Creating at Mach 101

It was rush, rush all day!

Eliana made an early morning appearance and we were off and running!

I had several errands in the morning:  mail, recycle depot, thrift shop, library, hardware store and a stop for milk. 

Then home again home again jiggety jig for Creativity 101.  I barely had the lunch on the table before my gal arrived, never mind the rest break!  Gee, kiddies, too bad, no rest for you!  ha!

I was most impressed that they stayed with the class for an hour and a half and then opted out for Clifford the Big Red Dog!  That was the reason for the library stop!  Yay, Clifford!

Shenise worked away and we spent a bit of time unifying everything.  We did actually finish her butterfly book and we'll be starting something new next week.

Now after she left,  Clifford was still going strong so I had a lovely coffee break.  I shall deal with the aftermath later.  vbsigh

I chased them outside where Josh had his turn with the kitten and his sister demonstrated the pinata swing technique!  LOL

The Rooster did finish up the garden box and began on the mess the dog has made along the basement.  We have a creative solution. :)   And bless his heart while I read the bedtime story he began the alteration to the sink cupboard.  We brought in the dresser for the new base and Josh came to check out the commotion.  He was informed that he and  I can set the new dresser in place and lever the hutch on top tomorrow!

I am so excited and so is Josh who is wondering if his muscles will improve over night!  lol!!!  Ahem, it is the teary eyes that make it appear blurry!

Definitely a creative day all round.  :)

Sweet

 I can't believe I really have all this delicious buttery toffee cut up and ready to actually serve to company!  And in bite size pieces that retain their shape.  :)  sweet

It was a kind of red letter day.   The roses have been stunning this year and are still producing. 

We started off early this morning picking raspberries for our morning smoothie.  We have had some hard frosts but the raspberries are still very sweet and plentiful.

After a quick pick up through the house we decided to tackle that last stool for the art room.  I thought I'd have the Rooster tighten those screws down before we stick the little plugs in though. Good thing as he spent a bit of time REALLY sinking those screws in.  oops!

I am not a baking kind of gramma.  So we hunted up a recipe for English Toffee.  It was the very best candy I have ever made!  whoo hoo!  Ha! to all those nay sayers who laughed at my spoon fudge.  ;)  Of course I have to credit my little helpers. And the Roosters thermometer!   :)

Then we made art!  And yes, we painted.

They will be joining the Creativity 101 class and we are finishing up our butterfly books so I wanted them to also have some butterfly pages.

I have to admit that yesterday felt long and the quiet time was very welcome.  But today just flew by and as soon as we'd had a quick rest we were off to collect eggs and they all made it safely back to the house this time.

We gathered up the wheel barrow and headed for the flower beds.  Harvest is happening all around us so Josh is checking out the action  in the field.

The kids are both gonna be gardeners but Eliana had found a kitten and was getting in some cuddle time on the bench.  So Josh was showing me a good hoeing technique.  We had a very productive day.  The Rooster's garden box is just about filled.  He and Josh had to stop to fix Charlotte's waterer.  There is something about water that just makes pigs want to figure out how nozzles work!  lol  A late supper with some sweet toffee for dessert.  We were all in bed early and our dreams were very sweet!

Jumping In!

The kids jumped into action bright and early. They had the promise of painting to make them hop to any suggestions I made!  LOL

I chose to paint this old cupboard as I needed a better fit for this space and I could use this one down  in the basement.   I had a small amount of green paint from the upstairs bookcases.  The kids got right into emptying these shelves while I started organizing the basement.   It yielded a small amount of extraneous stuff this time so I am definitely improving.  I did lose the kids once or twice as they found something to play with.  But I had us ready for painting after lunch.

 We had a  quiet time after lunch and my little Eliana actually fell asleep which is not at all usual. ;) Josh reported she was 'gone' but she had only climbed up into the top bunk.

She remembered that she used a ladder for the last project and insisted on one this time. :O

 Josh was a quick study but doesn't like to get messy which bothers his sister not at all.  lol

There was still lots of enthusiasm and a bit of paint left.  I felt the bookcase had gotten enough of their tlc so I gave them an old but useful stool down in the basement.

While I cleaned up they went off to harass the rest of the winter's supply of drumsticks! :(

I was beginning to wind down but they were ready and waiting for 'art'!  I was firm about no more painting so they just used the less messy stuff. 

A little time with Bob the Builder and Wendy from my dvd stash and I got supper going.  The Grand Framer was a bit late so their wasn't too much tractor time.   We did get the eggs gathered and back to the house safely this time.  ;) ;) 

We finished up the day by  reading a chapter in our book and I was the one that almost didn't make it to the end of the chapter!  LOL

Tuesday sees us back outside.  I shall be thinking about 'art' as we drag the wheelbarrow around the flowerbeds.   I suspect they'll be wanting to jump right back into painting! :)

Going Out

First day with the grand kiddies was an outside day.

I did get the hutch painted and back in place before their arrival.  I decided this dark paint was better done without help.  I also decided that the wood back board was sufficiently close to the gold paint I bought that I could forgo painting it which made my life so much easier.  I'd have had to paint inside the drawers and inside the bottom doors to match.  Life is too short to stick one's neck out too very far.  So it sits and cures a bit and then I shall rub it with wax and position the new knobs.  Hmm, a good job for grand kiddies!

We spent Sunday afternoon filling the Grand Farmer's new garden box.  These are old untreated bridge planks and a long raised bed with good soil will make our lives much easier.

The manure comes from Charlotte, the pig's, pasture and she took an unguarded moment to search for a greener pasture! She also wanted it to be an OUT day!  ;O 

She sure is a big girl and if she wants to push past you, well, she just pushes past .  :(  But the Rooster walked her back in after he had chased her down and headed her off with the tractor.  Pigs are his very favourite animal.  We once raised pigs and he is so happy to have a couple every once in a while. Charlotte is actually our happiest pig as you can tell by the kids playing with her. 

We did a good days work.  Tomorrow will be an in day.  At least until the Grand Farmer returns and we 'top up' that garden box so it can settle over the winter.

Kiddies are now out of bed and racing into this brand new day and Gram'elle needs to try to at least keep up with them.  Look out! Hear we come!

Putting emotion to work

Not to worry.  I am no drama queen!

But it is commonly known that creating art helps one work through various emotions.  The problem is in having the available space to create that art.  :(

This past while I have been mad.  Mostly about small stuff.  Not enough time.  Not enough energy.  Not enough money. ha! That means not enough supplies or resources. But mostly I have been mad at myself for trying to work in a mess.  :(   But now I am putting that mad emotion to work for me.

Best time for me to purge is when I'm mad that I can't find things.  Clutter.  So I beat it up. ;)  And things get cleaned up and purged out.

This closet is a constant struggle and precipitated my madness.  My grand kiddie wanted 'her' box and I couldn't easily reach it so I promised her 'next time'!  :(  It is really a matter of getting rid of overflowing baskets of stuff that I haven't put away and then they block entrance to the inside of this closet.  They also block the doors to a cupboard that holds my 'good' supplies.  But keeping this supply separation is a pain and I think I'll be doing that differently.   I also need to put tags telling me exactly what is in the green baskets of the gridded cupboard.

I rearranged the long wall.  The cutter was here and usually covered with whatever need a place 'for a minute'.  I changed places with my stamping area and have made this corner my dry area for working on the scrap booking stuff.

I will fine tune this a bit but it is already easier to pull open the drawers of the large base unit.  I'm hoping the little pull out drawers will eliminate my need for stacks of stuff all over the place.

The centre area is for wet mixed media and actually functions well when it is accessible.  :(

Now I just need to be more diligent in using the space and keeping the space open and ready.  By having a space for my 'dry' journals I should do better with keeping the stacks down and this area clear.  ;)

I bought my die cutter last fall and I really need to be using it more for quilting and for embossing/cutting. Having it in this far corner will hopefully keep it from being a handy repository for  stuff.  :( I do need to move/change out my pens and other dry paraphernalia from this old office cabinet. 

I don't think I'm going to be a stamp carver but I sure like using the sticky back foam for making my own stamps.  She is a big girl this Pro and needs lots of room for the tray to slide .  For cutting fabric I think I'd lift her onto the cutting table but for  quick cuts I just have to lift away the tray that has all the water and paint on it in the adjacent mixed media work spot. 

My craft table is fully opened and always in use. I can work from three sides and I do.   I need to be more diligent about cleaning it off regularly though.  I never quite knew where to stash the mixed media stuff while I was wanting to cut and sew fabric. Heck, everything was already full of stuff.  lol  So I got a tub and put the protective shower curtain and the basic craft stuff  for my Creativity 101 gal in it. I'll whisk it off to its space in the cupboard and switch things to the sewing mode.  Here is hoping!

I do need to get my white curtains hemmed and up so I can have my design wall functioning.  I really want to get my fibre art back into the rotation not to mention the quilting.  I NEED to get the baskets of ufo's eliminated. :(

It seems I am always making changes in this room.  But the changes are getting smaller as the basic layout, cupboards and work surfaces are working.  Each time I do eliminate stuff that I realize I don't use.  Each time I improve the flow of using my materials. :)

Now that mad has been dealt with I'll be glad to get more creative. :)  And everything will be getting a good test run as my two grand kiddies are coming to spend an whole week with their creative...

Wow creativity growth

I have been rereading Seth Apter's The Pulse of Mixed Media: Secrets and Passions of 100 Artists Revealed  which deals with lots of good questions.  I began to ask myself some of those questions.

To quote Seth, "... the magic ingredient in every artwork is the artist.  All artists bring their own history, personality, creativity, and personal perspective to the pieces they create."

 I decided to start jotting down some of my own answers and I realize it is not what I want to be but it is very much what I am.  Of course that involved a few scratch outs as I arrived at 2014 because while I believe age is only a number I am a relatively mature junior senior citizen as opposed to a giggly young teenager.  So on THIS day,  in a couple of sentences, who am I and what do I want to say and how can I portray that?

While contemplating this I read another blogger, John Hopper who, In Talking About Creativity,  said,

"... it is individual creativity that has allowed that part of our character; I would say one of its most important elements, to develop and to blossom. Whilst it is true that we see the outside world, that world that sits outside of our immediate headspace, through the context of our culture or community, we have a much more intimate contact with this world, the one that only an individual can really make sense of. The creative individual has their own unique vocabulary of the world, their own ideas as to the senses, whether through eye, ear, nose, mouth, or hand. This vocabulary will be used to transmit to a creative outlet, which will then be added to the shared experience of the culture or community that the creative individual calls their own. This focusing on an individual creative endeavour and then of sharing the result of that endeavour, is perhaps one of our most precious human abilities."

 That fits very well with the conclusion that I arrived at.  I am looking for the good and I want to inspire others to look for the good. To accomplish that bold statement  I must cease skimming techniques and tutorials and settle down to learning the best ways that I enjoy speaking creatively.  I have mistakenly thought that what I like when I see an artist portray something,  may not be authentic to my own voice.  I also need to go back to the things I liked to do when I began crawling, and from there walk, not run into what I will eventually become.  When I grow up???  :)  Sounds deep, but it just means I've given myself permission to do what I like and not what I think I should like to do.

Three's a charm!  As I committed to the above paragraph I read another blog post about why would one pursue something that is less than good just because it is easier to settle for the status quo because  the materials are bought, the plan is made, etc.  LOL

Therefore I am redefining Creativity 101.  I'll be doing it my way!  I also want to release the passion that bubbles inside, fueled by my life experiences, my creative influences and my hopes and dreams.  I started way back when by colouring and cutting out paper dolls.  I discovered fabric and making doll clothes.  When I got my own home I focused on the fabric.  Quilts lead me to wall art and that brought me back to colouring but this time with watercolour pencils and paints.  I need to figure out how to 'do it all'!  ;) ;)

I realized that I was not making altered books because it is a lot of time and work to fill the pages.  Then I realized the book can be blank. duh!  I really like making these BLANK books. I want to be adding more fabric, thread and hand stitching to my work. Now this barely qualifies for The Needle and Thread Network but I know all of us want to grow creatively.  This is the beginning of finding the balance for mixing up fabric which is fibre and paper which is also fibres and adding threads and paints, stamps and embellishments.

ahem.  At what age does one finally grow up and quit stretching?

oh where oh where...

has my little blog gone???

It hasn't actually gone anywhere.  Life just kinda walked past, stirred up some dust, and swirled along scattering some things, smothering others and snagging on a few sharp points. 

I sat down under a blue moon for a short period of time and I knew that wasn't good.  What if... under a blue influence,  isn't where I want to go.   But facing sunshine at high noon didn't appeal either. 

A sure sign that something 'gives' is that I start a dozen things and finish none.  Well, maybe a large stack of books! ;) ;)

So I have been getting into a number of things and sent out a distress call to the Rooster.  Now he is kinda busy with a few things in his own area of the chicken yard but has been sending a few cockle doodle DO'S???  from over his shoulder my way.   Henny?????    :o !!!  He is gonna be bringing the wheel barrow over shortly. ;)

One change is that our chickie is making preflight tries from the coop roof top so that could mean more rearranging/restoring back to empty nesters again.  That means I kinda get my life back in some respects but it definitely added another corner in the coop that needs cleaning, classifying, and reconditioning.  

There have been a number of where, when, whys, whats but Yoo Who has been found and I do believe I'll have a lot to blog about.  This ol' biddy hen is back to making clucking sounds!  :)