Creative Prompt #116 - Breakfast

BLUE PLATE SPECIAL - 

ONE COFFEE

TWO EGGS

THREE RASPBERRIES 

Thank you, thank you, thank you Toni for the book "Where Women Create" and to Artquiltmaker for Creative Prompt # 116 and to SB daughter for her beautiful and prolific art.

I'm doing art!  Yeah! Happy me.

creativity : (

...or lack thereof.
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As you probably have noticed I have not blogged in a while.  Have hit a creative wall.  Maybe a life wall?  I have neither sewn, made art nor done a lick of housework since I got home from vacation.  In theory, vacation should have left me rested and refreshed.  But I came home exhausted, sore and grumpy.  Bummer!  I'm not taking me on vacation again!

Tonight I had dinner with my girls and the boys (grandson and son-in-law).  SB daughter brought over the paintings she has done.  They are so creative!  She is an inspiration.  When she left to go back to her hotel I went up to artquiltmaker's studio and we talked about sewing and shopping and life.  It was a good evening.  Even the 82 mile drive home didn't bother me and seemed to be over in a flash (perhaps it was the fries I picked up at McPoison's on the way home?).

So, when I did finally get home and unload the truck I actually did a little artsy thing.  Months ago the girls treated me to an evening at A Work of Heart in San Jose.  We made some cool winged hearts wearing crowns.

I really like mine but felt it was missing something - like an eye.  I have been thinking about putting an eye on the heart for some time but didn't follow through.

Yesterday I received a copy of the magazine "Where Women Create" from a friend I hadn't seen in over a year.  It was such a thoughtful gesture!  And it came with a card that made me feel like I really do have friends even if they are 'in absentia' currently.  The envelope the card came in was pretty close to the same color I had painted the canvas to which the heart was mounted.  So last night I drew an eye on the envelope, kind of practicing for the 'real' one I was going to paint on the heart.  When I got settled here tonight I cut out the eye and was going to glue it on but decided I would just use tape so I could decide if I liked it or not.

I'm glad I did.  My first reaction is to not like it.  Maybe I like it a little now.  But maybe also it would look better drawn directly on the heart.  Or on a different color paper and glued on.  Or maybe I should paint it on paper and glue it on.  I think it needs to be darker.  And the paper it is on looks jaundiced!  Kind of like my current outlook on life?

So what do (all two of my readers) you think? 

'Remember' pendant

I realized when I looked through my blog posts that I have referred to the 'Remember' pendant while never having posted it! So here it is. I made this at "a Work of Heart" in San Jose with my SBdaughter the week before coming down to take care of Mom.

The picture reminded me of pictures of myself when I was very young. The picture is the first layer, the word - remember - is the second layer and resin is the third layer. I drew on the dress with a sparkly pen (don't remember the kind, sorry) and that shows through the resin. I am glad it shows up in the picture, too.

A Work of Heart has all kinds of great classes. If you live in the bay area, check it out.

Beach or pool - watercolor painting

Have I mentioned that I taught a watercolor class last year? Here is a sample of my watercolor art. This was a gift to my daughter and son-in-law and usually hangs in their dining room. As they are in the midst of painting the inside of their house it currently resides on the floor in the living room! But that is good for me because I could take a photo and post it for all to see. My daughter has requested I do this same exact painting in neon green, hot pink and GKW other wild colors! I also did the framing on this one.

My watercolor students have been asking about another class and I do want to teach again. However I think I will offer a basic drawing class as drawing is like the foundation of a house. It holds every other art skill together and makes them better. So to all of you out in blogland - DRAW!

Watercolor class

 

Yesterday I taught my watercolor class for the first time in a month. I have a rotating group of people who come and I've structured the class so each time the student goes home with a painting. Because I spend the whole class giving instructions and going from student to student I don't usually end up with a completed painting. One of my mantras to my students is "Always use the best materials you have for you never know when you will create a masterpiece!". The class yesterday was on shadows and reflections where we painted a sunrise over a lake with islands and the second piece was a chicadee. I have my students work on two pieces so that one can dry while working on the other. Everyone finished both pieces well before the class was over so I asked what else they wanted to do. One student wanted to know the proportions of the human face. I started to get out my pencils but she said she wanted me to demonstrate using only watercolor. My usual medium for protraits is pencil, in fact I think I have never done a watercolor portrait. But I aim to please so with ultramarine blue and starting with the eyes, I demonstrated painting a female face. Untrue to my mantra I used a piece of watercolor paper that I had made marks on before. And when I finished the painting I loved it. Except for the wavy brown line across the forehead and the light blue wash across the eyes! Always use the best materials you have available!

Street Painting - San Rafael

For several years I participated in street painting festivals. The medium is pastel and the ground is, literally, the ground! Or rather the street - asphalt. This image was created for the San Rafael Italian Street Painting Festival in 2001. It shows my cat, Bear, looking at the Rafael Theater, the Civic Center designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, Mission San Rafael and Mount Tam as well as my hands full of chalk. This was a two day festival and seemed to always take place on the hottest 2 days of the year! I did the San Rafael festival several times and met many great people and saw lots of good (and bad) art. It is a fund raiser to keep the arts in the Marin County schools. If you have a chance, attend or participate in one of these events.