Creative Spring

First things first....

Homeschool Mom advice.
Beading - colorful. bold.
It is the thing to do when she is 5 and everyone else is doing school.

Second. This: I am taking my own advice (the words I laid down in my book). Living day by day my own creative dream. Fitting art time into my day, everyday.

This time not mixed media, not even photography. I am writing. Creative writing. I feel like I am flying.

I hate to be so oblique here and not tell you exactly what I am working on. It is so against my nature to not be straight forward. But I have to honor the Spring of my creative venture. At least for now.

And my kids are ever growing and pushing inwards and I have to meet that challenge. I have to help keep their world moving forward. I have to keep them challenged and encouraged. Everyday my husband and I wonder where each of their huge personalities come from. One day is more awesome and creative than the next.

I look back at this blog and I am amazed at how many people I have met. It is wonderful to have found so many people who 'get' what I am doing here with my art and book and homeschooling and all that. People that are committed to living the artistic life in their homes too. I don't want to loose that. So please, while I am not blogging regularly please don't forget me. I will have something awesome for you in a few months. Seriously. Trust me. I am using my time diligently. I am excited and hopeful.

Stamp from CRESCENDOh 'Everyday Me' by Christine Mason Miller.

A touch of nostalgia

 

I made this using a supplies from Stampington & Co. For directions on how to make this card pocket folder please go here.

 

frozen in time

I see an old friend

from way back

he is looking in the window

of a store on Grafton street

his image tight

never older

I am looking from above

leaning from a small wooden chair

in Bewely’s mezzanine

and he doesn’t see me

he doesn’t even remember

those days, ‘Dublin

in a rainstorm in the summer

keeping warm’. But I remember it

I remember his thin shoulders

would pull up when he laughed

bending at the waist towards me

the smell of his leather jacket

I thought we would never make 19

‘we’ didn’t

but 'I' did

that was the year I met

the true love that

misses my shape when

when I am late for bed,

that knows my face

older now and loves me more.

‘Dublin in a rainstorm in the summer keeping warm’
- a line from my favorite Sinead O’Connor song ‘Troy’

Fresh

Thank you to my sweet girls for doing the 'beauty shot'

These are so cute - ABC flashcards. The directions, with photos, are over at CRESCENDOh. I know they are not 'art' but they represent so much of my life - making stuff for and with my kids. I made the cards for Max, but my girls set up the shot, adding in bits and pieces to make it a little group shot.

It just makes me smile.

I am going to finish off the rest of the alphabet by the time Max need them. I think I will have to get them laminated as they won't last as they are!

Being creative is such a joy, really. Creativity is a big part of our home and life. It makes everything possible and exciting. Everyday something happens here that is new and fun and artistic, be that my kids painting, building fairy houses and pet shop worlds or me making decisions on the apartment we are building for my parents making a necklace. A couple of posts ago I mentioned that I needed a big project. Well, I found one! I am not ready to reveal it until I have waded in a little deeper. But I am excited. I have something fresh to work on. I love fresh. I love spring. Don't you?

Journal prompt download

I created a pdf download to accompany my Good Coach series over at CRESCENDOh this month. Well, the download is available in this week's post and will be in the archives from now on!

There are 12 mixed media cards, some of which look like these photos (6 sheets, 2 up on a page) ready for you to print out at home and write on or cut up or whatever. Each card has a journal prompt that is related to the topic of artistic mothering. Just a little something to get you thinking.

If you want to download free some of my art head on over here.

 I also created a little folder to hold the 12 journaling cards so I have included also the how to directions for making the journal. It is really a simple project, and if you like folders and papers and books it is a satisfying project too. I hope you will take a moment to go visit and let me know your thoughts.

Oh and this weeks post is '5 tips for making time for art'. I wrote some pretty common sense things, but you know I need to be reminded of even the simplest things. When I doubt that, my husband says 'everyone knows how to do sit ups and other basic exercises, but there are countless exercise programs and books on the market which present some very basic truths over and over. He is right, we need to continually review and be reminded and refreshed. Sometimes the simplest things are the hardest to keep doing! 

These are the directions you get when you download the journal folder how to instructions!

I really appreciate Jenny Doh for creating this wonderful art space called CRESCENDOh and giving me the opportunity to be a part of it.

Poetry folder

I spend most of my creative time balancing between poetry, photography and mixed media. I step into one world for a bit and then when that runs out of steam I am into another. I often feel when I am writing a lot that I will never take photos again, or when I am on a collage roll that I will never write again! It is kind of like mommy guilt!! I never am relaxed. 

Sometimes I hit the perfect sweet spot, when all my loves come together. I think that is why the project in Week 12 in my book is my favorite. It is the 'Poetry Box' and combines all three together.

Well, here is an alternative to that project. This is a poetry folder. I printed out some poems (about 8), photos and created some mixed media pieces to mingle in with the poems, as visual relief. Then I made a folder (like this one) to house them and a bag (like these ones) to give them to the recipient.

I just love it! Enjoy:

The front of the poetry folder

I printed the poems onto cardstock and trimmed them all the same size

I sewed a little pocket to house the poems and artwork

A mixed media piece with a bird stamp that I carved from a photo

I layered mixed media and photos with the poems

The back of the folder

I made a gift bag for the folder

My valentine poem

From the other room
I hear the pages turn

the coffee sputter into the mug,

the yellow one?

after 16 years of marriage

we have not eclipsed one another

are not frozen in action, daily and stale

no, we are still learning each other’s ways,

still finding treasure

I tread, welcome but trembling

you are the continent I choose

over and over, my feet never tired,

my journey never over

I wake and am aware of the singleness

when you are gone

the bare bed vast and cold

knowing you are next door

reading some impenetrable tome

or emailing a brother I have not seen

for years, laughing at his jokes

a continued conversation of your own

you are the master of

a world that defines you as not me

I travel on

I am not lost, just wondering

you are still the thrill I seek

still huge, stable, secure

this morning you came back to bed

your cold body needing mine,

you crossed the ocean to my side

finding that equalizing of heat

your chest on my back, arm heavy on my shoulder,

legs entwined, tight

like a picture that I sometimes see

of my eternal place beyond this land

a star formation

of lovers always together

Making something to prove I am still me

In my own comments yesterday I said I would make something, just to do it.

So I did. A simple 10 minute collage on a tiny notebook I picked up at Target the other day. Nothing profound. But it reminds me I can, yes. This is me, I can pull something together. 

I heard clearly yesterday from some readers, sweet commenters and from emails -  we are many in the boat of mother, artist, balance, worry. It is so good to know I am not alone.

But how I wish we were all together in real life. The internet is great for bringing us together intellectually, but how nice it would be to meet in real life! Shannon Mucha and I have a bold idea to one day open an art center. It would be so cool to have workshops and classes and bring together like minds, if even for a weekend. I know there are tons of retreats around, but for me now with my 5 young kids it is not doable. I know that is probably the same for many of my blog friends. But it is nice to have that dream, that 'wild hope' for the future. It keeps me motivated to stay in the game all the while I am raising my beautiful ones.

A poem for today too...

Afternoon Homemaking

By Shona Cole

it is odd the way the gold

drifts across the tile

in the afternoon

I notice it when I pause

at the stove

spoon in hand

browning the meat.

I am at my station

I am where I need to be,

people come in and go out

but I stay here

stirring the pot

dusk is falling through

the door way

coming in with the dogs

the chattering children,

their father

all breathless with delight

pulling the day closed behind

 




** Often I forget to add 'by Shona Cole' on my poem posts.... but just in case you didn't realize most everything I post here I wrote.

Antidote to feeling down

So I return to what makes me whole again. Pray. Talk. Create.

Excuse my absence. 

Nothing profound is going on.

Just the ups and downs of life.

Not feeling confident in my voice.

I will post a few things I have been making/writing when I get my confidence back. 

 In the meantime I will live my real life with crumbs to clean off beautiful faces, finding time to create and think. 

Thank you all for the kind words last week when something was actually wrong - a massive cold that seems to be going around Texas. That is all over now for the Coles. Thankfully. I hope your part of the world is well.  

 

Partial stamping

In an attempt to make a stamp my own often I use only part of the whole stamp. I altered paper bags to make embellished envelopes with this method:

Step one

Ink only a portion of the stamp that you are using. It can be a little difficult to get this right, the stamp pads are generally rectangles, which makes it hard to avoid inking the bits you don't want. An alternative to ink pads is to use paint or stamping markers. Stamp by PaperArtsy.


Step two

Once I trimmed the image I drew some pencil lines on the stamped and then painted it in with watercolor paint.


Step three

I added some more partial stamps to the edge pattern. Stamp by Jenny Doh. Then I tore off the bottom edge (I had stamped it with some more of the circles but it looked too much)


Step four

Rummage through your scraps left over from other projects and your scrapbook papers and play around with colors until you are happy with your layout.


Step five

Stamp a small paper bag with a large stamp. Let the stamp go over the edges, this is another type of partial stamping.


Step six

Glue the image panel onto the paper bag. I wrote the words 'Happy Birthday' on the left. There you have it -  an envelope for a gift tag, card or small gift.
 


Alternative card layouts:

Some other pieces with partial stamps:

Here you can see the full and partial Jenny Doh stamp

Art Find Friday - January 14, 2011

1) PHOTOGRAPHY

For Christmas I got some photographic equipment - a tripod, 60mm lens and a light kit. Perfect for photographing 'things'. I am having fun setting up 'beauty shots' of things I am making. My girls, 8 & 6, totally are into it and have done most of the 'staging'. It is a fun thing to do together. I say 'Hey, I have another card to photograph' and they go in and pull out papers and bits and bobs and then I just have to push the button! So fun.

Here is my light kit set up. The lights came with canisters, but I prefer the light without them.

lights on!

My first beauty shot. Thanks to my girls for the decorations!

This is a card I made with Jenny Doh stamps and glimmer mist from Stampington & Co.


2) FOLLOWER LOVE

If you love before and after pictures, then check out Kristy's blog  Life-n-Reflection. You can see the power and beauty of photoshop actions. I love the vintage look. Kristy sells her actions at her store on Etsy and on her blog.


3) CRAFT VIDEO

For all you quilters and crafters you have to see this video for Etsy's Handmade Portrait series. It is an amazing video by a quilter spoken as if from a future world. Very cool, and his quilt is good too!

In my bid to be positive this year and not check Drudge headlines I am spending my breakfast computer time only looking at art and craft related websites. One of the first I go to is the Etsy blog, there is always something interesting to read there on by folks living an artistic life. That is where I found this video.



4) INSPIRATION

Anthropologie, the catalog came in the mail this week.

They have an Anthro video site over at Vimeo which is so beautiful.

Art Finds Friday - Jan 6, 2011

1)  MIXED MEDIA

I am delighted to announce that this year I have joined Jenny Doh's CRESCENDOh design team. It is so nice to have this deadline and inspiration to get me creating. Maximus has become such a challenge at 14 months, zooming here and there, pulling things out of cupboards and drawers, by the evening without a strong reason to create I find it hard to not give into the desire to veg. You know what I mean Momma?

My first card made using CRESCENDOh products has been posted here. It is a kind of Workshop - I describe in words and pictures how I went about making this card with these Alice in Wonderland stamps.

I am full of ideas for things to make with the CRESCENDOh stamp lines and looking forward to creating lots in 2011 despite my crazy toddler!


2) GIVEAWAY

Tara Sophia Mohr is hosting an online workshop: Living Your Brilliance: Quieting Your Inner Critic and Reclaiming the Driver's Seat in Your Work and Your Life. Doesn't that sound nice? I am really practicing quieting my inner critic this year. My word for 2011 is positive. Specifically, I am determined to be more positive about myself! I am often so positive about the world around me, my kids, other artist's work, other folks blogs and books and on and on, reserving all my negativity for myself. I am so tired of feeling down about myself. I want to feel that what I choose and do is okay. So Tara's course sounds right along those lines.

You can win a spot on this course over here at Shelley Kommers blog Oiseaux (I love Shelley's collages, so her blog is always worth a visit). This giveaway is open until January 9th, so hurry on over.


3) MUSIC

If you grew up in the 80's then you probably loved George Michael's Careless Whispers. Guilty. But oh, Seether has done an amazing re-make. I can't get enough. I am not really into that video.....

but... someone has put Seether's song to the best bits of the movie 'Twilight'. Check it out here on YouTube.  Let me rant for a minute - I loved Twilight... yes it was cheesy but it captured perfectly the emotion, the awkwardness of new love, Edward's agony and desire, the first desirable male since Mr. Darcy. It inspired me to read all the Twilight series books (in like a week). I felt the coloring of the movie really complimented them... but then Summit stole the project from director Catherine Hardwick, who is first and foremost an artist, and gave it to directors who made the other movies into blah, blah big Hollywood movies. New Moon and Eclipse lack energy, the edgy coloring, the raw longing, the passion of the books and the first movie. They are simply wooden. Worse - pieces of plastic covered wood. Like toys you would see in Walmart rather than on Etsy. Sigh. Such a shame.

Another Seether song I love is 'Broken' with Amy Lee.....

The singer of Seether and Amy Lee were a couple when they wrote this song and I was thinking I wish I could create some art with my mate..... but then I remembered 1) my commitment to being positive towards myself... so I am not going to lament my lack of singing talent/creative opportunity. Check. Re-focus. 2) My husband and I have made some, no, the ultimate art - our beautiful children! 

Re-focus. Positive. Create.

Art Finds Friday

1)  PHOTOGRAPHY

Beautiful, feminine, story filled, layered photography. Vanessa Ho Fine Art Photography. Thanks for the link Shannon.


2) FOLLOWER LOVE

Necklace by Alyssabeth

Alyssabeth just recently signed up to be a part of this blog. I visited her blog and it is full of lovely feminine, shabby chic, mixed media treasures. She has listed lots of handmade Christmas things recently, being the season and all that. Worth a look.

While I was visiting her I saw a post about this necklace. She was selling it on her Etsy site. Now she is not, as I bought it! A Christmas gift for myself! How decadent.





3) MIXED MEDIA

I love watching Roben-Marie Smith's workshop videos. They are more than just a workshop, how to do this or that, they show her creative mind at work. Roben-Marie leaves little out, you see in fast motion the whole project from start to end, it is like you are watching her hands think, especially in this video! Her videos are generally over 10 minutes in length, so it is best to choose a time when you have a cup of tea and want to just enjoy watching someone else's creative process. My girls like to watch her videos with me. I find it soothing to watch her work. Her latest one, sewing a gift bag, is over on her Vimeo channel here.

She inspired me to sew on paper again! I needed to make some gift bags for the girls and this was perfect. I used an old skirt of theirs to make these bags:

Scrap fabric gift bags inspired by Roben-Marie Smith, beanie baby bear prop courtesy of my 6 year old daughter

Before I could get them filled and on the tree Laura & Lily took them outside to add to their fairy house that they were building, so I don't know if they will make it back inside the house to act as gift bags!

I am off today (Friday) to help set up for Michelle and Anthony Lopez's wedding, a young couple at our church (if you follow that link to the photo - my husband gave Anthony the hat as a man to man wedding gift!). Shannon Mucha did an awesome job on their engagement shots see here, here and here for some of my favorites.
It is a DIY wedding - everything is handmade and very 'them'. The colors are brown, green and yellow. I will take pics of everything and post them, it is going to be unusual and beautiful. 
I am assisting Shannon as she photographs the wedding. I am in charge of photographing things and guests and then holding the clip board as Shannon photographs the family groups.
My Lily, 8, is the flower girl in the wedding which is on Saturday, she is going to be beautiful in her white satin dress, brown sash with yellow flower. Shannon made the flower girl basket - it is wicker with a plume of feathers and a wooden flower. I added green velvet flowers to lily's white shoes in keeping with the nature theme. What an honor for her to be a part of it.