Entries Tagged as: cats
I’ve got a sick hubster!
February 12th, 2008, Comments (13)
So most of my creative time has been spent trying to bring a flu-stricken hubster back to health. (The kitty coalition above has been helping too of course.) Poor guy. I have been doodling, sketching and reading while cozying him up on the couch. And I'm working on a super cute stamp! I haven't made a stamp in probably ten years, but I bought a speedball block to try out a while back. Today, I drew in fresh pencil over the design I had in mind, put it face down on the speedball carving block, rubbed the back to transfer the design and then began to carve it out. I thought I had a stamp carver tucked away in old art supplies, but I couldn't find it. I did find some old clay tools, which I'm using instead. So, this may not be the cleanest stamp ever made, but I think it'll still be pretty darn cute. Hopefully, I'll have a first try at using it with ink to show you tomorrow!
In the meantime, hop over to Mother Henna's lovely online gallery of art related to peace. My piece, "Lotus Heart" is up there now.
If you're in need of some artistic inspiration, check out Jen Worden's wonderful "Stretch Yourself Challenge," which is a weekly art challenge with loads of cool ideas and techniques to try out.
Lastly, I want to be sure to remind all you CED-er's out there that the Creative Every Day challenge is meant to be a low-pressure/no-guilt challenge. Don't be knocking yourself for what you have or haven't done. It's not worth it and it may scare you away from getting back to your creative activities. So, be sure to be playful, open your mind to the creative opportunities around you (super tiny to large and wild), and have fun with it!
...without darkness
Nothing comes to birth,
As without light
Nothing flowers.
-May Sarton
Creativity from the Top of Your Head to the Tip of Your Toes
January 21st, 2008, Comments (18)
I love the way CED participants have been noticing the endless ways to be creative. Today, I was thinking about the little things that bring me delight. It's so important to notice those things that make you happy and bring them into your life as much as you can.
A few months ago, I'd seen a little girl running around with the cutest, sparkly shoes. They were so adorable that I giggled when I saw them. I think I even said, "Oooo, I want sparkly shoes!" Well, shortly after that I saw a pair of inexpensive, but super sparkly shoes for sale. It was already winter time and they certainly weren't super practical shoes for the time of year, but I've definitely gotten my $15 worth. I wear them around the house all the time like slippers, while going up and down stairs with laundry, and in my parents house when I visit to keep my toes warm. And I'll be able to wear them outside in the spring. They are blue (my favorite color), so sparkly, and they still make me smile when I see them. They make my feet dance when I wear them. That's always a good thing too. And my small, but fun creatactivity of the day was taking these pics of my shoes and a very curious Tabbers cat.
It was so nice to get home last night! The hubster and I were very excited to be together again and we had a really fun day today. We drove around and looked at houses (just from the outside), saw a movie (Cloverfield), and I even fit in a little nap with the kitties. It was a good day. The movie was good by the way. It was definitely spooky and fun. A friend of ours worked on the film, so we waited to see his name in the credits and cheered. Hehe.
Hope your weekend was a lovely and creative one!
Fort Building 101
January 8th, 2008, Comments (10)
Last night, I was feeling a bit cranky, so I took my laptop and sketchbook into bed and camped out there for awhile. I did some work on my website, adding some of my latest art pieces to the store and then I did some sketching for some pieces I'm working on for the upcoming "Tiny Enormous Show" at Nahcotta next month.
Sketching and working while surrounded by cozy pillows and kitties was a nice change of scenery. It reminded me of staying home sick when I was little and making a fort of blankets and pillows under the kitchen table. I'd lay under there with my jammies on and draw. Sometimes I'd pull the phone in there with me and call up my grandparents to say hello.
I love forts made of big fuzzy blankets still. Like a snow fort, but without the cold or a fort we'd make in the woods, but without the bugs, a cozy indoor fort is a fantastic place to re-connect with your childlike self, imagine, day-dream, draw, nap, journal, meditate, listen to music or just plain relax.
It can be hard for us adults to find excuses for fort making. We figure, why make such a mess? What will my husband think? What will my kids think? Well, they may think you're weird, but that's not such a bad thing. 
Tell me, if you were to make a fort, what would you make it with? Where would it be? What would you bring into it with you?
A Timely Message
December 30th, 2007, Comments (25)
I was feeling all jittery tonight and some art making did help. I've named the piece, "A Timely Message" and it's about 9"x12" with collage, acrylic and ink on watercolor paper. I created spontaneously, grabbing collage items and building from there. Then I stared at the collage for awhile until I started to get an idea for an image and then it flowed from there. The message goes from the gut to the bird to the head and off into the world. I think of it like an illustration of intuition, inspiration, and instinct.
I'm super excited about Creative Every Day 2008!! The list of participants has been growing and there is a great group of bloggers, some I've known for a long time and some I've just met. Already the energy of this great group of creative souls is amazing!
A bit of cool synchronicity: When I was listening to podcasts yesterday, a new one popped up from CraftyPod that was about...being creative every day! No way! Yes way! In this case, it's an interview with Kirsty Hall, who in 2007 did a daily drawing on an envelope that she mailed to herself with a note inside. She plans on exhibiting the envelopes all together in 2008. The interview is quite timely and talks about some tips to maintaining a daily practice. It's a really fun interview, so do give it a listen and check out Kirsty's Diary Project!
The lovely Miss Lemen has a great message at the top of her most recent post, "Don't put off your happy life." Definitely a message worth remembering as I move into a year of living in the now! I also loved her list of "25 things she never gets tired of." Jen is always full of such wonderful ideas and positive energy! Here's my list, in no particular order:
1. synchronicity
2. my kitties
3. laughing
4. the hubster
5. making art
6. hot chocolate with whipped cream
7. soft, cozy blankets
8. sitting by the ocean, a river or lake at night
9. watching the stars
10. singing in the car
11. brunch
12. fresh sheets of blank, white paper
13. making babies smile
14. snuggling up with a good book
15. the smell of fall
16. summertime
17. Aveda shampure
18. getting fun things in the mail
19. the smell of clean towels and sheets
20. bubble baths
21. browsing in book stores and libraries
22. doodling on any paper available
23. sleeping in with the hubster
24. seeing my family happy
25. drawing trees
And heh, I did a bunch of these things today! I slept in a bit with the hubster, spent some time browsing in a book store, sang in the car, laughed, had hot cocoa with whipped cream, I drew a tree and doodled on some blank pieces of paper, I made art, and snuggled up with the kitties under a soft blanket while reading (and finishing) a good book!! Life is good!!
Tidbits
December 4th, 2007, Comments (9)
Today was busy, busy. Trying to ship art out this time of year is nutty! Everyone is sending out gifts or buy gifts and it feels super hectic every where. I also worked on putting together and figuring out a new mat cutting device I got recently, did a little bit of picking up, matted and framed a print, wrote some emails, prepped some new panels, and put two coats of matte varnish on the Subway Stories piece I was working on during Art Every Day Month. The pic isn't fantastic, but I can't scan it til it's completely dry. Here it is anyways. I'm calling it "South Station" and it's 1o"x10" with paper collage, ink and acrylic on panel.
I made a small change on the blog that I wanted to point out. I've made a new "page" on the blog for links. I realized my link list is not only not current with all the blogs I read (I use Bloglines to keep track of the far too many blogs that I keep track of), but it's also so long that it goes on way past the point of posts. So, I made a page which has a link called, "Links" (creative genius there, I know) up near the top of my sidebar. I've put a list of links there that used to be on the sidebar and I've also kept the list of the 2007 Art Every Day Month participants up there. I'd love for the link list to be organized in a different fashion, but it'll do for now.
So, I know I tend to slow down in the art production department after Art Every Day Month, but as many of you discovered, it is indeed a challenge to make and post something every day and I usually need a little break afterwards, not a long break mind you, but a break still. I can tell you that over the weekend, I enjoyed the luxury of lounging on the couch and reading a novel (which I haven't done much of lately) and it was wonderful. Sometimes, when you're doing a lot of output, it's good to take some time to fill the well. I've also done a little doodling in my sketchbook. Last night, I drew the girl in the scarf and the phoenix-like bird. And tonight while I waited for gesso to dry, I pulled out markers I'd bought for a photo album and drew a silly sketch of the cat on the bed with me at the time. It was fun to just play.
I've been a bit anti-social in the last couple weeks (Thanksgiving gave me people overload) and I'm feeling the need to push myself out into society a little bit. Holing up like a bear during winter isn't good for me for very long. Even just going to the post office today was good for me. I'm also really needing to get my butt back in gear with some exercising. As unmotivated as I can feel about getting moving when the world gets colder and darker, working to keep my winter blues to a minimum is so much better for my mind, body and soul. Self-care-city, here I come!
Day 28 – “Cat Garden”
November 28th, 2007, Comments (11)
I drew this first as a little sketch in my sketchbook the other day and decided to do it up in paint and ink today cause I'm feeling especially lovey towards my kitties and also quite sleepy. *yawn*! It's about 8.5"x6" with acrylic and ink on watercolor paper. And that's all I've got today. Sweet dreams.
Day 26 – Life Underground
November 26th, 2007, Comments (9)
I wanted to do another piece with the roots as trees in an upside down kind of world. I started by collaging elements (pages of old books, an old bingo board, patterned paper, a bit of map, a bit of music, a photocopied lace pattern, a stencil and pretty, textured blue tissue paper) onto watercolor paper and then painted over it with acrylics. It developed spontaneously and was fun to play with. It's about 9.5"x12.5". Yes, I do love me some trees. And what's better than trees with roots that are also trees? It's a little bit Alice in Wonderland with the mirrored world.
Today was so quiet and gray and the kitties knew just what to do with themselves. They found the cutest snuggliest positions and cuddled up for long luxurious naps. They're so darn cute! At the moment, Sadie is camped out on top of a paper towel (cats love paper in all their forms) and Tabbers is sleeping in the castle. Gah, the cuteness! It was a great day for leftovers and cocoa.
Happy creating! The month is almost done! All you AEDM-ers are doing so great!!
Day 18 – Morning Kitty
November 18th, 2007, Comments (6)
Today, the Hubster and I spent the day at my mom's house. It was fun and now we're both quite pooped. I started this little guy this morning and put him together when we got home. Another mini kitty collage, I'm calling this one "Morning Kitty." It's about 4"x6.5" with paper collage and ink.
Day 12 – Mini Cat Collage
November 12th, 2007, Comments (8)
Not a lot of time for art making today, but it was the perfect opportunity to make a mini kitty collage! In my continued cleaning of my office/studio, I rediscovered these teeny tiny frames that I bought at a yard sale years ago. I made a mini kitty collage as the ones I had up for sale have sold and I because they're just so darn cute. Oosheebooshee! (that's a noise I make when things are too cute!) This is also an excellent way to use up little scraps of paper from other collages. I have a ridiculous supply of seemingly useless little scraps of paper, but I always find a way to use them eventually. So, here's my little green kitty friend in the little black frame. The frame is 2 and 3/4 inches x 3 and 1/2 inches.
And that crazy pink paper in the background which is a piece I printed in a fun class about a year ago using a printing tray full of gelatin. So cool! I want to do that again. O.k., that's all I got tonight.
Day 11 – Sirens II
November 11th, 2007, Comments (22)
There's one thing I do get about series, they can take you unexpected places. I learned this in a drawing class in college where the teacher would give us homework of doing big drawings (at least 18"x24") of one object. We'd have to do 20 big drawings in a week. I remember choosing a pair of scissors and after the first initial stiff drawings, I started to really loosen up. I drew those scissors with wild perspective, with dripping ink, in a surreal setting. They were awesome. So, sometimes, taking an idea past the initial one can lead to interesting places. The talented Wyanne, suggested I do the sirens from yesterday in collage form, so today, I did! It was fun.
It's been kinda fun being at work this weekend. I loved spending time with the sweet dogs there especially. They've been so sweet and lovey, like snuggly shadows, always close by. It's so funny and wonderful how dogs will adore you. What is that quote? Ah, here it is: In order to keep a true perspective of one's importance, everyone should have a dog that will worship him and a cat that will ignore him. - Dereke Bruce
But I'm glad I'm going home tomorrow. I like how my cats have a mind of their own and visit when they are good and ready. Here's some more fun kitty quotes for ya:
When your kitty purrs to you, doesn't it break your heart that you can't purr back? ~Candea Core-Starke
I love cats because I love my home and after a while they become its visible soul. ~Jean Cocteau
There are few things in life more heartwarming than to be welcomed by a cat. ~Tay Hohoff
The problem with cats is that they get the exact same look on their face whether they see a moth or an axe-murderer. ~Paula Poundstone
Are we really sure the purring is coming from the kitty and not from our very own hearts? ~Emme Woodhull-Bäche, translated
