Brightening My Day With...

fresh orange juice...

...and Christmas lights.

Been Awhile...

Yep, it's definitely been awhile since I've posted anything.  Here are a few things I've been up to in the past few months:

Ate a Voodoo doughnut in Portland...

And then walked along the Oregon coast.

Moved back to the Twin Cities (hooray! hooray!) just in time to enjoy the autumn colors...

And now Jonathan and I have waded through most of the moving boxes and are trying to establish a daily rhythm. I haven't painted or written since the move. Well, until this morning. I took out the paints and started working on an older canvas. Hopefully, I'll have something to share soon.

Until then, here's the last painting I did before everything got packed away.

Just Keep Working

I saw this quote on Terri Windling's blog, The Drawing Board. I liked it so much and the truth of it, I had to share it here. It's by Ira Glass, host of This American Life.

"Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through." — Ira Glass

Swimming In Ambiguity

Right now many of my paintings are in various states of undress. I feel like I'm swimming in that area between instruction and self-expression. I'm using what I learned in the Bloom True class to uncover my own voice. My work seems ambiguous to me right now, but I also feel an excitement in my belly, like a breakthrough lies within reach. Of course, my belly could also be saying it wants french fries. You never know with bellies.

Here are some glimpses at a few blossoming layers:

Beginnings

The Bloom True e-course ended a few days ago and I'm already missing it. What an amazing experience, filled with so many tremendously creative people. I feel so inspired and awake right now.


There is a great deal to say about this course, and I do plan to share my experience, but right now I'm still absorbing it all.

I can say that even though the class has ended, it feels like the beginning of a greater journey. I also highly recommend the e-course to anyone willing to be brave and stretch their creative wings.

Discovering Dreams

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

--Mark Twain

Blooming True

Starting Monday, I'll be embarking on a creative journey led by artist Flora Bowley. I've been interested in her work since I first saw it through Papaya!. Now, she's teaching an e-course on intuitive creativity and being brave.

I can't wait to start painting and getting messy and uncovering a little more of my creative self!

Happy Holidays!

Hope your holidays are full of merry brightness!

--we painted our own Christmas tree this year-- :)

Sweet & Spooky

We decorated a haunted house this week.

It was made out of chocolate cookies.



And candy.



And lots and lots of frosting!



We went a little overboard with the frosting and it was delicious!

Have a spooky-ooky, happy Halloween!

Tiny Tote

I used some of the remaining pillow fabric to make a tiny tote for Brianna.




I'm starting to like this sewing thing.

Chillin'

Delicious iced mocha with lavender, anyone?

Yes, please!

This yummy drink is called Midnight Garden or Moonlight Garden (I can never remember, but it's my favorite). So, thank you River Rock Coffee for making something I can't stop drinking.

:)

Sewing Project: Pillows

I took another class at Crafty Planet and this time I made pillows. We made inserts first with muslin and poly-fil and then we made the covers with invisible zippers.



The main reason I wanted to make pillows (besides the fact that you can never have enough pillows) is that our couch is an Ikea couch. It's tiny and easily transportable (which fits into our current nomadic existence), but it needs a little extra help in the comfy department. Hence, the pillows.




Now, the only question is what do I sew next?

Waves and Pagodas

Tonight, while I browsed through my photo collections, I ran across photos of two paintings I did a little over a year ago.

The first I painted for my mother who loves the ocean.



As for the second one, I painted it with the idea of a secret place to go and dream extraordinary dreams.

I like to imagine that I'm in this painting somewhere.

Maybe on the starlit path.



Maybe in the dreaming pagoda itself.



Or maybe resting on the hill, staring at the sky.

Inspiration Blooming

We visited Como Park yesterday. I wanted to see the conservatory and all of the gardens. Many times I like taking inspiration (for my paintings) from the shapes and textures of plants and flowers.













One of the highlights of the day was walking into the Sunken Garden and being enveloped by fragrance. Amazing! It smelled so wonderful that I could have sat in there the entire afternoon.



Mmmmm... I wonder how much it would cost to build my very own conservatory? :)

Listening to...

Relax

I got this from the Kripalu website. They got it from Colors in Motion.

All I know is that I felt relaxed after I watched it. So, if you need a moment to yourself, just put it on full screen and unwind.

Workin' The Canvas

I picked up a bunch of canvases over the weekend and started laying down the paint.

I'm working on three of them. Usually, I have a clear idea of what I'm going to paint, but I've been taking a more spontaneous approach lately. I've even gone as far as simply closing my eyes and blindly picking a paint color. Basically, I'm giving myself up to the fun of improvisation!







Obviously, the paintings are in their infancy right now. I'm looking forward to seeing where they end up.

I recently painted the one below with my cousin Brianna (she's 3 1/2). She happily smeared paint all over the canvas. I think her favorite part, however, was spraying the canvas with water. She couldn't get enough of that. My favorite part was listening to her explain (very seriously) to Jonathan about each step we took to create the painting. It was really, really cute.

Vacation!

I've been on vacation, spending my days with family and friends.

There was the roasting of marshmallows...



And the enjoyment of s'mores...



Followed by the eventual marshmallow-in-hair experience.



There was also the working at GenCon peddling both Stratego...



And Stomple...



All while fighting beholders and dire wolves and giant, ugly trolls.



Mainly, though, it was great passing time with my husband, my parents and my bestest, little friend while enjoying the beauty of summer.

Curious Brianna

This post is mainly for my 3 1/2 year old cousin. She loves Curious George. So, I'm putting this Jack Johnson video up for her. Of course, everyone else is welcome to enjoy it too. :)

Let your whimsy out!

I Sewed A Tote

I mentioned earlier that I was taking my first sewing class soon. Well, I took it and loved it! I had a great time and created an awesome tote in the process. The instructor made everything seem really easy and even when I messed up (which I did--several times) she told me how to fix the issue(s) quickly and painlessly. No drama!

So, here's the tote (you can click on the pics to see the fabric better).



It's reversible!



And hidden beneath the fabric is some durable canvas, so the tote is pretty darn sturdy too.

I'm looking forward to signing up for another class at Crafty Planet and soon!