Entries Tagged as: creativity
She Cast a Colorful Shadow
January 9th, 2013, Comments (12)
I haven't painted since I painted the 20 Little Lights piece the evening of the Sandy Hook shooting. I think I poured a lot of myself into that piece and the printing of prints of it as I've been raising funds. It took a lot out of me. Plus, it's holiday season and the darkest time of the year. This is definitely not my favorite time of year. I want to hibernate. But, I'm glad I have the Challenge to remind me to be creative in all the little ways (like the cardboard forts I've been making, new recipes, holiday decorations, and silly dances with my daughter.) And I'm also glad I got back to making some art.
I know some people were scared or even turned off a bit by the dark theme. I get it, I do! But the dark also has beauty. In the darkest places, the stars are brightest! The darker times of year are wonderful for hot chocolate, warm blankets, snuggling with cats, and cozy slippers. Dark times are a good time to go within, to dig deep. One of my favorite quotes is: In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer. -Albert Camus.
The piece above is acrylic and ink on watercolor paper. It was inspired in part by the quote above and in part by all the potential that is quiet and underground, but still pulsing and ready to transform once Spring arrives.
Giveaway! Hooray!
January 4th, 2013, Comments (66)
I love a good giveaway, don't you? And this one is fantastic. Leonie just contacted me to ask if I'd like to give away a combo-pack of her Create Your Incredible Business and Life Workbook to a Creative Every Day reader!! So you'd get both the Life and Business editions! Wowza!
To win, leave a comment below (by Monday at noon EST) with one hope you have for the New Year. I'll randomly select the winner from your entries! Good luck!
Thank you to all who entered!! The randomly selected winner was entry #52, Nandita! I will be contacting you shortly!
Create Your Incredible Year
January 2nd, 2013, Comments (10)
For the last 4 years, I've worked with Leonie's beautiful Workbook and Planner which does an amazing job of helping you wrap up the year that's ended and plan for the next year.
What I especially love is how she gently, but firmly helps you to not only define your goals for the year, but then also break them down into actionable steps. I think that's where we lose a lot our stamina when we create resolutions. We say we want to lose weight, create more art, send out that book proposal, or go to Italy, and then it doesn't quite come together. A lot of it is because we don't know where to begin, the task of losing weight or making more art is too big and overwhelming, we haven't broken it down into smaller, doable steps with a date to complete each of these mini-steps.
Above are a sampling of pages I've completed in the workbook so far, a lovely New Year's Eve activity. I still have more to play with. So far, I especially loved filling out the gratitude page as I worked through wrapping up my 2012. Still have more to add, but it was great to appreciate all the wonderful things I have to feel grateful for right now. And in these winter months, I also enjoyed thinking of some things I want to do to make my living space more wonderful. I'm still working out what my big goals for the year are. I have a few, some that are simple, some a little scary. But a little scary is a good thing when it comes to big dreams!
If you're looking for some assistance in getting your big dreams in motion, Leonie is a powerful resource for making things happen (she's a master at making things happen fast!) and her 2013 Create Your Incredible Year Workbook and Planner is a great place to start.
Happy New Year!
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Happy New Year!
January 1st, 2013, Comments (6)
Happy New Year to you and yours!! I wish you a magical 2013 filled with creative goodness.
I have some things to share with you over the next couple days. Perhaps, they will lead you on an internet journey that will inspire you!
First, my piece, Creating a Forest of Her Own was featured in the latest issue of Sprout, a beautiful online magazine. And next month, I'll be featured in an interview!
Ananda gave me the great honor of including me in her Digital Sisterhood Top 100! This is a list of women who according to Ananda are rocking the web and the world. What a great list of women to check out!
Earlier in the year, I was asked to join a board on pinterest for artists and mothers, called the Artist Motherboard. It's become a beautiful place to seek out inspiration from artists who are also moms! Here's a little more about the board (and how you can join it!), which was created by Lisa Myers Bulmash, about to have her first solo show. Congrats, Lisa!
Tomorrow, I'll be sharing some images from my work in Leonie Dawson's 2013 Planner and Workbook. Always a juicy way to start dreaming up what's to come in the New Year!
Celebrating the Holidays and Other Good Stuff
December 19th, 2012, Comments (3)
Something about the holiday season makes me feel crafty. I am not particularly good at crafts because I'm a bit sloppy, but whatever, I'm diving in! This year, it's been fun making some crafts with Annabelle's help, like these salt dough handprint ornaments that I made of her hand and one each for two of her buddies. I found the instructions here. They're a little warped, but with some acrylic paint and ribbon, I think they came out kind of cute!
I'd also like to say a big thank you to folks for spreading the word about the 20 Little Lights print, which I'm selling to raise funds for the Sandy Hook School Support Fund. I've been touched both by the kind words of those who were moved by the image and by the print sales. Thank you! I was really affected by the tragedy, as were so many and I felt the need to do something. Even if it was a small something.
I've loved some of the other "small somethings" people have been up to. I saw via Facebook and Instagram that people are committing to doing 26 acts of kindness to honor the 26 lives lost that day. What an awesome idea! If you're on instagram, check out the hashtag #26acts to see what other people are doing.
I also saw via Facebook, that my friend Suzi Banks Baum had joined up with a group called The World Needs More Pie to bring free pie to the people of Newtown, Connecticut yesterday. How awesome is that?
It's always nice to see how people can come together and do beautiful, kind things in the world. It makes a difference.
Days 22 – 23: Inkblot bridesmaids and Sophia
November 23rd, 2012, Comments (10)
I hope everyone who celebrated had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends! With my extended family, we'll be continuing the celebrations tomorrow. Yesterday, I did some inkblot art in a small sketchbook, leading to this image of two blue-haired bridesmaids.
Perhaps they're the same blue-haired sisters that appeared in an inkblot last year! 
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Today, I was doodling owls in my sketchbook and had the idea to do an owl perched on a woman's head. I'm calling it Sophia. In Greece, owls represent wisdom and seeing little owls in my head while breathing through labor is partly why I chose Sophia (meaning wisdom) as Annabelle's middle name. I wasn't thinking of my daughter with this image though, it was more of an outward representation of the brain.
Day 21: Creating a Forest of Her Own
November 21st, 2012, Comments (7)
Tonight, I started this painting after dinner, while Annabelle was still awake and she was super jealous. She wanted to paint too!
The acorn imagery appears in this painting as well, in the gut of the woman and also coming out of her hand over the forest blooming from her dress.
I will be away tomorrow, so I most likely won't post my art from Thursday until Friday (the daily posts will still be up.) I hope those of you in the States have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Day 13: Demeter in Winter
November 13th, 2012, Comments (11)
I wanted to make a Demeter counterpart for the Persephone in Autumn piece I did earlier in the month. Again, I started with collaging the background in the early morning hours and then painted the figure during Annabelle's afternoon nap. Again, I included a female figure in her face, which ended up getting painted over, but you can see a simple, young female figure (representing Persephone) in her hair.
After I thought the piece was finished and I took a picture for Instagram, I noticed what looked like a bird shape in her hair, so I brought that out a little bit. It seemed right.
I wanted this piece to show Persephone while she is missing her daughter, wondering where she is. Stopping for a moment to hold her in her mind. I painted it with acrylics, on top of collage on a 6"x6" panel.
By the way, if you have any interest in purchasing an original or print of the pieces I've created this month, let me know! Most of them will eventually make their way into my shop, but you can snap them up before that, if you'd like. Just pop me an email to discuss. One of this month's pieces, Potential, has already sold!
Day 12: Whale Love
November 12th, 2012, Comments (15)
I'm not even sure where, but somewhere today, I saw an image of a whale and had the urge to paint one. Working with fluid acrylics on watercolor paper, I painted this whale, spouting some love.
Day 7 – First Snow
November 7th, 2012, Comments (17)
In honor of the first snow of the season, I did this painting. Growing up in New England, I feel like I should be used to and/or love the snow. I do not. But, when I'm safely tucked inside, all warm and cozy, the first snow of the season is beautiful.
