« October 2007 | Main | January 2008 »

November 22, 2007

Thank You, SuziBlu

......and to Megan, for a few weeks she kept asking if I had checked out a blog she came across.
Img_1450b_4The blog is SuziBlu, she is amazing and an inspirational goddess.

Of particular interest are the videos she posts, especially the ones related to How to Keep an Art Journal. With each video she gives simple exercises and her little gems of wisdom are excellent - they are all things that we know but are easy to forget.

I have completed two exercises which are the journal pages on this post.

The first exercise (besides getting a journal) is Img_1440b_2Getting rid of Your Excuses to make art/journal everyday, and to give a reason why you should do it. This is the mauve, green & blue page. Yes, that's a photo of me as a baby.

Another great exercise is the self portrait which is the red page. It doesn't really look like me but that's the point of the exercise. I did this with her words in my head.

Some of her great wisdoms that really ring true with me, and have stayed with me since first hearing, so far are the following (which aren't all from the same video):

  • That everyone starts somewhere and it all starts with making art.
  • Practrice being kind to ourselves because if we make bad art we might think that it isn't good enough and that we don't deserve to make art, maybe we will be nicer to ourselves when our pictures don't come out exactly the way we want.
  • This is a process. One awkward drawing leads to a stronger one, it will eventually, it's just a skill, your hands will eventually know what to do.
  • All art is valid.

November 07, 2007

Converted......

Megan has successfully converted me to be a fan of The Cat Empire.

Just over two weeks ago she took me to see them in concert in the city with a group of friends. They are truly an energetic group of talented musicians. Their following is as diverse as their sound. You would have to be quite a unique person not to have some part of your body moving when you see them live.

I have since created my own CD of their tunes (gotta love iTunes!) and my kids are now also fans particularly of this great tune....

...it's an oldie but a goodie, there are other great clips on YouTube or on their site.

It is really great to play them in the car as it is impossible to get uptight in traffic when listening to their upbeat music.
I'm still a big fan of Plain White Ts, The Feeling and Bon Jovi, their CDs still get a work out too!
Talking of Bon Jovi how excellent that they are coming out next year!!!!

November 01, 2007

Art Sydney

Georgi_gallLast Friday I went with a friend to The Weekend Australia Art Sydney fair which brought together over 80 galleries from around Australia and overseas, and incorporates Off The Wall (which is a selection on unrepresented emerging artists). There were some really amazing pieces of art on display, all for sale.
The artwork I loved the most was by Georgie Gall. Her pieces were large and textural, I really would have loved to have bought one of her paintings.

After walking our feet off I certainly went home inspired and created the piece below a few days later
(credit to Suzi Blu too, but I'll do another post about that soon)
Img_1451b_3 
Canvas 25cm square.
Collage of various asain papers, glazes, gold leaf and a hand cut stencil.
(it was a bit hard to get a good photo as it is a bit glossy)

Copyright

  • Unless otherwise stated all artwork, photographs and posts belong to me. Please do not copy, steal, borrow, print or use anything that appears here without prior written permission. Thank You. © Ursula Clamer
Blog powered by TypePad