Entries from: December 2010
Creative Every Day Theme for January: Cosmos
December 30th, 2010, Comments (34)
At the end of each month I will announce the totally optional theme for the following month. For the month of January 2011, the theme will be the Cosmos. This theme was suggested by the lovely Lianne Raymond. Thank you, Lianne!
As always, this month's theme for the Creative Every Day Challenge is totally optional. Use it if it inspires you, continue being creative every day in your own way if it doesn't, or do something in between. You can sign up for the 2011 Creative Every Day Challenge anytime. More info can be found here and the sign-up page is here.
I'll be posting about the theme throughout the month on the blog to help keep you inspired. You can use the posts here for jumping off points or interpret the theme in your own creative way. If you need some suggestions, here are a few ideas to get you started. You could:
- *Go stargazing and make up your own stories for the constellations.
- *Paint the night sky.
- *Make a mobile of the solar system.
- *Explore the myths of your favorite planet or star and write a poem about it.
- *Get inspired by the ways the cosmos have been represented by different cultures and art forms.
- *Wish on a star.
- *Play with the ideas of order and chaos.
- *Create a mandala that represents the cosmos.
- *Focus on the lunar or other planetary cycles this month. Create a dreamboard for the full moon (January 19th.)
How to use the CED themes:
If you're feeling creatively stuck or blocked at any point during the month, use the theme as a source of inspiration to get you moving. Feel free to focus on the theme in your creative activities for the entire month or as much as you'd like.
Using the theme is entirely optional for CED participants. Use it if it inspires you, ignore it if it doesn't. I'll be sharing posts throughout the month around the theme (among other things) to get you thinking about how to incorporate it into your life. I'd love to hear how you use the theme in your creative world.
And have fun with it!
We are a way for the cosmos to know itself. ~Dr. Carl Sagan
p.s. The art above is adapted from my painting, If the Moon Came to Dinner. Prints are available here.
Creative Every Day Check-In: December 27 – 31
December 27th, 2010, Comments (18)
This weekly check-in post is a place for Creative Every Day Challenge participants to share their creative activities. This check-in is for a little less than a week, as I'll start a new one for the beginning of 2011. After that, the check-ins will return to every Monday.
Join in the Challenge: You can sign up for the 2011 Creative Every Day Challenge here!
Ways to share: Once you've signed up, you can leave a comment on this post and/or use the "Mr. Linky" widget below to link to a blog post(s) about your creative activities during the days of 12/27/10 - 12/31/10.
The widget below is an optional method of sharing your creativity that makes it easier for others to check out what you're up to. You can use it to link to a blog post (or posts) or flickr image during the week listed. Or if you have a bunch of posts and don't want to link to all of them, you can link to your main blog page once. Do it in a way that makes sense and is fun for you! If you're unsure about how to use the widget, check out the "How to use the Mr. Linky widget" section on the Creative Every Day Challenge page. (If you're reading this in a RSS reader or email subscription, you will not see the "Mr. Linky widget", so click on over to the blog to use it.) If the Mr. Linky widget is missing from this blog post, it's probably a problem with their server and it will come back as soon as it's fixed. You can always leave your link in the comments.
You can also take advantage of the great CED flickr group to post your images and see what others are up to. If you're on Twitter, there's a growing Twitter list of CED participants and you can use the hashtag #CED2010 for the rest of this year and then #CED2011 beginning in January to help others find your Creative Every Day tweets!
Theme: The (totally optional) theme for December is the element of Air. You can read more about the theme and some ideas to get you started here.
Happy Creating!
Through woods and mountain passes
The winds, like anthems, roll.
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Metamorphosis
December 22nd, 2010, Comments (26)
I like to pick a theme word for the year and usually they come to me pretty easily, but this year I've been having a hard time picking one.
I went through a whole brainstorming process to come to this word and I like the path it led me on, so I thought I'd share it with you, just in case you're trying to figure out your own word for 2011.
I started out thinking of the words nest, home, and birth (can you tell what's on my mind?), but none of them felt quite right, so I kept thinking on it, letting words roll around in my mind. As I brainstormed, I thought of the words: becoming, allow, trust, and adventure.
Then I thought about breaking down the year into quarters. I already know that in first quarter of the year, I want to focus on creating space and tidying up, both in my business and home. There's all sorts of preparations to do as I get ready for the little baby who is currently kicking me in the organs.
And then I figured the next quarter would be a quieter period (in some ways), as I adjust to motherhood, deal with sleep deprivation, and help our little one adjust to life out in the world.
And then I imagined there would be a time of adjustment to life as it becomes.
And that's when the word hit me: Metamorphosis. Perfect! Just like the butterfly, I'll be spending time preparing, going within, and then transforming into something new and different. Certainly an exciting time, an adventurous one, perhaps even a little frightening. But beautiful.
I made this little art piece today to commemorate my word for the year.
Have you chosen a word for 2011? Have you thought about expressing it in a creative way, that you can keep around to remind you of your focus for the year?
Creative Every Day Check-In: December 20 – 26
December 20th, 2010, Comments (20)
This weekly check-in post is a place for Creative Every Day Challenge participants to share their creative activities. Normally, I post these on Monday morning, but with Art Every Day Month just ending, this one will be for a shorter week!
Join in the Challenge: You can sign up for the 2011 Creative Every Day Challenge here!
Ways to share: Once you've signed up, you can leave a comment on this post and/or use the "Mr. Linky" widget below to link to a blog post(s) about your creative activities during the days of 12/20/10 - 12/26/10.
The widget below is an optional method of sharing your creativity that makes it easier for others to check out what you're up to. You can use it to link to a blog post (or posts) or flickr image during the week listed. Or if you have a bunch of posts and don't want to link to all of them, you can link to your main blog page once. Do it in a way that makes sense and is fun for you! If you're unsure about how to use the widget, check out the "How to use the Mr. Linky widget" section on the Creative Every Day Challenge page. (If you're reading this in a RSS reader or email subscription, you will not see the "Mr. Linky widget", so click on over to the blog to use it.) If the Mr. Linky widget is missing from this blog post, it's probably a problem with their server and it will come back as soon as it's fixed. You can always leave your link in the comments.
You can also take advantage of the great CED flickr group to post your images and see what others are up to. If you're on Twitter, there's a growing Twitter list of CED participants and you can use the hashtag #CED2010 for the rest of this year and then #CED2011 beginning in January to help others find your Creative Every Day tweets!
Theme: The (totally optional) theme for December is the element of Air. You can read more about the theme and some ideas to get you started here.
Happy Creating!
The inner - what is it?
if not intensified sky,
hurled through with birds
and deep with
the winds of homecoming.
- Rainer Marie Rilke
Paper Snowflakes
December 16th, 2010, Comments (21)
Seeing teeny-tiny snowflakes dancing through the air this week has made me want to make my own paper snowflakes. I don't think I've made them since I was a kid!
I pulled out some fun paper I had laying around, and spent some time cutting away tonight. Later, I strung them all onto dental floss using tape and hung them from a shelf in the family room. I think my favorite part about them is the cool shadows they make on the wall!
Creative Every Day Check-In: December 13 – 19
December 12th, 2010, Comments (26)
This weekly check-in post is a place for Creative Every Day Challenge participants to share their creative activities. Normally, I post these on Monday morning, but with Art Every Day Month just ending, this one will be for a shorter week!
Join in the Challenge: You can sign up for the 2011 Creative Every Day Challenge here!
Ways to share: Once you've signed up, you can leave a comment on this post and/or use the "Mr. Linky" widget below to link to a blog post(s) about your creative activities during the days of 12/13/10 - 12/19/10.
The widget below is an optional method of sharing your creativity that makes it easier for others to check out what you're up to. You can use it to link to a blog post (or posts) or flickr image during the week listed. Or if you have a bunch of posts and don't want to link to all of them, you can link to your main blog page once. Do it in a way that makes sense and is fun for you! If you're unsure about how to use the widget, check out the "How to use the Mr. Linky widget" section on the Creative Every Day Challenge page. (If you're reading this in a RSS reader or email subscription, you will not see the "Mr. Linky widget", so click on over to the blog to use it.) If the Mr. Linky widget is missing from this blog post, it's probably a problem with their server and it will come back as soon as it's fixed. You can always leave your link in the comments.
You can also take advantage of the great CED flickr group to post your images and see what others are up to. If you're on Twitter, there's a growing Twitter list of CED participants and you can use the hashtag #CED2010 for the rest of this year and then #CED2011 beginning in January to help others find your Creative Every Day tweets!
Theme: The (totally optional) theme for December is the element of Air. You can read more about the theme and some ideas to get you started here.
Happy Creating!
No cloud above, no earth below, A universe of sky and snow. ~John Greenleaf Whittier
A special work in progress
December 8th, 2010, Comments (53)
Yesterday we had our big ultrasound and what a relief, she's healthy and happy, kicking and punching away. Oh, and yes, I said "she." It's a girl!
I had a feeling at the very beginning of the pregnancy, an inexplicable intuition, that this baby was a girl. If people asked if I had any idea, I'd tell them about that initial feeling, but that I wasn't 100 percent sure. I didn't want to declare it publicly. I would have been thrilled with either sex. But when it came time to find out, I realized I was going to be surprised if it was a boy because deep down, I'd been feeling girl all along. And amazingly, loads of other people (friends and family) were also feeling the girl vibe and told me so. The hubster started to believe it too. So, in a way, we weren't surprised to hear it. But still, finding out and saying things like "Oh, she's so cute!" have made things so much more real for us all of the sudden. That and the monster kicks she's now delivering.
The ultrasound itself was awesome. We were both amazed by the four chambers of the heart, the spine, the organs, and her little hands and feet. I mean, we all know where babies come from, but this process is so mind-blowing. Wow. I have no words for it.
Yesterday was also special because it was the first time the hubster felt her move. We were snuggled in bed after having warm cups of cocoa when I started feeling her move. I put his hand on my belly and she whopped him good. Hehe.
Creative Every Day Check-In: December 6 – 12
December 6th, 2010, Comments (23)
This weekly check-in post is a place for Creative Every Day Challenge participants to share their creative activities. Normally, I post these on Monday morning, but with Art Every Day Month just ending, this one will be for a shorter week!
Join in the Challenge: You can sign up for the 2011 Creative Every Day Challenge here!
Ways to share: Once you've signed up, you can leave a comment on this post and/or use the "Mr. Linky" widget below to link to a blog post(s) about your creative activities during the days of 12/6/10 - 12/12/10.
The widget below is an optional method of sharing your creativity that makes it easier for others to check out what you're up to. You can use it to link to a blog post (or posts) or flickr image during the week listed. Or if you have a bunch of posts and don't want to link to all of them, you can link to your main blog page once. Do it in a way that makes sense and is fun for you! If you're unsure about how to use the widget, check out the "How to use the Mr. Linky widget" section on the Creative Every Day Challenge page. (If you're reading this in a RSS reader or email subscription, you will not see the "Mr. Linky widget", so click on over to the blog to use it.) If the Mr. Linky widget is missing from this blog post, it's probably a problem with their server and it will come back as soon as it's fixed. You can always leave your link in the comments.
You can also take advantage of the great CED flickr group to post your images and see what others are up to. If you're on Twitter, there's a growing Twitter list of CED participants and you can use the hashtag #CED2010 for the rest of this year and then #CED2011 beginning in January to help others find your Creative Every Day tweets!
Theme: The (totally optional) theme for December is the element of Air. You can read more about the theme and some ideas to get you started here.
Happy Creating!
The leaves lay like hands upon the ground. When the wind rustles them, they applaud softly. ~Laura E. Stevens
2011 Creative Every Day Challenge
December 3rd, 2010, Comments (35)
2011 is nearly here and with it, we'll be starting the 4th year of the Creative Every Day Challenge! I've got the new logo up in the sidebar and a new sign-up page for the new year. (I'm using the same format for sign-ups as I did for Art Every Day Month this year.)
The main goal of the Creative Every Day Challenge is to bring more creativity into our daily lives. It's a low-pressure challenge that takes a broad view of creativity to mean anything from drawing to cooking to knitting to welding to telling bedtime stories to your children. I want you to get creative with how you're creative. It will help you see the endless ways there are to be creative in your everyday life.
As with the last couple years, I will provide a (totally optional) monthly theme which you can use if it inspires you, ignore, or do some mix of the two. I will also have a weekly check-in post (every Monday morning) where you can leave a link to your blog or Flickr post showing your latest creative activities.
If you don't have a blog, don't worry! You can still join in and leave comments about what you're up to in the weekly check-in post, share your work on Flickr and/or share your work on Twitter, using the hashtag #ced2011.
To read more about the challenge and the ways you can participate, click here. To sign-up and announce your commitment to a year of creativity, click here.
I'm looking forward to it!
Creative Every Day Theme for December: Air
December 1st, 2010, Comments (18)
At the end of each month I will announce the totally optional theme for the following month. Continuing with the elements theme, for the month of December, the theme will be the element of Air. As always, this month's theme for the Creative Every Day Challenge is totally optional. Use it if it inspires you, continue being creative every day in your own way if it doesn't, or do something in between.
I'll be posting about the theme throughout the month on the blog to help keep you inspired. You can use the posts here for jumping off points or interpret the theme in your own creative way. If you need some suggestions, here are a few ideas to get you started. You could:
- *Get outside and take pictures of the sky at different times of day.
- *Use hot air in your work. Try blowing wet media with a blower or try encaustic.
- *Capture the movement of wind in drawing or painting.
- *Make clouds out of fabric.
- *Focus on the air or negative space in your work.
- *Write a poem about the way air feels on your skin.
- *Turn on a fan and take some fun wind-blown self-portraits.
- *Create more airspace around you, by clearing out some clutter.
How to use the CED themes:
If you're feeling creatively stuck or blocked at any point during the month, use the theme as a source of inspiration to get you moving. Feel free to focus on the theme in your creative activities for the entire month or as much as you'd like.
Using the theme is entirely optional for CED participants. Use it if it inspires you, ignore it if it doesn't. I'll be sharing posts throughout the month around the theme (among other things) to get you thinking about how to incorporate it into your life. I'd love to hear how you use the theme in your creative world.
And have fun with it!
The sky and the strong wind have moved the spirit inside me till I am carried away trembling with joy. -Uvavnuk
p.s. The art above is adapted from my Wind in my Hair piece, prints are available here.
p.p.s. I will have info about signing up for the 2011 Challenge later this week. In the meantime, I would love to hear some of your ideas for monthly themes for next year. Brainstorm away in the comments!
