Saturday, June 27, 2009

Sketching Updates:

"Asian Eyes"




I wanted to share some of the beautiful things I've been learning. It is so wonderful to be drawing and sharing inspiration with others. I am enjoying this class so much. Here is one of my faces I've been working on. I was working on this to practice proportion, especially noses, my biggest challenge so far when looking at one at an angle!




This next one is just some of my practices in full faces:


Thursday, June 25, 2009

I wanted to share the news with you about the beautiful journal swap I am doing with four other wonderful ladies who live all around the world. We are each making a journal and sending it one to another so we can all do a page in it. I would never have had the courage to participate in such a wonderful project of self growth and sharing. But, being involved with other aspiring artists is really invigorating, inspirational, and rewarding! Monica Zuniga has headed up this project, and if you follow her link in the sidebar (Hands and Heart), you can see her amazing journal pages.

I humbly welcome you to see mine before it get's sent out into the big world!

COVER:




INSIDE COVER:




INSIDE COVER:

The inside cover has a little pocket for special surprises or sentiments. I couldn't resist adding a little altered art girl at the top of the envelope!



Tuesday, June 23, 2009

What an honor and a lovely surprise to receive the Uber Award from Darla at Artistic Accents.You really must visit her sight and see all of her beautiful creations. Her blog is one that I always enjoy visiting and keeping up to date with! Thank you Darla!


The Uber Award is a blog award given to sites who:

1. Inspire you

2. Make you smile and laugh, or maybe give amazing information

3. A great read

4. Has an amazing design

5. Any other reasons you can think of that make them Uber amazing!


The rules of this award are:

* Put the logo on your blog or post.

* Nominate at least 6 blogs

* Let them know that they have received this Uber Amazing award by commenting on their blog.

* Share the love and link to this post and to the person you received your award from.

I'd like to pass this one on to ....



I've added each of my picks to my Favorite Links!

My picks are (and this was VERY hard):

Bree of My Art Fartsy Scraproom

Darlene of A Dancing Mango

Colette of Dreaming Stone

Crow of The Studio at Crow Haven Farm

Sanda of Cards and Dreams

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Hip, Hip, Hoooray!!!!!!!!!!





Okay. So, how fast can life move? The speed of light sometimes. I can't believe my daughter graduated from high school this month. Here I am at her graduation ceremony remembering her in her kindergarten dress, on stage at the school auditorium, wearing her little jelly sandals and white socks, thumbs up, as she received her little graduation certificate. I was just as proud then, as I am now. My heart just feels as though it can't possibly hold enough joy so that it will explode right in my chest, and I will die a happy soul!

The graduation ceremony was graced by a real rainbow! And, I knew, that things were going to be okay. I mean how many ceremonies have a rainbow in the sky above them? Now we are off to college!





Onwards to Jesse's cranes. She is up to about 50 finished cranes, leaving 950 more to make. Some of you have asked me what her wish is? An ancient Japanese legend promises that anyone who folds a thousand origami cranes will be granted a wish by a crane, such as long life or recovery from illness or injury. I do not know my daughter's wish, but it is important to her, so I keep this story on my blog because I think it is a great inspiration for anyone who has a wish. It isn't enough to wish it. It takes devotion, dedication, and faith to receive the blessing you ask for. And, so, while Jesse's cranes are hers to fold, I hope you too find a way to express your devotion to something you long for.





I have been devoting my own practice time in art, sketching, painting, and journaling. This photo below is one of my practices from Suzi Blu's workshop. This lesson is on expressing doll faces in different profiles. I like it! It is a little hard to change gears from realistic sketches to characitures and then back and forth, but I have enjoyed the whimsy and the lightness of this workshop. I like the playfulness of Suzi's classes, and the easy approach she takes. It is far more in-depth then you might imagine, and I encourage you all to look into taking classes on-line. It is really a fun way to explore methods, techniques, and mediums. Watch out though....the art supplies add up! So, my advice would be to pay particular attention to the required supplies and if it fits your budget, go for it!





My finished works from Monica Zuniga's classes will be posted when I am done with my project. There is a process to her classes that leaves the final creation to be "unveiled." Heck, I don't even know what it will look like! But I see my work unfolding, and it is very exciting. Monica is very process oriented, and it is very easy to learn her methods if you follow her steps. I'll be with her for a long while! I'm loving it!

That about wraps it up for me friends. I think, I hope, that summer settles down as the speed of life is going way too fast these days. I keep telling myself:

Stop. Breathe. Fill yourself with the energy of creativity. And enjoy the process!

oxoxox

Saturday, June 06, 2009

My first set of journal pages are done. Wow, I have to say that this is a very new and different experience. I really like it a lot.




This set of pages is done in my handmade journal. The manilla folders are wonderful and they hold everything you can put on them. I really like how they bend and warp. Some of the paper I collaged with overlapped on the side of the page, and I LOVE that! The pages also feel really wonderful; thick, textured, and rough. I enjoyed just running my hand over the page, allowing for an additional sense of what the work is made up of.


Journaling is a process that allows you to really explore, to get to the heart of your self expression. I hope you will try it too and have fun.