Wordless Wednesday - October 27, 2010

 

Happy Birthday Mark

One thing I love about being a mom

One thing I love about being a mom is that I can make a human being happy and comfortable.

When Maximus is upset he looks for me. I can cuddle him and make it all better. When he is tired he looks for me. I can scoop him up and put him for a nap. When he is hungry he cries for me. I can nurse him. And then he smiles. He smiles and is comforted and happy. And I did that!

Revolution

The lyrics of his life

were written in silence

before the first sand fell

before the dream began

Born with his mouth wide

the scream releasing his need

I am his mother, so I hear

I hear it first

I orient my face

follow the sound

take the right steps

knowing always the formula,

fine and frayed

We are frozen in this time

dancing every day

just to feel the shift of the earth,

of the world beyond ours.

Art Finds Friday - October 22, 2010

1) PHOTOGRAPHY

Annie Rose in my hallway

I had some of my photos onto large stretched canvas by ePingo. Here is one of them. I just love having a huge Annie Rose in my hallway! It is not cheap, this photo at 27x18 inches was about $80, but ePingo do a really good job, their customer service is excellent and I have this memory of Annie forever.

2) ART SUPPLIES

This week I used some new paints - Eco-Friendly paints by Eco Green Crafts. I got these paints from Stampington & Co. I can't see them listed on the Shoppe, but I am sure they will soon.

I have only 2 colors Sand and Moss.
Pros - very liquidy paint, goes one lovely and thick, nice rich colors, mixes well, for those into eco friendly supplies well they can be assured their money is well spent.
Cons - none so far!

A Christmas guest book I am working on. I painted this cover with the Sand Eco-Friendly paint.

3) MUSIC


Pomplamoose. Oh her voice, so light, so sweet. The texture of the sounds. That tune, the words. "The Greatest thing is to love and be loved in return". 
Thanks Shannon for the rec!



4)  FOLLOWER LOVE

This week I would like you to go visit Juliette Crane. She does the most adorable, almost fairytale-ish, owl mixed media paintings. And check out her home tour post, I love to look inside other folks houses, don't you? Thanks Juliette for letting us stop by for a visit. All the best with your art.


5) POETRY

Balsa Wood Ornament Video Tutorial

These ornaments are quick and easy to make. Especially if you have your background papers ready to go!

Enjoy!


Balsa Wood Ornament Tutorial from Shona Cole on Vimeo.

Supplies needed:
- Background paper. Click here for my tutorial on making background papers. 
- Balsa wood, which is a super light weight wood that is typically used in the crafting of model airplanes and so on. I did a quick search to see where you can get it online and I found it here at JoAnn's fabric store.
- Craft knife (and cutting board) and or scissors
- awl or bead reamer to punch a small hole
- Rubber stamp. I used a stamp that I got from Stampington & Co. in my capacity as an Artist On Call for them.
- Glue, I used a regular glue stick
- 26 gauge jewelry wire and wire cutter
- Craft paint and brush
- 7 inches of thin ribbon
- some beads for decoration


In my book, The Artistic Mother, the 5th project the "butterfly reminder" is made using balsa wood. If you own my book and are thinking about having a go making a 'butterfly reminder' then I hope this gives you a feel for working with balsa wood.


I thinks these ornaments will end up on Lily's pink Christmas tree this year! Did I just say Christmas???

The Perception of Mess

I can tolerate a fair amount of mess, for instants on my craft room table, in my school room, at least for a while. But after a few days I feel the discomfort well up, I miss the clean lines of the floor and tabletops and then it bursts and I make the kids help me in a flurry of clean up. Usually when this happens I am a little blustery with them, huffing and puffing about how they don’t respect their things or my wishes to keep the house tidy.

The other day I was sitting at my computer which sits on the bar and I looked over into the dining room/kitchen, which is an area I like to be consistently tidy, and I caught myself sighing over the disorder:

Playing Clue on the dining room table after school

 But then I stopped myself and thought ‘you know my kids moved the table centerpiece to play a board game!’ I have these awesome kids and they are happily playing, together, in the middle of the day! This is a good thing.

At that moment I reminded myself that mess is going to happen with kids about, there will be a bulky high chair and an abundance of dishes in the sink. Reality. And instead of seeing my house as something lovely that gets messy I can choose to see that this house is a lovely backdrop for my kid's life and activities.

These chair are their thrones at meal time.
These walls are the color of their daily life.
These ornaments are the texture of their story.
Matthew, Lily, Laura, Annie, Maximus - they are the main characters, the reason for the theatre!

My home is not meant to look like a house in a magazine article. My home is meant to be for living. For the living of my babies, my little people. That is so freeing!

After choosing to change the way I look at things, later in the evening I even sat on the chaise lounge with Mark before the dishes were cleaned away! Wow, that was a big deal for me because usually I like to relax after the kitchen is clean. And it was a nice time, the kids were playing and we got to chat about the day. And then I cleaned the kitchen.

I won’t become a slob any time soon, it is not in my character, but I am practicing being a little cooler and keep my focus on the people rather than the things.

Annie Rose, 4 1/2

My house is the backdrop to the story of my kid’s life. I like that.

Art Finds Friday - October 15, 2010

1) PHOTOGRAPHY:

I have joined an online group called Mortal Muses. There are 9 leaders or muses and they post challenges each week in their main site and then group members can upload themed photos to the Mortal Muses Flickr group. There is also an ongoing theme of 'Everyday Beauty' which has it's own Flickr group. I am still getting a feel for it, but it resembles Shutter Sisters. There are a lot of productive, creative women out there taking some fine shots!

Everyday Beauty

2) ART SUPPLIES

ATCs I made with the Claudine Hellmuth Studio paints

Product: Claudine Hellmuth Studio paints
- Altered orange
- Purple palette
- Modern red
- Blank Canvas
 
Pros: Lovely creamy paints, covers well, vibrant colors. I love dipping the brush into the open jar rather than having to squeeze the paint out onto a palette. I am so glad I bought these, I think I will get some more colors.
Cons: more expensive than cheap-o craft paint (but you pay for what you get, ie this paint is better quality), the paint seems to dry even faster than craft paints (and I live in a super humid climate where nothing dries!)

Where to buy them? Stampington & Co.  and Micheals art and hobby store in the US.

3) FOLLOWER LOVE:

I discovered the blog Mama Without Borders when visiting some of the folks who are listed on my sidebar as 'followers'. Minerva used to be a journalist and is now a stay at home mom to 2 lovely kids and she blogs about "about creating a beautiful home with finds from around the world that reflect a love for the arts, crafts and crafting, handmade goods, and vintage treasures". Her blog is full of lovely rooms and inspiration. My favorite is the 'children's nook' section. Take a look!

4) WHAT I MADE THIS WEEK:

Balsa wood ornaments!

I made these balsa wood ornaments using the background papers I made on my first video tutorial.

Next week on Workshop Wednesday come back to watch a 5 minute video of me making this ornament!
 

Wordless Wednesday

getting away

I'm not the only one: Wordless Wednesday

The flawed mother

I am particularly hard on my kids if they ever dare utter the words ‘I’m bored’ or ‘what should I do now?’. I won’t tolerate that mainly because in my life I have struggled with being bored and aimless.

Before the age of about 28 I didn’t have any dreams or goals. I lived in a vacuum of the present tense. I lived life affected by the moment, affected by those around me and the goings on of the day. I never  considered developing any skills to any accomplished level. I have journals full of angst, desperate words wanting to believe in and be excited about something, anything! I tried many activities – dance, poetry, fine art, academics -  but nothing ever stuck with me. 

I think that now I do have what I was missing - purpose, drive and passion (how I finally got that is a story in itself, for another day) - I hold that up as a yardstick in my parenting. This can be a good thing, but it can also be potentially harmful.

Left image by Shannon Mucha, right by me

In the case of combating pointlessness - I give my kids lots of options, of things to do and believe in. I talk to them about the importance of finding something to love to do. If my kids show any interest in any topic we talk endlessly about it, buy a book about it, sign them up for a class, take them to a show, order a documentary on it from Netflix, generally generate excitement about the topic. We cover every base!

It could be argued that it is unfair to do that to my kids - to fill up their minds and schedules because I am particularly sensitive to what I lacked by way of passion. I swore not to try to live out my life through my kids, like the stage parent who pushes their kid to be an actor cause they missed the boat themselves. But it is hard not to, isn’t it?

But as it also stems from a desire for them to be happy and productive (I could never wish the emptiness of pointlessness & boredom on them), I can cut myself some slack here, but I think it is good practice to keep in context my personal failings. 

So while I don't let my kids say they are bored. Ever. I do realize that sometimes having nothing to do as a kid can be freeing and helpful. So sometimes I purposefully don't give them stuff to do and tell them to go play. And you know, they always find something fun to do or create. My goodness the amount of stuff my kids create in a week is astounding!

And in regards to their interests - if it sticks, great we keep going. If not, we let the interest fall by the wayside. I really don’t mind what they are interested in, as long as they are interested in something! Life is so full of good stuff to do and believe in, I want them to help them find their path.

So my principle is - when I feel myself getting overly upset at how they are acting I look at myself to see if it is something that has been my own issue. I try to step back and be cool. Then I pray that they are protected from my shortcomings and that good things will come from them instead!

Art Finds Friday - October 8, 2010

1) ART SUPPLIES

I got some Glimmer Mist from Stampington & Co. last week.
colors:
sea glass - a very light blue, so light it is only good for spraying on white
olive vine - a lovely strong green
sunflower - end of summer kind of yellow
red velvet - soulful red

Pros - I like using paint spray effect, fun to use and cheerful.
Cons - these bottle leak and drip like mad. I have to remember to put the cap on before I shake them as they splatter all over!

2) MUSIC

I have recently discovered Kate Earl while listening to my Fiona Apple station on Pandora. I enjoy the sound of her voice and this kind of sad music.

 3) ART WE MADE THIS WEEK

A picture Lily, 8 drew last week of Mr. Duck, something that caught Laura's eye when 'antique' shopping!

4) FOLLOWER LOVE:

Each week I will be linking to one of the artists who have chosen to 'follow' this blog. I believe that by checking in here they are probably somewhat of a like mind, a person that I would be friends with in 'real life' and so I wanted to recognize our community a little. 

Becky Caldwell of The Gritty Bird
I love her eclectic jewelry designs. And the sound of her life:
"My days are generally spent running the house, home-schooling and working on my art. My work includes mixed-media paintings and jewelry. I truly love making things and honestly I get a bit down if a day goes by that I don't get to. Creating has now become my therapy, my release. There is nothing more wonderful and freeing then watching your art slowly come together and then joy of seeing the finished results." Becky Caldwell
A kindred soul!

* note I have changed this column to Art Finds Friday rather than just five things, that way I can focus on arty things - art in the larger sense of the word: 2D and 3D art, photography, mixed media, poetry, links to artist's sites, supplies, ideas relating to and so on. 

See you next week,

Workshop Wednesday

I am still only learning how to do video. It made sense to start at the very beginning and do a quick video for you on how I make painted and stamped background papers. Back in March I did a photo tutorial on the same subject, so while this is pretty much the same information it is fun to see it in video form. I would like to get quicker at making these. The whole process was 4 hours from making the video to editing it, not including stoppage time to take care of the kids!

I use my painted backgrounds for so many things. It is a good prep step for mixed media work.


Making painted and stamped background papers from Shona Cole on Vimeo.

Note on the video: In case it is not clear I worked on 2 sheets at the same time and show me painting both of them. The colors I used were: Purple Cow by Americana, Metallic Gold by Ceramcoat (I refer to it as bronze in the video at one point!) and Baby Pink by Anita's - all cheap craft paints from my local craft store, Hobby Lobby.

I hope you enjoyed that! Let me know what you thought - is the video too long? hard to see/grainy? Did I leave out any details? I plan to do some more videos, so any feedback would be helpful.

I did another tutorial video over on CRESCENDOh, this one is about 2 minutes long and is on 'making rubber stamps your own'. 


It isn't apparent, but I did that whole video with my 11 month old on my back, thanks to my Ergo. He was lulled to sleep by my movement and talking!

Mother Muses Monday - starts today!

So today I begin my musings about motherhood. I have brainstormed lots of topics that hopefully are interesting to you - from abstract parental vision to concrete issue involving schooling and behavior, to making time for art while raising kids.

To kick off my Mother Muses column I wanted to share a little about my parenting philosophy. It is not very concrete but that way you can see where I am coming from.

3 of my 5 kids

You know, I can't really talk of my parenting without including my husband, Mark. He and I are a team...... Well we see our kids as individuals. Due respect and assistance. We see that they need to learn to navigate this world ‘cause one day they will be fully functioning members of society.  And that it is our job to get them there, as parents, teachers, guides and later friends.

We believe it is our job to discern what it is they need to learn about and are exposed to as they grow. We see it as our special privilege to do this, something that takes time and effort, but that is worth every morsel. Our parenting comes before everything else we do with our time ~ art and jobs included. So we constantly seek out ways to help develop their character and educate their minds.

But also we see that they are not ours to boss around and make them into people they were not designed to be. Neither do we see them as appendages meant to make us look good. So we tread carefully as we parent. God has a plan for each of our kids and we will do everything in our power to not mess that up, but to help bring that plan to fruition!

In our search for the right parenting path we look for wisdom in the Bible, through talking with friends and through our constant analysis of our kid’s personalities and actions, gifts and interests. Really, Mark and I go on weekly dates and spend a whole lot of time talking about the kids!

We really do enjoy our kids. They are all so different, so interesting to us, so beautiful, so awesome. We feel deeply lucky, blessed and all other good things to have each of our five children. We know them, we have fun with them. We strive to show them the best things in the world - art, culture, academics, books, media, friends, church, travel, family, Biblical truth.  We strive to make them feel loved, secure, free and utterly accepted.

Bottom line is that we try to actively love our kids, each independently, but also as part of the Cole family. Everything we do is steeped in love, love, love. Love covering our scheduling decisions, our tone of voice, our soothing when we get tired or mad. Love covering our plans, our fun activities, our discipline of poor behaviors and habits. Love in our prayers for them.

Yes, prayers. I pray for my kids daily. I thank God for their lives, I pray for their health and safety (body, mind and spirit) and that they will be sheltered from my bad qualities and that I will be a good Mommy.

So that is the outline, the heavy stuff. Next week I hope to be a little more light hearted. But then again, I am not a particularly light hearted person, especially when it comes to my kids! So we’ll see!

If you have any questions or comments on what I say here, please leave them. I may not be able to respond to every comment, but I read them and if you ask a question I will get back to you. I also would love to hear from you. I would love to know your parenting philosophy. Perhaps consider sharing it on your blog too? Let me know.

(Oh, I am so excited I have a 5 minute video lined up for you on Workshop Wednesday!)

New blog schedule

One of the major things I heard from my blog survey was that it is best to have a regular blog schedule, and that every other day is optimal. Before the summer I used to do Tue, Thur and Sat, but I think for a change I am going to do Mon, Wed, Fri.

The second thing was I discovered most folks come here for 3 main reasons: mixed media tutorials, the topic of motherhood and photography. So I am going to continue to focus on those topics. I have 'named' my themes.... to rhyme with the day. Yes, I know many do it and it is kind of cutesy (which I really am not), but honestly I think it is going to help me keep focused and allow you, my readers to know what to expect here.  

So here they are:

Mother Muses Monday

- topics: thoughts about being a mom in general, motherhood poetry, life as a mom, how awesome my kids are :), how to survive motherhood, the joys of being a mom, homeschooling, time management, links to good resources, etc

Wednesday Workshop 

- Workshop topics: demos of mixed media/collage projects and supplies, re/upcycling projects, possibly some kids crafts. I would love to have some guest posts here too - all focused on the 'how to', those beloved tutorials.

or Wordless Wednesday (Alternative weeks)

- Wordless topics: I know many folks already are doing this, so it needs little introduction - basically whatever photo feels right for the day. Workshops and tutorials take a while to prepare so this will give me time to do it without burning out and anyhow I have a plethora of photos to share!

Art Finds Friday

- topics: 5 independent things all related to art (art in the broadest sense - mixed media, photography, poetry, music and so on) – inspiring blog links, intro to cool supplies, an art challenge for the weekend, art giveaway, random thoughts about being an artist, music links - basically whatever I feel like talking about with the only restriction that I only include one topic per point. So no rambling thoughts or paragraphs.

So I hope this will help you to come visit me when a topic that interests you is posted! The schedule will begin Monday October 4. So join me please.

Thank you again for helping me with the survey. It has been invaluable. 

Creative friends

You may notice that I have changed my blog from 'An Artful Life' to 'The Artistic Life'. I have been meaning to do this for a while but just haven't had the time. Then, yesterday Shannon Mucha, Becky McBee  and myself did a phootshoot together & when I processed the photo of the tag with the buttons I loved it and knew it was perfect. So there you go! 


I talk about Shannon a whole lot on this blog. That is cause we do so much together. I can't tell you how much she inspires me to work (and do school, be a good Mom and wife and so on)! I would be half the 'artistic' person I am without her. We are just meant to be friends.


How we became friends is kind of a cool story. It was 10 years ago and had just had a baby and was in that new Mom process of re-examining my life, who I am, what kind of mom I want to be, who I want to be friends with, you know?  I was sitting outside our old church nursing Matthew and I saw this lovely artsy looking woman with a baby in her arms walking past. I said to myself 'I should be friends with her'. Little did I know I really should and would be!


A few weeks later she and her husband visited our Bible study class and I made a bee line for her. I found out she made handmade cards, which I also did at the time. I was so delighted! But almost immediately I heard they moved north of Houston and would not be coming back to our church. So we didn't become friends at that time. She was just someone I briefly met.


Fast forward 6 years, we had moved out north to Magnolia and were settled in a new church and then one day Shannon was there! I remembered her and made a second bee line. And we have been friends every since. 

Yesterday Shannon and another friend were over.  Becky McBee, she has no website, but is another artistic soul. I couldn't have been happier to have my 2 friends here together! So, the 3 of us worked on this photoshoot, arranging things to make 'frames' for poetic words, inspired by this book called Etcetera, while our kids (all about the same ages) played freeze tag, hide and seek and danced to pop music.


My perfect day.


Isn't it so great when you have friends that make the possibilities seem endless? Where the conversation never runs out and time is never enough to do all you want to do? Creative community. I like to think I am building that here, online too. I get inspired by the lovely souls who leave me a comment -  it makes me want to do more, to keep on going even when I am tired from the day with the kids. I get inspired by visiting your blogs and seeing what you are doing, what projects you are working on. Creative friends, you can never have enough of them! Agree?


And on that note, thank you so much for all the help on my blog via that survey. I am processing all the data and comments this week, but really it has been very, very helpful! Thank you.

Your opinion please

I am in the process of reviewing my blog content. I really would like to hear your opinion. The survey is anonymous, so feel free to let loose! It should be appearing as a pop up, if that gets annoying then I will embed it in a blog post (if I can work out how to do that!!!). You may need to enable pop ups in order to be directed to the survey. Once you have completed the survey the pop up will no longer appear. 

I appreciate your time, so I have made it as short as I could, but still valuable to me. It should take less that 2 minutes to complete, if even that much!

This is my first survey, so I may be tweaking it a little over the next few days.

Thanks

For any (wannabe) dog lovers

I had the opportunity to do a guest post on the fab Chrysti Hydeck's blog today. It is for any folks who need to be reminded, despite the busyness of motherhood to remember to love our pets! I so need to remember this one. Oh my!

I hope you go an visit me over there.

Thanks

Inspiration boards

I so enjoyed reading the comments about how you are mixing your media here. I am glad that we are all in this mixed media world together.

Thank you for weighing in and for entering my journal giveaway. There is a winner - it is Peggy of Pig Logs and 'tater berries'. Let's talk via e-mail and when I have your address I will mail you your little notebook.

*************


I have only a small window a day to myself to think and create. This month I added something else into that time slot. It is an online class all about blogging. I signed up for it on a whim, hoping to gain a little perspective to help me plan my blog, but it has turned out to be so much more. It is 'Blogging Your Way' hosted by Holly of Decor8 and co-taught by Leslie of A Creative Mint. It is an amazingly professional course with many articles and podcasts and homework that makes you think and do some real soul searching.  It is leading to me thing about so much more than blogging. Good stuff.

And well attended. There is probably over 500 folks in the class and it seems that many folks are doing the homework and posting it to the forums. Reading about other's blogs and blog ideas has also been food for thought. 

On Friday's Leslie showed us all about styling photographs and making inspiration boards. I showed the post to Lily, so as you can imagine she wanted to do one too. So she did:

Inspiration Board by Lily, age 8

I love having artistic children!!! (see those little stamps mid left? they are some stamps I have been carving from photos this week for a Stampington project).

Another aspect of the class was to make an inspiration board specifically for my blog. I can't believe I have not done this before. It is not like I have not read about it, but taking this class gave me the opportunity to do it. Here is mine:

Blogging inspiration board

When 'Blogging Your Way' course comes around again I highly recommend it.

I started to talk about this by way of telling you that I am using up my time on something other than, albeit related to, blogging. I have some major deadlines coming up too, so I will not be blogging for a while. I will be back, fresh and with a new lease on blog life soon.

Take care,

Shona

On Turning Ten (Billy Collins)

Matthew, you made me a mother. You set my feet on this wonderful path 10 years ago. I am in awe at what a fine young man you are becoming. You are loyal, kind, loving to your sisters and little brother, passionate about your world and your friends. You have been gifted with a brilliant mind, and you know "From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked." Luke 12:48

Today, we won't do school. We will eat out where you desire. We will give gifts in your honor and sing to you. And we will read this poem, On Turning Ten by Billy Collins and after all these year of reading it, it is finally yours! Double digits!

On Turning Ten
by Billy Collins

The whole idea of it makes me feel
like I'm coming down with something,
something worse than any stomach ache
or the headaches I get from reading in bad light--
a kind of measles of the spirit,
a mumps of the psyche,
a disfiguring chicken pox of the soul.

You tell me it is too early to be looking back,
but that is because you have forgotten
the perfect simplicity of being one
and the beautiful complexity introduced by two.
But I can lie on my bed and remember every digit.
At four I was an Arabian wizard.
I could make myself invisible
by drinking a glass of milk a certain way.
At seven I was a soldier, at nine a prince.

But now I am mostly at the window
watching the late afternoon light.
Back then it never fell so solemnly
against the side of my tree house,
and my bicycle never leaned against the garage
as it does today,
all the dark blue speed drained out of it.

This is the beginning of sadness, I say to myself,
as I walk through the universe in my sneakers.
It is time to say good-bye to my imaginary friends,
time to turn the first big number.

It seems only yesterday I used to believe
there was nothing under my skin but light.
If you cut me I could shine.
But now when I fall upon the sidewalks of life,
I skin my knees. I bleed.