Say It or Paint It With Love

How many ways can you (or do you) show love through your art?

 With tomorrow being Valentine's Day, I thought I'd pull a few pictures from my 'archives'  that showed a little 'love' . Gosh, looking back at these paintings, you'd think I have been in a world wind romance with some dashing man who has swept me off my feet!!!  Well the truth is, lately, my Valentine's have been reserved for 2 dashing men...my wonderful sons of course, Josh and Zach.  :)
That doesn't mean you can't manifest dreams and desires through your art, or just work through feelings and thoughts as you are creating.   That's one of the things I enjoy most....getting my thoughts out on the canvas, especially those that I can't say out loud or in person.

 And sometimes a simple word is all you need to hear  or see to make you feel that you can, you will, you ARE, or will become.  Art has magical powers tlike that.

 And if you don't hear it enough,   sometimes hanging a little reminder in your studio, office space, or other location will bring you back to the place you need to be.

Sometimes my paintings are about conversations I've had or want to have with someone.  I love this piece above.  It's not so much a conversation I've had but one I'd had like to have had with someone. 

It's fun to create these micro-worlds of possibilities.

What can I say but I L-O-V-E this piece above. The texture, the many under layers peeking through but yet they are all leading to the the same outcome.  Love. A super fun piece to do.

 As I was searching for pieces to share for this post, I came across these oldie but goodies.  I had a class featuring these along with an article in a magazine. I call thses my story block collages.  Mostly painted but there are some 3 d elements as you can see from the hearts.  In my classes students added all sorts of fun embellishments in addition to the hearts. I love sparking ideas and seeing where my students take them. It's an amazing process!

 It's funny as I reflect back over the last several years, part of the reason I stumbled into the art world was because of my heart being broken, rather shattered into a million pieces....it's such a long story but the beginning of it was all about me falling for someone and how my life changed because of that love story.  I guess on the outside, it may seem like a tragic story but through all the bad came this amazing good life that I have now.

 I guess I still process all the events of the last many years through art.

 Not just thoughts about love, but about life in general. My art isn't about some larger political or socioeconomic questions that plague the world, rather my pieces are about everyday life, relationships, family, friends, community....connections.  We all want to feel connected in some way.  Needed in some way.

Creating has a way of getting those feelings out and telling our story in our own way.  Sometimes it's in your face and quite clear what you are trying to say.

...and other times,the message isn't as easily discerned..but it's still there.

What do you say in your art? Have you noticed any trends or messages that appear time and time again?  What does it say about you or your process?  

I hope you have a wonderful Valentine's Day and enjoy the weekend by being surrounded by those that you love.  And if by chance you are alone for the day,  do something amazing and special for YOU.  You deserve it!

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Before I leave you today, I wanted to remind you that I have some HOT specials going on over at Creative Workshops 

 All of my classes over there are on sale including my POD-Tastic class 

through this weekend

And another SWEET sale going on over at Colourarte  where all of my classes are on special for a limited time, too.  In addition to the sale, each student that registers for a class over at Colourarte will receive a 30.00 coupon to the store for products such as Twinkling H20's, Silks Acrylics, Radiant Gels, and more!

Sharing the creative love since I can't give you a chocolate heart filled with unknown substances in the center of each piece. haha :))

Enjoy your weekend, fill it with things you love to do and surround yourself with those you love. That's what I'll be doing!



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Catching up and Making up with a Giveaway to Texturize This!

It may seem like I've been slacking off on the "Art Everyday Month" challenge  but in actuality, I'm up to my eyeballs in art, color, texture, ornaments, paintings, magnets and just about everything else in between!    The only challenging part is not doing art everyday, is keep up with it all and corral'ing it all into a manageable area of the house!

 A good portion of my month has been dedicated to my wonderful students of "Texturize This"  and oh boy we've been having fun. What???  You haven't heard of it or you haven' t joined yet?

Well you are in luck because I'm going to give a tuition away to one lucky blog reader!!! YAY

Who doesn't love giveaways??

This is a 4 week class but you will have access for a 12 month subscription so you can work at your own pace over the next year!   Not only that, we are giving a 30.00 coupon for materials on the Dreaming Color shop to buy some of your supplies.

 So if you love texture,  dream in color, and want to explore something really unique and fun...be sure to either sign up today or  enter a comment on this post and just tell me what floats your artistic boat:) Maybe what rocks your socks off or even something that you'd like to learn!

Every registration also comes with a 30.00 coupon so it's a win win!!

Giveaway is good NOW through Saturday.  I'll choose a winner on Sunday:) OHHH...and if you share this Post (by copying and pasting a link to either your blog, facebook, or twitter account),  you can come back and sign up for another entering by commenting again. 

One extra entry per person:)

Okay so besides hanging with my students..I've been hanging with little man...soccer is in full swing and Josh is the team goalie for the school....Yay!  }This is his first year and he is loving it.  Very proud of him...he is just getting into sports and so far joined wrestling last year, and was a starter on the football team this year..and now has started each game as the goalie.  Go Josh! 

 (Josh is in the rainbow shirt):)

Wait...there's more...I also have been getting ready for an annual holiday show, "Art in the Pines" which is this Friday and Saturday.   I truly don't know how I"m going to do the 2 1/2 million things on my list between now and then...but I am just going to keep on truckin' away!

All I know is that there are TONS of holiday/everyday goodness just waiting for their final touches on my art table, the kitchen table, the living room chair, my guest bedroom..and I'm sure something is under the bed or in the closet that I forgot about...lol

Okay kids, I best be getting back to work...the Creative Santa Workshop needs to move in HIGH gear!!! 

Don't forget to get in on the FREE class giveaway to "Texturize This" by telling us what rocks your artistic socks off or what you would like to learn in the new year.

Good luck and see you soon!

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PS...

be sure to stop back next week when I will be having a few outrageous Black Friday specials!!!

:)))))

AEDM Project 14 Class Samples!

I almost forgot to post my AEDM blog today...I didn't really make anything specifically for the blog because I've been super busy working on my class materials for this weeks lesson of "Texturize This" online course.   Oh my, so many fun techniques, amazing color combinations and a 'room' full of inspiring students in this class.  

Since I am teaching this class, I can't really go into lesson details, but let me show you some of the goodness as a sneak peek...and hope that maybe you can join us!  It's not too late!

Color, Texture...

 Lush details and layers....

 Just plain' ole fun.  

Come join us!:)))

Texturize This!!

 BONUS...you will get a 30.00 coupon for some of the supplies available on the Dreaming Color store for my class.

Art Everyday Month Project 1

Good Morning!
I just wanted to share one of my first blog friends  big event which occurs every November,  "Art Everyday Month". Leah is great and very inspiring and I've been following her throughout the last 6 or 7 years.   She has been managing this event where people can share projects every day throughout November on her blog "Creative Everyday".  Your art doesn't have to be over the top, nor do you really have to do it everyday.  However, I can guarantee that when you make an effort to sit down at least 10-20 minutes everyday, you will feel inspired, maybe even compelled to do more. Extra bonus,  you will see yourself evolve!

I pretty much do art everyday, but what I don't do...is art that just is what it is. It's not to sell or not for a project.  I may not be able to do 'just cuz art'  everyday but I'm hopeful I can add more of it into my routine.  I'll share as much of whatever I'm doing this month, too!

So here are my doodles created on a 9x12 mixed media paper using stencils to create a pattern, then I doodled within the patter.  EZ, right?   Great TV/Couch play.

Grab your sharpies and create your own!

I used a sharpie that had both the thin tip and thicker one on either side...quite handy when your space is limited or you are on the go and can only take a few supplies with you.

Whenever I am doing doodles like this, I challenge myself to make each area different.   It keeps things interesting but even more so, it challenges me to keep inventing (and I don't mean I invented the pattern) new designs for each of my areas.

Not the greatest picture because...you guessed it. Still on the couch relaxing and took the picture from my lap.  Hey. It's Saturday. Don't judge;)

Same time, same place...see you tomorrow!

Jodi

Join Art Everyday Month HERE

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Have you seen my new class that just opened?  It's not too late to register and join in!