Simplicity

Wildflower on a Sunny Day in August, 2010

My stuff has gotten out of hand. My crates and boxes of art supplies, my piles of books, my interests... my web presence even! It's all disorganized. Part of me wants to continue operating out of chaos as if it's more authentic, as if having things scattered here and there and heaps of unfinished projects is the consequence of being a Creative. But it's becoming unmanageable. I can't think straight, I have to remember where things are and sometimes who I am. Things are not correctly cataloged or interconnected, my life feels fragmented. I have this intrinsic attraction to order, and I am torn between wanting all of my ducks in a row and enjoying the explosion of a life intentionally lived.

So, maybe it's time to simplify. Rather than organize and connect, maybe I need to pair down and consolidate. Step one, make a list of all my collections, all the aspects of my identity and profession. Step two, list ways to simplify each of these things. Step three, start simplifying. Step four, consolidate. Step five, create connections. Step six, maintain.

Art Camp!

I've been working on creating a better over-all personal brand for myself as I venture forth on my quest to grow my career, and part of what is required to create this "personal" brand is getting all my ducks in a row. This means writing more, making art and documenting art more consistently, and so on. In my last post, I shared a poem and a demo I did for an upcoming art day camp I am teaching at the library. Here are two more demo pieces that will serve as examples for the kids when I explain the projects we will make!

This piece is a relief print (foam and easy carving tools) which was drawn over with india ink drawing pens. Then cut paper pieces and tissue paper were used for the textured flowers. Finally, a few pieces of fabric cut in organic shapes were scattered about to create a fuller garden feel. I think I will have the kids use chalk pastels instead of crayons to create an impressionistic background over top of the print and inked portions!

This is from a project I found on the creative blog At Second Street -- here's the post with this project. I subscribe to loads of arts and crafts blogs, my reader is stuffed full of amazing projects to try! I am so excited to see what the kids come up with this August.

Another Trip to Holy Hill

And on the rustic side roads where I wander

Beside the blacktop road

Grow little purple flowers

Sweet and low to the ground

The most perfect shade of violet.

Wildflowers & Almost Wildflowers . Digital Photo. May 2010.

Satellite for the Sun. Digital Photo. May 2010.

Remnants of Fall, Digital Photo, May 2010.

Blue Spike Peaking, Digital Photograph. May 2010.

New project: embroidery!

Gnome embroidery project with a wonky flower. He needs a lot of filling in, and many more flowers. This is my first time embroidering EVER, which you can probably tell by the lack of quality of my stitches.