Reflections on a Busy Month

Its time for my month article focusing on creativity.  This is also posted in my newsletter.You get these if you subscribe to my newsletter but I like to include them here for any new visitors to my blog. 

Reflections On A Busy Month

This past November I had a lot of activities going on. Usually in November I participate in The National Novel Writing Month.  Now that activity is enough for a normal person but for me I had several other things going.

When I signed up for Connie Hozvicka’s Workshops, Creative Circles & Retreats it was going to be a handbook.  So I didn’t expect it to impact November at all.  Well she changed it and it turned into 4 conference calls. So there went that plan.

Then a couple months ago I signed up for Pauline Agnew’s course Draw and Paint What You Love.  It started in October and I knew it would impact November but I knew the course would be up there awhile so I had some leeway.

Then at the last minute I decided to sign up for Art Every Day Month.  I knew I would not be able to give up working in my art journal all month, so I thought I would do what I could do. I gave myself permission to participate fully or as little as I wanted to with no pressure.

So how did I manage it all?

The Creative circles course was all recorded so I downloaded the content to listen to later.  I printed off all the PDF’s and created a file for them and put them all away.  I plan to listen later.

The Art class worked in conjunction with Art Every Day Month. Often my art for the day was what I had made for my class assignments.  Its great when you can do double duty.  We had a Facebook group for our class assignments and first I would post there and then I would do a short blog post, uploaded it to Creative Every Day and I was finished.  It made it easy. I even threw in different creative days like weaving or knitting.  It really was an easy process for me.

Most of my writing was done at night.  We had scheduled Google+ Hangouts with my writing group so that was easily accomplished.

I think my success this month was structure.  I had a structure in place that made it easy to accomplish all the tasks I needed to do. As a creative person I usually resist schedules and structure.  I think this time my structure was fluid so it worked for me. So if you are a person who doesn't like structure you might give it try one more time.

In the Winner Circle

I am happy to report that I am a NanoWrimo winner once more. I'm glad to have accomplished this once more and I am real happy its over.

For the last day of Art Everyday Month I am switching gears to sewing,  This is a tote bag I made out of a Bag of Bird seed.  I cut the bag down a little, sewed up the bottom and added some handles.  It cost me about 2.00 to make this and that cost was for the handles.  It makes a great little tote bag out of something that was going to be thrown out.

It has been a lot of fun completing this challenge. I'll be going back to blogging 3 days a week.

Linking to Art Every Day Month

A Raven in Charcoal

I added this raven to the page with compressed charcoal.  The background was a gelli print that was embellished with a lot metallic gelatos. It didn't scan very well. The colors are pretty vibrant in real life,

Linking to Art Every Day Month

Happy Turkey Day

Happy Turkey Day to all of you who celebrate Thanksgiving.

I took the background from yesterday and added some collaged pictures and words from a greeting card. I was going to journal on the silhouette but I decided I like her black.  I see he as contemplating all that is falling around her in her life.

Linking to Art Every Day Month.

A Background To Play With

Just a background for today.  This was started with scrapes from my palette.  I added gelatos in the bare spots.  Then I added a stencil over it and painted black acrylic paint. Its pretty bold and beautiful now. Not sure what will come next.

Linking to Art Every Day Month 

Sketching Hands and an Elephant

I was very busy today so there was little time for art.  I started sketching some hands from a magazine clipping.  Then I realized both hand were missing the thumb.  So I tried adding my own thumb which was problematic to say the least.  I need to look for some better source material. I started a pinterest board on hands so that should help a little.

Since I was so unhappy with my hands I had to do something else.  I got a newsletter from Carolyn Dube today and took her Spark of Art-spriation as a starting point. It was fast and lots of fun.

Linking to Art Every Day Month and Paint Party Friday

Playing With Split Complementary Colors

For art everyday, today I did another color mixing study.  This one gave me lots of color combinations I really liked.  Its a split complimentry.  That is a color and 2 colors that are adjacent to its compliment.  The colors would be yellow blue violet and red violet. I started with Hansa yellow medium, and ultramarine blue and quinachridone crimson, and also using white and black. I now really want to make a painting with some of these colors.

Linking to Art Every Day Month

Hands

I was working with my coach on Monday and I was talking about how I don't know how to draw hands.  I realize this and that I need practice at it but I don't do it because I think I can't.  It sounded like a cycle where I never step out, never grow.  So right there I decided I would draw a hand this week. So for today's creative endeavor I  found a hand photo with a face so I did both.

Linking to Art Every Day Month.

A Walk in the Forest

Today's work for Art Every Day Month is a page in my journal.  I used Derwent Inktense blocks on the background and trees, face and hair in acrylics. She came out of the background and then magically those trees appeared.  A fun page to create.

Tracie's Journal

Today for Art Every Day Month and Paint Party Friday, I made a video of a completed journal. I received this as a gift when I went to the Total Alignment Retreat in Sedona last year. Its not a big journal but I have been slowly adding to the pages all year. It was made with Fabriano paper so it was a dream to work in. Some of the work has been shown before but many of you won't have seen this. It also great to see it all together. I hope you enjoy.



Linking to Paint Party Friday and Art Every Day Month

Weaving For AEDM

For AEDM today I am switching gears a little. I was looking at my neglected loom and thought I would do some weaving today.

These are some handspun cotton dish towels that I have been making.  This is the second towel I have woven on this warp, I have 2 more to go.

You can check out what others participants are doing here.

Card Making for AEDM

For today's creative meanderings I am making Christmas Cards for a swap. We are including our favorite recipe.

This was my desk early in the process.  From all this chaos came some beautiful cards.

Some of the cards I made.

Once you start making them these cards you can't really stop. It really is a lot of fun.

I used lots of different paper in different combinations.

I had this box of embellishments that made it so easy to finish off the cards.

Do you ever make Christmas Cards?

Soaring To The Next Level

This is a page in a small journal or I should say 2 pages. It was given to me by a friend in Sedona. I had the background and the ravens done for some time.  I knew it  needed something else. I took orange paper and made a cutout of the landscape of Sedona.  I used Inktense pencils to show the difference in the rock colors. The background was made with stencils and spray inks. The ravens were hand cut stencils. It definitely brings back good memories. I chose the words the Next level out of a brochure with soaring bird the rest came naturally.  I like the idea of soaring to the next level. To be going deeper in my art and writing.

How about you what would the next level for you be?

Posting for Art Every Day Month.