With three shows at which I am/was selling this spring, I wanted to create some new pieces. The problem was, once they were finished, I fell in love with them and then struggled with whether or not I wanted to put them up for sale, assuming there was even an interested buyer.
For now I have some of the new pieces hanging in my dining room so I can enjoy them for a while. I thought about trying to make similar ones. But that seems like extra work . And there are other pieces I'd like to work on. Plus I don't even know if these new pieces will sell. Then I made another piece, this one with no intention to sell, but intended just for us, from a photo we took on a recent vacation. This piece too I felt a fondness for. But the difference was this time my fondness was due to the memory it invoked. The other pieces, while I still very much like them, don't conjure memories. So now I'm ready to let them go. They'll be up for sale this coming weekend. And if one or more sells, I think I'll be tickled pink! And I'm just curious - anyone else had this kind of experience? A friend recently referred me to a site that holds free painting classes online, these types of online courses are called "webinars".
I watched part of a recent webinar on painting rocks and water, and another on painting skies, and picked up several techniques. The next one coming up (starting May 12th) is on painting grass and snow. I've struggling with snow so will likely participate. The classes apply to watercolour, oil, acrylic, pastel and possibly other mediums, and seem to run over 3 Saturday afternoons in a row. DVDs are available for sale following the class for anyone who was not able to take part but wishes to take advantage of the lessons. Advance sign-up is required, and a good internet connection and sound. No special software is needed - the meeting-based forward will load for you. Again - the online class is free. They make their money from DVD sales following the classes. If you are interested, the link is: http://improvemypaintings.com/ Last fall in our Village, some scarecrows appeared one day around the picnic table in front of the local restaurant.
We observed several people doing a double-take before they realized that these were not real people sitting at the table in the cold drinking their coffees. These scarecrows did look like real people, dressed in plaid shirts, jeans or dark pants, some with hats. It really was a hoot to watch the reactions. The scarecrows were there for a couple of weeks, as I recall, before the same arrived. Where did they come from and who placed them there? A few weeks later Christmas wreaths appeared on a fence on the main street. Some may have thought it was the nursery school or fair board who placed them there, or the committee that has recently had the town clock installed and who had decorated that area for the season. But I happen to know it was not either of those groups. But there was more. Reindeers appeared on a strip of grass on the main street. You know the ones I mean; the Christmas deer that are all white and covered with lights. Only these ones no longer had lights, they were just the frames of the deers. Nonetheless they looked festive, as someone had added red ribbons. No one left a calling card for any of these random acts of creativity. But what nice ways to add some decor and a wee bit of fun to our little Village. I wonder what the spring and summer will bring. I have been a member of various arts guilds in the past, each with its definite benefits, including exhibits of the artists' works and opportunities to learn new techniques. Today I find the arts & crafts shows are jam-packed with artists and crafters, especially at Christmas, and it can be hard to not only be able to get space to exhibit, but for those with guilds behind them, to move up the waiting list. I recently had an opportunity to join a women's business network. And I quickly discovered this to be a great networking and referral resource. In just two months (one month as a member), not only have I gotten a couple of new clients, but may also have some leads on new shows, which I am quite sure I would not have heard about until it was too late, and also some businesses in which to promote my work. So let's compare some of the benefits of joining a guild and joining a business network:
It's not easy for artists to market themselves. And with so many competing to get booths and tables in art shows and in craft shows, it's very important to find alternative, creative ways to get our goods out into the market. An online presence is critical too. Showing your work in person cannot be beat. Perhaps next month I'll talk about that online presence and some of the keys to creating art websites. Everyone once in a while we stumble across some different types of art - different yet enjoyable. Here are some of these art links to some intriguing sites in Canada and around the world. If you have any you'd like to add, please let me know.
Garden of Recycled Materials - Montreal Bottle houses on PEI Sidewalk murals Painting with coffee An artist's exhibition of paper pieces, tape, rubber stamps and glue. Some of my students made these recently - they really enjoyed using the watercolour pencils on fabric. This art piece looks great in a window. The resist areas really show up well. Polyester fabric seems to work best – use white unless a different background colour is desired. Cut fabric to the size you want. I recommend using Fray Check or other product around the edges of the fabric to prevent stray threads; let dry; or make small seams with a serger. Tape down fabric onto wax paper, shiny side up. Choose a variety of snowflake stencils and sizes. Please first snowflake stencil on fabric. Using Elmer’s Washable School No Run Gel glue, spread glue with tip or with sponge brush or cosmetic sponge. Lift carefully from fabric, and place next stencil then repeat. The glue will act as a resist. Wash stencils when done and before glue dries. Wash sponges. Let fabric dry at least 12 hours. Mix 1 part fabric medium to 2 parts water in small jar. Brush fabric medium on fabric to wet it – works small parts at a time. I used watercolour pencils for this painting. Choose a background olour and a second colour to add some contrast. Begin to lay down the background colour one section at a time, adding a bit of the second colour for contrast or highlight. The pencils do not need to be sharp, but should not be too dull either. It works best to dip the tip of the pencil into the fabric medium/water mixture. Begin to mix colours together before the fabric dries. If it dries add more water. Use a wet cosmetic sponge and gently make circles to blend the colours together and to remove any blotches of colour that you do not want. Do not press too hard. If they colours do not blend well, leave for a few minutes then go back to it again. This will give the water time to “melt” the pencil. Once done, let your drawing dry. Remove painters tape. Hang in a window to let the light shine through the snowflakes. Supplies · Thread (2 colours) - I prefer Gütermann brand thread, but any good quality thread will do. Metallic is an option too. · Sewing needles – small enough so you don’t leave large holes in your paper · Needle or punch – should be either the same size or slightly larger than your sewing needle · Punch mat - the back of a mouse pad works very wel · Scotch tape · 2-sided tape or glue stick - I prefer the 2-sided tape or glue stick. Liquid glue works fine on cardstock, but may cause wrinkles on thinner papers · Scissors, for cutting thread · Cardstock (2 colours: 1 colour to embroider on (I used white for this project), and a second colour to use as a mat (I used a metallic red paper) · Ruler and cutting knife or trimmer , for cutting the cardstock · Tracing paper and pen or pencil · Blank card and envelope, approx. 5 x 6-1/2” Technique PDF of pattern Open the design on your computer, re-size as needed, print out, then trace onto tracing paper. Be as accurate as possible when placing the dots. Cut your main piece of card stock to a size that the pattern will fit on nicely. Centre the traced design on the cardstock. Hold down securely and, using a needle or punching tool, carefully punch the design on your cardstock. Hold the card and tracing paper up to the light to ensure you have punched all the holes. When done, remove the tracing paper. Follow the numbers, starting at 1, on each part of the design. For the hearts, I recommend doing one half, then starting anew on the other half. Pull the needle through the cardstock from the back and tape down an end about ¼” to ½” in length. Try not to place the tape over any of the punch holes. Taping, rather than making knots, is done so that no bumps can be seen or felt through the paper. Continue to follow the numbers, as each section is completed, tape down the end of the thread and cut before moving on to the next section. Continue until each part of the design is complete. Finishing
To hide the back of the work, use your second piece of cardstock. Cut slightly larger than your embroidered piece, so it looks like a mat, and paste, or use the 2-sided tape to attach. When dry, paste onto a blank greeting card. Embellish with coloured pencil, jewels or other trim. © 2012 Note: This piece may be reproduced for personal use only, and may not be reproduced for sale. I recently had a thumb injury which has not prevented me from painting or working with a needle & thread, but it sure was annoying and a bit sore. I'm glad to say it is healing, although very slowly and it's still very tender. It got me thinking about injuries that artists - and anyone who does any kind of repetitive work especially - can and do get. Some are easy to fix, others never really heal and keep flaring up, and other are, well, continually problematic.
Injuries may not be a very exciting topic, but is one that I thought was worth addressing. Because artists, painters, and anyone creative can be at risk for injury. We do need to know how to properly use brushes and pencils in order to minimize potential problems. We need to ensure lighting in our studios is good. Neck and shoulder issues are quite common. Are we leaning over too much, are we straining our necks, our eyes or other muscles? Repetitive strain injuries are all too common, affecting the wrist and shoulder, even fingers and thumbs. Help can be obtained from your doctor, and through massage or physio therapies. But it's best to prevent these injuries from happening in the first place since, as I mentioned above, some take longer than others to heal. None of us wants to give up our creative ventures! I recently came across a web site on an "Artist Injury Prevention Program" http://www.selfcare4rsi.com/artist.html. The site includes descriptions of the various problems that can crop up. They aren't restricted to just artists, but to writers, golfers, sports enthusiasts and so on. The web site talks about the importance of stretching and includes examples of stretches. Now the information provided of course does not take the place of your health care provider, but maybe if we are all a bit more aware of these potential issues and are in touch with how our bodies feel, we can prevent some of these injuries from happening in the first place. I have a good stretch program that I follow 3-4 times per week, partly as a result of a wrist problem, but also to prevent problems in other areas. I hope you find this link as useful as I do. Do you find it hard to get started doing art or other creative endeavour, or even getting started on a large project? Do you find everything else to do, except getting started? Even cleaning the house seems to come first and even though being creative is so important to us.
And this is doubly important to me to get going more on art - one of my New Year's resolutions. When it comes to getting into the creative spirit, some would have us believe that all we have to do some doodling - that is supposed to get the right brain stimulated enough to get us started. If you're like me, that doesn't work. Okay, here are some ideas that I find really do work - perhaps not every single time, but they do work more often than not: - Schedule time to do your art with another person, then you are motivated to get started, and not to find other stuff to do instead - Play background music - music facilitates creativity and can help you hold your attention on a project longer than if there is no background music. (for a bit more info see my blog from last month) - The kind of music you listen to while creating matters. Hard rock or metal may provide too much excitement, while impressionistic can help with free-flowing ideas, and classical will benefit special perception. Country music will stir up memories and emotions, chants or drumming will lower your pulse and help provide a calm environment. - Go for a walk or a drive. The visual stimulation helps kickstart the creative ideas. I used to find my drive home from my office was the best time for processing issues and finding solutions. And if you listen to music at the same time, you will notice even more benefits. - Sing or hum - Singing and humming uses both sides of the brain at the same time. - Move, dance, drum, conduct .....try one of these and see how you feel. Hope I've given you some inspiration here. Really, the cleaning will still be there tomorrow, so try one of these ideas to get started on that project. I'm sure you have felt, as I have, how some pieces of music speak to you, they touch your soul, maybe you feel a tingling.
A few years back a group of us were working on an art project. Soft music was playing in the background. After a time, one of the women commented that she no longer felt creative, something had changed and she was now "stuck". One by one we each stated we were feeling the same. What was going on? Then we realized the problem: the music had stopped. Once we started it up again, we each got back into our creative groove, and continued from where we had left off. This is the power that music can have on us. Our children often tell us they feel they do their homework better while listening to music. We tend not to believe them - but they are right. However in both cases - doing homework and being creative - listening to words in music can be distracting and not provide the right kind of energy to allow us to focus on our task. It's much better to listen to music without the sounds. A good friend recently confirmed this to be true, when during a painting day she asked that we change a CD for one without words. Once changed, a different CD brought in better energy and opened us up to being more creative. So next time our kids tells us that music is helping them with their homework, let them know they are right, and help them to choose the music to enhance their studying. Wow, I can't believe how long it's been since I blogged. Summer has gone very fast. A trip to Newfoundland in July has left me with lots of ideas for new paintings, some of which I have started. And doing demos at the Navan Fair I hope were inspiring to those who visited. I was certainly inspired by those who chatted with me, and I have some new ideas for the fall for my cards. I'll be demo'ing coloured pencils at Fall Fest in Navan in October - something I think some of the kids may like to try.
And with the cooler weather in the mornings, there is a hint of fall in the air. September for me has always been a favourite month, a month when I've often taken on new projects or taken courses. And I've got the itch to take some art courses. Not sure yet what I will take, but I've started looking and one or two will hopefully speak to me. Perhaps it will be abstract painting, perhaps an entirely new medium for me. And Artisan Day with me friends is set to start again in September. We get together once a month for a day of working on our projects, sharing with each other and sometimes even learning new techniques. Not to mention the wonderful food that we share for a potluck lunch. I taught a coloured pencil techniques workshop recently at a local retirement home. The "students" were all experienced artists, who have worked mostly in watercolour or oil. It was a fun morning, as I watched them begin to experiment with the coloured pencils, blending colours, and becoming more and more focused on their drawings.
As I reflected on the day, I realized just how much they inspired me. It has been a while since I have done a coloured pencil drawing and, as a result of the time I spent with this group of women, I'm feeling that itch to get started on a new drawing. The ideas are flowing in. And I'm looking forward to our next class in August, not only to share my excitement and more knowledge about pencils with them, but to draw upon their enthusiasm once again. Each one of the ladies has their own style, their own way of interpreting what they are seeing. And that makes each drawing so unique. I was truly inspired. I always knew the different colours had the potential to affect one's mood, but never had I felt it so much as the time I walked into an office that was painted purple, had purple carpeting, and purple furniture.
The result was electrifying. The room has so much energy that when I left an hour later, I was exhausted! I have no doubt the office staff got a lot of work done in that environment, but at what cost at the end of the day? I have serious doubts they had any energy left for evening activities. This may be an unusual example, but it does demonstrate the impact colours can have. When you wear red, do you feel your confidence level rise? Or if you're agitated, do you find you gravitate to greens or blues to help put some calmness in your day? My clothes closet used to be a mess. I had tried organizing it by clothing type, as recommended by the organizing professionals, but that didn't work for me. It wasn't until I put my clothes in order of colour that I was able to keep it tidy. And it's been tidy now for years. I realized that each morning, while deciding what to wear, it was actually a colour choice I was looking for first. And my eyes would go to that colour in the closet, conscious or not. Notice the colours you choose today, the colour you choose to wear, colours of rooms you are in. And how do they make you feel? In honour of Mother's Day, I will be donating a portion of all my sales in May to the Canadian Cancer Society.
Contact me if you are interested in purchasing some cards. Anne My mother has been working on a new watercolour, after several years of not having painted very much at all. I have watched her confidence level come back as she continues to work on this piece. It's been intriguing how much she is able to paint intuitively, without thinking about what needs to be done. Indeed she does better work when she does not stop to think about or "analyze" the painting. When the intuition takes over, the painting starts to take on a life of its own. Creative activities are very stimulating for those with a dementia. The act of creating taps into the non-verbal areas of the brain. While memory and language start to disappear with dementias, for some reason creativity seems to stay, allowing emotions and expression to take place in non-verbal ways. I have observed this in others while they were knitting, playing the piano, creating pictures with buttons, even while colouring. It seems to help with relaxation, and also stimulates memories of past times. I think my mother and I will need just one more session to finish up this painting, then we can decide what she would like to try next. Working on art has been a great way to spend time together, and time I will cherish for years to come. Anne A good friend showed me a book she had bought recently with ideas for making greeting cards. The cards were beautiful - gorgeous papers, lots of colours, embellishments, stamps. My first reaction was that my cards don't look anything like those.
She responded: "No they don't. Yours are Anne cards. They are your style". What a nice compliment, and in that short exchange, she got rid of that little voice in my head that so many of us hear that brings out a negative side, that maybe our work isn't quite good enough. How many of us don't think we are creative or have artistic talent. In my case a grade seven teacher criticized my art work, and for years after that I didn't think my art was very good. I certainly wan't about to sell any. It took courses and positive feedback many years later to realize that I do, perhaps, have some creativity or a bit of talent. And I realized too just how much I missed being creative, doing some kind of art, every day. Everyone is creative in their own way, be it painting, knitting, gardening, cooking, home decorating, scrapbooking, writing or other such pursuits. It's the act of creating that is important, not the end result. If a child wants to colour a cow purple and orange, so be it. Developing imagination is key. Creativity and flexiblity are desireable, lifelong skills. So thank you Catherine for the lovely compliment. It's very much appreciated, as is the support of my family and my friends as I go along this journey. I hope that I am able to inspire you as much as you inspire me. Anne |
Awakening the heart
with art Artist - Anne Warburton
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About MeIt's taken years to discover the medium I enjoy the most. And how what I have learned before somehow fits into what I am doing now. Even when I travel my needles and threads are with me so I can continue to create while away. Archives
June 2016
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