free-flowing.  I'll go poke some dirt for a while, then head to the studio and goof off.  Maybe I never finish this one and just experiment with wires, fibers and whatever else I can lay my hands on.  We'll see what comes of the effort today.