We should all be so colourful!

I found this video on Rice (I can't figure out how to type the "e" with the umlaut over it) Freeman-Zachary's blog and will assume that the option of embedding the video allows for sharing it along with credit for the source! What inspiration for creativity!

SUE KREITZMAN - Artist Profile - Short Documentary from Pat Grimm on Vimeo.

What do I do now?

On the artists side: I'm finished.  The quilt is finished, the rocking chair is finished and all that's left is a lot of mess for me to clean up, paints to put away, and a dining room to return to its original purpose.  The house is quiet and there is nothing to do but clean.  Oh joy.

Finishing art projects can come with as big an emotional let down as finishing a fantastic book.  I feel a sense of  melancholy at the conclusion of a big project or deadline that makes me grumble under my breath and resist starting a new project (or a new book, for that matter).  Is it just me?  At least it's only mid-October and I have time to plot holiday projects for a change instead of waiting until Thanksgiving and freaking out about how there just isn't enough TIME to plan and execute any handmade gifts.  Shame on me for feeling grumpy about having the luxury of time with no hectic schedule. 

On the mom side:  My teenage son has an official girlfriend, as in he introduces her by name, followed by, "My girlfriend."  I am seeing less of him, more of her (and she is quite the cutie whom I've know for a couple of years, so I'm just find with that), and more of his peck pecking at the tiny keyboard on his cell phone when he's in his room.  Now we begin the battle of getting him to turn off all entertainment devices during homework and study time which should last longer than the entertainment time.  I won't hold my breath.

In addition, my adult daughter has semi-moved back home and occupies the studio when residing here.  We are so delighted to have her around more and happy to be available to help her during a difficult transition in life, but it does make for real challenges in being creative.  What the heck, I went years and years without a formal studio.  The real challenge is in figuring out how to get to my art supplies without stepping on her calculator or on the cell phone charging on the floor, in addition to figuring out what the heck the sand on the desk is all about.  As I said, I've got time to clean.  Sigh.

This would be a good time to take a cup of tea out on the deck, grab a few magazines,  and maybe plot a few holiday gift projects before I get out the vacuum cleaner and shovel.  Yup, I think I'll need a shovel.

One Down, One to Go...

The quilt is finished and turned over to the Boys & Girls Club for the auction.  The boss lady happened to be there when I turned it in and she loved the front.  Then she flipped it over and exclaimed, unfiltered, "Ooh, I don't like the background fabric.  Not my style." and flipped it back to the front.  I laughed and told her no worries, just don't bid on it!  I was pleased with myself for blowing off a negative comment and was completely unaffected by it.  That's a huge step for me!  What the heck, it wasn't my design, so I just didn't take it personally.  The workmanship was FAB if I do say so myself ;-)

Now the rocking chair is all I have to finish.  It's actually coming along and I think I'll be finished within an hour.

What am I going to do with myself with the projects complete?  Time to return to the art journal.  Next!

Learning On The Job

On the art side: Trying to improve on basic skills is fine, but waiting until I'm in the middle of a project that will be donated for the auction wasn't my best plan ever.  I found a book with the simplest tip ever for improving the appearance of the back side of the quilt (doing the free motion quilting for the first time - eeek), but unfortunately I found that tip after I finished the quilting.  Oh well.  Live and learn.

The chair is what is giving me nightmares right now.  Once again, I struggle with the expectations of those who will receive the chair versus my own preferred style of painting.  I think I'm going to just stick with my own style and, again, encourage my girlfriend to tell me it sold for a bundle ;-)


In the meantime, I'm about to take a bunch of paint and just start whacking away at the chair, knowing I can wipe quickly or cover over it if I feel the need.  We'll see what it looks like at 5 p.m.  This is Phase II so far, on pause for a while since I used a glazing medium and it needs to dry before I paint more.  Let's just hope I can keep the dopey cat off of it!  Where is my air horn?

On the mom side: At least I have the house to myself today.  My charming son planned an outing for his high school German Club, but didn't plan well enough.  They arrived at the museum to see the Tim Burton exhibit, not taking into account that it's October and the show closes at the end of the month.  The parking lots are full, and they can't get in to see the exhibit for more than two hours.  Imagine a bunch of high school kids cruising the fine arts museum to kill time.  I've chaperoned these trips in the past.  I've never seen so many boys giggling about all manner of anatomy in various forms of art.  It's most amusing.

With my daughter living in my studio a few days a week, I'm back to having art supplies from one end of the house to another, working wherever I find space.  Yesterday I was sewing at the kitchen table (which is agonizingly high for sewing).  Today I'm painting on the dining room table.  With my buzzer phobia, painting outdoors is just not an option for me.  I spend more time screaming and running around and looking like a lunatic, getting very little painting accomplished.  How embarrassing that all the neighbors know when I paint outside just from the girly screams coming from my deck.  Dumb buzzers.

Brain Freeze

Not the kind you get when you eat something really cold (which I've never actually experienced myself), but the kind of brain freeze one gets mid-project that brings the work to a grinding halt.  Am I fussing again?  About the same issue? The suggestion of "whimsical" and mention of fairies has still got me thrown for a loop and thinking I'm headed the wrong direction.  I actually started cruising the internet for images of stupid fairies that would prompt my imagination, and my husband stopped behind me and said, "No, no, no!  Do what you were going to do!"  Clearly, thick skin continues to elude me and I am too easily and thoroughly influenced by the comments of others with respect to my art.

This is the dumbest thing ever.  Maybe it's time to just get the sketchbook and doodle with nothing particular in mind.  That, or go harass my son until I'm thoroughly amused and distracted from this task.

Right now the chair is coloured with the safest paint choices for a traditionally girlie chair.  I may break out in hives.  This project is feeling too far off from what I would normally produce.  Tomorrow I'll have the house to myself.  I'll crank my music (emphasis on "my") and get to work doing it my way!

Perhaps I should put down the glass of wine before I get started on Phase II.

We'll see what happens.

Guerilla Art

An article on guerilla art appeared in one of my artsy craftsy magazines a while ago, encouraging readers to create their own and share their story about what they created and where they left the art.  It might be a little challenging for me to leave an art doll lying around to be discovered without being noticed :-)

I was on a plane recently, flipping through the magazine of silly, overpriced items for sale that is in the pocket of every seat on the plane.  Well into the magazine, I stumbled on my first ever bit of "guerilla art," a funky sketch of some kind of beastie.  Passengers were encouraged to take the catalog, but I only took this one page and had to share.  I really like it and had to share.

The Mind Wanders

Today I took my husband to see the Tim Burton exhibit in Los Angeles.  This is a photo of a banner featuring "Stainboy" on the posts outside the museum.  I saw the exhibit earlier in the summer, but enjoyed it again just as much as the first time.  The sheer volume of his sketches and doodles are enough to make me think about how much better my art would be and how many more ideas I'd remember if I sketched and doodled every day.  Clearly I need to follow through on the notion of carrying a small sketch pad in my purse.

The skies have suddenly and unexpectedly turned gloomy and grey, making it too dark for me to work on painting the rocking chair.  Instead, I turned to blog surfing.  Once again, my mind zips from one thought to another, inspired by the mass of prolific bloggers willing to share what they do, with the sheer volume of work produced filling my head with ideas about new things I want to try.  I'm back at having too many ideas in my head, my brain wandering so much that I get nothing accomplished.  Time to drag out the sketch book, jot down the ideas, doodle some visual reminders of new ideas and actually move ahead with making art.

In the meantime, our charming adult daughter has some new challenges in life that will have my studio functioning as a guest room a few days a week for quite a while.  Planning my work time is going to become even more crucial now that I will be sharing the space.  The trade off is worth it; I will have more time with my daughter.  Our little family is back to four in the house these few days a week, and we're enjoying having fun family dinners at the actual dinner table in the actual dining room instead of the usual three of us lumping around the coffee table in front of a television during dinner.  Silver linings abound.

Time to doodle.