Getting Back to Life!!

 The last several years have been rough in terms of health, family, even creativity.  The pandemic was only one aspect of all the crazy things that have impacted our lives.  We have lost loved ones, we have gained new family, we have watched grands grow and move away.  Life is always changing, and sometimes I am feeling life an observer instead of a participant.

Today is a new day and I am going to try to regain some perspective and momentum.  I am not sure where this is going to take me, but I am going to try to figure this out!

"Speak Lord, your servant is listening" from 1 Samuel 3:9 is my intention for today.  I need to be still and listen.  

Opening my Sketchbook

Preparing for the holidays during 2016 I spent many an evening winding down with my sketchbook and Prismacolor colored pencils.  I decided to kick my Small Art up a size...or several, and these larger (9 x 12) drawing pads were in my stash and gave me a great opportunity to test out the shading techniques I was using in my Adult coloring books!!

I am having a blast with the Prismacolor pencils, using the larger sketchbook lets me add all sorts of fun extra elements into my art.  And, of course, I can doodle and tangle to my hearts content!!

Thankful Indeed!

Cool Weather!!  It may seem silly to celebrate temperatures under 80 degrees....but welcome to Phoenix.  This has been the hottest, longest summer on record.  We are SOOO ready for cool weather. And, as typical for us, we don't ease into it.... we SLAM into cold temps.  But I am not complaining.  I was not sure those sandals were going to make another month.  

So now I am getting excited about all the Fall and Winter opportunities coming up.  I am also beginning to enroll in classes for the new year.  Awesome opportunities for a LifeBook 2017 (see link for Willowing Arts on the Right) and Miriam Schulman art lessons (also see Right), as well as Jann Grey and Rebekah R. Jones Bible journaling.  This will be a super fun year.  I can't wait to take my art up a notch.  Always looking for ways to improve and get better at expressing myself in my art.

Meanwhile I keep sketching, keep journaling, and keep making my Small Art (SmArties) and adding them to the pages here so you can take a look.

I am also working on my ThankFul Season 2016 journal and using these mounted SmArty pieces to decorate the pages.  I will add some of those finished pages to the ThankFul Season section so you can see how I am using them.

All of this creativity gives me a sense of peace and accomplishment in an otherwise hectic time of year.  I hope everyone takes some time to let their creativity flow and bring you a measure of peace.

Thankful Season Daily

I am considering an option to the traditional December Daily.  This is a popular daily planner/journal that can be used to count down the days until Christmas.  While I like this idea...I really, REALLY love Thanksgiving.  It begins my time towards Advent and the countdown until the celebration of the birth of Christ. 

This would be a perfect vehicle for all those notes of gratitude for blessings past and building toward a rewarding and maybe restful close to our 2016 year.   This could be fun.  I will try to start posting bits and pieces as I plan and get started.  Meanwhile I will keep checking out the December Daily vids on YouTube and on Pinterest to gather ideas and sort them into ones that meet my Thankful Season goals: gratitude, creativity, and celebration of Christ, along with all the sights, sounds, colors, and traditions of the season.  This sounds like FUN!

Small Art House, (2" x 2"), pen & colored pencil, 2016

SMall ART = SMARTies

There is something to be said for practice.  Remember music or dance lessons?  The more you practiced...the better you performed.  Well, I am applying this strategy to my art.  I want to work on improving some of my art at the same time I like to keep my hands busy watching TV or talking on the phone.

So I took a piece of drawing paper (Strathmore, 80 lb) and drew a whole lot of shapes on it.  Some geometric, others more "organic."  And then I set out with my pencil to just start sketching. This is a little different from my doodle art, I wanted to create SMall ART pieces that I could use in my card and scrapbook art.  I had been buying the pre-made, pre-decorated sets that matched paper packs, but I had this brainstorm and thought, why not make them myself.  

So I did.!

the largest one is approx 2 x 2-1/2.  I then glue stick these onto cardstock and trim... Voila' now I have some embellishments I can add to cards, handmade books, on the next post I will try to include some pics of places I used these little gems!

Note: these are drawn with pencil, redrawn with Micron Waterproof 01 pen, colored with Faber Castel colored pencils, sealed with Liquitex Gloss medium then cut, pasted, and re-cut.