all over the map,creatively speaking

being homebound has pushed me into my art studio more often than usual

and i've been trying new substrates as well as trying to paint other subjects as well as portraits. at the moment, i am drawn to vessels of every sort and florals.

yes, vessels, especially kettles

painting like this takes more time since many layers are required for blending.

i use gesso, gel medium between coats, acrylics, stabilo pencil, colored pencils, lead pencil and thick bristled paint brushes for the background textures. i try to use what i have rather than buy more, although tempted to buy the watercolors lynne recommended and some doll turning tools nola recommended from canada. 

i continue to paint on little rocks and shell shards

 and experiment a more modern take with watercolors

ofcourse i still paint on teabags

and shipping tags, probably my favorite throughout the years

but at night i scribble and sew while i watch every imaginable english period drama on you tube, free and commercials free too. my favorites so far have been "the pallisers" and "south riding", both oldies but goodies. 

i received my "how to be a wildflower" book and am lettering a small sign for my friend katey in alabama

and i picked up my silk ribbons again and for two straight days embroidered this cuff bracelet which sold in an instant. 

this fella always with me

i even painted on a garden wood chip

i even made a carboard doll;

my inner child is always always whispering

and i knit 

and draw disproportionate bodies

and look for ways to display my little makings around the house

some, like this collage, remain in books

others get framed and hung in my studio

and in between

i cook

and garden

and it rains

and we sleep 'neath the vast sky dreaming of playful tomorrows listening to that pitter patter

and play house after short naps to recover that energy which has been so iffy lately. i've tried to eat well and rest and not stress, but something is amiss, i know my body. oh well

i have also discovered new art friends on instagram: susan hopkirk and olivia and very many from faraway lands with incomprehensible texts but beautiful photographs which spell creativity. 

it's been a good month in the art room, different, adventurous. i now have the urge to make a paper mache doll à la julie arkell so am gathering all the tools to get started.

and ofcourse my very own handmade pony. i used to love mine as a child. 

i do so miss the outdoors though, going on a hike. only once have i been to the beach since i returned from baja. tatiana just came back from the grand canyon and her photos blew me away and julie is up in yosemite right now and esther jyst got back from zion national park. 

i promise to write and share the art that has captured me over the past few months next time. 

and that about sums it up

hope your month has been creative too

purging

i feel so inadequate as an artist, i feel i'm just a dabbler. 

but then, if only for a few instances, maybe a day, it surprises me sometimes to see how some of my work just happens almost by magic, guided by some inexplicable force and i feel ok about it.

like this random twist on the use of teabags. this one ripped when i was opening it and i visualized the overalls first, then the dress. i had to use them.

i got hooked on the teabag girls challenge

actually i'm pretty proud of them considering how small they are

but then again, alot of my work is small

 i'm slowly discovering watercolors

i've been evaluating my creative journey. why did i turn to art all of a sudden? i was always the writer in the family, my letters are legendary as was my penmanship. why do i keep painting and sewing? 

i think it all began with my exposure to art in england. mummy and daddy would take us to all the museums, all the churches and monuments, plays and puppet shows. i am forever grateful. 

but when did it stir in me?

i think it all began with teesha moore and the altered art movement and arte-e-zine, a website in england. i literally went nuts realizing there was a huge group of outsider artists like me. 

and so it began. 

it's been about ten years now. 

but now i stop and evaluate. what have i made of substance? my portfolio, a sloppy cardboard case, is filled with rejects. the few i like are framed, others have been sold, many given away. fluckr seems to award me with explore precisely with my more unique work.

my daughter insists i not throw away anything, but i must. 

there are so many i am not happy with, many even hurt to see. 

how can i even call myself an artist? 

one of my favorite things is to paint on          shipping tags

i think i will just continue doing it for fun.

most of the things i make are so silly actually.

except for a few i'm truly proud of, such as this book 

and these peg dolls

so it's sorting time

throwing away time

starting fresh time

catharsis time

re-evaluating time

if only i could stick to one thing

but i am voracious to the point of gluttony when it comes to art expressions.

i love to sew, can't give that up

i love portaiture, can't give that up,

love sketching, can't give that up either

maybe i shouldn't be so self critical

after all, it's not fame i'm after

it's not the monetary reward either (i pretty much give my art away)

it's for the outlet

of seeing beautiful things take on my meaning

maybe, i shouldn't look at other people's work on pinterest or tumblr or instagram so i don't get distracted. but how can i help that? sometimes just a detail will spark a thought.

maybe i should go back and re visit my work and finish some set aside work to see if it acquires new meaning. 

maybe i should paint big

maybe i should quit

maybe i should try something new?

i took both quotes pasted here from

my favorite blog and artist lynne hoppe.

whenever i feel a little out of sorts it is her blog that i turn to.

and for sewing spirit cloth ofcourse

i've been watching the bbc production of war & peace. i love tolstoy.

True life is lived when tiny changes occur. Leo Tolstoy

the last time i purged my art i regretted throwing away just one painting, my balalaika blues one. i need to re imagine it, especially now that i saw natasha dance in war and peace.

oh well, i must laugh all this philisophical talk away and just trust in myself, think less, enjoy it more.