Blog vacation

My blog has had a prolonged vacation.  We moved house in 2016 to live in a much smaller house in the same town.  This move was a whirlwind activity and required much sorting out, throwing out and donating many items, all within a few weeks.  I decided it was time to put aside enameling after 44 years learning, practising, and teaching this ancient art form.  Consequently I donated my kiln and all supplies and tools to one of our local high schools.  It we quite some time before I was inspired once more to make art, and this came about in an unexpected and wonderful way; I had an amazing dream.  It was vivid, colorful, terrifying, and inspiring.  I was uplifted for weeks following this experience and was inspired to paint the various parts of the dream.  This led to creating a Blurb book I called "Use Your Wings", and was a delightful experience.

After time out

After a two year lapse I am back to blogging.  We moved house, down - sized, removed excess stuff including metalworking materials and tools etc.  I also decided it was time to give up enameling after 45 years.  It was an easy decision and timing was perfect.  Life requires that we give up that which is no longer so important, but this sometimes takes a while because we tend to hold on to what is familiar, even if it becomes a burden. Lately, I have enjoyed just playing with watercolors, drawing intricate designs with lots of circles, and making handmade books.  these books have several purposes; to accommodate my small drawings, poems, and especially a vivid, inspiring dream I had a few months ago.  I will address these in later posts.  For now it is good to get back to the blog, pay attention to the quiet whispers of soul and listen deeply.

 

Mandala 4

I much enjoy the calm and quietness of making one mark at a time without much preplanning except for choosing a color palette.





More playing with paint

Summer has flown and winter is just around the corner.  I have continued playing with paint, pouring, tilting the board, letting colors flow.  It is freeing and lots of fun.

We recently returned home after attending the Society of Layerists in Multi media,(SLMM), conference in Hays, Kansas.  It was a wonderfully inspiring experience of visiting artists' studios, exploring the outsider art in Russell, Kansas, taking workshops, and most of all enjoying the camaraderie of like- minded artists , spouses, and guests.  I am honored to serve as a board member for SLMM and promote our premise of cooperation, sharing, helping each other, rather than the completion so prevalent in art and life.  On our return home I continued working on collages and find this process great for developing design skills.  Sometimes it is one step forward and two back but the results are gratifying.  Ahh, the joys of intuitive painting!

Experimenting

Creativity requires practice and experimentation in order to learn new ways of working, new ideas, encourage new growth and new directions.  Taking risks go along with this exploring, so we are going to have results which we don't want and may discard.  The treasures are the new discoveries which are revealed as we practice, and the rewards are a deep feeling of joy and satisfaction.  It is well worth the effort, time, 'wasted' art supplies.  I have been playing with pouring acrylic paints and really enjoying the process of giving up some control as the paint flows and moves and mingles with other colors.  The results mirror the actual flowing of water and have a freedom which the brush cannot make.  Isn't art wonderful!

"Flowing Waters"

Continuing the adventure...

Our evenings at home are peaceful; my husband plays the piano, or we watch and/or listen to snippets of music,opera, soloists, old movies etc., on the ARTS channel.  I will draw or plan designs, or do value or color studies for art already in progress.  Lately I have been inspired to draw repeated patterns and combining small designs into larger formats.  A series of three such designs I call "Cathedral Windows" .  I enjoyed very much the calming effects of drawing marks repeatedly and bringing the thousands of tiny marks to a unified and harmonious whole. I then collaged the separate pieces to a larger board, and the results were the cathedral windows series.

                                                                 "Cathedral Windows 2"

Why make art?

Making art is a wonderful way to deepen and strengthen intuition, and increase our awareness of what needs to be changed  in our way of thinking.  Art will show us to ourselves if we are alert enough to pay attention.  In the ancient wisdoms it is one of the four ways of deepening spirituality.  Meditation, art, religion, and love in action if practiced regularly will show us how to let go of the past and be less concerned about the future.  They will help us develop compassion, givingness, caring, increase our listening skills, will reveal weak areas and guide us into new directions which may amaze and delight us.  We have to be willing to listen to our heart and not be afraid to step out into the unknown.  When we put a mark onto white paper or place enamel on copper and place it in a hot kiln, or pull a sheet of handmade paper, or start any medium, then this starts the process of change.  We have an opportunity to  allow the vast store within to unfold and let it be our guiding light, rather than using the intellectual mind to be in charge.  I am often amazed at completed works,- had no idea this was in my consciousness.  Artists,- trust your consciousness, your intuition, to lead you in the adventure of art-making.  You, too will be amazed and find a deep joy bubbling up from the depths, and will be blessed with contentment and inner peace.
This Zentangle inspired drawing was worked step by step intuitively, allowing each mark to guide the next step.  It was a joy to work and complete.  

Society of Layerists in Multi-media

It has been a while since I updated this blog,-  summer flew by visiting family, some vacationing, and a recent Society of Layerists in Multi media conference in Atlanta.  It was a wonderful gathering of like- minded artists sharing ideas, techniques, offering solutions to challenges.  We were inspired doing a couple of workshops; one using collage,  and a Zentangle workshop.  The Society of Layerists is a term to denote those artists who are more interested in cooperation, sharing, and holism, rather than competition.  We understand the truth which both scientists, theologians, agree on,  that we are all connected in myriad ways, and what happens to one part affects everything else.  I am happy to serve on the Board of this organization and do what I can to further understanding and expression of our premise of holism.

I work in several mediums and lately have been enjoying painting on plastic and applying heat, which causes the plastic to bubble up in various ways.  I find this exciting and will continue to work on this process.  The Creative energy within is always finding different ways of expression and new ideas emerge when we least expect them.  This is a glorious way to live; remaining awake and alert to intuition!  More and more I feel a deep connection to all that is, and this brings with it more peace, contentment, and real joy.

Detail of" Genesis 3"