I Dream In Flowers

On Monday I posted about the "honey and vinegar" art we were to make this week in the Artist's Happiness Challenge Course I'm taking. Monday's art was the "vinegar" and today's is the "honey". This piece definitely makes me happy. I think it's whimsical, dreamy and other-worldly.

I love to use images of dolls and this is one in my collection. The background just says "happy" and when I look at this I feel soothed. That was part of the challenge, too. You were to make note of your feelings as you made each piece. What were your thoughts and feelings when you made your positive piece vs. when you made your negative piece. It was a good challenge and I'm happy with the results.

BTW, we DID get a new coffeemaker. Unfortunately I haven't been able to use it yet. Last night we had a terrible storm with wind gusts over 50 mph. There are lots of downed trees and branches around here. The creek is over it's banks and we lost electricity at about 3:45 am. It did not come back on until after 1 pm this afternoon. So, it's been interesting around here to say the least.

It's still windy today but not near as bad as yesterday. Hopefully things will quiet down after tonight.

Model Behaviour

This collage is called, "Model Behaviour". I made it in response to the Artist's Happiness Challenge course I am taking. The challenge for this week: create two pieces of art; one that shows negativity and one that shows positive energy. The lesson this week was called, "Vinegar and Honey" referring to the names for negative and positive emotions, respectively.

This is my "vinegar" piece of art. It is also the prototype for a collage I'm going to include in a series I'm making around a fashion theme. I mentioned before the Baker's Dozen Collage Exchange that I signed up for. Time is ticking and these collages need to get started. So this will be my first one. It's digital here, but I can make it 3D.

It shows a model in silhouette whose demand for perfection is always on her mind. She's aware that people are constantly watching her and she must always be perfect every minute. Here she is backed into a wall as all of these emotions are crashing in on her. An image of a young girl reminds her of the innocence of her youth before her life became so complicated.

So this piece definitely has some negative energy in it and that was part of the goal for this week's lesson. You are supposed to be aware of your own emotions as you create the negative and positive pieces. I'll post my "honey" image when I finish it.

By the way, I found a fantastic website where you can download free Photoshop brushes. The brick in the background here is one of the tons of brushes that I got today. Here is the link: http://obsidiandawn.com/

At The Threshold: A Study In Blue

For some reason, lately I have been attracted to bursts of color. Last week it was yellow. This week, blue. And they have been colors that I normally don't use in my work or at least not as a predominant color. I've been noticing blue everywhere! Blue just pops out at me. So I decided to do a blue collage. I'm not feeling blue, just attracted to the color. I call this "At The Threshold: A Study In Blue" because I still feel I'm at the threshold of breaking through and finding my "voice" in my art. Does that make sense? You can click on the image to get a (much) larger view.

I'm exploring Photoshop brushes, too. I've been shying away from these only because I have convinced myself that they are too complicated and I really don't understand how they work, how to load them correctly, how to make my own custom brushes, etc. But I have seen some awesome work on other people's blogs using brushes and I just feel left out! ;) So, I decided to give it a whirl one more time. I had better luck loading some that I found on the web. I'm just not sure if they'll be there the next time I go looking for them! I'm still experimenting with making my own.

I'm still reaping the benefits of the Artist's Happiness Challenge course. This week, aside from the challenge to make a piece of gratitude art (see previous post), a mini-challenge was to "embellish your life" a little bit. This could be as simple as burning some nicely-scented candles, taking a bubble bath, or sprucing up your living area with art that makes you happy. Anything, really, that pleases you and adds just that extra touch to your daily life; especially in your living space.

I already burn scented candles every evening. I'm working on making some art pieces to hang in the living room. It's about time to bring out those special canvasses that I've been saving for ... what, exactly, I don't know. They certainly aren't going to paint themselves! And I've been snipping away at a huge pile of magazines I've been saving for collage fodder. Images everywhere!!

But now I must finish the project I committed to and have to have in the mail by Monday's deadline: my paper dolls. Normally I love working on dolls. If you know me, you know that's true. This batch ... I don't know what the problem is. I wonder why it is that I always want to work on other projects when I know I have a deadline on the horizon? It seems that I don't get inspired or "in the zone" until I'm backed right up against the deadline. I do have one doll finished, a second one about 85% complete and the third one sketched out. Let's see what being backed in the corner does for me today. Stay tuned...

Enchanted Dream

This is another digital collage I made in response to the Artist's Happiness Challenge course I am taking. The challenge for this week: Show your gratitude for someone in your life by making a piece of art to honor them.

Of course I chose my mother. She was always there to hold my hand and guide me through everything! I've been dreaming about her a lot lately. Her birthday is coming up on April 2. She will have been gone five years (still unfathomable to me) on April 4. I still miss her so much.

I've been going through old photos of my childhood. This one stood out and I think was perfect for this piece. The photo of mom is from when she was in her late teens/early 20's; somewhere around there. I'm the one looking down at it all through rose-colored glasses, remembering a better time.

Breaking Through

This is a collage I made called, "Breaking Through". It's in response to the Artist's Happiness Challenge course I am taking (see previous post). The little girl in the window is a photo of me as a baby. The photo was crumpled, but it added to the effect, I think.

I'm looking out of a blue window, literally and metaphorically. There are bright yellow (happy!) flowers out there waiting. The dark clouds overhead have a hint of sun breaking through. The key is opening the gate to my creative mind!

Beginning To Shine

This is a digital collage I made in response to a challenge in the Artist's Happiness Challenge course I am taking (see previous post). The first challenge is: name three things you are thankful for and incorporate those into a work of art.

The three things that immediately came to my mind: the color yellow, music, and my health. I am really excited about this course and after three lessons this is how I feel!

What's New

I just started this course last night and I LOVE it! This is coming at a great time for me. Winter blah's are setting in and I will take any ray of sunshine when I can get it. It is an online course that I read about at the Artella website. Lani is an amazing woman. She creates beautiful art (collages and puppets!) and she's also a trained professional in art therapy.

I was mad at myself for waiting so long to enroll. By the time I got around to it, the course had been going on for three weeks! Lani was generous enough to let me in, even at this late date. I sat down last night and read through the first three weeks of material. I am so glad I signed up! This is just the boost I need right now.

One of the first challenges she has us doing is to sit down every day and write out three things you are grateful for and then incorporate those into your art. She also advises starting an art journal. Yes, I have been wanting to start an art journal. This will MAKE me do it. There are great relaxation tips and thought-provoking articles to read. I am in heaven with this course.

This morning I sat down and wrote out my three things I am grateful for and then put them into a digital collage called "Beginning to Shine" because that is how I am starting to feel! I will post it now.