Frustrating beginnings and unsure endings

Happy Saturday (or whenever you read this!) to you!

It has been a bit of a frustrating week in my studio.  I am progressing with projects, but not quite how I planned.

First, I started a new batch of rocks tumbling (lapis lazuli...can't wait to see how they turn out!).  I thought everything was going great...until...things weren't going great.  The barrel that holds the rocks, water, and grit started to leak.  Everywhere. I was fortunate I found it when I did.  There was still water in the barrel with the rocks, so the grit didn't end up solidifying into cement with the rocks encased in it.  The bad thing is I had yuck all over the floor.  It took a while to clean it up.

Not a pretty site at all.  Thank goodness for Amazon...a replacement barrel is winging its way to me as I write this!  By Tuesday night I should be up and running again!

So, needless to say, the beginning of this project was not a happy beginning (VERY frustrating).

I also finished Scattered Time.  I changed the name to "Road Map" instead...it just seemed more appropriate.  I added the poem I wrote to the front (not in the original way I had thought I might...my original idea was too complicated...slow and methodical was the way to go on this one!).  I ended up printing the poem on tracing paper and ripping the edges around the poem and Mod Podging it to the front.  Here it is:

I like how subtle it is.  While it is important, the piece didn't need to be complicated any further with billboards or anything like that.  Here are close-up pictures of the poem (written as a haiku first, then a lune [a lune has 5, then 3, then 5 syllables], then another haiku):

Not too bad.

Here's the back:

I put the poem on the back, too, just in case people have a hard time reading it on the front.  The picture of the lighthouse in the upper left-hand corner is one I took (it is Gray's Harbor Lighthouse in Westport, WA).  Not bad.

It isn't bad...I'm not sure I like it, but I'm not sure I don't.  I'm just not sure.  So, this project's ending is...unsure.  It is slowing growing on me, but I'm not sure it is right yet, either.

I think I am learning to become okay with uncertainty and lack of "loving it" with my art.  I am new at all of this and am doing stuff I have never done before, so it only makes sense that all of it isn't perfect.  I think that is part of the process of becoming a better artist.  "Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes.  Art is knowing which ones to keep."  I'm starting to get this quote...little by little.

And on a final note...the flowers keep popping up in the yard!  Here are the apple blossoms from one of the trees in our backyard:

So beautiful!  It is hard not to be inspired by what Mother Nature can do (and fortunately does almost every year like clockwork!)!

So, until next time, stay patient and keep your mind and heart open to like or not like (or somewhere in between) the things you create.  You never know what might happen!

Take care, everyone!

And now for something completely different...

Welcome everyone...it is time for the philosophical hour here in Linda's studio.  The question of the day is:

Is it better to be slow and methodical or quick and done?

I have been thinking a lot about this lately.  I am finding that I tend to be slow and methodical about things.  I really do not like to be pushed to go fast.  At work this is a blessing and curse.  On the one hand, being slow and methodical allows me to be precise, accurate, and thoughtful in the things that I do.  When I can take my time, I feel like I do my best work.

On the other hand, I am often asked for quick answers to problems and expected to process parts of my work rapidly, as there are always deadlines and people waiting for the things that I do.  I hate this!  It always makes me feel like I am missing something or that I am going to make a huge mistake some day by going too fast.  However, there are times that, when I push myself for speed, I feel like I do my best work.

What?!  Seriously?!  Yep...I can do my best work being slow and methodical AND quick and done.  It just depends on the situation.  Given a choice, I would choose slow and methodical, but I have also found this isn't always the best choice.

So what does that mean in my art world?  I am slow and methodical there, too.  Some of the pieces I am working on have taken me months and months to complete.  The ideas are always flowing, but most of them focus on the START of projects.  Not many show me the finished product.  

I am frustrated by this.  I want to FINISH some of these pieces.  It's like ENOUGH ALREADY!  Just finish the darn thing.  Don't wait until just the right thing hits you; don't wait to be perfect.  It is okay to just plow ahead and make mistakes.  Really.  Really it is.  No, really, it is.

Really.

And so that is where I am sitting right now.  I want to finish a piece (my Scattered Time piece), but I am stalled.  The bad thing is I don't know that waiting longer for something to hit me is going to work either.  I have an idea, but the slow and methodical in me says, "Wait!  Don't do anything until you are ABSOLUTELY SURE it will work."  I want to tell the slow and methodical girl to take a hike.  Far, far away.

So, here's my idea: I wrote a poem (composed of a haiku, followed by a lune, followed by another haiku) I want to put on the piece and I'd like to break it up into three "billboard" looking things placed as you see here:

I like it..mostly...and would like to move forward with it, but the slow and methodical girl is holding me back.  Ugh!  Where's my brave girl when I need her?  I think the fed-up girl is about to take control and tell the others to shut it and just do it.  I hope she does it soon.  I'd really like to move on!

So, back to the original question.  Is it better to be slow and methodical or quick and done?  I think we need both to do well in the world.  I just need to cultivate the quick and done more so I can have a better balance.  I need to save myself some heartache with the uncertainty and over-thinking I impose upon myself.  Right?  Well, let me analyze that first...I'll get back to you when I am sure...  :-)

In other things, the flowers in the yard are blooming like crazy.  It is so beautiful!  It makes me grateful for all of the work I did to plant the flowers in years past.  Here's a couple of pictures to show you what's blooming:

Awesome!  Now that's a great way to end a philosophical hour...with great beauty!

Until next time, let the slow and methodical and quick and done parts of yourself make peace and as a result, live beautiful days!

Excitement!

Mello Greetings Peeps!

It's time once again for a weekly installment from your favorite Renaissance Woman (at least I hope I am your favorite one :-) )!!  This week, I'm excited!  Okay, I'm usually excited (it doesn't take much :-) ), but I am excited about different things than the last time I wrote.

Why am I excited, you ask?  I received my favorite magazine in the mail this week..."Cloth, Paper, Scissors"!  I love this magazine...I have usually read it from cover to cover within a day or two of receiving it, and this issue was no different.

Here's the current issue:

You can tell how great an issue it is by the number of sticky notes hanging out the edges of it.  There are ads for fun new gadgets and supplies to try, how-to articles, and inspiration galore in every issue, and this one was no different.  A few of the how-to highlights:

1) faux etching on copper

2) building layers with tape masks

3) creating a shadow box with with a wrapped canvas

I am eager to try them all!  Now I just need to find the time and energy to do it.  If you find you have extra of either of these things, please let me know...I'd like to borrow a cup (or gallon) of each. :-)

I played a bit in the studio today, too.  I want to finish a piece or two before I start something new, as I am running out of room to put all of my projects in progress.  So, I picked up my Scattered Time piece.  As a reminder, here is where it was when I left off last:

When I looked at this, I liked what I saw, but it seemed incomplete.  So, I added a border around the sides with some leftover maps on tracing paper I had.  I ripped the paper to make a rough edge and then Mod Podged the paper on to the sides of the piece.  Here are the results:

This feels much more finished to me.  I have some poetry to add to the front (which I think will be all I need to do to finish the front...at least to my way of thinking today...that could change tomorrow :-) ) and then finish the back (not sure what I'm going to do for that).  So, hopefully not much longer, and I'll have another finished piece.  That will be awesome!

While spring has definitely sprung here in the Rockies, Mother Nature didn't want us to forget what winter felt like so soon, so she threw a bunch of snow our way earlier in the week.  I had already put out my faux spring flowers on our back deck (yes, I use fake flowers on my deck...don't give me grief about that...it gets SO hot out on that deck in the summer that nothing real ever survives and I really like having the color out there) and they were covered with snow.

Thankfully the snow melted the very next day, but if you didn't know it was spring, you certainly wouldn't know it by looking at this picture.  As everyone says...if you don't like the weather here, just wait five minutes because it will change.  Keeps us all on our toes!

Well, it's back to work (play) for me...I have been inspired, and I need to spew that inspiration out in a safe and fun way all over my art.  Wish me luck!

Until next time, here's hoping you don't have to deal with unexpected snow storms and that warmth and happiness follow you all week long!

Start to finish is...finished!!

Hi everyone!

Crazy weekend so far...upset tummy and exhaustion have reigned for the last few days...I thought they might keep me from writing again, but fortunately, I am starting to feel a little better.  Lots of exhaustion still despite getting 11 hours of sleep last night, but the tummy problem seems to have settled down...fingers are crossed that it stays that way.

Also my internet connection went down for some odd reason yesterday.  Not sure why...even the tech help folks couldn't understand why it wasn't working.  It seemed like things were conspiring to keep me from writing.  Well, I'm feeling better and the connection came back today, so I am here to tell you...drum roll please...

...that my start to finish project is now...FINISHED!!!!!

(lots of fanfare and applause from the audience ensues)

I had finished the front:

And I just needed to finish off the back.  Well, I liked how the red stitching looked on the back (it formed a heart, too, oddly enough :-) ), so I didn't want to cover that up, but I didn't like how the black stitching of the "you" and "me" looked, so I wanted to cover that.  I found some little cardboard hearts I liked, painted them red and then glued (more Mod Podge) them over the black stitching:

And I signed my usual signature (my initials and my Renaissance Woman initials, along with the date I finished):

Done!  Finished!  Complete!  Hurray, hurray, hurray!

I can't believe I started with a simple canvas and some paint:

And slowly worked my way to a finished piece: 

Wow...what a journey.  I loved every minute of it, and I hope you enjoyed it, too.

So, now what?  Well, the piece is done and ready to sell should someone wish to purchase it (I guess this is where my Etsy site would come in handy...I need to work on that!).  I have a laundry list of things I'd like to do next, including:

set up an Etsy site

finish some of the other pieces that have waited while I finished this one

learn some new techniques

experiment with some of the cool supplies I have

start some new pieces...I have LOTS of ideas

etc., etc.

Never a dull moment or a lull...too much to accomplish and try and create.  I just need to get to it.

So now I'm off to "get to it"!  Starting where, I'm not sure, but I am game to jump in and do something!

Until next time...happy, creative days to you!

Did you miss me?

Happy Sunday everyone!

Did you miss me?  For the first time since I started this blog in August of 2013, I missed posting on a weekend.  I am very sad about that.  Too many things going on, too many things happening with my day job, and not enough rest to go around to make everything happen.  Whine, whine...

But I'm back on track with my weekend post, and I have lots to show and tell you.  First, let's talk rocks!  My latest batch of tumbling rocks is done.  I'm excited, yet a little disappointed.  They look a lot prettier than when they started, but they aren't very shiny (and I left them in the tumbler longer than the book says to).  Here they are:

Pretty, right?  But not shiny enough and I'm not sure why.  I need to do some research into why that could have happened, especially as the last batch turned out a bunch of shiny rocks.  Here are a couple more pictures showing you the rocks' sizes:

I like the wee rocks...tiny AND cute!  They also seem to shine a bit more.  Hmmm...

I have also finished the front of the start to finish piece.  Hurray!  How did I do that?  Well, first I created a heart template with a piece of copy paper (to make the template, I folded the copy paper in half and then cut out half a heart [like we all used to in grade school to make valentines :-) ]):

I taped the second template (the one that looks like a heart-shaped hole in the paper) to the piece and then took out my handy dandy needle and cross stitch thread and stitched on the inside of the template to create a nice red heart:

After I added the red stitched heart, I sparkled the border/frame up a bit to make it a little more substantial:

Basically, I took some silver sparkle paint and my paint brush and put a heavy amount of paint along the "torn" part on the inside of the border/frame and just a little bit on the border/frame as I reached the edges of the piece.

And now this is how the front looks:

I am very happy with how this turned out!  I love the blue combined with the pops of red and how the stitching stands out from the rest.  It just feels right and done.  I can't tell you why, but it does.  I definitely won't be adding anything else to the front.  I just need to finish up the back, which is happening soon!  :-)

And finally...Joe and I went to the consignment store yesterday.  I love going consignment shopping!  You just never know what you'll find.  I wasn't looking for anything in particular, but I'm always on the lookout for anything I can "art" with.  And here is what I found this time:

It's a completely blank wooden plaque...I love it!  Being blank means it is all ready for me to put something on it...not sure what yet, but it is just full of possibilities!  I won't be stitching on this one ( :-) ), but I can imagine lots of other things to do with (paint, stamp, collage, etc.).  I look forward to messing with this one!.

Well, it's time for me to head back to my arting table to art away some more today.  Lots of ideas running around in my mind and I have to let them free or lose them forever.  We can't have that now, can we?!

Until next time, happy days and happy nights to you!

Bordering on completion

Happy Sunday Everyone!

I added a border to the start to finish piece...it was a lot of fun to do because I got to be a little messy.  I started with blank tracing paper:

And I stamped it with these stamps (I used a black stamp pad):

Here's after one stamp:

Here's after all of the ones I used:

No rhyme or reason, just all over the place (hence messy).  So fun!  It's nice to not have to be so precise all of the time.

Then I added a little paint (same blue I used on the main piece):

Then I ripped the paper into strips and Mod Podged the strips onto the edges of the piece:

Here are all of edges done:

And one last surprise:

A pop of color!  That's not the last pop we'll see either... :-)

I have one more thing to do on the front and then I'll do a couple of things to finish the back...then it will be done!  I'm getting closer and closer...so exciting!

To close today, I want to send out a big "THANK YOU!!" to those of you who read my blog.  I discovered a couple more people who read it that I didn't know about and that was a wonderful surprise!  So thanks to EVERYONE who reads it...you have no idea how good that makes me feel.  I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy sharing these things with you.

Have a great week everyone!