Perfectly Imperfect Inspiration Art Everyday Month Day 28

Saturday mornings always start off with so much hope and anticipation. Yesterday was one of those that not only started off that way, it stayed inspiring throughout the day. What a good feeling that is. I worked early in the morning editing pictures and creating this promo for an upcoming class at Swank (January 22nd...it will be a two part class that you can either take one or both sessions) where we will be experimenting in two different journals,  and playing with a variety of techniques and tools in a journey to self discovery. GREAT way to start of the New Year with a dash and splash of creativity.   I might tweak the above promo a bit but I like how it came out so far :)  Creativity started electronically but the moved on to a bit of live action in the afternoon.

 My friends at Swank invited me in to do a demo during the downtown Southern Pines Holiday Open House yesterday.  I have only done a few Live Paints so at first I had butterflies in my stomach. I'm a nervous kind of person anyway but then I had to tell myself that this is what I want to do and this is what I love to do so it WILL be alright!  And it was, it was more than alright.  I had a blast and enjoyed talking with a variety of people from the littlest of wee ones to a grandma type customer who showed me some lovely art work of her own on porcelain. (it was BEAUTIFUL..so tiny but amazing detail). 

 I even had a couple who stopped in from just outside of Raleigh who stayed and talked with me awhile, watching as I painted and inquired about my thought process and vision as I developed the backgrounds using a variety of tools, brushes, and mark making doo dads.   The husband said that he wanted to paint and started awhile ago, bought all the supplies and set up his area then tried to recreate his vision. He tried and tried and it just didn't come out like he saw it in his mind.  So, he put the supplies away and  hasn't touched them for a very long time...but he still has that desire to create...but I think fear is holding him back.  Fear of not being perfect.   Fear is our enemy.   I gave him what words of advice I could, the best analogy I could come up with is that of a runner running a marathon. That's something I can tell you right now, I can't do and may never be able to do.   One does not walk out of there house with their new sneakers on and start running and stay running for 26 miles if you have never done it before.   Okay so there may be a few that have the genetics to go perhaps a few miles and even less out there that can go the whole distance without practice.  The vast majority of us would have to practice, run a  few blocks, then build up to a mile, then run and run for a few more and do it several times a week if not daily so we build up our endurance and our speed and elegence with one foot in front of the other.   After doing it for a long time and condtioning ourselves to practice, we then and only then, may be able to reach the end of the finish line.  

Painting and creating is really no different. The process like running can be so relaxing and meditative that that alone is worth just trying.  But it's with practice daily or as often as possible that we start to stretch our wings and we can finally take that vision and recreate it more easily then if we just tried for the first time. Anytime you try something new, it's not going to be perfect--be okay with that!  It's okay for it not to be perfect or even great.  It will be someday with practice.   There's a lot of not so perfect things in the world (and people for that matter) that people love anyway.  Imagine how uninteresting the world would be if nothing else existed but masterpieces and perfect people.  We'd miss a lot of joy and beauty in the 99% of the world which would not be there because of imperfection.

Go ahead today and allow yourself the permission to just do something you enjoy, whether you are any good at it or not.  The feeling you will have for engaging in a moment of happiness will be so worth it. 

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Thank you Swank Girls for allowing me to stop by yesterday and have the opportunity to connect with so many wonderful people :) I enjoyed experimenting, sharing and allowing others to see you don't have to be perfect to enjoy the process and create art that make others happy.

OH...one more thing...looky here!  I'll be in the next issue of Somerset Studio!!  Stay tuned for the Jan/Feb issue where I will be writing and showing some cool pieces for their department article, "With One Palette"!! Whooohooo!!

Putting it all together Art Everyday Month Day 5

 

Happy Friday everyone!  Today my creativity rests in getting ready for the class I'm teaching tomorrow :) I'm having a blast finding cool texture making things to add to my student's art kit.  I'm going to challenge them to use everything I've collected in their pieces tomorrow-can't wait to see what they do with it!  Check out my poster I created, I took a painting I did( the one above), layered it at different levels of opacity, added some funky brushes and lettering all in photoshop, then finished the lettering in a word document.  I'm just learning photoshop so it's a challenge but fun!

Click on the poster to see class description:) Or to join in on my FB art page!

Hope you have a wonderfully creative weekend!

Create! Let's get Messy Together!

I know a lot of you are not necessarily nearby my quaint little hometown in Moore County, NC--but in case you are interested in making a road trip to the beautiful town of Southern Pines, I wanted you to know about a fantabulous fun class that I'll be teaching at the ultra cool shop where I carry a large portion of my work,  SWANK Handmade Market and Coffeeshop.   Saturday evening, November 6th from 4-7pm, we will be playing with paint, getting messy and creating funky inspirational Graffiti art for the holiday special price of $35.00.  Normally my 3 hour classes at Swank are $45.00 but I wanted to offer this to all of my special friends and customers at a discounted price. Afterall, who doesn't love a bargain?  How do you sign up?  Simply stop into the shop on Broad Street in Southern Pines or email Jessica or Petra at swankgirls@gmail.com for more info.   What to bring?  The supply list will be provided once you sign up but if you are new to painting and just want to try your hand at it, no fear, I'll offer a supply kit with the main ingredients for $15.00.  This is a great opportunity to make some art for the  holidays to give as a gift or hey...keep for yourself.  You'll come away feeling inspired and creative, so what's not to love :)

Speaking of being inspired,  take time to check out the new holiday gift issue of Cloth Paper Scissors--there are tons of great projects to make for the season. I was one of the artists asked to make holiday or winter ATC's for one of their articles and 2 of mine are featured, one with an art card project "Reflect" which is on the main page and then my little card, 25 is in front of the 'group' shot! whooohoo! CPS is one of my favorite art magazines so it's always an honor to work with their wonderful editorial team on projects, articles, or 'homework'.   Which reminds me....I have to get busy and submit some more of my work soon. I pretty much took the summer off from a lot of writing so I could work on my online class and get ready for a 2 day show in Atlanta.  I'm  ready to get back in the saddle and continue on my journey now that those big projects are behind me...my ultimate goal down the road is to write my own book of tips and techniques.  Everyone needs a dream, right?  

What's yours?  What would you do if you could do anything your heart desires?

Pursuing Dreams....

One of the most gratifying things about teaching someone else how to do something, is the look on their face when they really get it and the joy that you hear from them as they see their work come together in a cohesive piece of art.

The class I taught last Saturday at Swank was a BLAST! I really had a great time but more importantly, so did the students. I think that I am going to change it up a bit and and offer it as a longer version for the retreat I'm going to be teaching at in 2011. In the mean time, I may offer another mini version either later this summer or early fall.

We even went out on a field trip to do our 'graffiti art' in the streets!

I have to say, the students really picked up the techniques and applied their own twist on it to make some fantubulous work :))))

I'm loving the purple and green  and pink Lori picked out for her composition!

Nothing like getting our hands dirty and having fun with a multitude of supplies!

Our Mother daughter team worked well together. It was really wonderful to see how much they enjoyed each other's company and found this connection in art that allowed them to spend time together while pursuing activities to enrich both of their lives. 

Lori said she never painted before ever--I'm so proud of her and what she accomplished for her first work of art!!  She should continue to 'STRIVE' and achieve whatever it is that she desires to do.  She can do it!

This is my piece that I worked on while teaching and demonstrating.  Dream.  What can I say. I'm living a dream that I've been wanting to pursue for so long. It's manifested itself in ways that aren't exactly the path I would have initially have chosen to take, but it was exactly the path I was supposed to take if that makes sense.

Thank you ladies for allowing me to instruct you in this artistic process. I learned a lot from YOU :)


Hope you all have had a creative week! Happy 4th of July!