Happy Autumn!

I have been absent too long once again.  The school year has gotten off to a good start and though I am exhausted already, I have not been idle.  Yes, my post are not happening and I do, once again, apologize.  My plan - pledge  to you but also to myself is to get As The Art Flies back up and running again.  My goal is to retool and build my art practice.  With that said, what can you expect in the coming weeks?  Well, I have set a challenge for myself to create something everyday.  I have not been totally 100% successful but I have been working.  Sorry no pics yet but I will get them up.  I am also working out in my brain a reflective process to figure out where I need to point my creative compass.  At this time the fog is clearing and I am sailing with favorable winds towards a more craft - mixed media approach that utilizes my skill set of drawing, assembling, constructing and sewing.  Simply put I am not a painter - I tried as I come from a long line of painters but where my heart truly lies is using my hands to craft.  So, to my readers who have come back and tried to find something new, I hope to be more active and engaged in my blogging on As the Art Flies.

Cheers,

Angela

New Hope

I have not been very committed to my art blog.  It has been a while since I have been able to focus on creative endeavors outside my sewing experiences.  Sewing is easy for me and I tend to procrastinate on my 'art' by sewing instead.  Lack of confidence?  Yes.  I am still rebuilding my confidence in  my art.  Partly because I have stretched myself to try new things and when you are learning new things you don't feel as comfortable doing them.  So, why stretch?  Mostly the human need to grow and exercise one's sense of wonder and knowledge.  Why not stick to what I can do - which is biological illustrations including botanical and zoological portraits?  I really got bored!  I live in a time when art exploration is not just about intellectual, museum quality work? I feel inspired by other ways of approaching the same topics.  I feel like the impressionists and the cubist and all the modern artists getting us to look at the world a different way.  I, too, want to interpret my world in a different way.  So, in my struggle to expand my 'art'.   I have ebbs and flows of creativity.  I am in a flow state right now.

I finally figured out that I could combine my talents - drawing, painting with sewing.  I love the feel of fibers.  I love to draw.  I love to sew!  Why not create art that gives those creative wings some flexibility?  I have been trying to explore mixed media and art quilting.  My favorite artists in this area are: Linda and Laura Kemshall, Beryl Taylor, Heidi Lund, Carolyn Dahl, Jane Davies and  Elsebeth Gynther & Christine Clemmensen to name a few.  They have inspired me to look at all my talents and try to bring them together.  Its a long and hard struggle but I am making it work.

I have started a 'sketch-a-day' trying carve out time for art.  I work full time and it is hard at days-end to muster any energy for something I am not yet comfortable with.  I bought a fun and silly book where each page gives you a prompt and you make it happen.  Here are some of them:

You know the prompt - drops of ink and blew it around.

Crayons are not just for kids!  I loved this one.  See the spooky face at the top?  I did this one around Halloween...

The prompt was to draw the sun in 10 different ways.  I interpreted it with embossing powders, shredded fabric circle, cut-outs, string, sponging, ink and blow, and crayon!

I have started on a mixed media art quilt. I have been making paper fabric (a la Beryl Taylor) and found some photo transfers, ATC's and other bits and pieces from other trial and error projects and putting things together.  It isn't there yet but here is the first draft:

So, I have renewed hope in what I am trying to do.  I really just want to be creative for its own sake.  However, ultimately, as I near retirement (in 3 to 6 years), I am thinking of ways that I can put my creative endeavors to work for me without loosing the joy it brings.  For now, I can just relax, be creative and enjoy it. 

I hope to be more diligent about posting.  Thank you for being so patient and sticking with me.  Best wishes.

It is the end of July! How did that happen?

Hello, it has been a long time since I have made any entries to this blog.  Many reasons:  I got focused on my other blog http://lachatelainechocolat.blogspot.com  This venue focuses on my love of history, historical clothing and domestic arts.  Yes, I got distracted.  In addition, work has been a bit of a downer and draining of any creative juices.  I am much more confident with my sewing and cooking.  I am still a fledgling artist - my 'rebirth' has not been consistently growing.  However, with a vacation - 3 weeks long thank God - I have begun to adjust my attitude and refocus on my art.  So, I worked on one painting thus so far:  Agapantha Collage

20" x 15" Image, text collage and botanical portrait

Detail of painting

I had been collecting images of Agapantha flowers and I wanted to develop a portrait that was not the traditional image on a blank ground.  I am trained as a botanical illustrator but I love to do mix media and collage work so I am developing a way to connect the two.  

I have other images in my head similar in process and hope to be able to work on them on a regular basis. 

I have been struggling to find time to be creative beyond my sewing and craft projects - not that I get them in that often either.  I guess it is about finding balance between what I should do and and what I want to do.  'Gotta pay the bills' my left brain whines, but I essentially don't want to sell my soul to a worker bee life.  So, my plan is to do something creative everyday. I have talked about this again and again with friends, family and in my journals but it never comes to fruition.  I am tired of whining about it, so in the effort to celebrate life in general, I will be working towards a 'creative' life - the life I dream about, think about and have been too afraid to attempt.  So, with that in mind, apologies for being away so long, I am back, ready to rock and roll with my art and will be sharing as often as possible.  Thanks for hanging in there with me.  Cheers.

Springing into action

The rain and cold continue but I am really loving  staying in doors playing with many creative endeavors.  One is the art journal I started at the beginning of the year.  I did intend to write in it but it has evolved into a place to play with collage and mixed media techniques.  From several resources I made up a list of techniques (packing tape transfer, rubber stamp, etc), themes (ocean, winter, etc.) and other ideas that would provide a jump start on each page.  I printed them out and then cut them into strips and put them in a jar.  I fish around in the jar and pull out the various ideas - about 3 to 4 - and begin playing.  So, here are some of my results, enjoy!

Tiny art, big learning curve!

ATC's - Top left: Spider; Top right: Batty flight
Bottom left: Comfort me with apples; Bottom right": Black & White

ATC's are a wonderful way to play without the scary expanse of a large canvas or format. The ATC's above were part of a group that I began a week or so ago where I played with different bits and pieces and techniques within a small space. I just wanted to 'do' something and I wasn't ready to dive into a huge long term project. So, I got cracking on these 2.5" x 3.5" canvases (actually chip board).

ATC's - Top left: Water Fall; Top Right: AutumnToile
Bottom: Lady of the house

These little pictures were fun to do since I didn't have an agenda or expected outcome. I could just explore, play and make it up as I go. I used paint, images and bits and bobs. During the process I tried to think about color, texture, and composition. How did I succeed in these areas?