Beelieve

bench monday~the real me

 
transformation from self to canvas

what are you afraid of...

 

fear itself?

grabbing time for art is tough and sometimes there is art and no ideas...wait...make that too many ideas...but time and time again i have noticed challenges of tapping into our fears for inspiration...so i challenged myself with that

 this is a mixed media painting on a 12x12 inch canvas board...detail is hard to see in this but i was taking pictures this evening in poor lighting...i suggest checking out these additional views for a bit more detail

Bench Monday~Simplify

so many things to do, so many roles to play, so many decisions to make, so much clutter in my surroundings literally and mentally.  a new year to think about...but i reiterate that is not my thing.  last year i picked "experiment" as my word of the year and it is one i feel i have held true to, and it has changed me. this year i choose just to "simplify".  i don't expect anyone to know what that may mean for me, and i don't think it is necessary to explain.  i did feel it necessary to start this post, my first bench monday of the year off with it.  this is me, straight from the shower, straight out of the camera, no effects other than camera settings, no editing other than a slight crop, no layers, no fancy props, just me as i begin this year of with the concrete decision to simplify.

i have also made the decision to participate in Leah's Creative Every Day   challenges once a month.  her theme for january is "body" and the inspiration for my shot...so big thank you to Leah.

i have taken a big blogging leave of absence and have been playing with photography, a means of escape,  a means of creativity when my mind needs to let my soul follow new paths.  i have not meant to be away so long but blogging consumed me...looking at other lives, living vicariously, wanting, wishing, dreaming...doing anything but acting in my own role of my own life.  my own creativity is no good if there is no purpose...it is just another picture, but i am not, i am real ....and i would like to share the following with you today

(and should the youtube vid disappear like they do, here is a copy of the words)

The Invitation (by Oriah)

It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know what you ache for and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.

It doesn’t interest me how old you are.
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool
for love
for your dream
for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon...
I want to know if you have touched the centre of your own sorrow
if you have been opened by life’s betrayals
or have become shrivelled and closed
from fear of further pain.

I want to know if you can sit with pain
mine or your own
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy
mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us
to be careful
to be realistic
to remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn’t interest me if the story you are telling me
is true.
I want to know if you can
disappoint another
to be true to yourself.
If you can bear the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul.
If you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty
every day.
And if you can source your own life
from its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure
yours and mine
and still stand at the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
“Yes.”

It doesn’t interest me
to know where you live or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up
after the night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.

It doesn’t interest me who you know
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
in the centre of the fire
with me
and not shrink back.

It doesn’t interest me where or what or with whom
you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you
from the inside
when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone
with yourself
and if you truly like the company you keep
in the empty moments.

(well i guess i ramble a lot when i simplify...better here than dancing around my head...this way i can see it, read it, do it and bee it)

 

 

 

Sax in the Country~ TGI Bench Monday

(thank you Leah for the inspiration of "Sound") 

Spring Petals in the wind

Back on Mother's Day, a very windy Mother's Day, I declared a day to paint something!  Anything!  I just needed to get paint on a canvas.  That is exactly what I did.  Started throwing random paint on a canvas, adding papers , more colors then leave it alone....then go back and do more.  A progressive canvas.  I just added to it when I felt I needed to then left.  Petals started to develop, flowers, a breeze even.  I remember thinking with how windy it was I hoped all the apple blossoms would not blow off our trees.

Last week, Inspire me Thursday had "petals" as the challenge.  I am late getting this posted but may toss it in anyway.  It was a great topic for spring.  It also helped that Nature is the perfect theme over at Leah's Creative Every Day for the month of May...at least I won't miss that...it is still May isn't it?

Works in Progress

This Hodge-podge post is what I have been up to in this week.  My creative  time gets interrupted by spontaneous Spring cleaning and fixing up.  It has been a very busy week and little time to myself. Here are a few glimpses of what I have been up too.

A "progressive" painting.  Whenever I do have a few minutes to myself I have been adding paint to this canvas, here is a portion of it and I am beginning to see some things develop.  I started it on Mother's day and will tell you more about it soon.

 

This next picture is the part of a t-shirt knit top sheet I cut a giant circle out of and soon you will see the coolest poodle skirt a kindergartner could have when she rocks around the clock on concert night.

 

I also had to take some time and clean up a small enclosed porch off our kitchen.  It is the entrance way, hence mudroom, dump for things that need to go to the garage...you get the idea.  It was also a party location for cobwebs and sand...we have sandy soil and it gets everywhere!  So, not a cover shot of any magazine...but cozy!

 

This old green tote has served as a centerpiece for bowls of paperwhites at Christmas, an herb garden, a rock display and now a nature shelf on the porch.

'

Looking for another fun thing to do with an old drawer, add sand and toys and get hours of play.  This table top sandbox is as fun for adults as it is for kids and we have been playing in it almost year round for 2 years or more now.  (the frog sign I painted when I was a kid!)

 

The most exciting package arrived yesterday.  I have waited what feels like a lifetime to make the next leap I am making...and it is all in the box...and has consumed me!  I did not even open it until today and it is the most remarkable thing that I think money can buy.  Anything better is not for sale.  You will have to wait just a little longer though.

Because right now we are waiting for the tooth fairy!  Yes, this little angel of mine has finally lost her first tooth.  She has lost it the most elegant of ways too, my fairy princess bit into a chocolate covered strawberry then exploded with a light from within.  "MY TOOTH, MY TOOTH CAME OUT"  "MOMMY CAN YOU REALLY LIVE A DREAM?"  "I FEEL LIKE I AM DREAMING"  Pajama Girl is close to the last in her class I think to losing a tooth, yet older than a lot of her friends who have lost them.  She has been besides herself all day, dancing around like a cool kid.  She earned her right of passage to the tooth fairy experience.  Her bedroom is set for the grand ball of tooth fairies to come.  She even designed a tooth on her light bright thing to use as a guiding light.  Sleep tight me love, there will be a celebration of fairies as you sleep.  Twinkly dreams everyone!

Art Published!

I have been waiting to share some exciting news.  I have 2 of my art pieces featured in the brandy new Artful Blogging Summer 2009 edition on sale now!  This is a beautiful issue with many fabulous artist who journal online.   I am humbled that art from little ol' me was chosen (DID I MENTION 2 PIECES, NOT 1 BUT 2!!)  To be selected and featured in one of Leah's Creative Every Day articles is quite an honor! ( she has 2..not 1... articles in this perfect magazine...woo-hoo go Leah)  Leah is an amazing artist with such a giving heart.  It is through her challenges and informative posts that I find such creative fuel.  Leah did not have the final pick of who would be published in conjunction with her article on what her blog means to other artists.  Hence, I was picked by someone out there who thought I was publish worthy!  15 minutes of fame here and now peeps!  Thank you so much Somerset Studios!

Drum roll please....PAGE 37...TOP 2!

"Revive" inspired by Leah's "word" theme that I LOVED and tied it in with everything I could that month

"Secret Numbers" inspired by a post with a link about "signs" in numbers that left me deeply inspired.

To see all of Leah's 2 article's visit her post here...but honestly just buy the magazine it is loaded with favorite people of mine and to have had a complimentary copy before it was released was a real treat! (maybe someday I will submit  little ol' beelieve to them)

Vintage fabric art

 

Need a punch of delicious vintage color in your life?  Who doesn't.  About a month ago, during my mission organization, I asked myself..."Are you ever going to do anything with all your wonderful fabric?"  Then I saw the box of canvases waiting to be art and answered myself.  "Paint with fabric"  I created a collage with some of my favorites and added some touched of vintage wallpaper and seam bindings.  There is even a little clip of embroidery pattern transfer on this, framed with a single crochet strand.

a side view

This is nice large size 16x16 inch canvas and as soon as I decide if it needs a matte or gloss top coat, it will go Etsy

shhhhhh, Ki-ki bird is dreaming of Spring

Oh how I wish I could find a cozy clothespin sack and take a nap in the fresh Spring air.  Actually, a hammock would be more comfy.  Looks like Ki-ki has the right idea though.

 

 

and of course there is someone swinging from the vines around the corner!

 

This was also inspired by Leah's "Dream" month at Creative Every Day.

This is a 6x12" gallery wrapped thick canvas and will go to Etsy as soon as I get everything organized for a grand Etsy event.

Dreams

I could not wait to get started on this larger piece (18x18" on thick gallery wrapped canvas) for Leah's monthly theme of "Dreams" over at Creative Every Day.  I have done various sketches over the years of the biggest dream and wish of Pajama Girl's life.  She wants to fly like a bird.  This is her dream, so much more aspiring than anything I may dream about. This is a constant in her life.  She also wants to go to the moon.  In fact not that long ago she says to me something about rewinding time so she can be the first person on the moon and does not think it is fair this option was not offered to her first. With that in mind I had to include the moon and am also submitting to "Inspire Me Thursday" for the weekly challenge of "Moon"

 

I will take more photos after the shine top coat is on, the colors are not showing the way I would like. The background is a dreamy mix of pale coral, pinks, red and orange under tones then layers of soft washes of soft blues, gesso and periwinkle.  I also used a small amount of pigment powders to give a hidden shimmer and accents in some areas.

 

On the side is the small house our dreamer flies out of and scratched into the top paint layer there is the hint of the words "Dreams are gifts we give ourself"

 

Pajama Girl has offered to help show this painting so you will have a good idea of the size of it...

 

..and the colors.

 

I will take more pictures of it when the top coat is on.  Even though I created this based on her dream, it will go to Esty.  I am in big need of updating my Etsy shop and adding items.  I will let you know as soon as I do!