Joy in the Water

The benefits of sharing studio space are numerous:  encouragement, accountability, instruction, inspiration and critique, to name a few. I have the privilege of sharing space with six other artists. We are a diverse group including painters in a variety of mediums, those who collage, recycle artists and even one fiber artist complete with antique 4x4 loom. Our studio schedules do not always coincide, but we all usually come together the first Friday of every month between 6pm-9pm for the monthly Downtown Bellingham Art Walk. Next Friday, August 7, is the August Art Walk.

Many of you know I have been recently working on creating women. Next Friday, many of those pieces will be available for viewing for the first time. The last few ladies in this process have become a series I've entitled the Gaudy Ladies, due to their vibrant primary colors. Most of my ladies have simply been faces, but one of my studio mates challenged me to create a full scale Gaudy Lady on a 5' x 2.5' (really BIG) canvas I had stashed away. After resisting for longer than I care to admit, I began the work I have currently titled "Song of Joy"this week.

It began with collage, using sacred sheet music from my grandmother.

After that I added a sheer coat of yellow as an under painting. I then added my lady.

I particularly like her hair at this point. Everything else is up for grabs...
Next came the flowers I knew she needed.

Yesterday I began the work on the background.

I expect to get her finished this weekend and have her hanging for Friday's Art Walk. Come out and see how she ends up.

This is not something I would have tackled before my association with my studio mates. My fear of failure would have kept me from even trying. In fact, I must regularly tell my Inner Critic (I.C.) that this is simply an experiment... That it doesn't have to be perfect... Or the best... Or sell! I simply must continue doing the work.

So far my I.C. has been held at bay even though he is rarely silent. Perhaps I will surpass his ugly expectations one more time.

Please don't let your nasty, negative, nit-picking Inner Critic keep you from even sticking your toe in the water of your dreams. Thank him (or her!) for his opinion, but you are choosing to risk all those terrible things just this once. That you want to see for yourself what will happen.

And you can even tell him that Jenny thinks he may be over-reacting, the water of your dreams is truly magical and worth ricking a little splash.

I think your dreams are yours for the making. I think that is why they were given to you. Go for it!

Because I love you. Bunches.

No Time Like the Present

Time passes so quickly, like it or not. But truly, we only have this present moment in which to really experience life. How I live this minute is what counts. What I choose to use this current moment for is what is important. Do I always remember this? Absolutely not! But looking back at the past 2 months,  I am astounded at what using 20 minutes or so daily to create a woman has done for me.

First, I have established a new habit. My day doesn't feel complete if I don't draw. And, believe me, I have never been one to draw. Second, I have created a body of work that I can use for future projects. And third, I have made some improvement with this daily practice.

So here are this week's ladies:

Copied from magazine ad - pencil and pen

Pencil and pen

Pencil and pen

I worked on this one at the studio during Art Walk last Friday night. Collaged purchased paper,  sheet music, iron-on inkjet photo transfer, packing tape transfer of a book page and acrylic paint.

Same as above with the addition of stenciled birds, more acrylic paint and china marker wax pencil.

Ball point pen and roller ball pen.

Time will continue to fly by. That is a given. But by simply snatching 20 minutes or so from your present, you could be making a new habit. Or making a simple change. Or making an improvement in a current habit. Two months from now you could be looking back at a new body of work. There is no time BUT the present. 

And I'll be here cheering for you. Really. Because I love you. Bunches.

Week 7 of 100 Days of Making

Happy Monday, dear ones! And since another week has gone roaring past, I am posting the women I created. I had a few days of slump this week where I refused to continue. I was tired, frustrated and decided to give this ridiculous task up. I allowed one of those unhelpful, negative, destructive statements ("What's the use of this? You'll never be a real artist.") overcome me for a couple of days. But only for a couple of days. 

I returned to the task on Tuesday with this lady. She is looking back at the past and letting it go.

 (Derwent Inktense pencils over acrylic paint)

( Graphite pencil, Derwent Inktense pencils)

 The background of this page had been used for notes and then splashed with acrylic paint. I wasn't sure there was even enough space to create a lady.  But low and behold, a carefree couple of girls showed up. I call this one Dancing in the Garden.

 I found a magazine with loads of large female faces selling various makeup products and decided to try my hand at copying which I haven't attempted very often. This is one of those done over acrylic paint and writing.

 Sundays usually find me taking notes during a church service. I use both images and words to help me both stay focused and remember what has been said. So this one is one of those.

Finally, this morning I tried another magazine copy. I call her Wonky-face. The point of all this is to simply do the work. Honestly, I can see where most of these can be improved upon. However, when I look back to the first week, I see improvement. Progress, not perfection.

So, you precious and beautiful soul, keep on doing what you are doing. Don't give up before the end of the race. I believe in you!

Because I love you. Bunches.

Really? Week Six Already?

Here are this week's women:

This first piece is collage and acrylic paint on canvas. She is my very first acrylic painted lady. The collage material was pretty napkins. I separated the 2 layers of the napkin and affixed the printed piece to canvas with acrylic medium.

This lady needs little introduction. She was the basis of Thursday's tutorial. (If you missed it, check out last week's post.

Love this lady with her calm in the midst of happy chaos (something I endeavor to mimic). She is done with Derwent Inktense pencils and Sharpie Paint pens.

These 2 pages were done as a demo at the Whatcom Art Guild Spring Art Show this past weekend. Collage and acrylic paint and embroidery. The lady with the leaves for hair was embroidered onto a fabric softener sheet and affixed to the page with acrylic medium. The crowned lady was a hand-cut stamp created from a photograph of my then 3 year old God-daughter, Kira. Here she is stamped onto the page using acrylic paints.

I hope to use new techniques this week. And I hope you dare to try new things this week as well. Be sure to check back on Thursday for the 2nd Tutorial Thursday.

And in the meantime, remember I believe in you more than you know. You are strong, creative and worthy of all good things today. Truly.

And I love you. Bunches.

Week Four - 100 Days of Making

I amazes me that I am still creating a woman most days. In fact, today is day 35 of the challenge for me and I think I may have begun a new habit. Incredible. Of course, I don't like everything I have made. But I do like the fact that I have made them. Process and persistence, not perfection.

So here are last week's ladies:

So, dear ones, I hope you are taking time out of your busy lives to do something you love every day. It doesn't have to take hours. Just 15 minutes can change your entire day. If you need it, I give you permission to play a little. In fact, I commission you to play a little.

Because I love you. Bunches.

Week Three of the Challenge

Here are this week's pieces for the 100 Days of Making. Again, this challenge is about showing up and doing the same thing each day for 100 days. Creating one woman each day is my task. This week had some I'd rather not claim, but that is to be expected, I suppose. Oh well...

 

 

 

 

 

 

I thought I did more this week, but I can't seem to find anything else anywhere. Oh right, progress not perfection. And I am even pleased with some of these. 

I hope you are pleased with some of your accomplishments from this past week. Don't forget that 2 steps forward and 1 step back is still forward motion for the long run. You are doing well, so be nice to yourself!

Love you. Bunches.

Week Three 100 Days of Making

Week three of this challenge. Already? The time flies by and I am accumulating ladies. And I am nearly a quarter of the way finished with this. No, it did not happen every day. And no, I do not care. I am simply surprised that I have hung in there this long. (As are those who know how easily I am distracted. SQUIRREL!) Truly grateful for this growing habit and how much I am learning..

Enough said. Here they are:

 

 

So precious one, keep on keeping on... Write your songs, your pages, your name. Meditate. Work that body. Keep on showing up and stretching yourself. You are growing. And so am I.

I love you. Bunches.

Sunset in the Shallows

Learning to be comfortable in my own skin, to be simply me, has been a process. As a child I was a daughter, sister, cousin, student, etc. My identity was defined by my relationships and activities. Fast forward to my twenties. I became wife, mother, minister, etc. Again my identity was in my relationships and activities. Later in life I morphed into grandmother, teacher, artist, etc. Each relationship and activity served to shape me into the woman I am today.

That said, when I began my journey of self-discovery, I felt very alone. Duped by the paths of good I had chosen over time. Angry and blaming anyone I could think of. Perhaps I did a little individuating in my early 50's (something more appropriate to the teen years). Necessary steps toward maturity taken late, but I began with baby steps to take responsibility for my own life. Choices for joy. Peace. Creativity.

I had to learn to walk my life alone. Of course I still have relationships and activities, but they no longer define my sum total. I have looked into the abyss and seen that my God goes with me. I am not alone when I am alone.

Dear Ones, we may not always enjoy all the parts of our lives all the time, but we always have choices. That is both our greatest gift and can be our deepest grief. So take the next 24 hours and evaluate your choices past and present. Then turn them over and choose again. I know you will know what to do. You have that in you.

And I love you. Bunches.

Seeking Expert Status

It is said it takes 10,000 hours to attain expert status in anything.

Monday I began a new venture inspired by  100 Days of Making. The idea is to do the same activity each day for 100 days. Simply show up and do the work. I am not alone in this venture. Princess Be-Right-Back is attending to her songwriting each day. Both the Professor and Big Daddio are writing daily. The Fashionista is sculpting and strengthening her body. Doctor P. is meditating. And these are merely the people I know. Thousands of others across the world are also doing this.  Just pick an activity and do it. The results? Well, we'll see in 93 more days.

The activity/challenge I chose was to create (draw/paint/sew) a woman each day. Here are this week's offerings.

1/100

2/100

3/100

4/100

5/100

6/100

7/100

You may see these ladies again, as they do have stories I'd like to share. But for now, here are the images. For me, this process is about being willing to be a beginner in order to work toward that expert status.

If this concept is interesting to you, here is some good news. It's not too late to start. ust pick your activity and start! And, of course, comment below or shoot me an email to let me know what you've decided to do. You know I'm interested.

Because I love you. Bunches.