Sunday, May 27, 2012

Look to the Skies

I seem to have a new obsession with the sky. I have processed several images over the past week or two, and the majority of them have feartured the sky as the primary subject. Does this fascination mean something? Perhaps. Perhaps it simply means that the sky makes a lovely backdrop to all things textured...

I'll let you decide.

A Dream of Birds

Above it All

Illusion

Printemps

Soft

Upward Sent

What is inspiring you these days? What fascination do you keep returning to?









Monday, May 21, 2012

Ego Boost? Please?

"Ready to Fly"

I went out on a limb (har har) and decided to try my hand at a design challenge at Threadless. I'm completely freaked out because putting myself out there for judgment isn't really my norm.

And now I'm like an obsessed maniac watching the votes and getting very emotional over how many votes there are, about the overall score.

What was I thinking?!

So, if you like this design...or even if you only like me...would you very much mind going over to Threadless to vote for me? I'd hugely appreciate your support!

Pretty please?


Sunday, May 20, 2012

Necessities

Sometimes, it's just not my turn to be creative.

I have been decidedly absent from creative endeavors (with the exception of one which I shall post about at a later date). It's not from lack of desire or motivation, but I have given over my creative pursuits to those of my students.

My day job is that of a teacher, and one of my classes is creative writing. My students are on the cusp of publishing a collection of horror stories, and it has been my job to compile and edit their work.

That is a task in and of itself! Making sure that every one's name is spelled correctly, that every one's story is edited, that everything is school appropriate...

Yikes!

So, here is a sneak peak of the cover, and then I am off to do the final edit and hopefully get everything posted today.

Phew!



Sunday, May 6, 2012

Laura's Color Challenge: Return to the 80s...1880s

I thought about it. I really thought about it.

A black canvas. Spattered paint in intense hues of hot pink and lime green. A return to all that was the 1980s. Black lights and mall rat hair. Jelly bracelets and lace gloves.

And then I metaphorically slapped myself. This was a challenge after all! And I like to use challenges to think outside the box, so I did.

My friend, Laura, hosts a wonderfully creative and inspiring blog called "Where the Gold Bees Dream." In her latest post, she issued a color challenge to anyone who reads her blog. She gave us three colors and we had to create something using those colors: black, lime green, and hot pink.

As I said, I thought about going the 1980s route. It made sense to do so, especially since Laura referenced that decade herself.

But I wanted to do something different. I wanted to take those colors and use them differently. Subdue and twist them. Take them somewhere beyond spiral curls and Madonna videos.

So I started with a texture from Distressed Jewell. It had shades of pink and green that I saturated until they were nearly fluorescent. Then, black as the chosen color, I began to use my "brushes" to add elements to my digital "painting."

Soon, I was reminded of the hapless narrator finally arriving at Poe's envisioned House of Usher...

Usher

"During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens, I had been passing alone, on horseback, through a singularly dreary tract of country ; and at length found myself, as the shades of the evening drew on, within view of the melancholy House of Usher."                                    
~Edgar Allan Poe

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Saturday, May 5, 2012

Lots of Creativity in Small Doses

It has been and continues to be pretty stressful around here. In order to find some peace of mind, I have been trying to squeeze in little bits of creativity. Just to quiet all the negative voices in my head. So, here are the fruits of my escapist attempts:

Having fun on Instagram. Instant gratification photography is appealing right now...


More iPhone photography...


Selfies that capture my mood and soul are also useful right now...


I've been doing some experiments in mixed media, too. I'm not 100% satisfied...but I'm thrilled with the process of learning and painting and experimenting!


"Abandonment"


"Ache"
(My current favorite, I think...)


"Upward Sent"

There really is something to be said for the power of art and creation. It isn't always healing, at least not fully, but it redirects the noisy voices in my head. It gives them a point on which to focus so my other thoughts can pick up their scattered pieces and make sense of them...

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