A weakness for the seventies

I was born in the seventies. 1972. I am so drawn to the look of that era, the greens and oranges, so warm, so old, so sad. April is my month. I have a birthday in April. I like to look back, to think on my life more so this month than at other times. My journal's swell in Spring.

I was delighted to find these actions by Pioneer Woman for Photoshop Elements! One of them is called 'Seventies'. I downloaded them the other night and spent a long time trying to work out how to install them, but once I did I became instantly enthralled. I am ambivalent about using actions. I have always processed my own photos. I processed the above photo of Lily (in purple) myself, so I know I can do it, but sometimes it is good to cut corners in the name of saving time. I guess it is like using scrapbook papers in mixed media work - I do it for convenience and cause they can be so awesome, but I also try to use my own backgrounds as much as I can.

And then of course sometimes that short cut is just the thing you need to make a piece work - for me the PW action I used in the top 2 photos brings the idea of the 70's home to me ~ I love that I can apply the look to my new millennium children. I love the whole idea of what I, as a little girl, would have thought of my girls. Would I have played with them? Would they have liked me? What would we talked about, created together?


These wordless minutes, the cool outdoors
stir in me how it was, through the sweep
of blue green, the slight turn of
a hand, fingers, I remember the calm youth
I could have been. I sit in this wooden
chair watching my children play
again, some game about a princess and a boy.
    Would they have called at my door?

I was never the smiling child,
I was the glass waiting to be filled
the doorway ever open
in those tinged afternoons
the longing

The long hair. My mother
put it in pony tails and plaits,
as I do now for them
the careful crossing of hair
coated rubber bands on wrists
or brush handles. The firm caress
of grooming. The jewel a mother
can then give the world.

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If you ever wonder where my kids get their good looks from ;)

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If you want to know how 'art can make you be a better Mom' please visit my March article at the Wishstudio!

Also, I am a 'Guest Curator' on CRESCENDOh this week! Follow this link: if you want to read my Art Saves article on CRESCENDOh.

On CRESCENDOh's main page each day this week I am linking to 2 wonderful artists. So please visit my links there, you will be inspired by them.

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Finally,
This Saturday I will be giving away Starter Collage Kits! Check in on Saturday and leave me a comment in order to be in the drawing! I will keep the drawing open until the following Thursday and announce the winner and then do another drawing starting the next Saturday, does that make sense?

Included in the kits are:
A Daler Rowney sketch book/journal
A box of my favorite water soluble oil pastels
a piece of balsa wood (to make your own butterfly image, see week 5 of my book's workshop)
kraft knife
a tub of gesso
gel medium
4B pencil
a canvas panel
some of my stamped handmade papers
butterfly image sheet
some fabric squares

all of these are supplies you could use in the workshop in my book 'The Artistic Mother - A Practical Guide for Fitting Creativity into Your Life'