Making the time and a sneak peak....

Wow it's a couple of weeks into January! I realized with going back to work in December, Christmas and life in general I haven't blogged in forever!  It's been an adjustment going back to work, I was only off for 5 months with shoulder surgery but it was just enough time to get out of the swing of things.   Being back at work forces me to be more organized with my time and energy and now that the holidays are over I am ready to fit being creative back into my life.  To tell the truth I MUST fit being creative into my life!  If I go for more than a few days not drawing, painting or just being crafty I start to get restless.  Last Saturday I spent 7 hours in my studio creating, I loved it.  I can't always find that much studio time and balancing everything in life (work, family, chores, creative time) can often be tough going.

As the boys get older they are in less need of my full time attention. Matthew is a teenager now so it's more like forcing him to spend time with us instead of him wanting too.  Jackson loves watching soccer and playing FIFA on the Xbox and fortunately so does my husband.  So when things wind-down for the evening and the boys go off to play their games a little before bed I sneak into my studio for a little creative time.  Now this isn't always how it goes, sometimes there's taking or picking up a kid from a event or watching Jackson's soccer games etc. but the days that all the running around and getting stuff done can be finished before dinner is when I take advantage of some creative time.  Mike and I have become quite the team as far as taking on the chores and the kids activities. Sometimes it feel like he picks up the slack a little more often than I do so that I can be creative but I try to give him his time to relax go get a beer with a friend etc. Team work is what works in our house.  I know a few of my friends have told me they envy the time I have to create and that they wish they could do the same. When I tell them to just do it, they tell me it's not so easy because they don't get the help like I do or the kids never give them free time etc. Just taking 20 minutes to write, draw or doodle most nights is better than nothing.  I guess what I am saying is that if you really want that time then you need to make it for yourself. Lock that bedroom door and tell your husband he's got kid duty for the next 30 minutes or get up an extra 20 minutes early a few days a week to create. If you have little one's give them some paper and have them create with you.  You would be amazed what you can get done in those short times and how relaxing it can be.   As women I think we just get so used to doing everything for everyone that we forget how to take care of our own needs and wants. Then at some point we start feeling like we have lost our selves and can become resentful. Taking the time to create, write or do whatever activity it is that you enjoy is such an important part of being a good mother, wife and person. We need it! It's what's makes us be the best we can be!  We might not get to do these things as often or as much as we like right now in our lives but a little is better than nothing don't you think?  I challenge everyone who reads this blog post today to take the time and be creative or just have "ME TIME"  at least 1 time a week for this year. I would love to hear of your success and strategies in making this happen. Here is are a few of my strategies I will be using to put creative time into my busy life.

1. Get out the door by 7 a.m.  for work for most days.( Mike and I trade off going to work early and taking Jackson to school)  I can get home early get things done around the house freeing up a little evening time for creating.
2. Make list's of what needs to get done and set deadlines.  ( This is my most challenging and the newest for me) I will use these lists for household chores and making sure I am getting my creative work done on time or in a timely manner.  Also making sure I have time to just play in my studio too. 
3. Going with the flow.  Life doesn't always like to go with my plans so knowing that I might have to re-write my schedule or switch it up is important for me to remember. 
4. Keeping family time as number one. With Matthew a teen now and him wanting to spend less time with us, Mike and I want to make sure that we are spending time together as a family.  Space Needle visit is next on our list for a day outing.  Last night the Mike, the boys and I spent time working on this weeks Life Book Lesson with Carla Sonheim. It was so much fun creating our silly characters! We laughed a lot. I really appreciated them doing drawing with me. I think we spent about 30 minutes right after dinner doing this and then everyone went their separate ways. 
5. Patience.  Patience and I haven't been very good friends for most of my life.  I have always found it very hard to be patient and the Verruca Salt attitude of, " I want it now" has been a challenge for me to overcome.  Patience and I are becoming friends, slowly but surely. 
6. Set limits on my volunteering.  I have been getting better with this one.  Right now, after school art club one time a month, art docent for my sons class one time a month and Sunday school at church once every month is all the volunteering I can do. This is still a lot considering I work full time and I want to make sure I have my creative time.  I think giving back is so important for our community and ourselves but sometimes we just can't say no and while it's for a worthy cause we end up losing our time for ourselves and become burnt out.  That little free time that I am talking about is just as important for our sanity even if we have to get over our guilt.  Balance is the key!  I am always telling my kids that too much of a good thing can become a bad thing, so I am taking my own advice.   

One of my artistic goals this year is to submit my artwork to some of my favorite mixed media magazines. If you are into mixed media then I'm sure my favorite magazines Somerset Studio and Cloth Paper Scissors are your favorites too.  Here is one of the girls I will be mailing off for one of their calls.  The theme is Masquerade.

  She was created on watercolor paper using acrylics, pens, inks, markers and molding paste. The diamond background was a stencil I used with molding paste. I let the paste dry and then put Inka Gold in metal finish on the diamonds. I Zentangled her mask and the lace around her shirt. Doesn't she look like she  is on her way to the Masquerade!

The last thing I wanted to talk about is Life Book 2014. It has started and I am loving it as always.  This is my 3rd year, as I have been there from the beginning.   My goal for this year is to do every exercise and create a big book at the end of the year! Last year while I did watch every video I didn't do every lesson.  Here is my first two that I have completed.

Week 1 with Tam.  This is my guardian and my word for the year is, "Believe"  Tam had us do a meditation where our guardian came to visit us and my girl came to me at the beach. I choose ocean blue, lime green and lavender colors to represent the beach.  I choose, "Believe" to remind me to believe in myself and my abilities.  Boy, I was challenged with this the first week, looking at all the amazing guardians that the other Life Bookers created had me second guessing my abilities.  Lucky I am over it (for now) and I re-focused on creating not comparing.

  

 Week 2 with Micki Wilde.  I decided to create this piece on craft paper. I thought the brown bag color and texture would go great with the grey craft paint.  I love how the paper has little wrinkles in it too.  The colors pop against the grey/brown background.  I really had fun with this one. While the lesson was to create this circle and words that say, " In 2014 I will be a " I couldn't resist creating my girl!  So in 2014 I will be a Confident Creator.

If you are not part of Life Book 2014 and are interested in it go to http://willowing.ning.com. I highly recommend it. What you get and how many amazing artist are teaching lessons for the price is an amazing deal!

I am looking forward to finishing up this weeks lessons with Carla Sonheim and will post my results next week.   

Happy Creating!

Thankful

It's a few days since Thanksgiving and I finally finished the piece I was working on in honor of the day.  She started out as a drawing for the 40 portraits challenge that Gritty Jane had posted a month or so ago.  I was hoping that I would have had more faces done by now but it's the holiday season and I have returned back to work full time so not much creating has been done.
So, here she is the before and after. I really like how the color changed her mood on her face. Her face is softer and younger looking in the drawing and the color adds a big of age to her.  The five feathers represent what she is thankful for, family, life, love, friendship and hope.  Her journey in life hasn't always been easy but she is very thankful for the journey and all that has come her way because of it.

Creepy Cuties and Friends are going to Hollywood!

 I am very excited to announce that Claudia, the twins, Renee, Alice and Pun and some more of their friends will be up for sale at Agave Gardens in Burbank California!  I have mailed them out today and they should be arriving next week.  There are prints on wood as well as some originals.  If your in the neighborhood, hope you can go check them out.

Agave Gardens 

820 N. Hollywood Way

Burbank, CA 91505

Where did I get the love for those big eyed and a little creepy dolls?

I was in second or third grade, my sister and I shared a bedroom. My mom had our bedroom all fixed up pink and white for her little girls. Even though I was a tom boy growing up I really loved all the pink in that room.  Across the room from our beds hung two prints. They were by what I could remember the cutest but saddest looking doll faces. Every night before I went to sleep with the nightlights glow I would stare at them wondering what they were thinking and why they were so sad. I remember sometimes feeling that way too. Life with an alcoholic father and a co-dependent mother wasn't always the easiest.   Those doll faces were the last thing I would see every night before I went to sleep.  I loved looking at them.

I also loved these dolls that my mom or grandma had bought us. They were pretty cheap back then, the faces were painted on cloth and they wore big dresses with fancy hats. I remember holding them and moving their hair around to see the Styrofoam underneath.  I thought they were so fancy back then, I didn't know how much they cost but they were like a million bucks to me!  I didn't have many dolls, not because I couldn't have them, but cause I didn't want them but there were a few I treasured, like my new born doll that had this white christening dress on.  My grandma had bought me that one and I can still remember the day we brought it home from the toy store. I still have that one although her arm is torn and I don't think the dress survived. I gave it to my daughter Devon and she played with it when she was little too. 

Flash forward and I am now a grown up with a love to create doll faces.  I will venture off making other things but I always come back to my love of drawing a stylized face.  I had always loved those paintings and dolls when I was a kid but I didn't know much if anything about them.

Mike and I were away at Leavenworth for the weekend and I was telling him about the dolls and prints and how much I loved them as a kid.  We decided to go to the antique shops in Cashmere (didn't know it was the largest antique mall in our state, it was huge and Mike will tell you there was ton of stuff!).  Mike was a trooper following me around the mall.   To be honest it was quite overwhelming for me too but I was on a mission to see if I could find any of these dolls or prints and guess what, I did!  I found out that the dolls that I loved as a kid were called, "Bradley Dolls"  They were made in Korea or Japan and were sold at five and dime stores.  The first one I found was the smallest but it had a wooden base that said Bradley on it and I had to have it! I ended up bringing home three. I thought it was kind of cool how they used Styrofoam over wire as the armature  and covered it with fabric.  The dolls are now in my studio perched atop of the box shelf that holds my other dolls.  Here is a picture of the ladies. Fancy right! LOL. I know they are not everyone's cup of tea and are a little creepy but I love them so! I love pop culture and things from the past. I think my boys are happy that they are in the studio, they were a little freaked to see these dolls on the kitchen counter.

 

Here is some more information about Bradley dolls from the Trash Collector http://thetrashcollector.com/toysdollsbradley.html.  Do you remember these dolls? Did you have one?

 

So I found the dolls but I didn't find those prints or paintings. I did some research and found out who made those beautiful sad eyed girls.  Her name is Margaret Keane and her story is so interesting.  Walter and Margaret Keane were a husband and wife duo and they were  rising stars in the pop culture scene of the 50's and 60's, because of Margaret's kitsch big eyed paintings of children.  Walter and Margaret ended up getting a divorce and Walter claimed that he was the artist who made all the paintings. Margaret challenged him in a paint off in court and she won.  Margaret lives in San Francisco today and is still painting. I would love to meet her!  Here is a link to her site http://www.keane-eyes.com/ or Facebook https://www.facebook.com/KeaneEyesGallery.MargaretKeane.

 

Tim Burton is making a movie about Margaret and Walter called "Big Eyes" I can't wait to see it.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/04/tim-burton-big-eyes-new-movie-margaret-walter-keane-amy-adams-christoph-waltz_n_3013705.html.  It is said to be released sometime in 2014.

 

There are other artists from that time that painted big eyed children, Gig, Gogi, Igor and Lee to name a few. They all so much fun to look at. I am still hunting for those big eyed dolls that hung in my bedroom, I am hoping someday I will find them and I promised my boys they would be hung in my studio only. LOL. 

 

I'm not sure if those prints from my past were Keane, Lee or another artist from that time but I do know those big eyed girls with the sad expressions sent me off to dreamland many nights when I was a little girl and today they inspire me to create my own big eyed girls like my Creepy Cuties.

So did you have any of these prints in your bedroom growing up?  I would love to hear if you did so please comment.

Here is another link to big eyed artists.

http://besmirched.tripod.com/guide.html

 

 

You can find some of my art hanging in Cafe Louvre in Edmonds

This past weekend I took 8 pieces of my artwork to be displayed and up for sale at Cafe Louvre in Edmonds Washington https://www.facebook.com/Cafe.Louvre.US.  It was fun seeing my work up on the walls.  Edmonds has some great shops and galleries to explore so if your in the neighborhood I recommend checking it out.

CSA-Art Party this Sunday

I am pretty excited to be able to attend CSA's Art Party in Belltown this Sunday.  Have you heard of CSA?  Here is how it works. (taken from their website)
How CSA works:
Selected artists will create 10-50 “Art Shares” for the program. A typical share consists of art/object of artistic production – multiples are encouraged, however creative ideas that translate your practice into this format or connect to themes like sustainability, farm, or food are also welcome. For example a limited edition of vinyl 7”, a run of screen-prints, series of small tea cups, run of photographs, tickets to an upcoming performance or event, letterpress editions of a poem or short story, or even 10-50 small original paintings. Collaborations between artists or work by collectives are also welcome.
Interested consumers/collectors will purchase a share (aka a “membership” or a “subscription”) and in return receive 3 “farm boxes” of locally produced artwork at intervals this season. The pick-up evenings will be at local art sites and will feature music, food and entertainment.

Benefits of the CSA Program
- See more at: http://www.communitysupportedarts.com/

Pretty cool concept don't you think?  At the art party they are holding a silent auction benefitting Young Empowered Women  http://youngwomenempowered.org/. I have donated Peony 1 to the silent Auction.

Hope it brings in some cash for this worthy organization.
Check out  Audra Mulkern http://audramulkern.com a very sweet lady that creates some very beautiful and story telling photos. Audra is one of this years featured artists!  Congrats to Audra.

If you live in the Seattle area tickets are still available come check out CSA Art Party!

I think I will call it not so formal online art training!

I've been thinking a lot about my skills as an artist and how much I have grown. I think back about 7 years ago when I first took an online class from Suzi Blu. It was my first lesson on how to draw faces, real and stylized. I wasn't sitting in a classroom filled with other eager to learn students. I was at home in my sweats printing PDF's and watching online videos from Suzi.  I look at some of my first drawings and I can say there was definite room for improvement but I practiced and kept working at it. I worked really hard to get the eyes in the right place and the lips were a tough one for me those took me sometime to get them just right.  To be honest everything was hard but I loved practicing and I couldn't get enough of it. That's when the art bug bit me! I spent the next years taking online classes from abstract art to art journaling. I still practice almost every day and I love still take online classes.

Over the years I have watched countless videos from amazing artist all over the world. I have learned how to draw, paint, make marks and even how to start selling my art. Each of the teachers that I spent hours watching their video's have made such a huge impact on me and I bet if you are someone who has taken some class from these same teachers you might see a little of them here and there in my work.

 I think the online workshops, classes and the teachers from all over the world influenced me so much.  It has taken me some time to figure out how to use those influences and not copy them but use them to create my own style. 

It has taken me some time to figure out my style too.  It changes often and I don't ever seem to be very happy doing the same thing over and over. I've decided that I will embrace this and go with it. Instead of trying to make the same style or piece over and over again I will make series. Who says you have to do the same things over and over again right!

While I can't say I have a degree in fine arts, I don't think I would call me a self taught artist. I think I will say that I have been formally trained online!  I have yet to take a live class and maybe someday I will but what I have learned online has been life changing for me.  So today I say thank you to all those amazing teachers for helping me a long the way in this journey through the artland. 

Next step for me is to work towards getting my art out there in the local sense.  I will be putting my work up at Louvre in Edmonds WA. It's a cute coffee shop surrounded by art galleries. Maybe I will get into a gallery or two myself. I am also thinking about creating my own online art video. I'm ready to turn this corner in my journey with the hopes to someday become a working artist! Wish me luck!

Thank you to the following and check them out sometime:

Suzi Blu- You were my first online teacher and I loved so much watching you paint and draw.
http://suziblu.ning.com/

Julie Prichard and Cris Cozen (Land of the lost luggage) Thank you ladies for showing me how to make some amazing backgrounds as well as some fun substrates to work on. Can anyone say vinyl!
 http://thelandoflostluggage.com/

Tam and all the amazing artists from Lifebook!  This is year two in the amazing LB and I will for sure be joining 2014. It is worth every penny.
http://willowing.ning.com/

Jane Davenport- Your "I heart drawing" class really helped me create body portions that don't look all wonky. 
http://janedavenport.com

Martiel, Ilysa and Kira from Things Crafty and Amazing Success Academy(formally known as DYS).  These ladies are awesome! I have learned so much from them on how to start an art business. I am so grateful to them for the time and energy they put into this class. If you are looking for some help and support on growing your art business Martiel is a great person to turn to.  Check out http://www.amazingsuccessacademy.com/. To see what Ilysa and Kira are up to in the world of polymer clay go to. http://thingscrafty.com/

Here are my two newest creations.  My favorite flower is a peony and so I created my girls with peony flowers for their hair. Broken Puppet is a tattoo artist I found on youtube that has some really good tutorials on how to draw a peony new school style. I also watched his video on drawing an owl.  Perfect example of me using what I learned from watching a video online and using the skills to create my own piece in my style. Check out Broken Puppet on youtube he has some mad skills!

Peony1

She is painted on a 5'by7'wood canvas. The canvas is distressed to look worn. Acrylic, pen, pencil, marker and inks were used to make her.

 Peony2

She is painted on a 11'by14' watercolor paper.

I used pen, pencil, water color, ink sprays, acrylics markers, stencils and a gelli plate to create here.