Organizing & Newsletter News

Sometimes there is nothing worse than having a repair person come and all you have been doing is creating art or things for my daughter's upcoming wedding. So this morning I spent my morning just straightening up and cleaning where they would be working. "Sigh" Well at least the television area is all cleaned now and you can see the top of my dining table. All is swept and mopped.  So many projects so little time? Only partially true.

 Now this is what I call organized!

WideOpenSpaces

Part of it has to do with organization. I know it can't be perfect all the time, but I must find a way to take some time to organize and have things more efficient! Often sharing a computer area isn't easy. I need to organize a desk / office space for being ready to move forward with my Etsy shop. Something like this may just be the solution.

Then I need to set up my paperwork for tracking expenses for supplies, purchases and other taxable information so when I open up shop at year end I am not scrambling. Yes, anyone with a little shop knows what I am talking about!

Turbo Tax

I just came across this website that has some helpful articles on starting a small business, tax provisions and other information from the IRS.

Source: possiblydreaming.tumblr.com via Theresa on Pinterest

Are you signed up for my newsletter?

Today I made a decision to make my newsletter life more organized. I decided to use a host for the first time. I had been running my little newsletter myself, collecting emails via sign up and managing it all. It has gotten to the point where it was so time consuming and  I wasn't staying on track. Feeling guilty of not being able to just put something nice together without worrying about doing the rest I was getting in my own way. So I stepped outside of my box while the repairman was here and got my new host! My new newsletter sign up is on the side bar. Thank you MailChimp for making my life easier! I am excited to create lovely newsletters, with creative goodness. I hope you sign up. They will  stay bi-monthly for now and I am going to have a new one coming out soon! * sorry for the delay subscribers, I just sent you information on our new host, watch for it in your in box today!!

Do you have favorite resources when it comes to your art / craft business?  What is a tip you could pass along if you have experience opening up a shop?

Self Portraits & Journal Prompt

This week Inspiration Alley had the prompt to do self portraits. I decided to play along. I think it would be a great journal prompt too so I decided to post it today as both coincide. First to create my self portrait I really had to capture the essence of who I am even if it is not exactly how I look.

Completed Self Portrait

I wrote an entire page about my self, how I feel about my self, what I stand for, my strengths and insecurities trying to capture the essence of me. Then I decided to start to create me on the page.

The intent of a self portrait is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. *

Once I started painting I was able to convey the passionate side of me and the blue side of me by the use of color. I used collage tissue paper almost like a jig saw puzzle  to represent the many pieces of me. To finish it off I chose to highlight the focus on me and blend the background by use of paints and inks. I would not be me without my paintbrush. I also chose to leave readable the most vivid parts of my daily life on a tag around the neck. Only because society loves to label people.

I hope you use the journal prompt to write about yourself and explore creating a self portrait. For more inspiration visit Inspiration Alley to see what other artist's created.

Here is a collage of the process.

  

To read more about self portraits and see some examples and history visit Wikipedia.

I also came across this great article with 4 tips to Mastering Self Portraits at ScottsdaleArtsSchool.org  which I linked directly to the article. I found it after I did mine, but tip #4 suggests making a self portrait more than once and doing it differently. They have some great tips for creating self portraits.
Have you created a self portrait?  

Click to enlarge

 I took a photographic self portrait too

I am never without my camera

Journal Prompt: To write about yourself and create a self portrait.

Quote: A portrait, to be a work of art, neither must nor may resemble the sitter... one must paint its atmosphere. Umberto Boccioni 

Food For Thought: 

Mixed Media Self Portraits

Mixed-Media Self-Portraits: Inspiration & Techniques

Mirror Mirror: Self-Portraits by Women Artists

Gnomes

Hello Readers & Paint Party Friday Folks. Welcome to the Forest of Work In Progress, meet the gnomes. I thought after my last painting I needed to do something fun and whimsical. Recently I have been inspired by gnomes and mushrooms. Thinking of visits to the forest. In my little scene my two gnomes are going to have a little gnome meal and then enjoy a fire. Of course they will have little forest dwellers visit. But we'll have to wait and see who. 

Here you can see I have sketched a table setting.

My girl gnome has just fixed strawberry tea. 

I am thinking this gnome needs a bow and arrow. We'll see. Maybe he's vegetarian.

Oh the bunny has arrived! lol We'll have to wait and see who else will be here.

In case you are interested I posted my progress on my purple girl and ending up naming the painting Spring  Garden. If you would like to see the post about her, I think I may be finished just visit yesterdays post here. 

PS. I'd like to invite you to visit another day to a craft blog I write. I like sharing crafty and sewing inspiration over there. My address is MsartistSewCrafty.blogspot. Drop by sometime if you like, the door is always open.

Do you love gnomes? or fairies?

Spring Garden "Artwork In Progress part 2"

Today I thought I would share with you where I am at with my painting of a girl with flowers in the background. If you want to see my first post about this painting you can read about it in this post - Artwork in Progress.  I am at a stopping point. Is she completed? I think she might be. She is soaking in all of springs glory. The jasmine, lilacs, exotic blooms.....

I ended up changing her eye and nose, after getting my little model to sit still for a minute. I also made a collage of some before shots next to the completed painting. So you can see the differences.

I think I need to photograph this painting outdoors to capture its true colors, but I may have taken the photo above before adding pastels making the greens and yellows pop a bit more. I'm loosing track lol, with the science fair and talent show stuff going on for Sammie.

If you close your eyes and smell spring blooms do you see them in your mind? This is how it would look to me if I could capture the word fragrance.

Before are the three photographs on the left, stacked. The purple acrylic paint had more blue and white in it. After on the right more purple added to the acrylic paint. So here she sits like a bloom waiting in the garden to see if she is done evolving and growing like a spring flower. I will share her photograph when I get a chance to get out in the sun and take a good photograph in day time sunlight.

What is your favorite spring garden's fragrances?

Mine favorites are Narcissus 

 

 

Lilac & Jasmine

I hope you are having a wonderful and creative week! 

To be overcome by fragrance of flowers is a delectable form of defeat ~ Beverly Nichols

Photography & Color Inspiration

Hello everyone, I am sharing  a photograph I had taken and altered it into a snapshot frame then added a quote. I have been trying to play around with Photo Shop again. I am also sharing other photographs, color palettes and color inspiration. I have been doing a bit of dreaming and wishing lately. You can see why below.

Image will go to full size if you click on it.

click on image

Theresa Huse

 

Feel free to use either of my snapshots with quote on your blogs if you like but, just credit back to me and keep to the creative common terms. I also put a link to my Flickr where there is code for using too. 

Beverly & Pack

I thought I would share the image above with my color inspiration. I have flowers on my mind, my palette is called  blushing rose. I have to take a trip soon to Northern Ca. as I am doing the flowers for my oldest daughter's wedding which is coming up quicker than ever! First they announce the engagement, then it is the planning, although it seems far off..... Its kind of a hurry up and wait things, then wow it is only 1 1/2 months away!!!!

So much to do all of a sudden. We are going to a flower wholesaler to get supplies and doing some test arrangements, finding out what will be in season from a list of likes from the bride, pre-ordering things that won't be available from the grower. Then several days prior we get all the goods to prepare for the event. Thank goodness my son's lovely lady and my second youngest daughter are going to help! I hope this gives me some good blogging images! If I have time to take photographs. lol

Hand in Hand

This image I just loved due to the fact of the flying wishes! I just love wishes. When you were a kid did you gather them up, make your wish and then blow them into the air? I remember as kids saying they really had to get flying away or your wish wouldn't come true. Well, the colors, wishes and dreamy look of this image just spoke to me. Plus the title Hand In Hand. Then I created  my color palette Wishful dream which  I made over at ColourLovers.

Lastly, Sammie's science experiment was due today. So we helped her finishing up details then hauled the display and tank of  hatched brine shrimp over for set up this morning. Whew! I'll try and take a picture tonight of my little scientist with her display to share. That's what caused my Sunday post to be so late.

I hope you have time to take a look at the post where I shared two journal pages believe and a creative journey along with the prompt. The post was featured on Creating The Hive. If you are a member send over a friend invite, its just another great place to connect in a lovely online artist community.

Colors, like features, follow the changes of the  emotions. Pablo Piccaso

What is your favorite creative community? What is a color you love? 

Journal Prompt & Journal Pages "A Creative Journey" & "Believe"

Hello journalers and welcome new followers! I hope you had a great weekend. Mine was on the bright and busy side. I had preplanned a post for today knowing that I was going to be busy, but then I decided to just show you two different journal pages I did recently and haven't shared with you yet.Why the about face? Well the post I created is really suited for another day and this journal page I created prior. I am trying to keep what I share in a sequential order as much as possible. I guess more for my diary than you, but I hope that makes sense. So here is this weeks journal pages and prompt;

This journal page has written at the top a creative journey with charcoal pencil. I used dictionary pages from an old dictionary. I glued down the definition of journal above her head from a dictionary page *diary: a daily written record of (usually personal) experiences and observations. I also have on the page the definition journalist, the word success and definition of happiness, good fortune. These elements were posted on various places and painted around. I created this page to reinforce one of my focus's with art and  journaling.

The second journal  page represents taking the steps and learning from those steps on your creative journey. Finding and Listening at the top of the page represents finding your voice and listening to your heart. Inside the heart I wrote to believe in your dreams and at the bottom I wrote expand your wings. In the center of the heart I glued the dictionary word believer* to think; to feel sure of; to accept as true. I think you have to be a great believer in order to find your way. The little heart flying off the journal page with wings above this journal page represents me finding my own way flying into the unknown yet listening to my voice while I find my way being a believer.

 One thing I am learning on my creative journey is that in order to expand you wings and have your own voice with your work it involves taking chances, pushing what you are used to creating, experimenting, playing and even changing. With journaling since it is such a safe place it is a spring board for anything goes. Just opening up to your creative process and allowing yourself to let things flow is another important thing.

For this weeks journal prompt I want you to chose some words from a old book or dictionary and combine them in a journal page that helps you define you or your creative process or journey. Allow the words to come to fruition placing them into the forefront of what your goals are, your journey, your process.
Have you ever experienced positive outcomes from something you wrote down from your heart? 


Journal Prompt: To take dictionary page words you select and incorporate them into a page. * see above

Quote: In order to succeed, we must first believe that we can Michael Korda

Some things have to be believed to be seen Ralph Hodgson

Food for thought: Creative Wildfire: An Introduction to art Journaling- Basics and Beyond

Artwork in Progress

Here is a photo collage of my work in progress, if you want to see the details just click to enlarge image.Below are images that I will explain where I am at with this mixed media acrylic painting.

This image is showing the detail of the papers mixed in for layers and texture of the hair below shows hair prior to layering of papers.

From this point I felt my  painting needing spaces filled with textures. You can see in the image below that I have layered more papers onto the canvas.

Here is where I am working with charcoal  pencil to the background over layers of paint and papers.

I am being brave and showing you this. Here I am unhappy with the eye, but working on the background.

First adding elements of paint that is very wet and dripping I go on to morph it some more with inks and changing  the eye and other aspects of the painting. The third image in the photo collage at the top of the post shows you part of the end results. I will post more for you to see later. Honestly I don't know that I am in love with this painting but I can tell you there were many times I almost stopped, just not knowing where to go but then I would just say to myself. OK, what is the worst thing that could happen? You just paint over the whole canvas. So push on and experiment!

I must say I had to grab Sammie as my model for the side view of the eye and nose. Try getting an 8yr old to sit still while her friends are waiting online for her to take a turn in a magical land of games that she loves to create creatures and play in! It was short lived but helped.

I almost was going to post what some of my day looks like with photos, but I have to organize, re-size and upload so maybe in a week or so.

Do you ever find yourself just not in love with something you made? Do you keep pushing on?

Creativity can be described as letting go of certainties. ~ Gail Sheehy