Speak your Passion Out Loud

OK, I did spend nearly the whole weekend in the studio…so YAY! on that note.

But clearly the whole color thing has me frustrated.

I’ve got issues.  Mud, to be specific.

So you can imagine how relieved I was to read in Mary Beth’s book that she, too, had ‘mud issues’ early on.  Seeing her fantastic art (and knowing that) is a great BIG relief for me.  I am REALLY looking forward to her class (I know I’m repeating my self here but it is worth repeating!).  Thank goodness I had my head on straight when I was choosing classes for ARtfest – when I decided to focus on ‘color’ – it couldn’t be coming at a better time! 

So today I switched gears…

Fortunately I have SEVERAL books to choose from in the Art Reference section of my library (see ‘when I get a little money‘ post).  Note: I don’t have a real library – just like I don’t have a real secret garden – but you get the idea…

So TODAY I decided to focus on Kelly Rae Roberts book – ‘Taking Flight‘. Its a great book too and full of inspiration.  I chose an assignment where you cover the substrate with collage papers and I decided I’d use papers from one of those scrapbooking albums so at least the papers I selected would be complimentary to each other – to help me with my color ‘situation’.

Okay, so…I don’t hate it.  But I’m not in love either.  There are too many colors going on for my taste.  I’m more of a monochromatic kinda girl.   But I wanted to experiment and see what I’d get.  Also, in the book she painted in her subject (which would’ve toned down some of the busyness going on – but I decided not to.

But I have to say I did ‘get into’ the whole just doing it thing.  I think I was even (dare I say) in the zone for well over an hour!!

And no one says we have to create masterpieces on the first day.  It IS about the journey after all.

It was a beautiful day – the weather was perfect – the sky was my kinda blue and I even had a bird drop in to the studio for a brief, albeit, a bit frantic, visit.

So all in all – it was a great day!

Hope yours was too!

Surrounded by Friends

I’ve got another creative weekend planned for this weekend!

I got the books in that I ordered…Encaustic Mixed Media, Flavor for Mixed Media, Steel Wire Jewelry, Cloth Paper Scissors, and one I bought the other day – Somerset Workshop – Autumn 2011 sitting right here next to me as I write this.  Its like having friends here with me!

There’s a wonderful article by Bridgette (Guerzon Mills) in Somerset Workshop, Trish Baldwin’s Encaustic Mixed Media is fantastic and Mary Beth Shaw’s book, Flavor for Mixed Media went to work with me today.  The Steel Wire Jewelry book was bought to remind me (and inspire me hopefully) of Crystal Neubauer’s technique that I learned at EncaustiCamp this past July.

I am super excited!

And I never say super excited!  I might say I am REALLY excited or I am really excited, but never super excited.

So I am SUPER excited!!

Yay!

The only problem is…what to do first!!

Oh, and if you read my post yesterday…’Orange you Glad’ – you’ll be very glad to know all is not lost with the world… there is hope!

Check out what I found on the counter in the break room this morning!  🙂