Artsy Blog Hop – Part 1

I was asked to be part of this artsy blog hop, where we each answer the following questions and link to a few other blogs that inspire us.  Thanks to Marcia Beckett for inviting me to participate.  You can visit her blog to see her responses to these same questions, along with some lovely art work! 🙂

How does my creative process work?

It’s pretty random!  It varies based on supplies available, art challenges I’m participating in, current life events, and scraps (crumb bag as one of my teacher’s called it) that are handy.  Sometimes I may have a gift or card for someone/something specific in mind.

There is consistently a spiritual aspect to my process and lots of playful experimentation. I try to remember to be open and trust the flow without knowing where it will lead. For example, the turtle and quote below started out as a turtle doodle one Sunday evening. The next day, I saw a turtle munching on a blackberry while I was picking berries for jam. The day after that, I read the quote about a turtle while having breakfast! 🙂 It started as a simple doodle to satisfy my need to create something that day, and it all came together without any plan on my part.

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

I just experiment with whatever I have available at any given time so that will obviously be different, based on my supplies and activities, than someone else’s. I have no formal art training so I just approach art as playing and try to trust the process. Obviously, my life experiences are unique to me and impact all that I do.  We are all unique and have our own song to sing, even if we don’t have the answers!

What am I working on now?

I have really enjoyed working with a variety of texture, especially since taking the week long Field Guide to Creativity course at the John Campbell Folk School. That course inspired these fabric journals, which are currently available in my etsy store. Hopefully, these will be an on-going project, if demand permits. I love selecting the fabric, sewing it all together, selecting diverse papers and fabrics to use inside, and adding lots of little details and embellishment, often including little inspirational notes in the pockets.

I am also currently working on a series of inspirational post cards. I adore snail mail that actually travels through the post and greets us in the mailbox at the end of the driveway. I especially love it when the outside of the letter or package has something beautiful to share with all the hands that touch it along the way. I also love to recycle and repurpose items in my art and keep them out of the trash, at least for a while longer. This week, I used paper towels that were left over from a tie dying class I volunteered in. The colors make spectacular backgrounds and I love the texture they add as well, which also brings a bit more challenge to the surface to work with, but worth it!

Why do you do what you do?

Both writing and art are a form of prayer/meditation for me. My husband plays the guitar (which I am blessed to be listening to as I write this!), and I play with glue, paint, paper, fabric, etc.  Art is also my way of healing/coping/digesting life. It has been my tribute to my mom to pass on the love for life that she had and taught me.  It is a way to focus my own energies on the positive aspects of a bittersweet life/world, like putting on my rose colored glasses. In addition, I just love to play and have fun and get messy. I highly recommend it!

I’ll be linking to a few artsy blogs that inspire me next Monday for their answers to the above questions.  I admire these other artists and look forward to getting a glimpse into their thoughts.  Here is the link to part 2 introducing 3 lovely artists from around the world!

Have a lovely day. 🙂