Entries from: November 2010
Tree Visit
November 10th, 2010, Comments (21)
For day 10 of Art Every Day Month, I was out most of the day, so today was a totally spontaneous creation. I simply started painting and let it sit for a bit. I ended up cropping a part of it to draw on top of with ink to create the "Tree Visit" image, which is about 4.5" x 9".
Giveaway! THIS Moment at the wish studio
November 10th, 2010, Comments (44)
Hooray for a giveaway! I'm excited to giveaway a spot in the lovely Mindy Tsonas's e-course, THIS moment: all you have is all you need. Below, is a description of the e-course, which you read all about in more detail here.
THIS Moment will take you on an eye opening, heart spilling, and meaningfully creative journey! The 5 week ecourse includes:
- - daily posts (mon-thurs.) filled with images, essays, and stories from my own life, as well as from special guests who’ve shone a light for me along the way, will serve as your inspiration and guide.
- - accompanying daily downloads, which will become the pages of your very own THIS moment Workbook, with prompts for you to scribble words, make messy and meaningful art, as well as practices and creative projects to help keep you focused on the true beauty of your life… right here, right now.
- - a printable piece of art that will serve as your THIS moment Manifesto, to hang somewhere special and remind you to practice the present.
- - a private space for sharing your art and thoughts with class participants. here, you can make connections while inspiring and supporting one another throughout the course.
- - a complete copy of the ecourse posts in a downloadable PDF for you to take with you at the end of the class.
live the life of your dreams by loving the life you have
november 15 – december 16th, 2010
Want a spot in this delicious class? Just leave a comment. Share something about how you stay in the moment, if you'd like. I'll be randomly selecting one commenter on Saturday to win a spot in the class, which starts this Monday. Good luck!
UPDATE: The randomly selected winner is...Nolwenn!! Congrats! If you'd still like to join in, there's still time to sign up for the class, which starts on Monday!
Art Every Day Month Check-In: Day 10
November 10th, 2010, Comments (23)
Today is day 10 of Art Every Day Month. Thank you for all the sweet congratulatory wishes yesterday. I was truly touched!
The box below is a widget that I provide each day as an optional place to share a direct link (blog post or flickr image) to that day's creation. If you don't have something to share today, don't worry about it! Share when you can. In the meantime, be sure to check out what other participants are creating! Check out the links from today's post and the links on the participant page for instant inspiration. You can also see lots of great work in the AEDM flickr group. Feel free to share your work there too!
If you use the widget, please link to a specific blog post, not your main blog page or website (or you can link to a specific image if you're linking to a flickr page.) For example, for day one I would link to my first post: http://creativeeveryday.com/creativeeveryday/2010/11/the-owl-and-the-pussycat.html instead of my main blog page: http://www.creativeeveryday.com. This makes it easier for people to find your work. If you want to share, but don't have a specific page to link to, feel free to use the comments section of this post to share what you're working on. If you're posting less than once a day, no problem! Simply use the latest one of these posts to share a link to your creation. For some, it's too much to keep up with posting every day, but don't let that get you down. Do it if you can and if you can't, just keep on creating, that's the most important part. If you get off track and miss a few days of creating, don't let that freeze you up either. Just pick up where you left off and keep moving forward. One foot in front of the other. You are making your life a more creative one with each step.
How to participate in Art Every Day Month: Check out the AEDM info page for all the details, instructions on how to get involved, and then visit the participants page to sign-up before you use the link widget to share your creations. The Information page also has instructions about how to use the widget below, if you're having any trouble with it.
Survival Guide: If you feel like you could use some more support, prompts, and motivation to keep going throughout the month, check out the Art Every Day Month Survival Guide.
Twitter: If you're on Twitter (I'm on there as @leah_art), I've been using the hashtag #aedm2010 to mark Art Every Day Month tweets. It helps to find others who are tweeting about AEDM!
Creative Every Day Challenge participants: If you're not doing Art Every Day Month, you can still use any of the daily Art Every Day Month check-in posts to leave your weekly link.
I am seeking, I am striving, I am in it with all my heart -Vincent Van Gogh
In the Hollow Tree and my Big/Little Announcement
November 9th, 2010, Comments (91)
For day 9 of Art Every Day Month, I wanted to do a little tribute to the magical stage of life I'm in the middle of. I'm making a baby! Now that I'm into the 2nd trimester, I decided to share the news here. The hubster and I are super excited to welcome this little one into the world sometime around May 10, 2011.
The art, "In the Hollow Tree," came to me this morning as I was thinking about how I wanted to share the news. I was drawing a figure sitting cross-legged and had the idea to draw her within a hollow tree, like the one in the woods behind my house growing up. We used to stand inside it and look up into the darkness, imagining it was some kind of portal to another world. It's about 9"x12", with acrylic and ink on watercolor paper.
Art Every Day Month Check-in: Day 9
November 9th, 2010, Comments (23)
Today is day 9 of Art Every Day Month. I'm so inspired by the wide range of creativity everyone is sharing! The doodles, cooking, jewelry, photography, knitting, collage, assemblage, crafts, and on and on, are amazing and fill me with energy. Thank you for sharing a piece of yourselves with all of us!
The box below is a widget that I provide each day as an optional place to share a direct link (blog post or flickr image) to that day's creation. If you don't have something to share today, don't worry about it! Share when you can. In the meantime, be sure to check out what other participants are creating! Check out the links from today's post and the links on the participant page for instant inspiration. You can also see lots of great work in the AEDM flickr group. Feel free to share your work there too!
If you use the widget, please link to a specific blog post, not your main blog page or website (or you can link to a specific image if you're linking to a flickr page.) For example, for day one I would link to my first post: http://creativeeveryday.com/creativeeveryday/2010/11/the-owl-and-the-pussycat.html instead of my main blog page: http://www.creativeeveryday.com. This makes it easier for people to find your work. If you want to share, but don't have a specific page to link to, feel free to use the comments section of this post to share what you're working on. If you're posting less than once a day, no problem! Simply use the latest one of these posts to share a link to your creation. For some, it's too much to keep up with posting every day, but don't let that get you down. Do it if you can and if you can't, just keep on creating, that's the most important part. If you get off track and miss a few days of creating, don't let that freeze you up either. Just pick up where you left off and keep moving forward. One foot in front of the other. You are making your life a more creative one with each step.
How to participate in Art Every Day Month: Check out the AEDM info page for all the details, instructions on how to get involved, and then visit the participants page to sign-up before you use the link widget to share your creations. The Information page also has instructions about how to use the widget below, if you're having any trouble with it.
Survival Guide: If you feel like you could use some more support, prompts, and motivation to keep going throughout the month, check out the Art Every Day Month Survival Guide.
Twitter: If you're on Twitter (I'm on there as @leah_art), I've been using the hashtag #aedm2010 to mark Art Every Day Month tweets. It helps to find others who are tweeting about AEDM!
Creative Every Day Challenge participants: If you're not doing Art Every Day Month, you can still use any of the daily Art Every Day Month check-in posts to leave your weekly link.
It takes courage to follow your fascinations, wherever they may lead. Yet, creativity demands that you trust and stay on the path despite obstacles. The good news is that it's possible. ~Gail McMeekin, The 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women
Squirrel in a Snow Storm
November 8th, 2010, Comments (14)
Day 8 of Art Every Day Month. Not every day can in a direction you like and today's art did not go the way I hoped. Ah well. I do like the little squirrel, inspired by the crazy squirrel I've seen flying through the air to get on top of our bird feeder during the crazy wind storm we're having. He's an acrobat! And it was still fun to play.
And by the way, weather gods, I'm not looking to call the snow forth by painting snow! Heh. I'm not ready!
Art Every Day Month Check-In: Day 8
November 8th, 2010, Comments (27)
Welcome to day 8 of Art Every Day Month. We've made it through our first week. Congratulations! I know it's far easier to focus on what you haven't done, but take some time today to celebrate what you have accomplished in the first week. It may be more than you would have otherwise, so celebrate that! And if you're just getting started, celebrate that! p.s. Sorry, I had this posted at the wrong time. It's in the right place now!
The box below is a widget that I provide each day as an optional place to share a direct link (blog post or flickr image) to that day's creation. If you don't have something to share today, don't worry about it! Share when you can. In the meantime, be sure to check out what other participants are creating! Check out the links from today's post and the links on the participant page for instant inspiration. You can also see lots of great work in the AEDM flickr group. Feel free to share your work there too!
If you use the widget, please link to a specific blog post, not your main blog page or website (or you can link to a specific image if you're linking to a flickr page.) For example, for day one I would link to my first post: http://creativeeveryday.com/creativeeveryday/2010/11/the-owl-and-the-pussycat.html instead of my main blog page: http://www.creativeeveryday.com. This makes it easier for people to find your work. If you want to share, but don't have a specific page to link to, feel free to use the comments section of this post to share what you're working on. If you're posting less than once a day, no problem! Simply use the latest one of these posts to share a link to your creation. For some, it's too much to keep up with posting every day, but don't let that get you down. Do it if you can and if you can't, just keep on creating, that's the most important part. If you get off track and miss a few days of creating, don't let that freeze you up either. Just pick up where you left off and keep moving forward. One foot in front of the other. You are making your life a more creative one with each step.
How to participate in Art Every Day Month: Check out the AEDM info page for all the details, instructions on how to get involved, and then visit the participants page to sign-up before you use the link widget to share your creations. The Information page also has instructions about how to use the widget below, if you're having any trouble with it.
Survival Guide: If you feel like you could use some more support, prompts, and motivation to keep going throughout the month, check out the Art Every Day Month Survival Guide.
Twitter: If you're on Twitter (I'm on there as @leah_art), I've been using the hashtag #aedm2010 to mark Art Every Day Month tweets. It helps to find others who are tweeting about AEDM!
Creative Every Day Challenge participants: If you're not doing Art Every Day Month, you can still use any of the daily Art Every Day Month check-in posts to leave your weekly link.
Art is a step in the Known toward the unknown. ~Kahlil Gibran
Red Leap
November 7th, 2010, Comments (25)
And now for something completely different! Or at least it feels very different from what I've been up to this month so far.
For day 7 of Art Every Day Month, again, I began with an intuitive/spontaneous approach. I took a piece of rice paper and roughly traced a leaping figure in sharpie marker that I found in a magazine (changing a few elements...I gave her flowing hair.) Under her, I wrote the word "leap."
Later, I took a piece of 6"x12" canvas paper, and squirted paint directly onto it, red and golds, then sprayed some purple-ish spray onto that. When that dried, I used gel medium to put the rice paper over the painted piece. It wasn't quite as transparent as it has been with past experiments, but it made a cool effect. I let it dry, tore away the excess rice paper and voila!
The shapes in the rice paper make it look like she's leaping through a forest to me. Although all the reds make it feel like she's leaping over or through fire.
Sometimes it amazes me the things that will come flowing out, if given the time and space to do so. This piece is just right for me today.
Art Every Day Month Check-In: Day 7
November 7th, 2010, Comments (28)
Welcome to day 7 of Art Every Day Month. Wishing you all a fabulously creative day!.\
The box below is a widget that I provide each day as an optional place to share a direct link (blog post or flickr image) to that day's creation. If you don't have something to share today, don't worry about it! Share when you can. In the meantime, be sure to check out what other participants are creating! Check out the links from today's post and the links on the participant page for instant inspiration. You can also see lots of great work in the AEDM flickr group. Feel free to share your work there too!
If you use the widget, please link to a specific blog post, not your main blog page or website (or you can link to a specific image if you're linking to a flickr page.) For example, for day one I would link to my first post: http://creativeeveryday.com/creativeeveryday/2010/11/the-owl-and-the-pussycat.html instead of my main blog page: http://www.creativeeveryday.com. This makes it easier for people to find your work. If you want to share, but don't have a specific page to link to, feel free to use the comments section of this post to share what you're working on. If you're posting less than once a day, no problem! Simply use the latest one of these posts to share a link to your creation. For some, it's too much to keep up with posting every day, but don't let that get you down. Do it if you can and if you can't, just keep on creating, that's the most important part. If you get off track and miss a few days of creating, don't let that freeze you up either. Just pick up where you left off and keep moving forward. One foot in front of the other. You are making your life a more creative one with each step.
How to participate in Art Every Day Month: Check out the AEDM info page for all the details, instructions on how to get involved, and then visit the participants page to sign-up before you use the link widget to share your creations. The Information page also has instructions about how to use the widget below, if you're having any trouble with it.
Survival Guide: If you feel like you could use some more support, prompts, and motivation to keep going throughout the month, check out the Art Every Day Month Survival Guide.
Twitter: If you're on Twitter (I'm on there as @leah_art), I've been using the hashtag #aedm2010 to mark Art Every Day Month tweets. It helps to find others who are tweeting about AEDM!
Creative Every Day Challenge participants: If you're not doing Art Every Day Month, you can still use any of the daily Art Every Day Month check-in posts to leave your weekly link.
You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have. ~Maya Angelou
Bird Tree
November 6th, 2010, Comments (34)
For day 6 of Art Every Day Month, I wasn't sure what was ahead when I sat down to make art. Looking around I saw a photo of birds in flight and wanted to draw the bird shapes, so I started out there. The idea for the tree just popped into my head as I was drawing. I was imagining a tree made up of birds instead of leaves and then in the fall, each branch would release its bird as it would its leaves. This would be the moment of release.
Then I remembered something I wanted to try. In a class at Squam I took with Diana Fayt (an amazing ceramicist), she taught a method of drawing that involved drawing with graphite, going over it with oil pastels and then making the drawing more clear with turpenoid. The smell of turpenoid makes me feel sick after awhile, so I wanted to see if it might work at all with water soluble pastels. I knew water might smudge the graphite, but I figured it was worth a shot.
I drew the image first in graphite, then put a wash of the pastels over it. It did smudge a bit and get lighter, but not too bad. And it gave a nice soft effect. I went back into it some more with pencil, leaving some parts soft and faded and some parts darker. I like it. It's about 10"x14" with graphite and Caran d'ache watersoluble pastels.
