A to Z Theme Reveal Here We Go Again

 

 

I wasn't sure if I wanted to dive in again. But I can't help myself. We've all been cooped up & stressed for the past year & I am anxious to see what others come up with. It seems the forced isolation has unleashed the creative beast for many of us. Artistic endeavors tend to be solitary pursuits & the creative community was out there in force sharing what they are up to. 

I have to admit I have blogged very little since the challenge last year. Time to get the juices flowing.

My theme: What Sparks Joy for Me, both from others, in my own space, and always in nature. Some of this is prompted by what I see others playing with, because hey! it's all play to see what happens. It will be a wild ride as I am a magpie that grabs shiny things that interest me at random.  

Below are a few "things" that grabbed my attention just to give you an idea of the randomness you can expect. The alphabet prompt is a great way to spur the imagination for a post each day in April. 

                      Come along for the ride! Sign up via email at the upper the right of the blog.                                             I would love to see your comments along the way. 

 

 

 

Background Stories #AtoZChallenge

Pictures of our art is an important part of sharing what we love to make.  Enter the roll of the background. Everyday items you find around the house can work wonders.

 Guess what this is.

It's one of my favorites. An old, well used cookie sheet. 

When you zoom in you see this great texture.

Next, a black background. 

Left over vinyl upholstery fabric I stole from the man cave.

 Hang it vertically and I have an instant large backdrop. It's fun to play with the light.

 

 A friend gave me this big piece of cut up lace. I use it often.

 

Pegboard & cardboard play a role as well. 

Add some bead board and you have an all white background.

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

 

Z is for Zipper

                                                           The lowly Zipper. Or is it?

      

         Like most things I post about, the zipper has a glossary all it's own to describe it's various parts.

                              We take them for granted but it really is a marvel don''t you think?

A recent exhibit that I featured in my X post 2 days ago at our local community college museum , "Extreme Fibers", had a few pieces that were all about the zippers.

 A close up of the above piece. Looks like a upholsterers nightmare. There were 250 ft of zipper in this project.

There have been a lot of wearable art pieces made of zippers showing up at art fairs in the last few years.

                  Next time you get dressed think about that little marvel that holds it all together.

I have honestly enjoyed the A to Z Challenge & the pressure it created to come up with something every day for a month. I plan to be back next year. Until then I hope all who visited my excursions into artistic topics will keep viewing. I wander to all sorts of strange places.  Thank you coming along for the ride.

Going Underground

Not in the way you think. Underground as in roots, water, plants. It 's a bit of a cheat to allow a  discussion on gardening.

It's been a long winter and Spring has finally sprung. People in these parts go a little nutty once the weather breaks. We've been cooped  up way to long. Feeling the sun on our skin and getting dirt under our fingernails is wonderful tonic to erase the lethargy of winter. 

Before we moved to our current location, a condo, we had a large backyard that we turned into an oasis. We were honored to be on the city Garden Walk one summer. 

This beauty is a clematis called Miss Bateman.  She climbed up a light post in our front yard. We recently bought one for our current yard and hope it is as much of a stunner as this one once was.

 Our back yard had many large trees so shade loving plants were a must. Lots of Hosta, Ligularia, Sweet Woodruff.

We designed our own fountain feature that turned out very well. 

The things that spring up from Underground amaze us every year.

 This shot is my screen saver at work. I think it may the favorite of all the pictures I've ever taken. Poppies are brilliant for a short time & another one of those natural things that capture the attention of artists.

We have a much smaller area now to tend, which is fine, a hill out back that we covered with Sweet Woodruff, We brought some of our favorite hostas with us. We keep tweaking what we have now to suit our gardening style. Life in the garden is good.

Draw Pardner

Drawing is a skill you can develop. So often you hear someone say "Oh I can't draw". I put myself in that category in the past, and truth is, I still do most of the time. Then sometimes I surprise myself. I've taken classes, had inspiring friends, and taken the time to practice. My journal is a safe place to try things out and get that much needed practice.

                                                     
This post is a good reminder to myself to take up a pencil with the intent of getting something I see on paper.


 I was so taken with this picture in the newspaper I had to take the time to do my version of it.

 

 

 

   

 

 

Meet Hobbs. He belongs to friends in Cincinnati. He can whistle the "Andy of Mayberry" theme song! While visiting them I did this one morning in my journal over coffee.

                                                         From a small picture in a catalog.

A few years back there was a live cam of an eagles nest in our area. I did this sketch and refined it while watching. The bird theme was not intentional.
                                                   

 

Crayons

 Crayons!

I wonder how long I've had these boxes myself? Judging by the hand written name on the making tape of my younger son, who is now 29, must be close to 30 years. The definitely stand the test of time!

Who doesn't have fond memories of crayons? We can all conjure the smell of the open box from Kindergarten and beyond. Right?  In line at the grocery store 2 days ago there was a Mom and cute little boy about 3. There was a bog box of new Crayolas in their cart. I wanted to lean over & tell the little guy he was one lucky dude with a smart Mom.

                            

Grown ups can play with crayons too.  Alisa Burke who I like to follow just had a post about techniques to use with crayons. I had no idea you could use baby oil to smooth & blend crayons.

                                                        

I've Done It Now

Call me crazy, but I saw this idea for a daily blog challenge last year, and thought I would like to try it this year. 

 So here goes.  My theme will be "Dreams of Art Techniques Invade My Dreams"

Leaves it pretty wide open for what drives me. At the moment there are 1656 other bloggers signed up to participate. Wow! In order to make this happen I will be doing short posts that can work off each other, or sometimes not. It sates the day after tomorrow, I better get cracking on ideas!

Come along for the ride! Poke around on the list to see who else is nuts. Looks like there will be lots to explore and learn from.

Inspiration

It seems lately that inspiration is coming at me from many directions. Not sure why this is. Am I in a better place right now to be receiving them? Is it because the days are getting longer? Is it because I have a husband and friends who support & encourage me?

I picked up a book from the library, Elizabeth Gilbert's "Big Magic". Click the book for the NYT's review.

She refereneces the fact that ancient Greeks thought people HAD a genius, not they they were one. Like a spirit or guide that we listen to, who brings inspiration to us. I like that idea. This book came to me at just the right time to read and absorb it's message.

                                Nature has always been big in providing  me with inspiration

 I have lots of book & catalogs and publications I return to time & time again. This little gem is a favorite. I don't buy book to read for enjoyment, those almost always come from the library or swapping with a friend. but I'm a sucker for books with art techniques and prompts. Then are the endless blogs and videos and now a days on line classes...did I mention Pinterest?

The there is travel. We are on our way tomorrow for a mini vacation to Florida to visit a few sets of friends and hopefully recharge our solar batteries. They are very low at the moment from the Northern Michigan grey. Inspiration usually shows up as soon as I'm at the airport.

Hoping to post from the road. I have my journal, writing utensils, water color pencils, a brush. I'm ready.

What inspires you? I would love to here your experience. What do you do if you are stuck?

Completed Collagraphs & Beyond

Here are pictures of the completed mini collagraphs. I learned a fair amount in the process. I plan do use this technique more as I find it enjoyable. Some more investigation into paper & prepping the surface are in order.

                                   I've already got some ideas peculating for the next round. 

Spent the better part of yesterday going through a huge trunk of fabric and fiber related "stuff'.
                                              I swear some of it was at least 30 years old.   

 Unbelievable how many tiny scraps of fabric were thrown in the trunk. I tried to be merciless in my purging. I think I did pretty well. Especially since the lid would hardly close before. Things are corralled into bags and tubs which should help immensely.  Not to mention several bags are going to good will friends and the trash.

I'm feeling the urge to dive into more fabric sculpture and functional boxes.  I think this had to be the first step so I know what I have to work with.