Magpies Know a Good Thing When They See It!

Can you believe it's August already!!??  Personally, I am loving all the sun we're having the past few weeks.  I do feel so much better in warm sunny weather.

As I wrote this post I realized that the art I've been engaged in lately is all about pretty shiny things - like shimmer paint and glass - and it's not hard at all to understand why Magpies (and other birds and animals for that matter) find pretty shiny things so attractive.

The image above is a page from my sketchbook.  I decided to play around with watercolour pencils, gold acrylic ink (outlining the pears in the upper right corner) and "Pearlex" paints (a pan of pearlescent watercolour paints).  What fun!!  You can see the pearly sheen in the highlights of the pears in the upper right corner.  Now I want to accent everything in Pearlex paints...!  lol...

Over the past few months I've finished the line of custom bridal stationery and a beautiful colour catalog showcasing it (thanks to the help of Scott at Art Ink Print!).  Yeah!!  A new bridal shop in Green Bay, Wisconsin (USA) called AlfA Bridal is now carrying my custom bridal stationery line.  It's all so very exciting.  : )   My west coast sales rep has three Canadian retailers to show the catalog to and we'll see if any of them are interested in the line.  I also noticed two new bridal shops have opened recently here in Victoria and I'm thinking of approaching one or both of them with the line as well.

As for the "everyday" line (as I refer to the non-bridal stationery card line), some new shops have picked it up including "Buchan's" in Vancouver, BC.  Last week the newly opened gift shop "B&K Jewelry and Gifts" located in the town I grew up in (Sooke, BC) agreed to carry my cards.  (Can you see me waving happy hands in the air...!!??)  A greeting card display rack has been ordered and I hope it comes soon so I can get the cards on display.  Little by little the business is starting to grow... and its teaching me patience... you know... that thing I was told as a child I didn't have enough of...  : )  If nothing else this business of starting a business will perhaps teach me a lesson about patience!  lol...

Somewhere in between working on the bridal card line and doodling in my sketchbook, I also played around with glass.  Glass has always fascinated me - besides being colourful, it's so smooth and shiny.  But I was firmly convinced glass art was difficult and some of the techniques might even be a bit dangerous.  That was then...  Now I know just how much fun working with glass (and fire) can actually be!  I signed up for a 2-evening "Art Glass Sampler" workshop.  Some glass art techniques were simply discussed and samples were passed around.  But for other techniques we got to participate in creating our own samples.  That was the fun part!  The "hands on" techniques included sandblasting, tack fusing, full fusing, embossing and bead making.  Here are a few of the samples I created.

L to R: full fused glass coaster, sand blasted mirrored glass, beads (see them reflected in the mirrored glass?) and tack fused glass coaster

Here's a close-up of the beads

Bead making involved fire - an oxyacetylene torch to be precise. The instructor told us that some people love working with glass and fire... others not so much.  Apparently I have a little pyromaniac somewhere deep down inside because I really enjoyed working with glass and fire.  I can't wait to go back and play around with more glass.  My biggest problem is deciding which type of glass art to do more of -- fusing or beadmaking...?  hmm...

What else is on my creative "wanna-do" list?  I am already starting to think about developing the newest cards to be added to the "everyday" greeting card line.  I'd like them to be ready to debut in January 2013 so I need to start soon choosing the sentiments and images I like the best.  I think I'll probably aim to add 12 new cards to the line... we'll see.  And my watercolour paints are calling to me and teasing me with ideas of how I could combine them with more beautifully shimmery Pearlex paint...  : )  Oh, and of course I'll be busy taking more photos -- that's kind of a "given" as I seldom leave home without my trusty old camera.

I hope you're enjoying your summer... unless you're reading this from the southern hemisphere, and then I hope your winter is going ok.  Either way, I hope you are finding time for some form of art.

: )  Fern

Psst!... Want To See My Sketchbook?

Hello!  I hope the sun in shining brightly in your part of the world.  Having recently returned to Vancouver Island after an extended stay in Phoenix, I am discovering how "solar powered" I am.  Phoenix had sun almost every day and I felt creatively inspired often during my stay.  Victoria on the other hand has very changeable weather and at times there are days on end that are cloudy, overcast and/or rainy. On grey rainy days I feel so very uninspired but the moment the sun pierces the clouds with its glorious rays I immediately feel my mood lift and creativity soar! Somehow I need to carry my own personal piece of sunshine with me (and no, strangely enough sun lamps and things of that sort don't seem to help me at all). 

The bridal stationery line is still my main focus and I'm now working on compiling the catalog with the help of Scott at Art Ink.  It's exciting new territory for me and I am so grateful for Scott's objective input.  Hopefully between us both we'll produce an easy-to-follow catalog that showcases the bridal cards to their best advantage.  I'll give you a sneak peek...... soon...   : )

In the meantime, you my have noticed that I haven't been producing any new art.  All my energies have been focused on the bridal catalog although a little voice in my head keeps whispering.... no, make that almost yelling!... that I need to pick up a pencil or brush and doodle in my sketchbook if nothing else.

Which brings me to the subject of sketchbooks.  Over the past months I have thoroughly enjoyed seeing pages from other people's sketchbooks -- like Koosje Koene's (to view her blog click here), Connie's (which you can view on her blog here and here) and Amna Mehwish's (view her blog here) to name just a few.  (Koosje and Amna are fellow participants in the "Creative Courage" online course by Stephanie Levy.)  I think people who share sketchbook pages are quite brave, as our sketches are rather personal and aren't polished works of art.  The ladies I mentioned above have inspired me to be brave.  Since I don't have any new art to share at the moment (sorry Amna... I know your comment on a previous post told me not to stop painting again...but this time it's for a good cause.... honest!) I thought I'd share a few pages from my sketchbook.  

My sketchbook started as a place to draw.  That's it... pencil drawings...plain and simple... 

New ferns unfurling in spring

Way back when I was trying to be brave enough to do anything creative and artistic I challenged myself to draw the sword fern fronds unfurling in the backyard.  I loved the curving, curling shapes and now wish I'd thought to take a photo as a reference so I could now turn this into a painting.

The Dallas Road waterfront in Victoria

I have a story to share about the Dallas Road sketch.  I was sitting sketching on top of the cliffs that overlook this part of the waterfront when a tourist approached and asked if I'd mind having my picture taken as I sketched.  The photo was taken from behind so they could get the sketchbook in the photo along with the actual scene I was trying to capture.  So somewhere out there my sketchbook and I are immortalized as part of someone's Victoria vacation photos.  : )

Summer rose hip

The rose hip sketch was made while sitting waiting at a ferry terminal for a sailing that was considerably delayed.  Rose hips were growing profusely along side the parking lot and time slipped by quite quickly as I sketched.  Thank goodness for my sketchbook!  And that time I remembered to take a photo and may actually try to reproduce this picture in watercolour one day.

It didn't take long before my sketchbook became a place where I could also experiment with new and different art media.

Testing out felt tipped drawing pens and Copic colour markers.
Such fun!

Experimenting with coloured pencils while reading a book on botanical illustration.

 

Playing with pastels.

It would be ideal if I could discipline myself to sketch regularly. I've read that regular sketching contributes to making good progress technically and artistically.   I know some people manage to do it daily but at this point I'd settle for once a week! However, at the moment my first priority is the bridal stationery line.  After that I'll see about more sketching.

So now that we're on the subject of sketchbooks, I'd love to you what medium you use most often in your sketchbook, and what's your favourite subject?

Happy sketching!

- Fern

Wedding Invitations and Bridal Stationery

Wow... it's true!...  Time really does fly when you're having fun!  lol...  Since my last post I've been busy developing a new card line - a line of wedding invitations and bridal stationery!  A new bridal shop is opening up in Wisconsin soon and I am developing a line of custom printed invitations and bridal stationery for them.  Here's a peek at what I've been working on --

Altogether there will be 20 photo images, and as you can see each photo image with come in either a light or dark border because some brides prefer the bolder look of a dark border.  I'm thinking that the white cactus flower image may appeal to a bride who wants a less traditional, slightly 'edgier' look.  Someone who saw these images early in the card development process commented that the cactus flower is a fitting bridal image because love and marriage isn't all about romance and good times - there can be some thorny time, too! 

I'm planning on putting together a catalog so a bride can see all the choices of image, font style and type of stationery.  For example, wedding invitations could be folded cards or flat unfolded cards.  Thank you cards will be available in two sizes - 5 x 7" and 3.25 x 5.25".  A bride could also order RSVP cards, reception information cards, save the date folded cards or postcards, table place cards, dinner menu cards, wedding programs, and bookmarks that could be given to guests as favors. 

Are there any other types of wedding stationery that you think would be good to include?  Something you wish had been available when you got married?  Or something you saw at someone's wedding and thought was a really good idea?  I'd love to hear your suggestions. 

Painting Again!

What a huge relief to feel inspired to paint again! 

My friend here in Phoenix bought a bouquet of daffodils - a flower that doesn't grow here naturally but which reminded me of Victoria and the beautiful display of spring flowers that will be blooming there right about now.  In a fit of homesickness, I decided to try and capture their likeness in watercolour.  It's a quick watercolour sketch - done in my art journal.  The pages of the journal are not thick enough to withstand water media without buckling, so I took a glue stick and stuck three pages of the journal together to give me a stronger surface to paint on.  It felt really good to be playing in the paint again!

Doing that little painting made me feel like painting more!  This time I was inspired by a cluster of tomatoes all on a single stem.  They were laying on the kitchen island and lit by a series of overhead lights (hence the multiple shadows).  I really wanted to try and capture the beautiful red glowing colours and am very pleased by how the painting turned out.

I've also found myself feeling curious about other painting media lately.  There have been only two times in my life when I've been brave enough to try painting with oil paints - once at age twelve when I created a huge disappointing mess in an attempt to paint a stormy ocean scene, and once at age seventeen when I painted a colour interpretation of a black and white photo of a landscape from somewhere in Scotland.  I still have that painting. This week I decided to try oil colours for the third time. I'm using them to paint a different interpretation of this tomatoe cluster and so far it's going without incident.  It will be some time before you will see the finished product as it takes so long (compared to watercolours) for the paint to dry between layers.

I think I'd like to try painting with acrylic paints, too.  Watercolour is by far what I am most comfortable with, but if I am so curious to try other things right now.  I'll keep you posted on my progress.

And last, but not least, there's been more fiber art in my life during the past few weeks.  A friend's neice is getting married soon.  My friend had the idea of personalizing some bed linen for the bride with embroidered names or monograms.  That idea fired my imagination.  First I took some of the design elements from the wedding invitation and came up with this design, which my friend embroidered in black thread on blueberry blue coloured pillow cases.

Next I designed another pattern for pillowcases so I could embroider something for the bride, too.

I decided to use dark grey thread on dove grey pillowcases, and here's how they looked when they were finished -



Last week I was out photographing at the ruins of a little place called "Scorpion Gulch", just south of Phoenix at the base of South Mountain. 



It's been a great couple of weeks and I am so thrilled to be feeling creative again!  I can't wait to see where inspiration takes me next!
- Fern

Pieces of Previous Work

I have been fighting a virus the last couple of weeks. Feeling unwell is a real creativity zapper for me.  : (  So while I have nothing much new to share with you I realized that there were a couple of watercolour pieces from December that I did not share with you yet.  Care to see...?

In one of the watercolur classes we were invited to paint a snow scene.  I chose one of the teacher's paintings (our teacher was Joanne Thomson) and painted my interpretation of it. I love how cold it looks... brrrr!  

The painting of rose hips was inspired by some photos I took last summer.  During our painting class Joanne advised us to only use the best quality of paper, but I tbought I'd test out some other lesser expensive papers mostly out of curiosity but partly out of thriftiness.  As I painted the rose hips I noticed the paint behaved differently on this inexpensive paper, but I told myself that I wasn't all that unhappy with it.  At last the painting was finished and the paper was dry so I began peeling away the tape that held the edges of the paper to rigid board... only to have some of the top layer of the paper peel away with the tape!  (Did you hear me yelling in frustration that afternoon..??)  I stared at the jagged strip of sparking white paper where soft green paint had previously been and felt quite sick.  This was never meant to be a masterpiece, but I liked it enough that I would rather have been able to keep it intact!  Fortunately I had a small bottle of rice paper paste left over from a craft product and with much patience, diluted rice paper paste and a teeny tiny brush I was able to glue the torn layer of paper back onto the painting. Lesson learned... always use good quality watercolour paper because it costs less in tears and heartache in the long run!

A few weeks back we had a lovely bunch of purple tulips in the house.  The graceful curving stems begged me to try and capture their likeness so one afternoon I made this coloured pencil sketch.

And I do have one photo to share, taken a few weeks ago - a sunset taken from the top of South Mountain on the outskirts of Phoenix, Arizona.

This business of feeling unwell and being unable to do creative things is really for the birds! I am so looking forward to getting into a new creative project soon.  Next post I hope to have more new things to share with you.  In the meantime, I hope you're able to put at least a little sunshine in your life through expressing your creativity.

Creativity Takes a Tactile Turn

This post is coming to you from Phoenix, Arizona, USA as I am still vacationing there.  During the weeks I've been here I am witnessing a shift in my creativity.  Drawing and painting don't seem to interest me quite as much lately.  Photography is still a part of my life.  But I find myself much more interested in textile arts, as though there is a subconscious gravitation towards things that are more familiar from childhood... or perhaps things that are more comforting because they are textural. I wonder if it is an attempt to balance out all the newness and unfamiliarity of my current environment? 

My grandmother taught me to knit and crochet when I was about seven years old.  She introduced me to quilting when I was around 11 or 12 years old.  Perhaps the happy memories associated with these crafts are connecting me to home while I'm stay so many miles away? 

Regardless of the underlying reason, I am enjoying working with fibers again.  A friend is going to become a grandmother soon, so I started knitting a couple of baby hats on fruit and vegetable themes. 

Eggplant Hat

Strawberry Hat

Once the first two hats were done I started thinking of other fruit or veggies and wondering how I could translate them into hats.

Blue Berry Hat

Yellow Pepper Hat

On my needles right now is what I'm hoping will be a green apple.  I've been thinking how I'll finish the top so that there's a dimple where the stem and a single dark green leaf will attach.  Not sure it will turn out like I envision it, but it's fun to try new ideas out.

I've also started pieceing a hexagon or Grandmother's Flower Garden style of quilt in the English paper piecing technique.  Stitching by hand is very soothing to me.

I haven't a clear idea of what the finished design will look like.  It's going to develop rather organically, I think, and I'm very curious to see what it will turn out like. 

This past week I felt a small rekindling of my desire to draw or paint.  I visited the local art supply store to fuel the desire a bit, but for now the desire is a bit reclusive and I don't think pushing it is going to be beneficial.  Instead, I will go with the stronger drive to create textile arts and see where it leads.  I'll keep on reading art magazines and visiting the art supply store, and when the drive to draw and paint gets stronger I'll shift back to that.  Vehicles for creative expression come in many forms and I am learning the value of respecting and 'going with' the creative flow in whatever form it may take.

Here are some photos taken in Arizona.  Enjoy!

An Arizona Sunset

Bird Tracks in the Sand

Mourning Doves on a Fence

Bonfire

Flames create such interesting shapes

So let's see where our creativity takes us next!
: )  Fern

Debut of the Packaged Sets of Cards

The newest cards in my collection hot off the press!!  I have just received from Scott of Art Ink Print the final 12 new cards that I've developed for Winter 2011/2012.  These cards will be packaged in sets of six - three different images per set, two of each image.  Let me introduce the four new "six-packs" of cards.

 

All of the cards shown will also be available on my website for purchase individually (soon... I haven't added them to my website inventory yet 'cause they're so 'hot off the press'!)

So there you have it... over the last three posts I've shown you all the new cards being added to my line this winter.  I hope you like them!

For the past week and a half I've been staying in Phoenix, Arizona (USA) and very much enjoying the sunshine and warmer, drier temperatures.  The good news is, it does seem to be causing some degree of improvement to my health. (Yeah!!!)  I have not done much exploring here yet, but quite soon after I arrived I found a lovely large art supply store and purchased a set of Faber-Castell coloured pencils and some different types of art papers to experiment with. I am really enjoying the feel of the new coloured pencils. 

At the beginning of my trip to Arizona I stopped in Vancouver and the place where I stayed happened to have some trees in the yard which had not yet shed all their leaves. The beautiful coloured leaves inspired me to paint and this is the watercolour I painted while I was there:

A day or so after arriving in Phoenix, I was walking around the neighborhood and came across some fallen leaves that intrigued me.  So I picked some up and set off to paint them, too.

A few days later I brought my new set of coloured pencils home and was rather anxious to try them out... but on what??  The leaves that modeled for the painting above were now curled and dry... What perfect subject matter!

I 

I certainly never intended to begin a 'leaf series', but here I am having fun drawing and painting leaves.  Let's see what other leaves I might find and be inspired by.

A mental health professional I know e-mailed me today and shared with me something she read about the affect of art on the brain.  I'd like to share the quote with you:

 

The Walter Art Museum in Baltimore is conducting a research project in collaboration with John Hopkins University entitled "Beauty and the Brain: A Neural Approach to Aesthetics." The study aims to understand why the human brain is attracted to artwork. Neuroscientists hypothesize that the brain activates in a special way when we view compelling artwork. Gary Vikan, Director of the Walters, comments "The artist is intuitively a neuroscientist."

Ok, so that's a rather deep concept to wrap one's head around.  But take a moment and think about it. Those of us who are driven to create art are intuitively seeking a kind of 'brain rush' for ourselves and in turn, by sharing our art with others, we trigger a unique response in the brains of our viewers. That's really pretty powerful.  From a scientific perspective it supports the idea that we benefit others as well as ourselves when we create art and share it. Yet another reason to push beyond our fears and courageously produce and share our creativity!

I'll leave you with one other quote to contemplate:

"Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old." -- Franz Kafka

Here's to keeping a youthful outlook by appreciating the beauty of creation and sharing our perception of beauty through our creativity.  [Both of the above quotes were taken from the book "Brain Power" by Michael J, Gelb and Kelly Howell, page 133 'Your Brain On Art']