STRANDS

steps

2010-04-21T13:27:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I wonder what my next step will be. I can never predict it and I am happy about that. So when something new emerges I am so happy. Happy steps!

The life as an artist

2010-04-12T10:15:00.000-07:00

I am such a visual person it is hard for me to keep up with my blog. I don't know what to say.

But when it comes to having words floating around my brain there are plenty.
I feel I am a roller coaster; full of belief and energy that I am headed the right direction and then doubt sneaks in and takes the comfortable seat. Or I just love the moments when I get a brilliant idea and I paint it and I still love it even the next day. Then for some unknown reason I will tell myself it isn't good because it doesn't look just like the other paintings. Boy do the words swim around my head like a tornado.

I guess with every field and career there are moments of doubt

Well it is another day and there are plenty of things to do, dolls to make, paintings to finish, choices to make
I wonder if others feel like I do....

2010-03-01T14:03:00.000-08:00

Special order for Lindy.

Art doll Plush pendants

2010-02-28T10:49:00.000-08:00

I have been busy making these little art doll pendents. They are so fun and are selling really well!

Tiny Dolls

2010-02-12T12:03:00.000-08:00

I have been working on some tiny dolls. Some will become pendants. I call them my Imaginary Friends. They are sorta like a worry doll except it is like a friend. You can tell it the Good the Bad and the ugly and it will never judge you or get mad at you!!! We all need friends like that!

gone

2010-01-27T11:39:00.000-08:00

I don't know if other's think about it but I do. What will happen when I am gone. Through out my life I have made a lot of things and have sent them out into the world. As I see it, it is like sending my souls energy out to touch another soul. I have work all around the globe. Sometimes I wonder if I have touched the souls of others, have I made a difference in someone's life.
I also think of when I am gone what will happen to the things I call art. Will it become somebody's trash, burden or will it become more precious, more valuable.

I know there will never be an answer so I must keep doing what my heart tells me to do. Go make more art!

Prolific

2010-01-26T12:35:00.000-08:00

Some people say I am quite prolific. Maybe I am but I am also a very disciplined person with a strong desire to create. There are times when I am not able to paint, so during those times I create other things. I always have several different kinds of projects working at the same time. I have found this method helps my paintings. I don't over work them and it gives me time away from my work., so when I do return I have a fresh eye.
I used to judge myself, being scattered but now I see it differently. I am embracing all the sides of me, all my creations.

New old Beginnings

2010-01-25T19:55:00.000-08:00

Well here we are in 2010 and I thought things were going to change. Yes there have been some changes around me, not necessarily the ones I would have chose. But one thing I am excited about is my diligent practice of making art. I am working on new paintings and art dolls. Of course when you make things you have to find homes for them. For me that seems to be the harder of the two. Here are a couple of samples of new work.

Spikes

2009-09-08T08:36:00.000-07:00

I love when ideas that have been in my head swimming around finally have a chance to be set free. I really love to see the idea in full bloom and the results are more exciting and better than the idea that has been hanging with me. Then sometimes I wonder why it took me so long to set the idea free. Then I think, well maybe it wasn't it's time yet.
I present to you Spike the Scarf!

Writing

2009-07-06T07:50:00.000-07:00

I read a blog post yesterday about meatballs. I loved how this lady wrote. She took you on a little journey that kept me spell bound to the end. I had to keep reading, I had to know how the story ended. I had to know how the people reacted. She is a great story teller.
It makes me wonder if she has always been that way, does she know others sit on the edge of their seats. Does she know how she effects others.
Do any of us know how we effect others?

Not your grandmothers Pill Box Hats

2009-06-15T08:13:00.000-07:00

So finally I dove right in feet first and created not one but 3 pill box hats. I am so excited by them. I have had the idea swimming in my head for a long time but just hadn't figured it all out. Then once I had it all figured I didn't have the time to dive into another project. Yes I was suppose to be working on something else but it felt to so good to create something totally new and fresh. I got the the big ok from my daughter which of course is the number one critic of what is fashionable and good design.
So I have slept on it for two nights and have woke up and checked to see if I am still loving the idea and designs. So far it is still a big go. In fact so much so I am in the planning stage of the next two.
Now these hats are not your ordinary everyday kind of Hat. This the kind of hat that says LOOK at me yet still has the elegance with an edge.

List

2009-06-09T09:24:00.000-07:00

The other night I was watching So You Think You Can Dance and one of the contestants had made a list of what he wanted to accomplish that day. The last thing on the list was to make the top 20.
I thought about his list and realized it was a really great idea. Yes list have been around a long time and many people will say they are good for organization and motivation. But I saw this list different. He was using this list like a visualization. He wrote it as if it was already done.
Being inspired by this wonderful dancer I decided to start making a list everyday. I had forgotten how great if feels just to mark something off the list.

Here is to LIST!!!

Day Off

2009-06-05T10:25:00.000-07:00

I had a day off with big plans. I had made a huge list of things that I wanted to accomplish. Funny thing is I think I actually got less accomplished than when I have less time. But one thing I did accomplish wasn't on the the list, to relax, take the pressure off and just be. I am not quite rested yet, maybe I need a few more days off! But I do feel clearer and am caring a lighter load.

picture

2009-06-03T20:57:00.000-07:00

Birthday

2009-06-02T09:00:00.000-07:00

So yesterday was my birthday. It is funny how you have and don't have expectations. I want to celebrate but I don't want to. This year it was a very low key bd. I worked all day which was fine. I had a lot of songs sung and many great wishes, which made me smile. It is funny looking at a # and the meaning that # holds. Then I stop and look at myself and how I feel and ACT, they are not in the same reality.
So I have made a decision I have a lot more years of creating and laughing in me. I have a lot more people to meet and inspire. On some level my journey is just beginning. Do you want to come along for the ride???
Here is someone that has inspired me
Larry Gluck taught me the tools so that I can draw anything, which makes me feel like a TRUE artist!

Hats

2009-05-30T06:48:00.000-07:00

I have been having a urge to create hats for over a year. I acknowledged the idea but haven't really done anything with it. It is so funny when I am really suppose to do a project it will hunt me down over and over until I just say yes to it.
Yesterday the urge hit me again and I said yes. This time I started looking at the project from my point of view instead of being scared off by the proper way of constructing a hat. You see I have been learning and teaching my self all about millinery work and actually have scared myself away from the project. But yesterday I had a moment that yes the hats can be made that way but what if I created/ built them my way. The energy of doing it my way gave me freedom and the courage to start this new project. Instead of being faced with how am I suppose to do that I now see the completed hat in my mind and will know exactly how to do it when I begin. The power of seeing the whole picture before you begin!!!

Memorial Day

2009-05-26T09:53:00.000-07:00

I was thinking of my father yesterday. He spent two years in Vietnam. As a child I didn't really understand. As a young adult I don't think I really understood. Now that I am older, have my own family I understand just a little. All I can really say is he was a great man in more ways than I will ever know. I honor him.

Memorial Day also gave me a much needed day off. It gave me the opportunity to just play and even take a nap!!

Out of that relaxation a new idea emerged. So simple yet so eye catching!!!

Trying too Hard

2009-05-22T10:32:00.000-07:00

I have a special project I am working on, it is a great idea but I haven't put my stamp on it. I keep twisting the idea in my mind then trying it and it just hasn't flowed. It might be one of those ideas that needs to age like wine and one day I will have all the answers. And then I will think to myself or even say out loud "How come I couldn't see that answer before." Maybe I just need to approach it from a different angle hhhhmmmm

This is how my creative mind works, non stop always going. There are times when I cannot sleep because the ideas are swimming everywhere or other times I sleep out of pure exhaustion .

But boy is it fun. It gives me so much life energy to be in the space of creation. I feel so blessed.

Twigs

2009-05-19T08:41:00.000-07:00

I had an colleague yesterday suggest I go to the beach. My response was that I would rather be working on one of my projects. He said I was a "Driven Woman. After you make your first Million then go to the beach!!"

He was right on many levels. I love the beach, mountains and nature. But right now I find the most enjoyment making the ideas that are in my head or on scraps of paper. That brings me such joy to see if it is going to work and if not what can I do about. My dream would be to have a studio so I can see the mountains and the beach while I am solving these creative problems!!!

Sometimes I wear my creations while working. This is so comfortable that I forget that I am wearing it. Twigs in Buttercup

Bits and Pieces

2009-05-17T16:14:00.000-07:00

I don't like to throw away bits and pieces. I am sure I will use it for something. This behavior confuses the people that live with me. They just don't understand why I would keep piles of little pieces that couldn't make anything.
Well those little pieces inspired this new Textile necklace. I decides to tie them together into a chain. I wasn't sure it going to work until it was complete. I think it is a fun and funky piece. A bit unexpected. Just a splash of color to brighten any outfit!!

Fierce

2009-05-13T06:59:00.000-07:00

So this ruffle scarf was created this past fall and I have had so much fun wearing it and coming up with new versions of it. The responses are many. As funny as , "I wondered why you would want all that around your neck but wow I now know why!!" to "this is stunning and a show stopper".

Have you ever had an idea and then created it and was surprised by the final outcome was so much better that you envisioned?

Ideas

2009-05-12T12:27:00.000-07:00

Most of my life I have had more ideas than I could create. I would start one idea then go on to the next, never staying with one thing too long. I never understood that part of me and many times judged it as bad.

Now that I am more mature/ older I am starting to see myself differently. Not judging my natural tendencies and accepting the way I am and just going with the flow of all my many ideas, creations and piles of messes.
The other day on one of my long commutes I started thinking about one of my destinies. I recently wrote a book STRANDS and had a time of my life creating that book. I had so much fun!!! Since then I have come up with enough ideas and already created to make two more books. That is when I started to really see why I have so many ideas. Wow I wished I had know this long time of go...

So here is to ideas and destiny!!!

Favorites

2009-05-11T09:29:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorites from Etsy

Vintage Ribbon

2009-05-08T09:21:00.000-07:00

Recently I was a lucky girl and received a couple of boxes of vintage ribbon, net and such. After going through it like a kid on Christmas morning I put it all back in the boxes. Then went about my business of the day. Even when I have great supplies I need incubating time to allow my creative fairies to do their work. The other morning I woke up and went straight to the Rose ribbon. Well as all things vintage it had a smell. Not necessarily my favorite smell, so off the bathroom I go. The ribbon looks sorta paperly so I test it first to make sure it is even washable. It is. So as I am washing it I decide to spray it with some bleach. hmm what if? I let it dry and now I have this most wonderful soft wrinkled and very vintage multi rose colored ribbon.

Now play time.

After a bit of trial an error I came up with a cool circular weave. So that is the center of this wonderful headband

always creating

2009-05-05T08:26:00.000-07:00

I am always in the creating mode, even when I don't want to be. I wake up and have a completed picture in my mind of the next project to do. Or even can be be in mid sentence and see something different and have another new idea for another projects.

Here is one of those

This very cool and hip long textile necklace is created with small piece of fabric tied together to form a chain. The fabric has a stretch so it can be worn as a choker or looped loosely around your neck. The necklace measures 65" in length. It also can be worn as a belt or a headband. Very fun!!

STORY

2009-05-04T07:52:00.000-07:00

So I never finished writing or even telling the story of how STRANDS came to life. Well as I said in the lat story the book Tonia and I were trying to create didn't happen. The finance department didn't feel it would make enough money. So I thanked her for her hard work and her belief in me and went on with my artistic life.

Two years later I am in the process of moving from Minnesota to California. I am staying with my sister in law and have no art supplies but have free time. Well when that kind of thing happens to me I always find something to work with. That is when I got out some tape. plastic wrap and thread. I started creating these sheets of "fabric" I would hang them all over the walls, one after another. When my family came home they were a bit surprised.

Each day I work on these, changing the color of the thread or cutting wholes out or even sewing shapes on it. I started getting a special feeling. So I kept working.

I then started to create some paper "fabric" with glue, tissue paper and thread. After working with it a bit I knew I had to contact Tonia. I sent her an email with some photos. She was intrigued with what she saw and wanted to see more.

Well that is the beginning of the book.

I will see you later.=)

Time

2009-05-03T08:22:00.000-07:00

Time is a funny thing, it slips by so quickly. I focus my time on certain things and other things get put on another shelf. My point is that I started a story and didn't finish. In fact just left you hanging.

So I am making a commitment that I will come and share with you more often. I hope to be a bit entertaining, a little interesting, maybe a little funny. Any way I will be here more often to share a glimpse of how my creative world works!

Thanks for hanging in there and even having the desire to read past the first line!!

Till next time

The Back Story

2008-12-10T09:21:00.000-08:00

Someone asked for the back story of this book It is a bit long so it will be a two part series. So here it goes.

About 15 years ago someone told me I would right a book. I agreed that yes I knew I would also. Did I know it would be a craft book? No. I actually thought it would be about my life, I have had quite a ride.

So fast forward to Feb. 2005 Tonia Davenport an editor for Northlight Book Publishing Company sent me an email saying that she really loved my mixed media paintings. She especially loved the pieces that had sewn fabric adhered to the canvases. This was before it hit the main stream. So we worked together to get a proposal prepared to take to their monthly meeting.

My feelings during this whole process was at first disbelief, is she for real and can I do it? A lot of fear arose during this whole process and then excitement. It was a huge growth for me, no doubt.

Ok I finally wrapped my mind around a theme and created a proposal and outline and she went into the first meeting. At this meeting two of her superiors were there. We got a good response, they loved my work and wanted to see a full proposal. They did have a few requests; they would like the book to be slightly broader than just quilted canvases. Also, they talked about having the book be made up of projects, as well as techniques, including maybe some utilitarian items as well as merely art for the wall.

I was happy and giddy but I still didn't have a clear vision of what the book would look like and how I could fill the book with different ideas.

So at first this was going to be a book about my mixed media paintings then it changed to a book of projects, featuring my style and techniques. She suggested that maybe fabric can be the common element to all of the projects. She felt that the fabric, along with my unique style will pull the book together and make it cohesive. Along with quilted canvas, I could incorporate my photo transfers, stamp carving, collage techniques, etc. She also suggested I could design projects that are to wear, are for the home, gifts and a few that are just art.

Even through my fear and doubt she stood strong in her convictions and told me that she had very good gut feeling about making a book with me and she thought we would make a wonderful team.

So off I went to my studio to brain storm and create. Mostly create. I have found that my best ideas come from creating an idea. I was under a bit of a time restartint since she had a monthly meeting to go to and she wanted to get my ork in the next meeting. Under that kind of pressure I find I try too hard and screw up, but as soon as I relax and do my thing it all works out. I created 20 or so projects. I only need to do 10 but found that I needed to create that many so I knew what I was talking about.

So it is now April of 2005 and the package has been shipped.

In My Hands

2008-12-02T12:45:00.000-08:00

One week ago I received a package in the mail. By the time I got home it had already been opened up and was sitting on a shelf. I opened the door and there on the shelf stood my book. With a head peeking out from behind it was my husband with a huge grin.

To hold my book I was transported back in time as a giddy little girl. I flipped though it taking in all of the goodness. I am so proud of all the hard work that everyone has put into this project. This really isn't mine but it is ours.

It is my families and their endless hours of answering how does this look? questions. It is my editors and there endless work in trying to make since of my endless run on sentences. It is the Northlight Publishing company and their constant work and vision of the success of this book and Yes the marketing department we have just begun. There is a song about that.

A week later after going through so many emotions of high and low I still take the book out of it's box and hold it in a presenting way ( like Vana White) I still get giddy. I carry that box with the book in it every where I go. Who knows who needs to see it!!