Love Affairs

As women, we have many love affairs in our lives.

What?!
You haven't?

Oh but you have, my friends!

Let's not limit ourselves to love affairs with people in this conversation, shall we?
Think of all that you love - reading, drawing, painting, sewing, gardening, writing, our female friends...we have a multitude of things that we love, that we share a passion for.

One of mine is sewing.
I have sewn since I was a young girl. My mom taught me to sew when I was, oh maybe 7 or 8.
I did create a few doll dresses by hand before that (albeit crude ones).
I loved them though.
They actually laid the foundation for a fire that has burned for decades (she said demurely) and is still flaming today.

The love of creating something beautiful.
The love of creating with my hands.
The love of creating.
Period.

It is difficult for me to allow a couple of days to pass without puttering around in my studio.
It may be on seemingly mundane tasks but they fall within the realm of "creating".
Making.
Doing.


I have made a few pieces of apparel through the years and always had the desire to make more.
What held me back, you ask?
Skill, single-mindedness, level of desire....to name a few.
The biggest one was an early failure.


But I have continued to purchase patterns in a sporadic manner throughout the years, fantasizing about the next shirt I sew or the beautiful lines of a dress.
Just to have the pattern sit there, collecting dust (and my guilt).

The last few weeks have changed all of that!
I signed up for a FANTASTIC Craftsy class that reset my brain in regards to making clothing.

If you have any interest in  making a shirt for yourself (a knit one) you MUST take this class!
(I do not receive any compensation from Craftsy)

Katheryn and Marcy Tilton are such wonderful teachers!
You receive a pattern with your class fee and they walk you through, step by step, the entire project.
You can ask questions in the class format and they answer them within a day or two.
Their instruction assisted me in creating a sample tee (I used the first shirt as a sample to learn new techniques and not worry about making it "perfect")
(who am I kidding - none of my projects will be "perfect" but they will be close enough for me!)

I found a Groupon deal for the Craftsy site.
You can purchase up to three classes for $45.
Again, I do not receive and compensation if you purchase anything. I'm just passing on a good deal.
Which, by the way, does not last much longer.
The regular retail price is $50 for the class, so this is a great deal.

I don't have any photos of my finished shirts but I do have a sketchbook page showing how I decided which fabrics to use.

The Tilton sisters often use three (or more) fabrics on each shirt. I love this idea and fully embraced it when making my shirts.
But I couldn't decide which fabrics to use (or remember them after I auditioned numerous ones) so this way worked great for me.

The pattern is for a shirt length top but I added more length to one of mine making it tunic length. The one on my machine now is long enough to be a dress.

I am really enjoying making a few items of clothing this time around thanks to Marcy and Katherine Tilton (and Craftsy).

Sketchbook Images and Southern Girls

I saw a beautiful porcelain bird in a shop one day but did not purchase it or take a photo of it.
I really wish I had of bought it...it was white with feathers drawn in gold paint.
Just beautiful.

I saw a similar one in a gift shop in Asheville NC that I purchased.
The feathers are not drawn on this one but I really like the longer legs and beak.

Here's an early morning shot of it -

She poses for me

"Wait, this is my best side"

Posing for me in the bright light by my sink.
This lovely birdie is about 2.5 inches tall.

I decided to pull out my sketchbook and draw my version of the bird.
Sans color.

I will eventually add some color.
Maybe.
If I remember to go back to it.

It's hard for me to go back to a drawing once I turn the page in my sketchbook.
I just keep drawing.

I would guess that most of the drawings in my current sketchbook have no color on them...just pen, a little pencil.

I seem to get distracted so easily, going from this to that.
Mostly eco printing/dyeing, drawing, reading and writing.
Not much arithmetic though.
hahaha.

What I would really like to do is hijack my blog.

I had a discussion with a couple of other artist bloggers about how we say things that are "nice" or "socially acceptable" and shy away from the "questionable" things on our blogs.
Or topics that might bother someone.
Heaven forbid we piss someone off, right?

We bewailed the fabricated loss of our blogs, of our very pulpit.

Why did we feel that we couldn't be honest or free with our voice on our OWN blog?

I could probably rationalize my hesitation
I am a Pro at that you know.
Rationalization, that is.

I am a Southern girl (a woman really but in my mind I am still full of young thoughts and ideas).
Anyway - Southern girls are taught to be nice.
Be nice, dammit - we heard that a lot.
We still hear it actually.
Gracious.
Be gracious and be nice dammit.
And mannerly.
Mind your manners young lady. I heard that a lot too.
What they really meant was "Mind ME dammit".

So, I always try to be nice (dammit) and gracious on my blog too.

Maybe I won't be so damn (!) nice from time to time...

I need to give myself permission to hijack my own blog and tell it like it is - just from time to time, that is.
My close friends and family will laugh when they read this, considering that I usually do "tell it like it is".

But, for today anyway, I will "be nice dammit" and just share my sketchbook instead of my opinion.

I'll stick with telling you to "be creative dammit", how about that?

Creative Ideas (or Catching Stray Thoughts)

I am one of those hyper-creative people.
I get ideas all the time and can look at most anything and figure out something creative to do with it (or to it).

For instance, I was watching a tv program with my husband the other night and noticed one of the actors shirt.
It was white with a really nice abstract design on it.
Bold, bright colors.
Hmm...nice designs...

I grabbed my sketchbook, jotted down a quick sketch and added a couple of watercolors to help me remember the colors that caught my eye to begin with.

I also added a note to help  me remember where I saw it.
I can see a lot of uses for this design - thermofax screen doe fabric surface design, art journaling, basis for a larger design motif, carving for joint compound surface...the list goes on and on.

Where do you get ideas from?
Are you in the habit of jotting down shapes, colors or other reminders of things that catch your eye?

Smarty Arty Summit (SAS)

Okay - back to the travel log of November.

I got back from Charleston one evening, unpacked, did laundry, repacked and flew out to Colorado the next morning (I'm sensing a trend here).

The beginnings of a journal page

I met a new friend at the airport - Kim Rae Nugent.
We were picked up by my buddy Liz Kettle, who drove us to Jill Berry's house.
Team assembled.
We arrived there, unpacked and then repacked all of our belongings (I still can't believe that Liz got all of that stuff into her Subaru!).

(Wait, haven't I typed "unpacked and repacked" more than once or twice in the last two blog posts??!?)

We were going to use the trip to introduce one new thing to each person  there as well as work on what we wanted to work on.
I had my "group project" ready and plenty of book pages ready to capture what held my gaze (if anything did).


One of the fun things about staying in a cabin at Estes Park near the Rocky Mountain State Park with three other wild and crazy artists friends (well, maybe all of them are not as wild and crazy as me but fun none the less!) was that there were no outside forces compelling us to do anything except what we wanted to do.
Yeah.
Read that again.
We got to do what we wanted to!

This is the view that we had from our back door.

This is NOT a postcard!
It is the actual view from the back porch of  our cabin.

We created art, journaled, painted, stenciled, drew and ate for four days straight!

Oh, we went outside as well.
Here we are at the Rocky Mountain State Park.
It was ccccold that day!
The background is a portion of a map from the brochure from the YMCA Estes Park
facility that we stayed at.

Well, this isn't finished yet (obviously).
Did I mention that we got VERY goofy
and that we had a  very tiny convertible car too?!

Another one of my journal pages.
I have collaged a piece of the Estes Park brochure map
onto my sketchbook page, added a tiny photo from Jill's printer
(name escapes me right now) (pogo?) (I want one though!).
Then I roughed up the edge of the photo
with a bit of graphite. Needs more but that will have to wait... 

We saw elk in our front yard (and above the fireplace) and snowy mountain tops in our back yard.
We got up in the mornings when we wanted to, ate chocolate before breakfast (well I did) and went to bed when we could no longer hold our heads up.
We laughed, joked, talked, ranted and passed love, tenderness and strength between the four of us.
It was truly a bonding experience for all of us.

Bernardo the Elk.
We added the chic red scarf to his neck.
He really needed it.
Notice the cozy fire that our Fire Master (Jill) built.
Forever to be known as "the fire that Jill built".

My drawing of Bernardo the Elk.
Sans scarf.

We managed to have one "sit down" meal at the dining room table
before our art supplies took it over...we were relegated to
the coffee table to eat after that.

Notice the floor lamp in the middle of the dining room table...
lack of good light to work by will drive you to do
many odd things indeed.

The art supplies begin to reproduce and take over
the floor space around the "work table". 

And behind it to the small table as well...

If you have the opportunity - heck, just TAKE the opportunity to invite a few friends together for a "girls only" ("Art Summit") (whatever) few days - then, by all means, just DO IT.
We had a wonderful, awesome, fantastic, unforgettable time.
I hope that my name is already on the guest list for next year...


One last photo.
This is a sculpture at the main office at the YMCA office there at Estes Park.

What an awesome backdrop for a sculpture!

One More Sketch

After I had drawn everything that was in the room I worked in, I turned to a magazine that I picked up at a gift shop for inspiration.

I don't normally draw from photos/magazines but I loved this image so much (and was so bored) that I jumped in anyway.

Here is the last drawing that I did last week.
It's a fossilized Oreodont skull found at Brule Formation South Dakota.
No credits were given for the photo in the magazine ("The Laurel of Asheville").

There you have it.

My week (last week) in sketches.

I did watch a few baseball games but didn't sketch at the park.

Too hot.

Too tired.

Too crowded.

Home sounds so good to me right now...

Satellite Studio Equipment

Another drawn image from my week in a studio away from home.
We (hubby and I) would spend one night on the Southern Wesleyan University campus, then one night at home.
After a week of this I am so content to be at home every day.
It's very difficult for me to creative work this way.
I spent more time thinking about what I should be doing than actually doing it.

I did manage to fill in a few pages of my sketchbook though.
Here's another one -

If I carry a machine with me when I travel, it's this lightweight Brother machine.
It did what I needed it to do while I was away - sew simple jersey knits. I was working on making a shirt from a ready made pattern. I was not pleased at all with the end result!
I think I will just deconstruct one of the shirts that I like (& that fits well) and use it as a pattern.
I'm through with the other patterns unless someone can convince me otherwise.

Travel time

More sketchbook images from a week of volunteer time at the "Big League World Series" in Easley SC.

I didn't have much to draw in the room that I was working in (a temp studio) so I drew the chair.
It's one of those sitting chairs that almost rock.

Travel watercolor palette, Koi waterbrush.

Sketchbook Image

Busy busy summer days lend themselves to very little creative time...
but I did make use of my (away from home) down time in a creative manner.

My trusty sketchbook, travel watercolor palette and a simple little Koi water brush.

Sketchbook- Daily Life

I chose the theme last month for the "Sketchbook Challenge" blog.
It was "Urban Sketching".
If you regularly read my blog, you'll know that I love getting out and sketching outside - not only around my own town/city but every where I go.
Since I started sketching public places, I've hardly left my home without a sketchbook or pieces of drawing paper in my possession.

I know that I have said it before, that you've read it in any sketching /drawing book, but it really does force you to look at your world differently!
You have a greater appreciation for the world around you - for the potential sketches- for the layout that nature provides you.
Every single direction that you look lends itself to a sketch or drawing.

Like this, for example...

My husband got a little too much sun/heat one day and had to go in for IV fluid replacement.
What's a doting wife to do after she has tucked him in and done every little thing that she can think of to comfort him?
Why draw him, of course!

Draw.
Every.
Day.

Sketchbook page

Here's a scan of one of the sketches that I drew in my handmade sketchbook this week.
Too bad I lost interest in it before I finished it...

Door Knockers

On a recent trip to Charleston, I spent some time looking around at the beautiful and ornate door knockers.
I'm always amazed at the decorative touches that people put on their homes in the city.
You will find rich and tasteful (as well as gaudy and flashy) ornamentation in the smallest of places here.

I took the time to sketch out a door knocker at 1 Legare Street.
I used a photograph for reference later as I added a little bit of watercolor to the sketch.

Have you stretched your creative muscles today?

Lazy, Hot Southern Days

I can't believe it's been over a week since I posted!
That blows my "three posts a week" right outta the water.

I don't have any "real" artwork to show for it either.
I've been traveling a bit with my sweetie, my son is home from college (for the summer)
and I'm still battling the
(sing to the tune of "where oh where did my little dog go?")

"where oh where did my energy go"
(Oh, where oh where did it go?) blues.

So, have I done ANYTHING?

Um, well...I did draw two or three small things.

I thought about doing several things...
but, after thinking about them for too long, decided not to put the energy into them.

I should say here that I have to avoid that particular pitfall...
if I think about/plan a particular project too long,
I get tired of it.

I guess it goes back to what I said about working a piece in my sketchbook too long...
If I do that, I feel that I have worked through whatever it was that I was trying to work though (whether it was a design issue or an emotional issue) and don't have the desire or the need to actually make that piece of artwork -
I "made" it in my sketchbook.

Do any of you ever feel that way?

The gardenias are blooming here
along with the most fragrant magnolias.
Too bad I don't have a smellicamera...
I'd share these in a heartbeat!

Now - get out there and make some artwork!
(she said to herself)

Complete Ideas, Opposites and Villanous Happenings...

Thought I'd show you this drawing in its completed form. It was the one that I posted on Wednesday (I think) that wasn't quite finished yet. I may or may not add any color to this. I kinda like the starkness of the black and white.
I finished it while I was sitting at a sporting event this week.
When I write about looking around for drawing inspiration, I truly mean it and I do just that.
If you'll notice the little curvy dotted lines at the lower right hand side,
yeah, the ones coming off of the idea seed pod...
That is the "Family Circle"ish trail that one kid took with the basketball he was dribbling.

Inspiration.
Find it everywhere.

I had a little dental surgery yesterday.
(I'll spare you the gruesome details...which involves a scapula, bits of bone grafts and my gums). 
Needless to say today I am feeling a little, um, non-creative.
Hey, I could use that in my "Sketchbook Challenge" sketches...which, for this month,  the theme is "opposites".
Day before yesterday I was feeling very creative.
Today I am not feeling creative.
That's pretty opposite if you ask me!

All joking aside, I was remiss in not mentioning the Sketchbook Challenge new theme on Tuesday.
This month a good friend of mine, Laura Cater-Woods, had the pleasure of choosing the theme. Laura is a fabulous mixed media studio artist that lives in Montana.
Her work truly reflects her oneness with nature- the ebb and flow of Mother Nature as it connects and interacts with Laura's life.
Go and take at peek at her wonderful collages for One (brainchild of Virginia Spiegel).
I'll begin working in my sketchbook today (hopefully).

Now, as far as the title of this blog post goes, I should explain something.
I'll bet you're thinking that the "Villainous Happening" was my dental surgery...
Well, villainous as it was
 (even though my doctor  is NOT a villain)
 (he's quite the OPPOSITE) (oh my! another idea)
that's not what I was referring to.
While sitting in that dental chair, I thought a lot about a new class that I am planning.
That is where the "villainous happenings" title comes in -
I'm working on a technique based class, not a project based class like I usually do.
It's going to be a mix of medias, a mix of materials and a ton of different ideas to alter  fiber and paper.
A "Mixed Media Miscreant".
Or  "Mixed Media Mayhem".

A lot of people ask me about the materials that I use, the substrates and the different techniques.
 I think this workshop will be a great way to introduce the  participants to the wide range of supplies that I use.
We'll play with a variety of different (and odd) materials, learn to question "What if I did this..?" or "Wonder what would happen if I...?"

You'll learn to look at things differently as you learn to let go of your artistic inhibitions...

Sound like your idea of fun?
Stay tuned for details.

Ideas Revisited

I had so much fun drawing the "sprouts of ideas" on the previous post that I started a close-up of them on another page in my sketchbook.
I am trying out a couple of different drawing pens (all fine liner). I truly LOVE the Pitt Pens but I got to thinking that I might be missing out on other really good pens by not experimenting with different ones.
This is a mix of Pitt and Copic Multiliners.
If you look closely (and rest assured that I did!) you can see the difference in the thickness of the lines.
I love the thinner lines that I can get with the different sizes of the Copics but I haven't tried them to see if they are really as waterproof as they advertise to be.
I'll try them out and let you know what I find.

My Head is Full of Ideas

I have so many ideas inside my head, sometimes it feels as if they are sprouting out the top of my head.
Along with a few vines too...

I've been working on this drawing, thinking that I may paint it on a larger canvas.
Or not.
But I am really enjoying the drawing.
Lots of silly fun to draw.

Drawing on the Road

Not to be confused with sidewalk art...
Not that  I have actually drawn ON the road...
but while on the road...

Never mind.

This is a small-ish handmade book that I have been working in.
It's the one that I carry in my bag when I go to ballgames and/or appointments where I know that I will have time to draw a little bit.
I painted the left hand page before the book was bound.
I drew on the right hand page after binding,
sitting at a basketball game.
I used Pitt Artist Pens to draw and a travel watercolor kit to paint.
You really can create artwork anywhere...
I did a post over at the "Sketchbook Challenge" blog that tells exactly which pens, paper and paint that I use in most of my journals and sketchbooks.
I do not receive any compensation for recommending these products, I use them because I love them and I am used to working with them.
You could check it out if you're interested.
I will occasionally switch things around but usually use the same three basic supplies when I sketch/draw.
I talk about those things in the article, um post.
Tomorrow I will be sharing a new drawing that I am working on.
Check back then!

Textured Journal/Sketchbook Pages

I posted yesterday about adding texture to cheap canvas fabric to jazz it up a bit.

Today I'd like to address paper as a different substrate to use with your molding paste.

I almost always use the Exact Vellum Bristol paper (67 pound) paper from Wausau. I also use a 110 pound paper from the same company. I am constantly amazed at just how much abuse the 67 weight paper can take! I wet it, emboss it (thank you Nancy!), texturize it, paint it, write on it, sew on it and just generally love the heck out of it - and it still holds up!

Today this is what I have done so far.

I added a layer of light molding paste, using my fingertips and palate knife to add texture to it.

Let this dry completely.

I noticed that, on a couple of areas of the page I had added more molding paste than others areas, causing the page to become wavy. This doesn't always bother me in my sketchbooks/journals but this day it did.

So I grabbed another page of the same paper and stitched them together. I also stitched around each indiviual section of the folded page to add more interest. This would later prove to be a great design bonus.

I used my Golden Fluid Acrylic Paints to make a wash. I applied the first color in a very random manner. It really doesn't matter with the color combo that I used which one goes on first, as I went over the entire page a couple of times. In this example, I used Phthalo Blue(Green Shade) and Phthalo Green(Blue Shade). There are a couple of areas that you may be able to see a shimmery sheen on the front of the page. These areas have a little bit of a pearlescent liquid acrylic ink. The color is "waterfall green". Like I said, I like to use whatever is within reach on my studio table...

You can see the machine stitching on the page as well. I use the stitch as a drawing tool. It's not necessarily about the actual sewing process but the texture that the stitch provides for me.

Here is where the bonus of adding the stitch BEFORE painting comes in -

Look at how the paint has seeped through the holes made by the needle and thread! Isn't that a great look for the back of that page?!  I like it. 

I hope that I can remember this in the future and use it in a more conscious manner instead of accidently benefiting from it...

Although that is nice too!

Left handed Birds

Now, who has ever heard of a left handed bird?!

Me either...

What I meant was that I drew these birds using my left hand (non dominant).

I saw where Jane LaFazio and her art buds posted pictures of drawings that they did of each other using their non dominant hand...

I thought I'd post the little birdies that I drew on my recent trip to Nashville.

The wobble-ness in a couple of the sketches could be the bumpy road -

or it could be my left hand drawing wobble-ness.

Either way, here ya go.

Left hand Birds.

Sketchbook Pages

I've been looking at a couple of sourcebooks,

looking for different ideas for the whimsical doodles that I tend to draw.

I also use them for stencil ideas as well.

I've scanned a double page in my sketchbook to share what my "working" sketchbook houses.

This sketchbook is my "go to" for design work.

It has thicker pages, it's easily crammed, um, I mean placed in my "art bag"

and lots of pages.

I also like the hardback cover...

since I do tend to be a little rough with my sketchbooks.

The page on the left is a design idea from a sourcebook.

I think it will make a lovely background stencil or drawing.

The right hand page has a couple of ideas for Christmas gifts that I am making.

One of my favorite cool weather clothing items is a scarf.

And I love having a few that are one of a kind.

I'm hoping that the females in my family will feel the same way!

I hope that everyone is having a good week.

I'll bet this weekend will be busy crazy for everyone.

I still can't believe that it's almost Christmas again...

The rest of the story

I had the occasion to visit yet another doctor office today - yes,

imagine that...a nice  longggg visit to my eye doctor's office.

Nothing like a two hour office visit to help one in completing another "Holiday Animal" drawing!

I started this little rascal on Monday and he was just screaming for the rest of his body today.

Plus a few nice spots.

Who would have thought that he had a goatee AND spots?!

But you see - indeed he does!

This is the  animal that crawled from t he facing page.

I actually began drawing him after they put those drops in my eyes to dilate them.

I think that I should have stopped drawing a little sooner than I did...

I may have a few lines that missed their place.

But I still love her sweet smile.

Oh wait, "she" may have a goatee also!

Oh my...

I may have to go back and make the goatee a winter scarf.

Because it's obvious that she is a "she".