The ups and downs of life

Wow...the past 24 hours have been quite the ride.  Really good and not-so-great.  The not-so-great includes watching a troubled man struggle with his internal demons, seeing two baby squirrels fight for their lives and lose, and finding out a friend of ours lost his battle for life yesterday.  In each situation, we were unable to do anything to help.  Talk about feeling inadequate and useless.

And the really good?  I sold a piece of my artwork yesterday.  This piece no longer resides in my collection:

If this looks familiar to you, it should...I featured it in an earlier post.  I showed it to a colleague of mine and he really liked it, so bought it for his wife.  Holy cow!  You could have knocked me down with a feather when he asked if it was for sale.  I felt so elated at the interest he showed for this piece and the others I showed him, and blessed that he liked this one well enough to buy it.  I can't say it enough...holy cow!

So what do these seemingly unrelated events have to do with anything?  They have to do with life, my friends.  Silly, strange, unpredictable, wonderful life.  So, while I have been mourning the troubled part of the past 24 hours and praying for those who are suffering (human and animal), I have also been thanking my lucky stars for the marvelous life I have.  And I am that much more encouraged to continue on the creative path I'm on...and I'll plan to keep including ALL of the experiences I have had into my artwork...the good and the not-so-good.

Sorry for the long post, folks.  It has just been a dramatic 24 hours and I couldn't help but share.

Go out and live, my friends!

Fun with gesso

Hi!

What's gesso (pronounced "jesso," not "guesso"...I asked for "guesso" at the art supply store and the clerk looked at me funny until he figured out what I was asking for :-) )?  Well, according to the bottle (I am using Liquitex gesso), it "seals, stiffens, and provides surface 'tooth' for painting surfaces."  It also is "permanent, non-yellowing, flexible, and water resistant when dry."  Yeah, whatever.

Basically, you can take something like this piece of wood:

And make it look like this once it has been gessoed and painted:

Notice something?  No wood grain marks show through!  When you want to paint something and need to have absolutely complete paint coverage, you want gesso.  I have used it on cardboard so I could paint it and make it into something arty (I like to recycle stuff when I can and cardboard backs of paper tablets are just begging to be reused!).  It is quite handy to have around.  It does feel a little chalky and you do need to make sure you let it dry completely before you paint it (also be sure to wash out your brush with water really well after using it), but it really works great.

So, what am I using these painted arrows for?  Here's a quick look:

This piece isn't finished yet...I am working on it gradually because it scares me.  I see stuff for it in my head (which you see in the above pictures), but because it is much bigger (12" x 16") than I usually mess with, the size throws me off.  For now, I'm calling it "Scattered Time"...not sure if the name will stick or not, but it seemed sad without a name.  :-)

Until next time...happy days to you!

And the message is...

...drum roll, please...

Love.  Support.  Fun.  We all can use more of these things in our lives.  The best place they can come from is within ourselves, and I hope that my artwork inspires those who see my pieces to be reminded of these wonderful emotions within themselves.

Some of the things that helped me through the dark times in my life when I was confused, unsettled, and unfocused was reading the right quote at the right time; seeing something beautiful that would make me smile; or having some small item on my desk, in my purse, or on my nightstand that would bring me joy.  So, that is what I make.  Small things (mostly!) that take up very little space but that can make a big impact at just the right time.

So that's it, at least in a nutshell.  There is more to it based on my own personal story, but overall, this is it.  I find that the simplest messages are the best ones, don't you?

Happy day everyone!

An artist's message

Hi everyone!

A fellow artist said something very profound to me the other day, something that really resonated with where I am in becoming the artist I want to be.

We were having a conversation about how nervous I am to show him the things I am working on (he actually asked to see some of what I have done...how awesome!...a "real"* artist wants to see my stuff!).  I told him this is a big step for me, a super-important one to help me on my journey.  I have shown a few pieces to some friends, and my work has been well-received, but it seems more serious, more real to show it to another artist.  And he said (paraphrased):

"Every artist has a message to pass along and how can you do that if you don't share your art with others?"

How indeed.  So it is time to stop talking and start doing.  And start showing.  It's a risk to put myself and my pieces out there for all to see, but no risk, no reward.  Nothing ventured, nothing gained.  I do have a message (more on that soon), and I think it is an important one to pass along.

So I'm going to show him my art and let the chips fall where they may.  I'm terrified and excited.  What a great place to be!

So for today, I'll leave you with a picture from my yard and a quote that I think is appropriate for today's post: "And then the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was greater than the risk it took to bloom." - Anais Nin

Here's to blooming!

* This artist is the real deal...he's had a show in New York City and has a book published with his work in it.  I am a "real" artist, too, but a complete novice in comparison!

No-named fun

One of the many projects I work on as Renaissance Woman is taking ordinary old-fashioned wooden spools (okay, many of the spools I use are newly purchased, but the idea is the same :-) ) and making them beautiful pieces of art that have a message attached.  Here are a couple of examples:

The message on the one above is playful (who says wisdom can't be fun?!)!

Pretty cool, huh?  Well, I think so!  Surprisingly, these take a lot of time to put together.  Each requires time to determine which embellishments to start with (in the case of the two above, I started with the black ribbon for the scared-y cat spool and the ladybug bead in the garden spool), several coats of paint, more time to determine the proper quote to go with the spool and how to attach it to the spool, etc., etc.  So, not surprisingly, I have several of these projects going at the same time.  Here's one that is almost finished:

Yep, even the bottoms get attention (you'll see I like to complete the entire piece of art with the other stuff I do, too).  

Now all I need to do is come up with a name for these little pieces of wisdom/art. Spools of wisdom?  Artful wisdom?  Fun stuff on a spool?  

Help!!!   

Shopping! And other stuff, too, of course...

Yesterday, I had a chance to go and do a little shopping at JoAnn's.  Fun!!!  I am inspired and attracted to a variety of things, so I thought I would share a couple of pictures of the goodies I got:

I told you I like a lot of different things!  There are two things in the picture I didn't purchase at JoAnn's...the Hot Wheels car and the silvery box in the back.  The car came from Target for a piece I'm working on (I'll probably only use the back wheels from the car...I'll show you the piece soon) and the box is actually a Puffs tissue box that - surprise, surprise! - had cool reflective silver on the inside of it.  I have no idea what I'll use it for, but I couldn't throw it away.

Here's a close-up of the buttons I got:

These are so cool...the one on the left has a real polished stone and the one on the right is all sparkly...perfect for Christmas- or Winter-themed art.  I'll probably use these to make "quote spools" or "wisdom in the round" pieces I do.  I don't know what else to call them yet, as I haven't come up with a clever name.  I'll share more about those soon, too.

To close today, I want to share a piece I am working on right now called "Gogh and Flourish."  It is my way of paying homage to one of my most favorite artists, Vincent Van Gogh.  I have been working on this for months (I believe I started in January of 2013).  I'm not quite sure how I will finish it, but for now, this is where I am:

I never know where I will find inspiration...from a Hot Wheels car to Vincent Van Gogh.  That's one of the things I love about art...everything has potential!

Next time I'll start explaining more about my art and the things I'm working on...until then, happy hunting for your own inspiration!

Why "Renaissance Woman"?

Hi!

I'm back!  Miss me?  :-)

You may be wondering why I call my blog "Renaissance Woman."  Well, it's simple really.  I'm interested in a lot of things.  I know a little bit about a lot of things (unless I'm having a bad day and then I can't remember sh*t).  And after talking with a good friend and mentor of mine, Beth, about all of these things one day she said, "You're quite the Renaissance Woman, aren't you?"  I liked that.  A lot.  So the name stuck in my head.  I knew I would find a use for it some day.

Well, some day is here.  I am arting away and doing so under my "Renaissance Woman" name.  I'm loving it!

So, what do I art (where for "art" thou [or me]?)?  Here's a few samples:

I crochet:

I cross stitch:

But the best stuff is the stuff I make up myself:

In the coming posts, I'll talk about these fun things that are already done, as well as what I am working on now.  I'll show you some techniques I'm trying, things that work and things that don't.

Please be patient with me as I work on my photography skills throughout my posts.  I'm learning that, too, as I go along!

Happy Days (of course they are happy...when I'm "arting" at least!)!!

Here I am!

Ready or not, here I am!  Am I ready to be here?  I'm not really sure, but nothing ventured nothing gained, so here I am! 

Who am I?  My name is Linda, and I am on an artistic journey.  I love to make stuff and recently I have started making my own arts and crafts, not just stuff I have put together from someone else's kit or pattern.

What am I doing here?  Well, I hope to share what I'm working on, what inspires me, what is (or isn't!) working for me at the time, and anything else I think might be fun.  It's time that someone besides me and my fiancé, Joe, get to see what I am up to (at least I hope it is time...!).

So, relax and enjoy the ride...I know I will!