Paving it's way

I feel exhausted.  I have been working almost every night for the past 3 weeks or so to produce some art for Downtown Betty's.  I haven't been feeling the best and I have really had to push through and force myself to sit down and work at night when I haven't been feeling like it.  I have really enjoyed painting them, but I am just tired.  I have been busy trying to get this house ready for my parents because they are coming in for Thanksgiving this week and there were soooo many home projects that we had put off doing, until these past few weeks.  Really bad timing for sure.  Also, Finn and Sully's birthdays have been in the mix as well... crazy times.  I have completed 3 new pieces, and I am working on the fourth one now.  I have 2 pieces that I had done this past year that I am adding to the collection.  That was my goal to have 4 new pieces and I can't believe that I have done it!  Well, not yet, but hopefully by the end of the day I will!!!  I still have to frame all of them and spray them with a UV-Resistant clear coating that will protect them from moisture and UV light rays.  I ordered new business cards which I am excited about and they were just shipped today!  Business cards have a way of making it feel oh so official.

Now number two is through!

I just finished my second piece today.  It is much larger than the first on and more detailed.  What I love about painting with coffee is that it is so random in the way that it chooses to bleed on the fabric, and you can change it with one squirt of a water bottle.  I like this piece way more than the first one.  I like the colors that are in this one and it is a little more dreamy than the first one and I always enjoy a dreamy quality.  I really busted my butt to get this one done.  I worked every single night on it and sometimes in the days.  I really forced myself when I was feeling too tired at night.  It always felt good to push through and I ended up making a lot of progress where I could have been sleeping, watching tv or serfing the net... that doesn't accomplish anything!  Now, I have two pieces of art that have been done in a week and it feels good!  This last piece was fun because I took a different approach to the way I did it.  Instead of drawing the base sketch out first, I had a general idea in my head and just started without any lines or real plan.  It just evolved as I went and it was very freeing to do it that way!  I wasn't tied to anything and felt no stress about what I was doing.  I am going to try and go about it that way for the next one again.  I think I want to do a series of small pieces of close ups of the cocoons.  We'll see how it goes.  I am planning on starting tomorrow.  I am running out of time!

Piece number one... just done.

I have been working on my first piece for the salon and it has been SO MUCH FUN!!!!!!  I have been going throughout my day anxiously anticipating sitting down at my chair to work.  Once I got started it was the best!!  Starting is definitely the hardest part for me I am finding.  I am loving working with staining fabrics, drawing and transfer of paper onto fabric.  To me, this particular mix of media is endless with possibilities!  I have so much swirling in my head that I am ready to try.  I just finished the first piece last night and I am pleased with it.  I don't think I am going to post pictures until after the work is hung in the salon though.  I think it might ruin it for me.  I want to present it all together at the end.  I only have a few more weeks left and my goal is to have at least 3 more new pieces.  More than that would be great... we'll see. 

Piece number one... almost done.

I have been working on my first piece for the salon and it has been SO MUCH FUN!!!!!!  I have been going throughout my day anxiously anticipating sitting down at my chair to work.  Once I got started it was the best!!  Starting is definitely the hardest part for me I am finding.  I am loving working with staining fabrics, drawing and transfer of paper onto fabric.  To me, this particular mix of media is endless with possibilities!  I have so much swirling in my head that I am ready to try.  I am almost finished with the first piece and I am pleased so far.  I don't think I am going to post pictures until after the work is hung in the salon though.  I think it might ruin it for me.  I want to present it all together at the end.  I only have a few more weeks left and my goal is to have at least 3 more new pieces.  More than that would be great... we'll see.  I have to sign off... it is up to the freezing cold studio I go!!!  3rd floor on cold dreary night... coffee, heater, and pandora?  :)

The beginning of a chrysalis

I was inspired by the idea of a chrysalis which I am going to experiment with in my work.  I feel like I have been in this chrysalis all wrapped up and for the first time I am able to start peeling away the layers to see what has been formed inside.  I found this painting entitled, "chrysalis" done by an artist named, Rose Frantzen, and I think she is amazing!  Tonight I was painting on linen with coffee and adding a layer of watercolor pencil ontop.  I was happy with how it turned out so far.  Tomorrow I am going to add some color because it is neutral right now.  I have started to notice a trend in my work, and that is it is usually mostly neutral with color added as a secondary part.  I don't know why it keeps working out that way.  I think that is why every artist is different in their own way, because we have our own natural direction that our work takes us.  I felt alive in my studio today.  It is great to finally get started.  Getting started is the hardest part.  I am working on getting a handful of pieces to put in my friend's salon/gallery in November.  I have a goal that has to be reached soon so I must keep working towards it!! 

Costume Creating

So it was another week of sewing for me.  Two of my boys needed costumes so I was busy working on those.  I made a cherry pie... out of felt, that is, for my oldest son.  I also made an outfit for my youngest son.  He has a Japanese day coming up at his school where he is supposed to dress in a japanese outfit, so I thought I would double up and make his outfit for school and for trick or treating this weekend.  He decided on going with looking like Aang from the movie, "The Last Airbender".  It has a japanese warrior feel to it.  They were more than thrilled with there costumes as you can see by the pictures.  What a joy it is to make things for my children who can enjoy them so much!  Killian's japanese outfit was a lot of work from the shirt to the shoes, but it was worth all the work.  I even experimented with dying the linen fabric with tea for the trim on the shirt.  This was the first outfit I have ever made and it was challenging, but I really enjoyed doing it!  This week coming up it is back to fine art.  I am putting the sewing machine aside for the next few weeks and getting into my studio.

A slice of Pie and All of the Above.

So it has been over 3 weeks since my last entry.  I have found that studio time isn't necessarily happening, but I am still creating.  I have not been able to work on the fine art that I intend to work on.  It has been more practical ways of creating.  Within these three weeks I made all kinds of different things.

First I made my best friend a gift for her shower which entailed me making an asian Mai Tai baby sling, a pouch for it to go in, two pairs of baby shoes and a pouch for them.  I really enjoyed sewing and trying something new.  It turns out the the shoes were a hit at the shower and I already have orders to make some for people! 

Then I was asked to make posters for my kids school open house.  I don't do much to contribute to my children's schools, but whenever there is an artistic need I am on it.  It is nice to serve in a way where I can use my gifts and passions. 

Lastly, I made my son some artwork for his walls in his bedroom.  He has a cowboy themed bedroom and the walls were bare so I decided to make him some art to fill them.  I made fabric panels that have different silhouettes from different fabric sewn onto them... a cowboy and cowboys riding horses.  He was thrilled that I made them for him and he appreciated them so much.  The look on his face was worth a hundred hours in my studio. 

My creating seems very practical at this stage, but I am trying to notice what I am doing as part of my life as an artist, even if it is not truly what I have envisioned.  I know I will eventually get there, but I am not willing to sacrifice doing these other kinds of artistic things to do so.  This week I know I will be making a costume for my oldest son for Halloween.  He is supposed to team up with a friend and their costumes have to go together.  He is in love with pie, so he wants to be a slice of pie and his friend is going to be a fork!  So off to the fabric store I go today to figure out the beginnings of a pie.  This is my life.