Always a fun holiday adventure...

Just for fun, and for a little extra spending money, I make tutus around the holidays.  I LOVE the process, because I don't have to think so hard.  Most other types of art (at least in my case) always come along with thoughts like "I wish I was better at this", "I don't know what to paint/draw/write", etc.  I love making the little tutus, because they are easy (almost therapeutic) for me.  Also, who doesn't love  a little girlie frill around the house every once in a while!    Posted below are a few of the tutus I've finished!  Hope to start selling them in the next week or two, after I attach sweet satin bows to each of them!

Black/Green Pixie Tutu

Black/Orange Pixie Tutu

Lil' Pumpkin Tutu

Candy Cane Tutu

Harvest Tutu

Sugarplum Tutu

Talent Schmalent

       I was reading an art history book the other day, and was absolutely fascinated to find that the word art came from the Latin word ars, which means "skill", and the Greek word for art, tekne, is where we get the word technique!  Wait...what??  Art greatness has been about skill all this time?  Haven't we been told our whole lives that some people just "have it" and some don't?
     Lucky for me, skills and techniques are not genetic...they are learned.  Art can be learned.  So what if I never got into art when I was younger, can't seem to shade anything properly, and am (secretly) afraid of watercolors?  Well, as my art teacher friend told me yesterday, "It's not too late."
     So here I go...with a little courage and a ton of effort, I will draw and paint and will not allow "can't" to determine my artistic expression. 

If you can tell it's a cat, I did what I set out to do. 

     

Taken by surprise: Poetry

I went to the most lovely workshop the other day.  I'd wax poetic about it, but with school deadlines approaching, I'm in an essay-writing kind of place, so you'll have to bear with me.  Anyway, sometimes I worry about these workshops.  I'm required to get 60 hours of professional development every year, and it's not unusual to pick a real lemon of a workshop somewhere in those 60 hours.  I was a little intimidated by this one at first.  Thoughts ran through my mind:  Am I gonna have to stand up in front of people and read a poem that I wrote?  Will I embarrass myself?  (I know you're nervous for me just reading this, and I can assure you, that, YES, I did have to present in front of the "class" and YES, I most certainly embarrassed myself.  In case you are wondering, it involved a pair of sunglasses and a very poor attempt at blues-singing, that I volunteered for.  What was I thinking?  I'm classically trained.  And born in Oklahoma.  We don't do "blues".)

And then there was this one assignment that broad-sided me a bit...in a good way.

The assignment, given by poet/educator, Clayton Scott (reposted here in my own words):

Write a series of couplets (two-line poetry) describing the following scenario:  You meet a relative (whom you haven't spoken to in a while) in a café and begin to talk.  At some point in the conversation, a discovery is made (either something you discover, or something you tell them that they did not know).

Photo credit here.

The joy of seeing her again was punctuated

by the sweet smell of cinnamon rolls in the making.

As we sipped, her "hot water with lemon, please"

and my "should be drinking water, but I'll have a Dr. Pepper, thank you"

I realized that she was really here...present,

Not the empty shell of a thieving diagnosis.

And despite all of the questions I've stored up over the years, and all the wishing for just one more conversation,

All I could think to say was

"I became a teacher, like you said."

So my couplets were a mess (shhh...don't tell on me), and technically he didn't say that we were "allowed" to create an imaginary scenario with someone who is no longer living...but that's the beauty of art, right?  Sometimes a rare jewel just finds its way to the paper, and you're not really sure how it got there.  And before you know it, you're in tears as you read it to your colleagues (and some people you don't know), stuck somewhere between "Man!  I wrote that?" and "I really wish there were time-traveling cafés." 

Therefore, I have two things to say to you:

1.  If you ever get a chance to attend a Clayton Scott performance or workshop,  GO.  Totally worth any blues-singing escapades you might get yourself in to (I'm just kidding, he won't make you sing).  

2.  Just write.  Put the "shoulds" away and write.  You just might surprise yourself and say something you've been wanting to say for a long time.

Art, in the Style of Julie Nutting

Caution:  This post contains shameless promotion of my new favorite book.  Proceed at your own risk.

So, after waiting (impatiently) for my copy of Julie Nutting's book, Collage Couture, to come in the mail, it finally got here last Wednesday!  I have had an absolute ball looking through the book and designing paper fashions!

If you don't yet know about Collage Couture, well you are missing out!  Not only is the book beautiful to simply look at, it also contains excellent tutorials on painting backgrounds onto canvas and other substrates, and of course the best part of the book, drawing and designing lovely girls and their fashions!  Julie presents the material in an fun way, encouraging us girls to don our tiaras and connect with that little girl that may have been forgotten amidst the busyness of the everyday.  And if that wasn't enough, she even includes some of the most fun gift ideas I've ever seen!  I couldn't stop flipping to the gift section of the book and brainstorming all of the ways I could bless the ladies in my life with a gift, Julie Nutting-style.  I may be knee-deep in patterned papers for a very long time.

And now, for the reveal, (drum-roll, please) I give you my interpretation of Collage Couture girls...

Jenny:  She likes to make up stories using characters she meets on the street.

 

Elle:  She hates playing the piano in front of others...but she's very good.

So there you have it, friends!  Run, don't walk to get your copy of Collage Couture!  (And no, Julie did not pay me to write this...I really do love this book that much!)

Oh, and if you're needing a little extra inspiration, I highly recommend watching old episodes of Project Runway on Hulu.com, and feel good about the fact that you don't have to hem anything!

Happy creating!

Art Trading: "Owl"

And another attempt at mastering tiny art is almost finished.  And yes, I'm running behind...AGAIN!  I must confess that this time it was mainly because I realized that owls really aren't my thing.  They're a bit artistically intimidating to me, and I'm STILL struggling with the second one.  I absolutely HAVE to get them in the mail tomorrow!!  So for now, I will post what I have, and just know I will be FRANTIC in trying to fix the second one before I mail.  Hope you enjoy!

Oh, and if you have NO idea what this tiny art is that I'm referring to, check out my (also tiny) explanation here.

Owl #1...not too scary, right??

Owl #2:  WHAT WAS I THINKING!!  (being reworked ASAP)

And there you have it, friends!  Art and fear...all right out there where you can see it!! :)

Art Trading: "Umbrella"

So I entered my very first ATC (Artist Trading Card) swap.  For those of you that don't know what an ATC is, it is a small piece of art that you simply trade...like baseball cards for artists!  The only rules are that it must be 2.5" by 3.5" and that you must give them away (rather than sell them).  So I'm finding the hardest part is mailing them on time!!  Oh, and sending them away, not knowing what the recipient will think of them.  (Scary!)  However, the small format is great fun and much less intimidating than a full-size painting...so I shall keep on with these swaps.  Hopefully I'll get better with meeting the deadlines...I'm pretty sure deadlines are my "kryptonite" (as my husband would say).  Anyway, I'd love to know what you think!  They shall hit the mail tomorrow, and there's no turning back! 

 "June Idyls" ATC, courtesy of Katie Holmes

"Rain, rain, go away" ATC, courtesy of Katie Holmes

Art and Devotions

I'm okay!!  Haven't fallen off the face of the planet...just too much going on!  I just wanted to take this opportunity to share something I read in a book that a friend loaned to me.  It was definitely a timely thought and I hope it encourages you as it did me.  Oh, and of course I sketched a little something to go with it. 

From the journal of Katie Holmes.

"Our daisy-petal (i.e. He loves me, He loves me not) approach to Christianity can be swallowed up by the undeniable proof of His love for us on the cross of Calvary.  That's the side of the cross that has all but been ignored in recent decades.  We did not see what really happened there between the Father and His Son that opened the door to His love so vast that it cannot be challenged even by your darkest of days."  -excerpt from He Loves Me, by Wayne Jacobsen