Make Art … every week!

Textile art was my first (art) love. I used to dye, embellish, rubber stamp, sew, quilt, draw … on it. I even made all the pieces, hired models (read – begged friends), booked the venue (a night club in Kingston, Jamaica) and organized an entire fashion show, one time. Seems like a different incarnation:)

Though I’ve been a long time away from textile art, ideas for fabric work have been growing in the back of my mind. I’ve been wanting to do pillow cases (& sheets, but let’s bite off little pieces). Today was the day I started on a pillow case set.

It was fun and inspiring and, kicked-me-in-my-impatient-butt! Finding a soft enough pencil for the general layout work was a challenge. Not because its any big deal, but because I had forgotten so much. And fabric moves as you work on it to get a flowing line. The pen / marker drags the cloth and wrecks the line. I needed to tape it down and move the tape as I worked.

And I was working with Sharpie ‘stain’ (fabric) markers for the first time. They are a brush tip – not the greatest for outline work. Plus when you outline everything with black, the one black marker in the pack is gonna wear out long before the rest. I’m thinking to try regular Sharpie permanent markers available in a variety of thicknesses – though they may wash out easier. We’ll see. Maybe the heat-setting (with an iron) will help the permanency.

So its beginning of this project. If you think you recognize Joanne Fink’s style, you’re right. I’ve been studying and practicing her patterning technique.

Somehow, despite cautionary needling from my left brain, I have spent the entire week doing creative tasks. It’s not process art – my favourite kind, but necessary support for my eProducts and website. Sample-making, photo-taking, instruction-writing …

Now there’s a big-huge mess of paints, glue, charms, wire, decorative string, beads, print-outs … everywhere – evidence that I have been hands-on productive, instead of all in my head and computer. I like that a lot.

When I showed-up to make some art this week, yesterday actually – as part of my personal day, I had no idea what I was gonna do. I turned on some gentle ‘new age’ favourites, made tea and went to the space where I have all sorts of things lined up for planned projects – none of them grabbed me. And for a time it seemed as though it wasn’t going to happen.

Nothing lost. At least it can be an Artists Date. And then I was ‘in the zone’ transported by the pages of Cloth, Paper, Scissors – oooh-ahhh.

A few hours later … a Visual Journal of my newest project ‘5 Star App’ was being seeded:))) So far there’s a page for design inspiration, another one for determining the Target audience and another for some Marketing strategies!!!!!!!! The plan, at this point, is to use the entire Journal to chart the course of the birthing of an App – from seed to Smash Hit!:)

I’m still Not at all sure about taking on the creating of an App. At the same time, i’m a big believer that dreams / wishes that engage and consume us are guidance messages, from the Gods, about our most fertile path.

I did it (finally). Though it can’t fairly be called ‘art’, it does qualify as keeping the spirit of the agreement – to show up. (yeah)

I have to admit to struggling just to stay with it – for about an hour and a half. Practice sessions, for art confidence, have never really gotten the respect from me that they deserve. I want Anything and Everything that I do to be naturally and spontaneously free, easy and brilliant! Of course that’s a false idea – some part of me knows that. I don’t think its the wildly creative part though:)

Working at shape and letter patterning was a positive re-entry step.

Damn it! True its been a tough (almost) year. True I’ve been scattered and severely sleep deprived. True – I reeeeeeaaaaaly need to do some art – to feel like me, to feed my soul, to express the angst, to reflect, to connect with ‘the great creator’, to love my life!

This week, time will be made, taken, seized!!! to make art … no matter how little. I promise!

Well its already well into FE and the art thing hasn’t made its way back onto the weekly priorities. So many other things bumping it down the list. (sigh)

I did, however, manage to carve the time and head space for us to make our annual Heart Day card. This year the art part was a simple sponge stamp and glitter technique – turned out sweet little images that have now snail-mailed HUgs and misses to 80+ loved ones.

Hmmmmm. Did the very act of predicting that the return to the East and on-going renovations would be the end to Art – every week, make that a reality? Maybe. Maybe the chaos of piles of tools, wires, insulation, dirt, caulking, dust, drywall, mud, door casings, paint, beams … really overwhelm my senses and render them frozen.

JN, JL, AU, SE, OC & NO … have been virtually void of making art:( There have been 2 exterior doors that have gotten painted in, according to the neighbours – scandalously vibrant colours. And I did plan and execute the design for the en suite shower – using the white 2 X 2” white tiles and gorgeous 7 chakra colours in glass tiles, but … that’s it.

We’ll be traveling back to the West in a couple/few (moving target)weeks, so DE is likely to be much the same.

Make Art … every week! stays on the list. I really want it to become a discipline that doesn’t get shaken so easily / so often.

I got it right, finally – Creativity outside the needs of product development work! MA was exceptional. Not that it was all great or even all good. Though some of it is pretty fabulous. It was all me, uncharted, messy and deeply connected me to my higher power.

MA wk 1: rubbings, stamps, aqua pencil BackArt for my 1st Spirit Deck
MA wk 2: drafting templates – boxes, envelopes, party favour bags …
MA wk 3: designs – hearts, spirit phrases; cosmic splashes;rah-rah … for paper crafts
MA wk 4: more paper designs – 4 seasons; star struck …
MA wk 5: beaded, glittered, painted heartstrings

JN art-making will be lucky to survive in the renovations. In a few days I head back to the east to continue work on the dream house in-the-rough

So … I did Not manage any art of any kind, other than work-related for MR. The entire month went by without the inefficient moodling that I crave. Because of the work-related creativity, my soul did Not go unfed, but it did not dine on nectar.

AP was not better. In fact it was worse. There was so much chaos and disrupts to my days and weeks that I didn’t make much progress on the eBook, either.

A couple of days ago – I finally got mucking on a few different projects. My space is a lovely, messy, free-wheeling, whirling-dervish wreck. Supplies everywhere, pieces hanging, laying flat, drying, paints, rubbings, brushes, cutting mats, rotary cutters, rulers, glitter … ahhhh … sweeeeet. I have spent all of the last 2 days deep in ‘the zone’. Tomorrow is spoken for too.:))) So, in the (almost end) AP has been not too shabby.

Weekly adventures in art is better. Still reaching for the balance and consistency.

I know it is the day before the last day of AP! I just didn’t realize that it has been 2 months!!! since I checked-in on this goal.

Well, MR was a bust. The only art I did was the creative work related to the eBook. Damn it! (Oops! There’s my cowboy on Skype. Finish this later. Whew! He has arrived over in the east.)