December Studio

Mood board: Spring is in the Air

 

colour board entitled "Spring is in the Air"

 

 

Lately, I have been getting sidetracked by colour.  I see colour combos that I love, covet, feel connected to, and I realized I need to start paying attention to this.  

In the fall, I signed up for a blog design PDF and learned about creating mood boards for design.  Lately I have been thinking about transferring that knowledge over to my painting and illustration, so I decided to begin creating mood boards of colour combos I love in order to have a record I can go back to when I need inspiration.

Naturally, I started to snap photos of the colours which were inspiring me, to record them.  Then, when I volunteered at Portals last week, I had some time to dive into my iPhoto and went through my archives.

This made me realize that (A) I have a lot of really beautiful photos that need some exposure in the world, and (B) my photos are a great resource for colour/mood boards.

This inspired me to create one right then and there (above) and helped me to decide to make this a regular feature, as well as to get my butt in gear and turn those photos into greeting cards**.

Please be aware that when I imported the above graphic into the Typepad (blogging) application, it subdued the colours quite a lot.  Very disappointing.  Those pinks and oranges are so much brighter in real life.  Also, please note that I am willing to take reader suggestions on this inspiration.  What are your fave colour combos?  Shoot me a comment or email and tell me.  I may feature your idea on the blog, and if you are connected somewhere online, I will also link to your page/blog/site for exposure.

 

So, what do you think?  Do you love "Spring is in the Air"?  How do those colours work for you?  

 

**I have been dreaming and scheming about making photo cards FOR YEARS.  Time to get cracking.  If you have an idea about an image you'd like to see on a card let me know, and if I have it in my archives, I will work on producing it.  If I don't have it, I will work on getting it.

Inside the studio.

Inside the studio.

A peek at things I've been working on, returning to, or planning out. January and February edition.

New day.

 

Finally. FINALLY!

A week in 2013 that went by with a good amount of positivity and productivity.

Yes, last week was a good one friends. I initiated a giveaway on my blog and had some AMAZING reader comments deposited. That made my day. My heart floated, FULL of joy!  Many thanks to everyone who came and commented, and to those who comment regularly.  It's kind of a big deal, and I appreciate everyone so much for stopping by.
I returned to a raven painting that I started last fall and fixed a few small things and, I think, finished him.
he's close to being finished??

I had an enjoyable week at work... I don't know, I think it was the success of all the other things that helped that one feel okay...?
I got some crazy good ideas for a few landscape images, sketched them, then started a small series of paintings on hardboard.
I rearranged my living room furniture and each time I sit on my couch, I feel so content with my sweet home.
I predicted that my brother's third and final baby would be the boy they were hoping for, and I was right!! (Oh, yeah, I became an auntie again this week!!!)
I volunteered at the Portals gallery and had great conversation with Morgan, the office admin. I also had some quiet time there to do some photoshop work in PEACE!! Amazing.
My husband and I had dinner on Friday night with another couple at the local pub.
That's so rare it was like we were on a holiday.

Oh, there were a few bumps in the road this week, not everything was awesome, but the not awesome stuff worked itself out to be fine after all, and we're all still here, loving each other and making our way through this weird maze of life.

Here's hoping for another sweet week to come. Happy Monday!

PS: there is still time to be entered to win a free print from my studio. Just go to this post and submit a comment.

 

It's a rainy, rainy day here on the island. It's also a pro-D day for teachers which means no school for kids. Which also means no quiet time for this mama who dreamed of getting client work done in peace. (I forgot about the no school day today). 

Which means today is a day to roll with the punches and be awesome. It's also a day to oogle over pics of my brand new nephew born yesterday!!

Hey, it's Friday! I might just end this day with a glass of something tasty.

Go forth. Be awesome.

OLW 2013. Transform Family

Part of my OLW plan (transform) was to make more time for family memories. If we don't set up a commitment to "just have fun" at least once per week, we'll get too wound up finding work to do. Then life gets really lame.
Really. LAME.
The way I see it is: Work will always be available to us if we look for it, but the years of play when my family is young, are short and fleeting.

So far we have gone for three different beach-hike explorations. They are short, close to home excursions that require very little prep. We pack water bottles, dress in our rubber boots and fleece, and head out. For a super special, fun treat, I mix up an apple-cranberry bannock mix to cook over an open fire on the beach. It's so much fun and it's such a simple way to get outside and do something as a family that we'll always remember

Annnnddd, we are never lacking for amazing vistas to appreciate during these excursions. I love Vancouver Island!!

Here's the recipe for my apple-cranberry bannock.

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 to 3/4 of an apple finely chopped
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup whole almonds roughly chopped

Enough water to mix into a thick dough

Vegetable oil for frying

Get your pan good and hot. Spoon dough into pan in three small cakes. Keep an eye on the bannock. If your pan us hot and fire is good, your bannock will cook quickly. Add more oil if necessary.
Once it's done, enjoy hot out of the pan, maybe even with a little butter!!

What simple and fun ways do you know to make family memories? I'd love to hear them!!

 

 

Small things.

 

I promised a giveaway on this blog for Valentine's Day and I'm here today to set that in motion, but first I should probably give you a back story on why I didn't actually write this post on Valentine's Day.

Actually, there won't be a story, because part of why this post is days late is because I'm too caught up in making this place, this blog, a bigger deal than necessary.  I'm too caught up trying to make it look and feel a certain way that I'm overwhelmed with the nagging thoughts about getting a post up.  I'm too caught up trying to make things turn out how I think they should, instead of accepting how they are.  Annnnd, that's not working out so well, aaaannnd, that's why I faltered on getting a post up ON VALENTINE'S DAY--sort of.

You should probably know that life smacked me around a bit over the last two years, and just when I figured I had gone through my fair share of change and turmoil and whatnot, 2013 was all like, Probably NOT! and gave me another wallop.

So fine, be that way.  I'll just be over here sulking, licking my wounds and maybe while I'm at it, I'll reflect a little on WHAT'S NOT FRICKIN WORKING. 

Making things too much work.  That's not working.  Reacting too fast.  That's not working.  Trying to make something bigger than what it needs to be RIGHT NOW.  Not working.

Okay.

This blog, I have decided, is killing me and that's just stupid.  It's supposed to be fun, (for now) it's supposed to be a sanctuary for art, design, photos and my life.

I'm making it too scheduled and structured and not spontaneous.  Sponteneity is my life-blood.  Routine, not so much.  

So, that means less fluff, more pared-down, less far-reaching, more concentrated, less "scholarly article-ish", more "this is how I roll".

Some words.  Some pictures.  Then carry on.

To make a non-back-story-story short, I essentially have realized that my weakness in life is to do too much, to want things to be too big, and RIGHT NOW DAMMIT!

I try hard, I over-aim, I go crazy and I forget I am only one person.  I want to keep writing this blog, because I enjoy blogging, and I want others to enjoy my words and thoughts and images, but I want to keep it real and more close to "me in the moment" rather than "me after I have thought and processed and agonized over design and layout and content".  Because that's how I roll.

Small things.  And these small things melt into something I need a lot for my SELF.

(BIG) LOVE: as in, I need to do things that are more self-preserving and less people pleasing.

The other reason I failed to post this on Valentine's Day is because I'm one of those people who believe consumerism around love is kinda bad.  So, I want to tell you I love you and I don't mind if we have one day to celebrate that sweet thing called love, but I am not going to be going gangbusters to show you.

I will do something sweet, small and full of BIG WHOPPING HEAPS of my love, to let you know that you are so so special.  And I will not just do that on the ONE DAY everyone tells me too, but on a random day when you're not looking.  Then whammo, straight up in yo face with my lovin'.

I think it's the small ways we show each other our love that really matter.  Not the over the top crazy bouquet and trip to Hawaii on Valentine's Day because OH MY GOD I LOVE YOU!!! ways.

Wait--What? Trip to Hawaii? Okay, for the record, I am totally okay with a trip to Hawaii as a way for you to show your love.  Just saying.

But, you get my drift.

Small things.

Big love.

That's my style.  That's how I roll.

Annnddd, here we are.  At the place I was aiming to set into motion waaaay back up at the top of this post.

I want to give something to one of you sweet loves who takes the time to come over here and read my rambling mind dumps.  But I want you to do something to show me YOUR love.  Let's keep this conversation going!  Please share what your small things/BIG LOVE are.  What little things do you do to show your heart to your special people.  How do you make them feel loved BIG TIME, in itsy-bitsy little wee ways?  

Every comment submitted here about small things/BIG love, will be entered to win the print pictured below from my studio.  I will accept comments until 12:00 a.m. PST. on March 1, 2013 and will draw the winner on March 2 at NOON PST.  Please let me know how you love BIG in a small way and let's spread the love. **********EDITED**********THE FREE PRINT WILL NOT BE FRAMED*********************************

2013-02-17

It hit me like a train yesterday that I've neglected to acknowledge the good which exists in my life. I've been living under a cloud of frustration and sadness and I was blinded temporarily to the beauty all around. Shame on me.

These are but a few mere items on my gratitude list.

+ my children are here. They're here!! With me everyday. So grateful.
+my husband is an unbelievably hard worker yet he always makes time for family adventures. Also, he too is here with me everyday! He's here. So grateful.
+I have really good friends who love me and who are amazingly supportive. So grateful.
+I get to make art every day. Grateful and blessed.
+I live in one of the MOST beautiful places on earth and I grew up in another very beautiful place. Blessed. Grateful.
+I am healthy, have a fridge full of food, a warm home and as a woman living in Canada, I am free to choose my path. So so very grateful.

Sometime we all lose sight of these simple but very vital blessings in our life. What's one thing you are grateful for?
Leave me a comment. Did I miss something super important??
Happy Sunday.

Never give up.

Oh man.  It's been a challenging week.  Month.  Year.

2013 has barely made a blip on the radar and it's been full--FULL--of uphill battles and challenges around here.  All tough.  All heartbreaking, mindbreaking, spiritbreaking.  And, all worth the effort.

Let's start with how the school year resumed.  My teenager basically melted into a pot of panic and ceased to cope with the pressures of being a teen, being a kid, being an almost adult.  He staggered, and we caught him, but in the nick of time only.  He's home now, and he's been recovering, and he's been getting more work done than he could do at school so we reached a plateau.  And he was feeling good, but now, we're covering new ground, because since he's at home all the time, he's missing his friends and his cute girlfriend and that's got him all caught in a net of despair and sadness.

I do not wish teenaged anything onto anyone. Ever. EVER.

Oh, sweet kid.  I know, I do.  I see your pain, I know your heart, I am here to cheer you on and remind you that you are awesome and wonderful and so worthy of joy.  And, you'll get  there.  You will. Never give up.

So then, there was this thing I did called the OLW "transform" plan, where I devised this BIG HUGE list of all the ways I would transform my life in 2013.  My body, my diet, my JOB.  And I HAVE been staying true to it.  I have been regularly exercising and eating well, (sometimes not enough) and I have been working on transitioning myself out of my retail job and into working for myself as an artist.  But it's been effing hard, to put it bluntly.

With all the extra stuff on my plate (homeschooling, exercising) trying to get stuff done has been exhausting!  Trying to find cost effective ways to reproduce my work in to prints and cards has been an exercise in frustration!  Trying to stay focused and inspired, or trying to run with inspiration when it strikes has been almost futile.  I keep revisiting Elizabeth Gilbert's TED talk on how creative genuis is elusive, simpy to remind myself that I am not the only artist who suffers from this conundrum.  Not in the least.

And trying, trying, trying to stay centered in the place of "There is no other option but to make art for a living" has been like digging myself out of a deep, dark well of despair with no footholds, no light, no hope.  There was a very low point in my week where I almost gave it all up.  I almost allowed the dark thoughts to cave me in.  I almost decided to forget it and just accept that I will have to continue working my lame retail job for the rest of my life.  There's just no profitable or manageable way to do this art-thing.

Lucky for me, I found a small sliver of hope somewhere in that cave of desperation.  Lucky for me I have been down this road before and I made it out alive before.  Lucky for me I remembered that times like this are what life throws at us to push us into greatness.  Without dark, there can be no light.  Without despair, we would know no hope.  Without failures there could be no success.

Never give up.

I recallibrated the things I am willing to compromise on (thanks for those words Danielle LaPorte...I love you!!), and I reconfirmed the things I am NOT willing to compromise on.

I am not willing to let my family wallow in despair.  EVER.  Although seeing my child struggle brings up a whole bunch of uncomfortable feelings and thoughts, I simpy am not willing to let him flounder.  I am his cheerleader and we will get through this.  That kid is amazing and he is so loved.  He just needs to start carving out those pathways in his brain for himself.  We have to help him do that.  Lots of love and heaping doses of understanding.  And some tender nurturing.

I am not willing to give up on my dreams.  I'm not.  I may not know all the ins and outs of running an art business yet, but I know how to pour my heart into my art, and if the Universe can work with me a little bit better, then I'll get there.  Some more time to eek things out.  Some more ideas on how to market this little studio and all these productions.  Some  more commissions from my fans. And some tender nurturing of my mama heart, should do well to help me get onto the right pathway. 

Never give up.

So I am going to recallibrate how I am transforming.  I think the word I chose, my OLW, "transform" is seriously a powerhouse of change which swept down on me right from the word GO.  And as the Universe would have it, I have only been able to control a few aspects of this journey.  I get that now.  I get that controlling things gives me an illusion of safety and does nothing to help me grow.  

OK.  Okay!  Let's keep going 2013.   Let's work together a little better and get this show on the road.

January.

Oh, hey February!

Good to see you, it's been awhile, and so far you're treating us quite well with your "IT'S ALMOST SPRING-type weather!"  So, Yay!! for that!

January.  Where should we start?  Well, let's talk about your final week shall we?  That wasn't much fun.  I struggled to get through, and boy I wasn't a happy camper.  Long days at work, long days at home, general fatigue, and low levels of joy.  

Ok, there were a few moments where I pumped up the joy.  Like the time my girl stayed home sick (again) and I just decided it was OK to leave the screaming piles of laundry for a few hours so we could get messy with paint.  Yep, that was nice.  I called it "Bring your kid to work-day".

Goodness.

Oh, and then there were the times I pulled out the script brushes and went kinda nuts.  And found some new inspiration via a friend who asked me to design "THANK YOU" cards for a local business.  That was amazing.  And so heart lifting, I can't begin to describe with words.

Beautiful.

But then there was the in between bits that just sogged my heart and spirit in a pit of wallowing misery.

I feel kinda shameful for going there, but I was just overwhelmed.  My mama brain had run the gamut and I was just feeling done.  Sometimes I just get overcooked with the enormity of it all.  Life.  The enormity of life.  But then I have my pout and I rattle things up and I come down from my high horse of self pity and decide to remember what I somehow always forget: If you just keep doing things for everyone, they just keep being done by you.  If you ask for help, you get help.  Quit being a freaking martyr, a freaking freak and give the shout out to your peeps when you need to.  Oh, and get your butt outside and breathe in some oxygen.

And really, that's been the theme for most of January.  There have been a whole schwack of details and thoughts and new experiences to iron out this first month of the year and wow, it's been an uphill struggle.  It's felt like I've been living out my days still immersed in night consciousness, you know, the sleeping scapes where you try so hard to run and move and go, but YOU CAN'T GET ANYWHERE!

So, instead of continuing to try, you just slump down on the floor in a pile of tears and melt into the carpet.

Ya, that.

Up reflection this morning I realized that all of this is me trying to be the superwoman of my world, again (see, being a martyr, above).

I am doing that thing again, where I just do all things I see need doing and I build up little pits of resentment in my heart and mind.  Not good.

Not nice either.

I realize that I need a break.  I need a getaway, but I need to give everyone else a break too.  I need to stop doing it all and start asking for help.  I HAVE TO.

It's the only way and the right thing to do.  What's my problem?  I don't want to be the martyr mama NO MORE! Waaaaaaa.

And what makes it all so much worse for wear is that I had BIG BIG BIG plans to get this year off right.

OLW? Remember that?  Yeah, that's right.

BIG.

PLANS.

Oh, but, you know.  It's not like I haven't tried. And by tried I mean, settled into a nice homeschooling routine with my boy, one where he ACTUALLY gets work done (take that Kelsey-ha! nice kick in your pants) and that I've LEARNED stuff from him and that we are homies again (but DO NOT tell him I said that on my blog because OH! Holy Hell he'll hate me and OMG Mom you are so lame, shut up, go home).

And I can't say I haven't been eating better, drinking MORE WATER THAN COFFEE HUGE ACCOMPLISHMENT PAT ME ON THE BACK, and getting good doses of fresh clean exercise. And air. And inspiration. And new art.

So, I can't say that you were fully terrible January.  You weren't fully terrible at all.  I'm just slow to the start line when someone changes the course when I'm not looking, but take that POW! BANG! I'mma kick you in the pants January and boot your ass outta here, because I got you licked and I took your beats, but you didn't beat me down. 

I'm still standing.

And I'm stronger than you are.

February, watch yourself.

 

***New post coming this week concerning creativity, inspiration and how to stay CENTERED in our creative energies to live a happier life.  If you leave me a comment, you are entered to win a beautiful new print which I will reveal at the top of that post.  And if all goes well, I will be continuing to offer more free art giveaways here on the blog.

Happy Monday.  Let's rock this joint.