Creative Every Day

Creative Every Day: May 19th - May 25th, 2008

CED2008 participants! Feel free to leave a comment here with a link to post(s) about your creative activities during the week of 5/19/08 -5/25/08.

Happy creating!

CED2008 participants! Feel free to leave a comment here with a link to post(s) about your creative activities during the week of 5/19/08 -5/25/08.

Happy creating!

CED2008 participants! Feel free to leave a comment here with a link to post(s) about your creative activities during the week of 5/19/08 -5/25/08.

Happy creating!

CED2008 participants! Feel free to leave a comment here with a link to post(s) about your creative activities during the week of 5/19/08 -5/25/08.

Happy creating!

Weekend Show and Tell

My computer has been one hassle after another lately. This weekend the power cable started to melt. Glad I noticed it before it started a fire or something. I looked it up online and apparently it's been a big problem with the magsafe power adapter on Macbooks (even on the Apple website, it's rated just 1.5 stars out of 5.) But seriously, within a few months my keypad stopped working, my hard drive completely died and now the cable is fried. From what I've read you can go to any Apple Store with your wrecked cable and they'll give you a new one and I have the Apple Care extended warranty, so I'll be all set, but I'm not pleased. I think this is the first Mac product that I've had any complaint with though. I still have an older iMac, the hubster uses a Mac at home and work, I've owned an ibook before with no trouble, and we have a variety of ipods. I've always been a Mac fan, but this Macbook is starting to annoy me. Hopefully this will be the last of its troubles for the near future.

The upside of a computer problems is that I'm on the computer less and yesterday I really had no time to be on the computer, except to check my email in the evening, because I took an all day workshop in encaustic painting (so fun!) with Tracy Spadafora. Tracy was a fabulous teacher and I learned a lot. I have done some encaustic work before as I had a brief introduction in a mixed-media workshop last year and I've read Joanne Mattera's excellent book, The Art of Encaustic Painting. But the intro I had wasn't all that in-depth and I couldn't figure out some of the techniques from just reading about them. I needed to see it and then try it myself. I was especially excited to learn how to incise into the wax because I especially love to draw and this is a great way to work with the medium. I started with a purely experimental 8"x10" clayboard (above) and tried some of the layering techniques, some incising and some painting with color. I love the depth created by layers of wax! Then I started a smaller 6"x6" piece (below) that's not quite done (ran out of time), but I like a lot so far. I used a heat gun to fuse one of the layers and it created this cool separation between the medium and color which I liked. When I looked at it after it had cooled I thought it looked like a brain. The silhouette isn't very clear from a distance, so I'll be filling that in with oil or wax another time.

At the end of the day, I had a massive migraine developing, so driving home was not fun and I had to go immediately into a dark room and sleep it off. There was fresh air blowing through the studio and exhaust fans, so I don't know if it had anything to do with the fumes or if it was just a migraine (which I get from time to time.) Hard to say. I'll have to keep an eye on that when I work with encaustic again. Luckily, I found the cure for migraines.

Today the hubster and I had a wonderful hike through the woods on a new-to-us nature trail. It was beautiful out and loads of people had their super happy dogs with them. When I got home I felt so beat! Thought about napping, but that isn't going to happen, so instead rested a bit and then tried making a repeating pattern using instructions from Julia Rothman on Design*Sponge. Very cool. Hope you're having a fabulous weekend, full of creative goodness!

New Cure for Migraines

A new cure for migraines: Whale socks! (plus excedrin and a dark room, your results may vary.)

Rare Bird Finds!

Check it out! Today, I'm the guest editor of a special Etsy-themed Fab 5 Friday at Rare Bird Finds! I got to highlight five products on Etsy that I think are cool. It was super hard to pick just five.

I've loved checking out the selections at Rare Bird Finds, so it's especially fun to get to participate. Go see the fabulous etsy items I picked out and while you're over at etsy, check out the selection of prints I've got for sale here.

The De-Cluttering Continues

Seems like most of my creative energy has been domestic this week. That's o.k., sometimes you've gotta follow your bliss and this week I've been feeling like a blissful nest maker! Tonight, the hubster and I collaborated on a perfectly light springtime dinner. He prepared sesame crusted swordfish on the grill and fulfilled my request for tomato, basil, and mozzarella, which he arranged beautifully.  The hubster had requested brussel sprouts, so I found a recipe online and again tweaked it slightly (I didn't add any cheese at the end.) The weather was nice enough to eat out on the porch again and everything was SO good!!

A quirky older gentleman came by to purchase my old stereo. Turns out he needed something to play music at his family's summer cottage. Oh, and I forgot to mention another bit of clutter released. I received a gift last year that I simply didn't care for. There was no receipt to exchange it for something else and I couldn't imagine ever using it. However, it was from a family member and the idea of getting rid of it made me feel guilty. So, it moved around the apartment from one corner to another, eventually ending up in a dark cabinet where I didn't have to look at it. Well, in my clutter release, I decided to let it go. I couldn't imagine anyone else wanting it, so I put it next to the kitchen trash to take out the next time I went out. Well, I had someone over the other day who asked, "Are you throwing that out?" I told her yes and explained that I didn't like it. And then she asked if she could have it. Even better! I was quite happy that someone else wanted it. In a bit of synchronicity and as Caroline mentioned in the comments of my last post, this is just the sort of thing that Carla is recommending in her Weekly Wings Challenge.

I'm on a de-cluttering roll! Out of the way clutter! You're no match for me!

Creative Decorating & De-Cluttering

The hubster and I are in re-decorating mode. We've been selling, clearing and generally getting rid of things that were cluttering up our apartment while also purchasing some new items and doing some inexpensive re-decorating to make our current abode a more enjoyable place to live. Being in home limbo has made us uninterested in fixing up a place that we don't own, but we do have a great space and it's always more inspiring to be living in a well cared for environment. Plus, I feel my energy boosted up by the opportunity to do some creative decorating!

Last night we had someone pick up the elliptical machine that was taking up so much space in our apartment, was a major eyesore, and neither of us enjoyed using. It would have been a major pain in the bum to move and we got someone to come and take it apart, move it out, and paid us for it. Woohoo! That was the biggest thing to leave. We also got rid of the moldy couch on our porch/balcony and replaced it with some inexpensive patio furniture from Tar-jay. We ate outside last night and it was so nice! I posted an old t.v. table that we'd been using to hold an old stereo system on craigslist. We gave it away for free, but it was so heavy (and ugly), that we were both ecstatic to have someone else (who actually wanted it) come pick it up! Tonight someone is coming to pick up our older stereo. I was holding onto this one because it was a gift from my dad and I've always had trouble with getting rid of gifts (even if they are really old and/or I never use them.) Andrew suggested my super thrifty dad would appreciate the fact that I got some money for it (which is definitely true.) I was also encouraged by earlier posts from Christine Kane about releasing your clutter. We'll soon be releasing some more old items from our space and creating a more open and inviting space to live in. I'm excited about it.

One of the things we've done to spruce up the place is to get a couch cover for our slightly torn up couch. What a huge difference that made!! I have a strong dislike for the throw pillows we have and I'd like to find some new ones, get pillow covers to put over them or if I'm feeling extremely ambitious (since I know close to nothing about sewing) sew some pillow covers. Any suggestions? The couch cover is brown, the rug is deep red and the walls are off-white with dark wood furniture. In the next couple months, I've also got a strong desire to paint our kitchen. It really needs a painting. If it were ours, I'd say it needs to be gutted and re-done completely. But a paint job would make a big difference.

Need some more creative inspiration?

• Fellow Creative Every Day 2008 participant, Karen has a fantastic d.i.y. post about how to frame your artwork with lots of great pictures!
• Bread & Honey, a blog by two friends who love food, is chock full of pictures and recipes. Beware, the pictures will make your mouth water. Do not do what I just did and look at it when you're hungry!
• Are you a book under-liner and quote keeper? If so, you might like the look of this Woodland Reader Kit, found on Cut Out + Keep. I also like the story she shared about the initiative in Tel Aviv to give every baby born there a poetry book. The maker of this kit also sells them on etsy here.
• Speaking of Etsy, I'm participating in a fun etsy related project tomorrow, so do stay tuned!
• And if you'd like to see the prints I have available at etsy, here's the link.

Creative Life Lived

Robert Rauschenberg, Rebus, 1955

Part of what inspired me to study art history in art school was learning about the art of Rauschenberg, who died this week at the age of 82. There's an excellent article about his life in the New York Times. From that article:

"Screwing things up is a virtue,” he said when he was 74. “Being correct is never the point. I have an almost fanatically correct assistant, and by the time she re-spells my words and corrects my punctuation, I can’t read what I wrote. Being right can stop all the momentum of a very interesting idea."

The way he combined imagery, color, texture and objects spoke to me in a way that I can't quite put in words. He led and amazing life, full of inventiveness and pushing the boundaries. Definitely a great role model for living a life bursting with creativity!

Cooking Creative

Mind as Ocean

I'm not the best cook on the planet, but I can follow a recipe. With the encouragement of the hubster's very experimental take on cooking, I have been taking recipes I find online and tweaking them slightly to make them work for me. I may eliminate ingredients I don't care for and substitute items depending on what I have in the pantry. Creating a meal together that was put together with a touch of love and creativity can be so satisfying!

Tonight I made artichokes (steamed, like Jim shared on his blog), skillet mashed potatoes (a new fave), and my creatively tweaked recipe for baked flounder. Here's what I did in case you're curious. It was super tasty. Of course, feel free to use your creativity and adjust the recipe all you like!

Leah's Sweet & Crunchy Flounder for Two

Ingredients needed: 2 flounder fillets, 1 egg white, 3 teaspoons orange juice, 1 cup of cereal (I used honey bunches of oats) smashed up in a food processor (or by hand), and one tbsp of butter, melted.

• Preheat oven to 500 degrees
• blend together egg white and o.j.
• Pat dry fillets
• Dip fillets, one at a time, in egg mixture then cereal.
• Place fillets in 13"x9"x2" pan
• Drizzle butter over fish
• Bake for 8 - 10 minutes

What a yummy dinner it was. After dinner we borrowed our neighbor's dog and took him for a walk. All in all, a lovely evening.

Creative Every Day: May 12th - May 18th, 2008

CED2008 participants! Feel free to leave a comment here with a link to post(s) about your creative activities during the week of 5/12/08 -5/18/08.

Happy creating!

CED2008 participants! Feel free to leave a comment here with a link to post(s) about your creative activities during the week of 5/12/08 -5/18/08.

Happy creating!

CED2008 participants! Feel free to leave a comment here with a link to post(s) about your creative activities during the week of 5/12/08 -5/18/08.

Happy creating!

CED2008 participants! Feel free to leave a comment here with a link to post(s) about your creative activities during the week of 5/12/08 -5/18/08.

Happy creating!

Happy Mother's Day

Quick note to say, Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there! I'm heading out to see my mom shortly. Yesterday was busy and productive. I hope your weekend has been a fun and creative one!

Courage to Walk the Line

I've seen this traveling around the blog world, but didn't stop to watch it til yesterday on Rebecca's blog. It inspired me so much that I had to share. Gotta love that she just kept going even when she "failed."

Killing Yourself Over and Over Again

Drawn with markers in my journal last night. this is actually the back of the page I drew. I like the way the bleeding markers look on the reverse side.

I'm listening to Martha Beck's Steering By Starlight on my ipod (thank you to Christine Kane for the recommendation.) It's really great and has me thinking, laughing, processing, and pondering some more.

In one part, Beck tells the story of a client who is so depressed and fed up with his life that he's contemplating suicide. Her response is, "You'll definitely have to commit suicide to be free...In fact, ideally, you'll do it all the time. Not physically. Mentally." She goes on to explain how a person can live a vital life by regularly killing (in a sort of suicide) their conceptualized self. In other words, by regularly freeing yourself of the stories you cling to, you can free yourself from those self-imposed limitations.

I was particularly struck by this part of the book. Possibly because I've had my own brush with suicide. But also because this kind of death (of old beliefs) is one that keeps coming up for me over the last couple years.

There have been two memorable times in my life where I had a temporary, but freeing experience with the death of my stories. The first was when my step-brother died. He was only 23 years old and his death was sudden and unexpected. The night before he'd been at my sister's softball game. He went out for pizza with his friends before retiring back to the apartment he shared with a close pal. During the night he died of a brain aneurysm.

There had been a couple other deaths in my family that same year, one was expected and the other wasn't, but there's something particularly shocking about the death of someone so young and seemingly full of life. After the funeral, I remember everything seeming so surreal, more vivid and clear. Within a few weeks, I had ended a five year long relationship (that I had been agonizing over whether or not to end for the last year) and I quit the job that was making me miserable. Getting this stark reminder of how fragile and fleeting life is was like a bucket of cold water being splashed in my face. It woke me up. I recognized that I had the choice to live a life that made me happy or stick with whatever was bringing me down because I felt there was no way out.

The second time I experienced an inner death/rebirth was when I hit my lowest point with depression and was contemplating suicide. It had been crossing my mind for awhile, but when I actually made the decision, something shifted within me and again, everything became surreal and especially vivid. I saw my then therapist who directed me to the hospital where I checked myself in. And from there, I was able to reevaluate my life in a more objective way. I was able to ask for help, admit I was struggling, and get myself out of situations that seemed impossible to get out of, even though they really weren't. In my head, my stories about disappointing others, failing, etc, were just that - stories. And when it came down to it, the stories didn't mean much. This time around, I put in my notice at another job that seemed prestigious to me and related to my degree, but was no longer serving me, and I found a job that paid twice as much, was much less stressful, and allowed me time to heal and do what I love (make art). I also left the apartment that was too expensive, but I thought I couldn't break the lease (I found a subletter), consolidated my debts so I could afford the monthly payments, and moved to another apartment (which led me to meet the hubster.) And I also got some help from friends and family and re-connected with people I love.

Both of these turning point moments were brought about by extremes. Sometimes you can get to a shift like this without the low point. I remember at one point in my twenties imagining if I had a year to live what I would want to do. And then I did those things (spent more time with family, took a trip to the Caribbean, ran a marathon.) But lately it feels harder to get myself to that place of letting go of the story so I can get on with living. I try and do it in the small ways...I get present when spending time with my cats, really feeling their fur, noticing their movements, fully loving their every breath. Or on a walk when my mind goes still and the grandness of a tree puts me in a state of awe. Or when I'm dancing across the kitchen floor for no other reason than pure joy.

I suppose it doesn't all have to be about extremes, moving, leaving, huge life changes. But I also sense that there's something, some story holding me back right now and I'd like to put that fairy tale to bed. So, how do you get to the stories and let them go without the death and drama?

In my efforts to let go of defining beliefs, I look for inspiration in the writing of people like Patti Digh, whose blog is about just this sort of thing...in her case it's about living as if you had 37 days left. I find glimpses in the writing of Eckhart Tolle. And I write and I paint and I talk with loved ones, which often gets me closer. How do you get in touch with that part of you that grasps at your stories? And how do you lovingly help it release its grip?

Penelope in Progress and Crafty Goodness

Today I felt really good. I got some exercise in, got some random tasks accomplished, did a little painting, and a little soul searching. The weather was fabulous too! This is a painting I'm working on. I think it's 20"x20". I started out by doing a couple magazine transfers with Golden's soft gel gloss. The transfers never come out perfect, but I kinda like that. I've never put a face image on a painting like this, but I liked the length in her neck, so I'm going to paint over the image to some degree to keep the shape, but make it my own. I've been experimenting with mixing paint with the gloss medium as well which has been fun. It makes the drying time longer, which is sometimes frustrating for me because I like to work fast. But I also like the glazes and thickness you can get.

With the bigger canvases, it takes me longer to finish a piece (duh!) :-), so I figured you might like to see a work in progress. The colors made me think of summer and Greece  and as the piece developed, the woman became Penelope, the title became, "Penelope's Web." Now, things could change. The direction of a painting often changes mid-stream. I like to give it the opportunity to do that. But usually when the name of a piece pops into my head that's what it will be. We'll see.

I'm spending the next two nights at my old job to make a little extra money. I was a nanny for this family for 6 years and the younger child is graduating from high school next month. Crazy! When I first met her she was only ten. Eek! Anyways, it's great to see her, much more fun when I don't have to be here every day, and my main job is simply to be here as an adult presence. That's easy enough.

Yesterday, wrapping up the baby gift, I did a little crafty recycling project to get it ready to go. I used an old paper grocery bag and cut it up to make one big flat piece of craft paper. On the non printed side I used two different sizes of swirl stamps to decorate it. Then I wrapped up the gift in the printed paper, taped it up with some purty printed packing tape, and bingo-bango, a fun package ready to go to Colorado.

It reminded me of covering my school books with paper bags in high school. Man, I used to doodle all over those things! I read somewhere that some people don't buy wrapping paper, but just use craft paper that they decorate themselves. If you've got paper bags at home that just might be the way to go. I'm sure you could make something far prettier than what I created above. Hehe. Check out how great blueprint pages can look as wrapping paper!!

Time to wind down for sleeping. Night, night.

Spring Beauty

On a walk yesterday, I was so awed by the spring beauty that I had to pull out my cell phone and snap a couple shots. All my favorite flowering trees are in bloom. Dreamy purple lilacs with their intoxicating scent and my personal favorite, magnolia trees. My walk yesterday was such a joy. I put an audio book on my nano to bribe myself into a long walk and oh it was such a joyful time. Why do I resist that which makes me feel so good?

Today, I want to let go of that resisting and revel in the beauty and bliss that is everywhere.

Beep! Beep! Back Up!

This is a quick reminder to back up your files! My hard drive recently crashed. Boo! But fortunately I had everything important backed up. Yay! Thank goodness! I didn't have it done in a time capsule sort of way, so I've been uploading all sorts of stuff onto my clean slate of a laptop over the last two days. Not so much fun. But I did enjoy looking through old pictures as they got copied into my iphoto library. I need to re-install photoshop and dreamweaver, so no new photos today (instead, here's an old pic of y adorable snuggle cats, Emma and Sadie.) Hopefully, that'll be done soon.

I'm also so glad that I got Apple Care, as I've had to use my warranty twice this year. Along with my brand new hard drive came an updated system, which I wasn't expecting. There are some nifty new features on 10.5, although the hubster says that some of his software doesn't work with it, so far it's been good for me.

Tonight, dinner is on the grill...marinated chicken and fresh vedgies. Yum. And my icky migraine is just starting to move on. Another hooray!

Here's some inspiration to share:

• Over at Creative Construction there's a new weekly creativity contest. Each week a new prompt will be given and it can be interpreted however you like! And especially exciting for a bookworm like me, there's a weekly prize of a ten dollar Amazon gift card! Sweet! The first prompt is "View from the window" and entries are due tomorrow by midnight. I know that's coming up quick, so if you don't get something in this week, definitely try it out next go around!
• A new Creative Every Day Challenge member, Noel of Henna Rose, has some pictures of her gorgeous henna work. I so want to have this done! There was supposed to be a henna person at my bachelorette party, but she had to cancel. So one of these days, I'm going to have to go get it done. I think some lovely summer day might be nice.
• The talented Tammy Vitale won first place for her torso, "Cybele" at the Calvert Artists' Guild's May 08 Awards Show at AnnMarie Garden.
• I think everyone has heard of Twitter by now. Well, I decided to try it out and it is kind of fun! (Does this make me a twit?...Don't answer that. heh.) If you want to follow me, my name there is leahart. Now that I've tested it out a bit, I think I'll be adding my twitters to the blog. I'm working on an updated blog design, so I may wait til that's done. Speaking of a new design, if anything is confusing or weird or missing here on the blog, give me your feedback, so I can incorporate it into the updated version.

Creative Every Day: May 5th - May 11th, 2008

CED2008 participants! Feel free to leave a comment here with a link to post(s) about your creative activities during the week of 5/5/08 -5/11/08.

Happy creating!

CED2008 participants! Feel free to leave a comment here with a link to post(s) about your creative activities during the week of 5/5/08 -5/11/08.

Happy creating!

CED2008 participants! Feel free to leave a comment here with a link to post(s) about your creative activities during the week of 5/5/08 -5/11/08.

Happy creating!

CED2008 participants! Feel free to leave a comment here with a link to post(s) about your creative activities during the week of 5/5/08 -5/11/08.

Happy creating!

A Lovely Day to Share Some Inspiration

Last night, I started working on a new painting. It's got some very soft and summery colors going on, reminds me of a bleached out Grecian scene, which I'm enjoying thoroughly. Paint is yummy.

I've been noting some lovely stuff going on amongst the Creative Every Day Challenge folks and thought I'd pass some of it along. Sometimes there's almost too much inspiration out there! On occasion, I need to pull myself away just so that I don't spend all day looking at inspiration and not do anything with it! Well, some days it's good to be a sponge. Sometimes you do need to soak things in, fill the well. And then some days are action days, where you need to wring yourself out and see what all the various experiences, conversations, books, quotes, blog posts, art, design, nature, food, dreams and synchronicities will become when you stir them all together and create. So, are you ready to soak up some inspiration? Good, let's go.

- Jim (a new CED member) has a delicious recipe for steamed artichokes that I'm going to make this week. Artichokes are so beautiful aren't they? Jim has also joined in the May sketchbook challenge. They have a blog for it here and the pages look awesome!

-Hanna of iHanna's Creative Space moderates this awesome flickr group all about art studios! How fun is it to peek into other people's spaces?! I have a wild fascination with seeing the interiors of other people's homes. I love looking at real estate sites to look at potential future houses, but I also just love looking at how people decorate.

-Wendy has posted a video tutorial on making your own stamps.

-Have you heard about the 100 mile diet?  Magical Muse is participating in a 100 feet diet challenge! She wrote about some of the things she's making at home (sounds yummy!) There's so much creative thinking going on with challenges like this. Very cool.

- Waltraud has made the loveliest little ipod bag for her daughter. I love the colors and fabric!

For me, this morning's creativity was expressed in a pancake sampler made with the hubster. We made plain, banana, and blueberry varieties. And oh, they were delicious. :-) Hope your weekend is a wonderfully creative one!

Lady of the Lake

So this is the painting I've been working on the last couple days. I believe it's done although I still need to paint the sides. I'm so happy with it though! It came straight from my intuition as I collaged, did transfers and painted. One thing led to another. The face came in because an image of birds I had transferred onto the canvas (using soft gel gloss medium) was in the shape of a face. I loved the idea of a face  made up of birds, so I went with that. As the painting progressed, I noticed that a bit of gel had taken the shape of a feather on the woman's arm, so I drew that in.

I love how her face was just there, wanting to be pulled out. I drew in two other birds at the end that matched the type of birds in her face. And from the beginning, I've been calling her "Lady of the Lake," so that will be her name. She's 18"x18" on gallery wrapped canvas with acrylic and collaged papers (that mostly got covered up.) As for what it means and where it was coming from, I'm not sure yet. These things bubble up from my subconscious. I do know that birds are messengers for me. But I like to also leave things open for others to interpret and find their own meaning there.

It was nice to work a little bigger again. It's been a while it seems. I've felt somewhat limited by my space, but since I've moved some things out and re-organized a bit, things have felt more conducive to working a little larger. Plus, I got a whole pile of canvases real cheap from an artist who was moving to France and unloading their studio. I really wanted the ikea flat file unit, but the canvases were a fantastic bonus and now I'm very glad to have them.

It got so chilly here this week! After a week of summer-like weather, it's a bit of a shock even though we knew that those warm temps couldn't last. Time for some tea with honey, me thinks.

p.s. Have you seen Christine Mason Miller's new book, Ordinary Sparkling Moments? You can get a sneak peek here (go to the book link at the top of the page) and pre-order it on her website. From what I've seen, it looks simply gorgeous. There are only going to be 200 copies made, so you might just want to reserve your copy straight away. Her book will be debuted at Squam Arts Workshops (which I'm so bummed I can't be at...stupid weddings!)

p.p.s. (or is it p.s.s?, I can't remember.) Thanks so much for the well wishes. I'm feeling much better today. Much less clogged and no dizziness to speak of. Hopefully it was a one time thing.

Harumph!

This is Scragli (Scrag-lee with the accent on the lee), who the hubster and I named on our trip to Greece a few years ago. This picture cracked us up so much, that he's forever honored in a black and white pic on our living room wall. Scragli was an incredibly picky cat who had no interest in the cat food that we brought to the kitties living around the hubster's family's home. He would only eat people food that the hubster's uncle would serve to him (can't say that I blame him there.) He had the funniest meow. You can probably imagine what it sounded like just from looking at him...much like a cranky old man would sound like if he was a cat.

I was definitely feeling a bit like Scragli this morning. I felt dizzy again last night (nowhere near as sick as before, but still yucky) and then my laptop died on me. I have to take it in again (the second time in the last couple months) to get fixed and I'm afraid this time I'll have to start over. Fortunately, I've backed up most of my files except for the most recent stuff in the last week. But geez louise, how annoying!

The hubster started something with our cat Sasha who loves to complain. She has the whiniest meow you'll ever hear. He started telling her that when she meowed he was going to roll her over. So when she howled in complaint, he would softly push her onto her back and rub her belly. It was pretty funny. Earlier in the week, the hubster was feeling very cranky over some meetings he had to go to and I suggested that he needed to get rolled over. Hehe. Well, this morning, I could have used some rolling over.

The crankiness is passing and I'm working on a pretty painting that I'm enjoying thoroughly. Lots of layers, transfers and glossy glazes. I completely let this one come from my intuition which can be scary to do on a larger canvas (it's 18"x18"), but it's coming along nicely so far. I'll share some pics soon along with some doodles from my sketchbook.

And now I'm off to pick up my art from the coffeehouse show and then take my computer to the doctor. Things are looking up. Sadie just brought me her Space Ghost toy in her mouth and the sun is out. Looking forward to a sunny drive. I've got paint and glue on my hands. Life is good.

Things That Make You Go Hmm...

I have no clue what my cat, Tabbers is doing here, but he stayed like this for quite a while. Perhaps he thinks no one can see him since he can't see anyone with his head tucked under the shower curtain. Well, if that's the case, then I suppose I should tell him that his big orange butt and gi-normous fuzzy tail gave him away. Every so often he'd peek his head out to see if anything interesting was going on and then he'd go back to his hide-a-way.

I've felt a bit like Tabbers, wanting to pull the covers over my head, the last couple days. Especially with that weird vertigo attack, which totally threw me for a loop. I had my doctor's appointment and unfortunately, it didn't help explain what happened. I had some wax in my ears, which they kindly cleared out and then my doctor did all sorts of tests with reflexes and walking toe to heel and holding my hands out with my eyes shut, I suppose to test for neurological problems or balance issues or drunken driving or something. But besides having clogged ears, I felt fine today, so there wasn't much to test. And, once my ears were cleared of waxy build-up (yum), my doctor said both ears looked totally fine and uninfected. Good news for my ears, but unsatisfying to me as I'd really love to know why I got so ill out of the blue on Monday evening and I'd love to prevent it from happening again. From a couple comments on the last post, it seems that attacks of vertigo can happen to people without explanation. Yuck. I'd like to never experience that again, thank you very much! What if I'd been driving? Or even out somewhere? I was completely and totally disabled by the dizziness and nausea (and vomiting) for a couple hours that night. Also unsatisfying, is the fact that my ear is still totally clogged and ringing. My doctor says allergies are probably the culprit and to keep trying the allergy meds (which haven't helped at all so far). And of course I should call her back right away if the vertigo comes back. Hmmph. Well, I shouldn't complain. At least it's not an ear tumor or something. I had Arnold Schwarzenneger in my head all morning saying, "It's not a too-ma!" Hehe.

Since I didn't get any stickers from the doctor and I was already in the city, after the appointment, I got some lunch and then browsed around in Blick. I needed a couple things anyways, but I took my time enjoying the pretty papers, paints, and displays. Where you walk in from the parking garage, there's a display of children's art supplies and books which are so colorful, I almost always stop to see what they've got. Today it was the tubes of glitter that caught my eye and this great book, (which I stopped to read), Drawing for the Artistically Undiscovered by Quentin Blake. This book is so fabulous; it has loads of great art exercises and such a great attitude. The author takes such a light (and very funny) approach to art and creativity that I believe it could really help unblock anyone who is afraid to try drawing or is just stuck in their own art-making. Yes, this book is for kids, but I think anyone could enjoy it. I know I would!

In the intro there's a section called, "How Do I Criticize My Art Properly?" The author explains that on each page there's an area where you can write your negative comments and then there's an a big arrow pointing to the microscopic square where you are invited to write your negative comments about that page, because that's how important they are. Hehe.

The book was part of a series from Klutz books and it looked like there were some other fun titles by them such as: A Book of Artrageous Projects (which was done in partnership with the Metropolitan Museum of Art), Lettering in Crazy, Cool, Quirky Style, and Paper Fashions: Design Your Own Style.

If you're needing some instant inspiration, be sure check out the lovely Erin of Design for Mankind's latest e-zine of Inspiration, which you can now view online.

Ickiness and Inspiration

I was feeling good and productive yesterday, prepping an art print to go out, finishing up a proposal, and starting a new painting. The hubster got home late from a meeting and we were chatting about it on the couch, while I did a little work on the painting. All of the sudden my ear (which has been clogged all week, I believe due to allergies) felt especially clogged and was ringing loudly and I got incredibly dizzy. When I turned my head the room was spinning as if I'd had way too much to drink. I waited for the feeling to pass, holding my head still, and then told the hubster that I might want to lay down. He helped me walk towards the bedroom, but I had to sit down in the kitchen because I felt so dizzy, hot, and very nauseous. I wanted to lay down, but I also felt like I was going to be sick, so I ended up in the bathroom. I hate throwing up, but I felt like I was seasick and had no choice, but to lose my dinner. After that I got in bed, still feeling dizzy if I moved my head too much. Fortunately, after another hour or so, the dizziness subsided and I felt better and went to bed. Very weird.

Today I feel much better, though still congested and little icky. The hubster was super worried about me last night. I don't blame him as I've never been sick like that before and I can imagine it must have been weird to see me like that. He has insisted that I make a doctor's appointment and I will today even though I'm not excited about it. Too bad going to the doctor couldn't be more fun, eh? They should give out stickers to adults too.

Enough of this barfy talk, how bout some inspiration?

• Mindy of under a pink sky has started a beautiful new blogzine called wishstudio. I love the look of it and I know it will be filled to the brim with inspiration. There's also a call for submissions if you're interested in participating!
• I totally love this new journal made of magazine pages by Elena of Lunar Musings. It reminded me of writing letters to my best friend that were sent in envelopes made of magazine pages.
• If you have HBO, the John Adams series was absolutely fantastic. They have it On Demand, if you have that service and it's definitely worth watching. Fabulous acting, great story, well-written. The hubster and I enjoyed it. The series was based on the book John Adams by David McCullough, which my dad read and loved.

Planning to take it easy today. I have some errands I need to run, but I'm going to cut myself some slack if they don't get done.

Creative Every Day 2008: April 28th - May 4th

CED2008 participants! Feel free to leave a comment here with a link to post(s) about your creative activities during the week of 4/28/08 -5/4/08.

Happy creating!

CED2008 participants! Feel free to leave a comment here with a link to post(s) about your creative activities during the week of 4/28/08 -5/4/08.

Happy creating!

CED2008 participants! Feel free to leave a comment here with a link to post(s) about your creative activities during the week of 4/28/08 -5/4/08.

Happy creating!

CED2008 participants! Feel free to leave a comment here with a link to post(s) about your creative activities during the week of 4/28/08 -5/4/08.

Happy creating!

Circling Birds

This weekend was a whirlwind tour to NYC to see the hubster's family for Greek Easter. It's an important holiday for them (the hubster's dad was born and raised in Greece), so we made the trip out and participated in the fun traditions (tsougrisma : egg cracking game) and ate some traditional Greek food (lamb roasted over a charcoal fire, Easter bread that has dyed red hard-boiled eggs on top, and Easter biscuits.) We had a great time, but it was a quick visit and now we're back home.

I meant to post this before I left, but ran out of time. I'm working on a couple more drawings with white ink on black paper with the little circles. A couple people have mentioned how the bigger circles that make up the leaves look a bit like bicycle wheels, which I thought was kind of cool as I seem to have some circle/cycle/bicycle themes going on in much of my art lately. Funny how symbols will pop up like that without you even realizing it. This one has two birds and I'm calling it "Two Branches."

Speaking of birds, when we got home, we found a bird wing and a bunch of feathers on our living room rug. Our porch door was open a crack so the cats could enjoy the fresh air. Either a bird was brought in from the porch or it flew into our apartment, which would be a huge mistake for any bird and a wildly good time for the four cats who rarely get to hunt something that's actually living. The hubster was totally grossed out, but I grew up with my cats bringing me mouse guts and such, so I wasn't too disturbed. The only thing we're wondering about is where the rest of the bird is. Hopefully it was eaten and isn't tucked away for us to find later. That could get stinky.

With these black and white drawings, it take some time to make up the trunk with all the tiny circles, but it's also a meditative kind of process. It's relaxing, soothing, and gives the mind space to roam. Good ideas often come in this space. All repetitive things can become like that, things like weeding, sewing, knitting, cutting vedgies for a soup, etc... Have you ever had that experience? 

Circles and Cycles

Last night while unwinding on the couch, I felt like doodling, so I grabbed what was closest...a pencil and an old pink folder. I started to draw teeny circles which became a tree trunk and that made me