Art Around Us

In the process of developing one’s creativity, it is important to not only look at the world around us, but to ‘see’ things that excite us.

Here are a few images; one a form of utility (the bike stand) and the other, simply art.

Both are creatively executed. These were taken at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles. The workers are removing the graffiti to make room for the next installation.

Energize...

So, what is your source of energy?

For me, in the summer, in more relaxed times, it is my morning routine.

Wake up early,
read in bed with a cup of coffee..
take a 30 minute walk, listening to a book on tape (and presently, it is Jane Austin's Northanger Abbey)
Eat breakfast,
Play piano,
Shower, and then begin my work day. All hopefully before 9:30 a.m.

What about you?

Pushing Myself... Watercolor Workshop with Jane Lafazio

OK.. time to push. I have never taken a true drawing class. But, here I am in Utah, learning how to sketch and create water color journal art. Talk about stretchiiinnnngggg.







Look at the environment. The view from the 'cabin'.


So, meet Jane Lafazio (www.plainjanestudio.com). Jane is our amazing instructor, who is guiding our way. Dianne Streifer is our host, Creative Mountain Retreats.

So... bit by bit, I'm finding my way. Thus far, I've done three pieces, and am losing the fear. Here is the class.


Our first sketch/water color, was to take a faux bird and sketch it. Then, ink it in, and then, paint it. Here are a few images.


Today, we went to 'town' and found objects at a boutique to sketch. Things like... a bird's nest.

Art on Wheels

I am constantly amazed at the creativity one finds on the street.

Here we have a Fruit Salad, as found on a bicycle on the street in Verona.

Yes, it was in front of a fruit stand.

Street Art in Venice

While strolling the maze of Venice, two pieces of street art caught my eye..
Here they are:

Splendid Weekend To-Do List...

as you may already know, i'm a fan of lists; in some ways, they keep me sane {ha, ha!}. they help me remember more of what i want to accomplish when i actually write them by hand {not to mention i find it to be such a romantic, old-fashioned practice to do these days}, but overall i find them to be the best way to put personal priorities into focus.

inspired by a très fabuleaux blogger i discovered not too long ago, Kaileen Elise, and her weekly weekend creative to-do list, i've been creating my own weekend lists. in doing so, i've found myself enjoying more simple luxuries even during the "work" week; things that aren't necessarily the most exciting to some {like eating my meals on pretty dishes, shopping alone, listening to the sights and sounds of nature while i walk my pup, coloring, taking slow deep breaths, just to name a few}, but truly are fabulous when you think about it.

so, i'm going to do my best to post my lists here and hopefully you'll take the time to make a splendid to-do list of your own!

write

enjoy time with my family

reflect and meditate on what this holiday weekend really means to me

try a new recipe or two

walk my pup

indulge in a longer yoga practice

catch up on favorite podcasts

create some pages for my art journal

read my current library books

change my nail color

cuddle with my kids

call an old friend
dance

organize my makeup bag

relax

hope you have a gorgeous weekend, and if you're so inclined, share with me your splendid weekend to-do list in the comments below.

pic taken be me:)

Bouquets to Art At the De Young

Talk about creativity! In March I was able to see the De Young Museum (in San Francisco) exhibit called Bouquets to Art. Floral Arrangers create masterpieces of plant life, to represent paintings and sculpture in the museum.

The San Diego Art Museum has a similar event, coming up the last weekend of April. Theirs is called Art Alive. I encourage all to go.

Here are some amazing translations.

Life is like Raku

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of watching the process of a Raku and Sager firing at the Palo Alto Art Center in the Bay area of San Francisco. I was thoroughly enchanted with the magic of the techniques, and love the idea, that no one can predict what the exact results will be.

Raku is a ceramics/pottery firing technique, whereby the artist places a painted glazed piece into the kiln and once the glaze has reached a certain point, the piece is taken and placed in a covered container filled with sawdust and newspaper. As it burns, the carbon performs an alchemy magic and colors the ceramic piece. The unglazed areas turn black, and the glazes become the color intended with whimsical crackling that cannot be predicted.

After the container had burned its course, the artists uncovered their work, unsure of what the results would be, and ready to accept whatever happened. The moments of anticipation were actually quite exciting.

Here you see ceramics artist, Jo Killen. Check out her profile at jokillenpottery.blogspot.com.



Here Jo is lifting a piece from the kiln and preparing to place it in a container. Look at the heat generated by the red glow inside one of her pieces.

Here are several finished pieces of work. You can see the top one still in the container.


Here is ceramics artist, Don Taka, with his raku piece. First, you can see the pot in the fire. Don is about to cover the can with a lid to trap the carbon in the smoke. Then, you can see him cleaning the piece, and the end result.



These pieces by Jo are the result of a Sager firing, which is a little different. Here, the ceramics are painted with a solution and sawdust, horse hair, leaves, feathers, etc. are laid on the surface. Aluminum foil is wrapped around the pieces that are then fired. Again, one is never sure what the result will be.


So, I have decided that we need to embrace life like a Raku. We are never certain what will happen, and we must be willing to accept and embrace whatever comes our way. All things have beauty, and it is up to us to see that.

Valentines Day in the Textiles Classroom

Today is Valentine's day, so, the softie I am for such things, we had to make paper woven hearts. Afterall, it is "plain weave"

You can find the instructions for the heart basket at http://www.weavespindye.org/html/heart2.html

Below you can see the process of cutting the pattern, and weaving it.

Thanks to my Textiles students for sharing.

Fashion Cookies

As another holiday project this year, I invited the Exec Board of our college Fashion Club for dinner. Of course, there was another project... the students cut out and decorated Sugar Cookies. I had made the cookie cutters out of 'Flashing' (found at Home Depot. The images were fashion clothing and accessories. Basically, I took drawings of clothing, etc, and scaled them to the size I wanted. Then I bent the flashing around the outer shape and used duct tape to hold everything in place, and to cover the top sharp edge.

Here are the cookies prior to decorating..


Now... the decorating.. and the results.. and the cast of characters.