steps

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

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....

Special order for Lindy.

Art doll Plush pendants

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

Tiny Dolls

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Birthday

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

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

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

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

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

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!!