A to Z Challenge 2017 Theme Reveal How Do You Build an Artful Life?

 

I'm going to participate again.  I can't resist. It was a blast and a

learning experience last year.  

Today is theme reveal day.

                               



Most of the participants are writers, so I felt compelled to put in my 2 cents as an artist. It's a great way to generate ideas & explore topics I might not otherwise include in the blog.

How Do You Build an Artful Life? 

There you have it. It's a broad topic, but one I feel strongly about & explore almost every day. I will incorporate quotes, links, personal thoughts (probably not unique, but humor me), as well as my own slant on how I try to infuse artful observation and inspiration into my every day existence.  I want to know how others accomplish this as well. We can all learn from each other.

I sincerely hope you enjoy the ride. I would love to hear your feed back, any & all. If you have a thought please post a comment at the bottom. Also feel free to share a link with friends.

"You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have."

Maya Angelou

 

Annual Valentine (Galentine) Creation

Each year I create my own Valentines for lots of my women friends, also known as Galentines. My way to let them know they are in my thoughts & I appreciate them!

The jump off point this year came from a Christmas card idea from Helen Hiebert's blog.

It took some time to fine tune the design so it would fold well, have a pleasing shape, as well as fit nicely on the Canson Mi-Teintes paper I wanted to use. 

 In a clam shell box making workshop  I learned the brilliance of using Legos for a perfect corner guide. You can butt it up to any surface and have a straight edge or perfect corner to work from. Stuff like that is worth the price of admission.

First I decorated each full sheet with stencils.   The large sheets, 19" X 25", offer so much opportunity for folded structures.

Each Valentine (Galentine) was traced & cut separately. Good way to hone my xacto skills. 

In a few days I will post my Blogging from A to Z  April Challenge reveal. I participated last year and truly enjoyed the process. Stay tuned & follow along