New Blog site...Please visit me soon!

Hello, as promised, as soon as I could get it up and running my new blog site is up and running.  I am sure there will be tweaking and adjustments to make, but please, please come by and visit.  I will leave this site up for a year, so that around November 2014 I will finally take it down.  If you are visiting this site for the first time, please take a look and read as many posts as you have time and interest to read.  However, do come on over to the new site and join me for a continuation of my creative journey started here.

Again, thank you all for your support and generosity of your time to visit me and keep up with my musings and creative endeavors.  Best wishes for a prosperous and fabulous creative life!

Angela


http://serenplicitystudios.blogspot.com

Last Post - Time to Move on

Hello.  Dear Readers who have patiently been waiting or not so patiently to hear from me.  I am sorry to say that I have been deeply neglectful of this blog.  Part of my neglect is that I have been working on new things in my life and this has demanded my attention and energy.  With that said, many good things have come of my neglect.  Yes, there is a silver lining. Over the next 12 months I am working on setting up a small business venture that will allow me to exercise my creativity and hopefully supplement my income.  Through that business venture I plan to develop a life style blog that will complement my work once I get my online shop up and running.  I am still in the planning stages so I hope to reveal something for you as soon as I am able.

What I want to do is thank each and everyone of you for sticking with me and being the support I have needed.  You all are wonderful and I hope that your creative endeavors will flourish!  In the meantime, if you are interested in historical clothing and food, visit me at my other blog:  http://www.lachatelainechocolat.blogspot.com.  That is has been on going and will continue.  I am also on Pinterest, so if you wish to follow me there you are so welcome to come and join me in the pinning paradise of lovely images!  http://www.pinterest.com/agg2/boards.

Again, as soon as I have the new blog up and running I will post it here!  Best wishes!

Angela

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!  Best wishes in 2013!

Dear Readers, I can't complain about 2012 too much.  I am alive and well.  Employed and enjoying friends and family.  As I reflect on the year, I realize that I have made some small steps towards building a creative life.  Though I am not where I would like to be, I am so grateful for what I have been able to accomplish and the feedback that I have gotten from so many of you over the year.  With positive intent, I plan to:

1. Simplify, simplify AND Simplify my life style even more.

2. Be creative everyday in all aspects of my life.

3. With the trouble in our world, be the hope and love I want to see in the world around me and beyond.

Three simple things to build my capacity to the best person I can be no matter what life curve balls are sent to me along the way.

If 2012 was a trial and error year, I look forward to 2013 to be the beginning of my creative journey in the direction I wish to travel.  In reflection, I am happiest when I am sewing, drawing or crafting.  I have fought this for years.  Somehow I got it into my head that being an artist means painting or sculpting or photography - that it means being like Monet, Georgia O'Keefe or Rembrandt.  Alas, I finally figured out I was wrong.  Through this community of creative people in blogsphere, discovering resources like Somerset Magazines, Mollie Makes and other magazines that promote creativity in all its forms I have finally owed my love of the stitch, the wash of watercolors, the stamp of ink and the hot glue sticking it all together.  Now, armed with that ownership I hope to:

1.  Build my capacity as an artist through textile and paper mediums.

2.  Be more bold about sharing my work and not be afraid of feedback.

Two very direct and simple things to do to keep my journey going forward.  So, I hope to post more frequently to share and get feedback from you all.  I hope that 2013 is a year of creative wows and thrills for you and yours.

Cheers!  And Happy New Year!

Happy Holidays!

Well, 2012 is nearly at an end and I know I have not been attentive to my blog and my readers.  Many apologies but I hope that I will be able to be more productive in 2013 and beyond.  2012 has been a trying year.  So many changes, losses and trials but I am blessed to have a relatively healthy, stable life and cannot ask for more.

I hope all of you will continue to check in with me but most of all, enjoy life, give yourself to love, hope and joy a year 'round.  Best wishes and cheers!

Collage 2012 agg

Making the time

As you know in my last post I enrolled in Leah's Art Everyday This Month Challenge and though her encouragement and words of wisdom where keeping my mind on getting something done everyday, I just didn't follow through for one reason or another which I won't bore you with here. However, with the holiday's coming up the spring in my mental step is getting lighter and more joyous.

I did manage to do three pieces in the last week or so.  Two of the pieces are did on the same day.  I found two sycamore leaves and I did one watercolour interpretation and then I got an idea to use the embossing powder to stamp the venation and then add the color in.  The first was I think successful, the second, I learned from and want to try again.  Here they are:

Watercolour with a bit of colored pencil

Embossing powder to capture the venation of the leave then applied watercolour.

 I think that the venation on this particular specimen was not definitive enough to make a clear print so it looks a bit mushy.  What do you think?  Suggestions for those who make prints with embossing powders?

The next piece I did last night.  It is of sea urchin skeletons. I used watercolour pencils to sketch in and create the regular and bumpy surface of these wonderful little gems.  I really need to work on my camera skills when taking photos of my work.  Just bought a book on this.  Gotta get reading and playing.  

Many Blessing to you all this Thanksgiving holiday.  I am thankful for the global community of creative people who are willing to share their expertise, encourage and support each other as we find our way on our life long journeys.  Thank you and best wishes to you and your families.

REnewed Effort - the challenge begins

Leah Piken Kolidas http://creativeeveryday.com/ has the annual November art challenge.  I decided to join the challenge this year to try and build my practice of creativity of any shape or form through whimsy and whim.  

Since late October I have been working on a 5 x 7" pieces of art per day.  I have a pile of "little art" but I have slacked off a bit this past week.  With that said, Anthropologie http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/index.jsp,  near my house, have offered a workshop to build items for their winter window display.  Stacy the creative director of that particular store is building a winter wonderland of paper.  It was totally fun.  In fact, it reminded me how much I love to just play and create pretty things.  Here are the results of my efforts:

The Cupcake!

Top view of the Cupcake.

Winter Cake!

The theme for Anthropologie window displays this year is winter animals and forests made entirely of paper.  You should see the polar bear - life size!  I couldn't take a picture of it.  In anycase, we were taught how to manipulate the paper to create cupcakes, cakes and macarons.  I would love to work for the Anthropologie Art directors. Whoa!  Can I dream?

Okay,  this week I hope to get back to my 5 x 7" art - a - day practice.  I am also playing with patterns to make coffee cup protective sleeves out of pretty fabrics and crochet.  Hope to show you results soon.

Cheers!

Autumnal Mood Board 2012

Autumn is a favorite season for me.  It inspires reflection, creativity and just being cozy and thankful for all that I have been blessed with in my life.  Autumn is filled with texture and colors that are velvety and rich.  Like a full bodied wine or a soft cashmere blanket its all about comfort and simple and gracious living.  Enjoy my mood board and may it inspire you to enrich your life with the colors, textures and patterns of fall.