Barefoot Wanderings

Art Between Art

Following on from Making Art Everyday, there is also Making Art inbetween Making Art. You know those times when you need to wait a few minutes for something to dry (and the heat gun isn't appropriate!), this is when I have now decided to move to one of my journals and start to create something. I work between the two. It is also good to turn to play in this journal if I am a little stuck with the piece I am working on, it gives me a break and time to just play.It is also a great place to play with colour combinations.. 
This journal is another excerise to try to free myself up. To stop THINKING and just do. It does not matter if it doesn't work. It doesn't matter if it gets finished in one sitting - which is sometimes better not to get finished as there is not a blank page to start with.
I often see what other artists have done and am inspired and influenced by them. To use similar things in this journal is fine because it gets it out of my head, I try something new/different and it enables me to eventually make it my own.

Colours used are Golden: Quin/Nic Azo Gold, Titanium White & Cobalt Violet Hue

Car Art

I have continued to do a bit of art in the car whilst waiting at school pick up.

Day One: Select something from a magazine: eyes. Stick it down, paint background (this took a while with such a small brush).

Day Two: Outline in the flower and paint it in, in white.

Day Three: Use pencils to colour flower. Cut & Paste word from Magazine.

Tips: Have a water bottle and wipes (moist towelettes / "Wet Ones') in the car.
Also, it is better to have a magazine you have already read or are not interested in reading so as not to get distracted by the articles!

A Gift from Myself

Today I recieved my order that I had placed with Anahata.

I know I paid for these goods but it felt like receiving a gift because of the beautiful way it was packaged. Such attention to detail, the tag they chose is personalised....look at the "U", even the box it came in had beautiful labels on it.

I got some of her books and I love what she said in one of them: "Make lots of crap! Crap is the receipe for success! You cannot make you favourite pieces all the time. Make lots of mediorce artwork while you wait for your breakthrough favourites."

In another book she shares another great insight: "The only way to make beautiful artwork is by making ugly artwork. And lots of it!"

Check out her blog & websites (Anahata Katkin and PaPaYa!) for some really cool stuff.

Making Art Everyday

I have read many articles in Magazines & Zines discussing how people try to make art everyday, even if it is just for 5 minutes. This has always amazed me. Where do they find the time? How disciplined are they to do this? I have also read many articles on where people make art, and the ones that always amaze me are the ones that carry bits around to work on wherever they are and find they have time to spare - at work, coffee shops or waiting at traffic lights in their car. I admire their confidence to create in public.

I have been a little frustrated lately not being able to make a lot of art, it has felt that the only time I seem to be getting to the studio is at night when I am feeling too tired. I know to improve my skills and techniques I must practise, even if it is a little every day. It got me thinking about the articles I read. If these people can do it, how can I make it work for me. Then it came to me, 3-4 days out of five I have to wait in the car for school pick up for about 10-15minutes. So I swallowed my awkwardness in creating 'in public', packed a bag of supplies and decided to give it a go.

I know that I am not creating masterpieces. It is not about the final out come but about the process, and for me this is where the greatest lessons are going to be learnt...I hope! Just getting something down, letting go, creating for fun and trial & error, it is so freeing. Now if only they can make a car attachment for a heat gun!!

Connections...

....the fourteenth theme in the Art Girl's Altered Book Round Robin. I created these pages in Alyshia's book. My inspiration for this came from the book and poem "The Red Thread - A LOVE STORY" Written by Leslie Walters and Designed by Paul Dashwood.
This is a very simple piece. The background is Golden Titan Buff with a gel medium transfer on top. The stamping & stencelling is done using Golden Quin Crimson. The button 'made of pearly shell' is sewn onto a scrap of beautiful red silky material, with the red thread then placed across the page. The first four lines of the poem are included on the page.