Creative Every Day

Creative Every Day: July 7th – July 13th, 2008

July 7th, 2008, 14 Comments

Dream, Dream, Dream

July 6th, 2008, 9 Comments

Through a bit of synchronicity and the recommendation of Kelly, I've been entranced by a book all weekend. Kelly had a dream about a lynx which led her to my blog because of a recent post about my own dream lynx. She recommended the book, Conscious Dreaming by Robert Moss, which I found a copy of in my local library. When first hearing the title of the book, I wasn't super interested. I've held a certain dislike for books about dreams because most of what I've encountered has been like a cheap horoscope, poorly written and not helpful. Most of the reading on the subject in the past had been of your basic dream interpretation variety. And the definitions of symbols in those books never rang true for me, so I dismissed them.

I never dismissed my dreams however. I've always had vivid dreams and occasionally I have dreams that come true or clue me in on things that are going on. My specialty seems to be knowing the sex of a baby before it's born, though I've only experienced this with close friends and the children my mom had after me. I don't think I'm psychic, perhaps intuitive, but not reliably so. The best part of dreaming for me is the inspiration it provides for my art. Many of my paintings are developed from ideas I get in dreams, particularly in that hypnogogic state between sleeping and wakefulness. One of my recent ideas, of Ophelia walking into the water with a tattoo on her back that represents renewal and rebirth, came to me in a dream. It hasn't made it into a painting yet, but it will. I've been sketching it out, trying to remember the look of the tattoo that was on her back. All the pics in this post are sketches where I've been playing with the idea.

I believe what opened me up to picking up and diving into Conscious Dreaming was the fact that I recently read and enjoyed Martha Beck's Steering by Starlight which has a section devoted to interpreting your dreams. I listened to this book first in audio form (which is fabulous by the way) and when it came to the part about dreams, I think I literally groaned. I was not interested in hearing about it, but since it was playing through my headset while I did other things like take a walk or doing dishes, I just let it go. If I'd been reading instead of listening, I might have skimmed over this part. Well, wouldn't you know it, I really liked her way of looking at dreams. She looks at the objects, places, and people in your dreams as sort of message-bearers. And if you dialogue with them (out loud or in a journal), ask what they're trying to help you with, and then write the answer in their voice, as if they were speaking, you can often get to the heart of the matter. I tried this on some of my recurring dreams and it was helpful. It was helpful to see the people in my dreams as possibly being parts of myself relaying a message that has been buried in my subconscious. So having read Beck's book first, I think I was more open to reading Moss's book and I'm so glad! It was so wildly full of synchronicities for me that I kept laughing and ear-marking pages all over the place.

Some of the book felt a bit far-fetched for me. But it was still fascinating and I enjoyed reading about the dreams of others and what they meant to them. And I appreciated that Moss insists that we are the only authority on our own dreams. I was also tickled by the references to Alice in Wonderland, Women Who Run with the Wolves, and especially The Odyssey, which came up in my most recent painting of Penelope's Web. There were also many references to symbols that are important in my dreams and artwork such as birds and trees, which was very cool to read about. Do you find that dreams bring you inspiration for your creative activities? Do you follow the inspiration to fruition?

Well, I've got some prints to get ready for mailing and some painting that I've been itching to start, so I'll stop here. Hope you've had a wonderfully creative weekend!

Charming

July 5th, 2008, 4 Comments

Lookie!! I won a fun contest at Rosa's blog. I guessed, without going over, how many comments dooce got on her wii giveaway post. I guessed 38,000 and it was actually around 42K. 42,000 comments! Holy crap! People like Wii's! Anyways, i love what Rosa made me so much. Thanks, Rosa!!

Hey, You. There’s Nothing Wrong with You.

July 3rd, 2008, 15 Comments

Trying to take a picture of a new necklace, I ended up taking some self portrait shots out on the porch that had a nice soft light to them. So, here I am.

I'm not sure what happened, but in recent weeks, I've noticed a big personal shift. I feel like I'm finding my personal style and my voice all at once. It's subtle, but the hubster noticed too. This new necklace seemed to suit the shift, so when I saw it, I scooped it up immediately. It features the art of Mati Rose. One side says, "There's nothing wrong with you." And the other side features a lion in knee socks. Heh. Mati collaborated with jewelry artist, Kristen of Mood Swing Studio, to make these pieces and Kristen was sweet enough to change the bead color for me and then ship it out the same day. I got it super fast and put it on right out of the box.

There's nothing wrong with me. It sounds like a funny thing to realize, but I think this is the essence of my shift. The feeling is peaceful, calm, self-assured. It feels nice. I want to put a finger on where the shift came from, but I think it's incredibly multi-layered, influenced by books I've read, events that have happened, some soul searching, and thought shifting. Perhaps I'll write more about this another time.

Along with this personal shift, I've had a weird week with far too many migraines (mostly period related, I think.) The weather has also been kind of nutty. Loads of thunderstorms and hail. My poor cats were freaked out by the hail. I went out on the porch yesterday and scooped up a piece of the hail that was bouncing off the windows. It melted a bit by the time I took this picture, but holy cannoli, that's a hunk of ice! Not golf ball-sized, but the biggest piece of hail I've seen. I love a good thunderstorm as they make me feel so cozy when I'm indoors. Definitely a good time for a good read. I've been reading about dreaming and doing loads of research for our delayed honeymoon to Hawaii! Wee! I'm so excited. We'll be going in September after a wedding we're attending in San Francisco. We couldn't go last year because of the hubster's work, but I'm kind of glad that we didn't go right after the wedding as we were both exhausted.

I've also been working more on my swap sketchbook and did another inkblot (the paint is the gold of the flowers and the green gold in the flowers and the bodies of the butterfly. An unusual color palette for me. Perhaps a tropical influence from my Hawaii research. I kind of like how the lettering from the previous page has bled through.

I snapped some pics of my regular sketchbook we're I've been working out some images, but I think I'll save those for another day. Happy early Fourth of July to you! If you're looking for some good patriotic movie watching, pick up the HBO mini-series of John Adams. Awesome acting and very well done. Totally loved it.

Juggling Acts

July 1st, 2008, 10 Comments

I had a lovely weekend in NYC (mainly in Queens) with the hubster's family and friends. Back at home, my introverted self is quite tuckered out and I've been whacked around by a nasty migraine. But I had a great day before the migraine attack. I went into Boston to drop off some more prints along with a bunch of originals at Oak. I shopped around in the store a bit and picked out a couple cute barrettes. Then since I had some extra time on the meter, I walked around for a bit and checked out the new Apple store. It's very pretty. I'm glad I don't have to drive down there everyday, but it wasn't too bad today. I found a kick-ass parking spot on my first try and didn't hit any traffic. Hooray for summer! Ack, it's July! I can hardly believe it! I've got a birthday coming up this month and a wedding to travel to and I'm hoping it will be a creative and fun-filled summer.

Before leaving for New York, I put some paint into a moleskine and smushed the pages together to make some inkblot art. I've done this before and enjoyed the results, but this particular journal is part of a sketchbook exchange that Jim put together. I've never done one of these before, but I think it will be very cool to see what everyone does. My first inkblot (really a paintblot, the paint is the orange and purple) suggested the form of swirly ponytails, which led to this image of a circus act, which I made into a poster of sorts. My sketchbooks tend to be kind of random, so who knows what will be next.

In my regular sketchbook, I'm filling page after page with images. I've got a painting idea (that I dreamed about) that involves a tattoo and I'm trying to figure out tattoo design. I know it's circular, but the rest is a mystery. I've got a commission that needs working on, some business to take care of, some art that wants to be created, and loads of cleaning that needs to get done. Such is the juggling act of life! It's a good juggling act though.

I know there were other things that I wanted to mention, but that's all I've got at the moment!

Creative Every Day: June 30th – July 6th, 2008

June 30th, 2008, 12 Comments

Penelope’s Web

June 26th, 2008, 12 Comments

This is where I'm at with "Penelope's Web", a mixed media piece on 20"x20" canvas that I've been working on for a bit. I had it sitting for awhile and then tried to finish it up today. I think it's done. But I'll let it be for awhile longer and hopefully I'll know for sure soon. The piece was started intuitively and eventually led to this image of Penelope from The Odyssey. I was thinking about how Penelope tricks the harassing suitors by saying she'll marry one of them after she finishes making her funeral robe, which she works on all day and every night she unravels it. Beyond the story, the image has to do with a woman's strength and following one's gut and intuition against outside pressures. The colors remind me of summer nights in Greece which is where the hubster's dad grew up.

This weekend we're heading to NY to visit with the hubster's family (it's his mom's birthday) and to visit with a friend who just had a baby. I'm looking forward to getting out of town for a couple days. 

Art continues to flow. I'm working on a commission and next week I'll be dropping off all the "Subway Stories" pieces I have at Oak so that a potential buyer can pick out a grouping of them. I love the idea of them hanging as a group! The regular influx of no and yes tells me that I'm being active and that feels good. I'm learning to see rejections as both a sign that I'm trying and that it's just not a great fit at the moment instead of taking it so personally. Writing the posts on re-thinking rejection and success certainly helped and the shift has been really helpful. It's funny how adjusting our thought patterns can make such a significant impact on how we feel from day to day.

Elena has an interesting post about conflicts that come up when your business is a creative one. I've definitely thought about this struggle between feeling free to create whatever your heart desires, creating what you think will sell, and not stifling yourself by creating more of what has sold in the past. After creating a whole bunch of "Subway Stories" pieces for a show a couple years ago, I had no interest in creating more. I needed and took a break from them. Those pieces sold and I figured I'd make more eventually. Then I made ten more for a second show this year and afterwards took a break from them again. It's been awhile now and after riding the subway on Tuesday evening, I got some more inspiration, and I'm ready to delve back into the subject for a commissioned piece.

That's one example of how I've handled it I suppose. I try and find a balance between creating what is asked for and what I'm feeling. Thing is, most of the time, it's the stuff I create from my heart, not knowing whether it will sell or not, that sells the quickest. So, while it's important to listen to your customers, it's even more important to do as Penelope did and follow your gut. Plus, I never really know what's going to sell. Trying to guess at it is not my forte either. I just keep creating, because that's what I've got to do. When your finances depend on your creating, it may be more difficult to find that balance, but even if you spend most of your time creating for sales, I think it's extremely important to carve out time to create for yourself, even if it's just in your art journal. Creating without the intention of showing any one, with permission to toss it, is important in order to keep growing. Play and experimentation in art are essential. You never want to to take the fun out of it. That's my take on it anyways, at the moment.

I'm off to sing in the shower. Similar to singing in the rain, but much warmer. Happy creating!

Summer-Joy

June 25th, 2008, 9 Comments

Last night, my sister took me to a Red Sox game. It was so stormy all afternoon and there was lightning shooting across the sky on my way into Boston. But after a slight delay to clean up the field, the game went on and it turned out to be a beautiful night. The game went amazingly quick and the end was particularly exciting with a great turnout (Sox won 5-4). I especially enjoyed the crowd's energy and singing along with the Fenway favorites such as "Sweet Caroline." They stopped playing the song part way through because the game was starting up again, but the crowd kept singing the song. Fenway has such a great atmosphere. And check out the gorgeous sunset we got too! I'm a bit zonked today from all the jumping around in the stands, but I'm glad that it's not storming again. I love a good thunderstorm, but I prefer the sunshine during the day. I love summer.

I'm feeling so full of summer-joy and gratitude today. Besides the fabulous Sox game last night, some things that are making me happy:

• I had a great email chat with Julia about favorite childhood books and today she posted about some of those fabulous books and the impression they leave on their readers. The picture of the Nancy Drew book brought back such wonderful memories!!
• Karen purchased a piece of art that I made this month and today she posted about it with a picture of her holding it (I posted the pic below.) What a treat! She's too cute and it was great fun to see the art safe and sound at its new home with a happy new owner. Thanks so much for sharing that, Karen!!



• Andrea's pics of clothes on a clothesline. When I was little and got really angry, my mom says I used to call people a "clothespin" as an insult. hah!
• This necklace from Jes. I love the bird!
• Love this Craftcast podcast about color. The interview is with Margie Deeb, a bead artist who writes and teaches classes about the subject of color. I particular liked her discussion about the emotion behind the colors we are drawn to. Fascinating. Margie also has a blog about color for bead artists here, but I think it's interesting for any artist using color.

Picture Pages

June 23rd, 2008, 13 Comments

I did these drawings over the weekend. I used pages from a journal I picked up flea-marketing with some pals in Maine a couple weekends ago. The gentleman who sold it to me told me it once belonged to a man who came here from Poland. Many of the passages are from the 1890's. It's written entirely in German, so I'm not sure exactly what it says, but it seems to be a book full of copied quotes and poems. I just love the look of the script and drawing over these handwritten poems. I used ink and markers to decorate these pages and I just started drawing on them with no plan in mind. I liked the little houses that appeared in the skirt of the woman below.

It was super stormy today. Several thunderstorms rolled through in the morning and afternoon. It made me feel all cozy and happy to be at home.

Welcome to the newest participants of the CED challange! Here's some of what Creative Every Day 2008 participants have been up to:

• Teri has continued drawing the lovely cacti she sees. I like this one!
• Barbara from Germany is so good with fabric. Recently she made a beautiful pencil holder.
• Kathleen has gorgeous watercolor sketches up on her blog.
• Loving the orange photo theme Megan has going on.
• Mrs. Pivec has a great post about art ideas for kids.

Creative Every Day: June 23rd – June 29th, 2008

June 23rd, 2008, 13 Comments

 

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