been awhile

It has been quite awhile since I was posting on here.
I have made some discoveries about my creativity in the last several months.
Oddly I find my need to create and write and reach out to others is driven by stress and frustrations.
Much of my stress has been relieved and much of my creativity is getting poured into my job, which I love. But as I am finding my brain stimulated by this I find less need to put it in other things. I do not know if this is a good thing or not.

I do admit though that I have put some time into writing. jotting quick essays on thoughts political or educational. and towards that end I may start a new blog as a place to post my writing with no expectations that it will be read, but its better than shoving it in a drawer or using it as kindling.

here is a photo of my efforts for the small quilt auction this year.

My Process

My inspiration can come from any direction. Seldom and I mean seldom do my inspirations come from places like Pintrest.
Instead I find patterns in a coaster or bathroom tiles or an advertising in a magazine. Then I ask myself which elements drew my attention? How can I capture and use those elements in something I create? Was it a color thing, pattern, texture?
Then what method do I want to use? Painting? Quilting? Metal? Drawing?
Next I sketch a design that has those elements. certain lines, shapes, colors, textures...
I play with color combinations unless the color combinations are the elements I want to keep.
A recent example would be a series of golden diamonds on a teal, turquoise background.
Deciding if I wanted to use squares on point or create diamonds, how many shades of yellow/orange/gold and teal/green/aqua/ turquoise. and then it is a hunt to find the colors. In my stash or not.
Scale is yet another component.
And so I found some fabric, and then the next week I found more fabric that was even better in matching my vision. Finally when I sat down and designed and cut and sewed the pieces together I found that they did not satisfy what I had in mind. I have decided scale is the problem. I ended up with a piece about 20" x 20". What I think would be more to my liking would be a piece about 8" X 8".but that will entail sewing tiny pieces of fabric together. Not my favorite thing. And so it sits waiting for me to get back to it in the stack of other pieces languishing in similar limbo.
But wait,
 Look a cool picture. Not the dog, but the way the light reflects on the water around him. I wonder how I can capture that cool ripple effect in mixed blues and purples. Paint, fabric?  I'm still figuring it out.

Starting with Nothing

As I was tinkering with some copper wire tonight I was thinking about how one person's trash can become a treasure you can then sell and buy stuff to create even more treasures.
But how do you start with nothing. 

First opportunity:

 Rocks! Everybody loves rocks. 

You can paint rocks. This may entail finding scrap paint. even house paint that you have that half can of. or ask on Facebook if anyone is getting rid of their craft paint or old house paint. If you get spray paint leftovers you can do marbling on anything, including rocks.

You can wrap rocks in wire. Where do you find wire? Just about any piece of dead electric or motorized equipment has wire, you just have to tear it apart to find it.  And who would say no if you asked for their dead gear.

Second opportunity:

Wire! Now you know where to find it.

Make jewelry. there are lot of tutorials on making pendants, bracelets, rings... with wire.

Make ornaments, simple or complex there are tons of cool designs.

Make beads that you can use on your jewelry or ornaments

Third opportunity:

Paper! Its everywhere.  

Fold it, cut it, paste it, make it into mache´. 
Sculpt it, decoupage it,  make envelopes, boxes, origami, beads...

Old newspapers, old magazines, egg cartons, cardboard boxes... You can even use your junk mail.

Fourth opportunity:

Sticks! Unless you are in the desert or prairie or arctic tundra you can find at least one, or two.

Big sticks can be carved or made into walking sticks

Little sticks can also be carved.

So there are a few ideas to get you started from nothing.  I just made 10 items that I will sell at $5 each from a few feet of scrap copper wire I pulled out of a dead motor someone was throwing away. I have enough wire to literally make 100 more items. $500+ from nothing is not a bad return.

creating something from nothing

I tend to have a very small crafting budget. Read $0. The few exceptions are for notions like thread that I use for none craft mending and sewing. Or glue Or water.
The rest of my crafting is often created form things I find at the recycle pad, or as gifts, or salvaged from something else.
Much of my fabric comes from give aways and salvage from old clothing.  scraps of wood, spray paint that was being thrown out. beads as gifts from those who were no longer beading...

So when I create something with the intent to sell it I struggle with how to value it. A few scraps of fabric a bit of thread and some empty plastic bottles costs me basically nothing. So I have go with time and how much is it worth?

Making bracelets that are colorful and funky and easy to make for almost nothing, but if I charge $1 I am only making $10 and hour. so if I charge $3 then I can offer a discount if someone buys 2. like $2/5
That ends up making them at about $25 an hour, which may seem a bit much but I do have to invest in marketing and such as well. So there I have justified the price.

The next question is how many to make. There will always be a percentage of them that do not sell and if the customer is making the choice I need to have lots of options. So for every 2 I sell I need 10 available maybe. I realize this is a problem because if I make 10 and only sell 2 I have only made $5 an hour for my work.  Or it just means I need to have 8 bracelets whose only job is to market the others so that becomes a whole hour of time. So with 2 hours of work in I will have 12 bracelets that might sell so that is $30 divided by 2 is $15 an hour for my work.

ok I will drive myself nuts.
I will have a booth with pieces worth $300 and pieces worth $3 and everything in between. I have to trust it is all worth every penny and every minute spent creating and selling. Even on a $0 budget.

blah blah bleh

Just not feeling it lately. Usually I am chomping at the bit to throw some effort into whatever creative idea is churning in my mind. But lately not so much. When I think about the effort of setting things up, sorting them out and just doing the "work" I find my butt is still sitting in the chair just thinking about it, sort of.
Maybe its the fact that I have lost a couple of friends to illness and accidents that is feeding my ennui. Last month I had a ton of ideas I wanted to jump on, but today they just seem like too much work.
Maybe its the fact that we have real work in a cabin renovation that discourages me from from sideline stuff. 
I do hope this blah time ends soon and I can get back to the fun stuff.

😕🐹🌀

energy and passion

I suppose when I think of passion I think of energy. The dedication of one's mind and body to pursue something takes more than time and determination.
Unfortunately somethings derail this energy flow.
Right now I am fighting a bug and my brain is focused on little things like grabbing tissues, or making it to the bathroom on time or when do I need to take the next pill. My body is dedicated to doing very little that takes more energy than the above mentioned activities.
I feel guilty as hell because I am missing work, I feel useless as hell because my brain is a pile of mush.
Still in the optimistic thought that I ever get a good idea I try to keep a notebook handy to jot down idea to pursue later. I am sure they will all seem like fevered ramblings of an insane woman.
Well that is something to look forward to reading.

don't hold me back

I have been stuck at home with a painful medical condition. the problem is this is quilt slushy week. The only time I have had since the end of January's retreat to sit down and sew.
I have a plan for a wall quilt. I have a technique I want to try. I have new fabric to play with. All of these factors may push me to go sew even if I am not 100% recovered.
I am not sure if the motivation to push beyond is a good thing or not. Is resting more important than creating?

On the other hand I will be teaching ethnic art to 5th graders once a week. we will explore things like tribal cloth and fabric patterns. ancient pictographs interpreted in personal art. We will explore African  fabrics, Mayan ruins, Alaska native symbolism styles, possibly some Mexican designs  and aboriginal Australian art.
And I am doing ceramics with 3rd graders. Which should be a challenge as I have never done much with ceramics. I plan to use a single bisque firing and then paints and inks for adding color rather than glazes.
So much coming up to keep me busy and excited. so I refuse to let this episode hold me back.

just a side note: all those plans never happened. end of the year picnics, bowling, bike rides, movies to priority.

Message in a bottle

A friend of mine who is a writer named Lizzie Newell was talking in FB about how she seems to be in stasis. waiting for her first sales of her new novel waiting for the op ed piece she was invited to write to come out in the local paper. Another friend called it the message in the bottle feeling.

You get an inspiration, you turn it into a vision, then a plan, then work, then you put it in a bottle and toss it out into the world and hope that someone sees your message, relates to your vision, appreciates your work, and responds favorably.

Sometimes you have to step back a bit and think about other things, the dirty dishes, the neighbor, the  next load of firewood to bring in... Still it lingers in the back of your mind and it is difficult to accept that things will happen sooner or later and you will find out how you message is received.

I do have one thing that help distract me: The next inspiration to become a vision to become a plan...

inspiration: a coaster at my friend's house
the vision:

The mother of invention

We all know the phrase about necessity being the mother of invention. Invention is also a child of creativity so maybe creativity is invention's father.
Not all things that are necessary are in need of reinvention. And yet through the competitive world of economics they often are. Feminine hygiene products for example don't need this constant state of reinvention except to keep convincing women that our natural bodily functions must be kept secret. And the more discreet the better.
I keep seeing advertising for things that are not a real problem but because some one invented a way to solve the non-problem there are millions spent of convincing us it is a problem. body hair, wrinkles, sheets that don't smell like they were dragged through a field of blue bonnets...

Oops got a little side tracked there.
Where I was going to go, was to talk about a possible up-coming issue for myself and one that does effect others. Incontinence, night sweats, menstrual over flow and sexual body fluids have a way of making sleeping uncomfortable and ruining mattresses. Now there are already solutions out there. disposable pads, leakproof mattress covers, and reusable bed pads that you can toss in the washer.
So why reinvent something that already has a number of solutions?
Because I want something that is pretty. 
I want something that is not industrial, bleachable, but still shows stains, institutional, "I should be ashamed of this", white.

One of the symptoms that often arises with my form of leukemia is drenching night sweats. So I will focus there as a reason for my need. I am looking at buying all the stuff I need to make a couple of pretty bed pads with with lots of color that would hide staining better than white.

(another side note: I once met a woman who had expensive Persian rugs over her carpet in strategic points and she explained that kids spill things, with the Persian rugs and all their bright colors they did not show the stains as much as the regular carpet and these would last much longer and they could always pass them down in the family.)

Anyway her logic has stuck with me and I am ready to invest in the three types of fabric it will take to make a good size, pretty, reusable mattress pad or maybe two. I just need to find the space to do some sewing one of these days. 

💸🌸🍀

The care and feeding of an artist

I believe most people have an artist in their lives. Or maybe they are the artists, but we seldom work in a vacuum so chances are we know other artists.

1. Artist do not create out of ego. They do not paint, sculpt, perform, shape, dance because they are bragging. They create out of a deeper need to express a vision, a shape or a feeling.

2. They are often fragile beings in that critiques can elicit harsh inner doubt in what they do.

3. Sometimes they must be reminded to eat, sleep and bathe if they are in the midst of the creative process.

4.They need stuff, stuff for inspiration, stuff to model with, stuff to create with. Art never happens in pure austerity. Organization of this stuff may be secondary to their process.

5. They may have a different perspective when they look at things. Be prepared for comments on color combinations, feelings, and patterns.

6. Anyone has potential to be an artist. They look like regular people most of the time. You never know if you are about to meet an artist.

7. Most artists have regular jobs, but wish they did not have to.

8. When you discover you have an artist in your life, do your best to support their strengths and their weaknesses.

9. Cherish the artist in your life, they bring joy and depth to the world with their creations.

my favorite TV shows

I think I have an odd interest in TV shows. while many of them are competitional they are almost all about creative passions.
Using Roku more than broadcast TV and being without access to cable I have some freedom to pick and choose what I want to watch in my few moments of time when the TV choice is mine.
Living in a 1 room cabin with a male person means I seldom control the remote. 
but programs I watch are things like sewing and crafting shows on PBS, Shark tank, master chef, and other cooking competitions, and project runway.
Everyone seems to have a real enthusiasm for what they are doing. and it is not always about the money, but the opportunity to show off their creative abilities.
Sometimes it is how they adapt to the limitations like certain ingredients or design constraints, other times it about selling themselves and their own visions and getting feedback that validates those passions.
In real life finding that validation is often much tougher. for our own part we often focus on the shortcomings and how we changed the design because we ran out of... or could not find... or had to make do with...
And if we end up in a competitive setting like a market selling right next to similar products our buyers and other vendors will compare us with a sharp eye and possibly a sharp tongue.
Still if we follow our passions and keep trying we will gather positive reviews from ourselves as well as others. 
I watch shows where the passions are deep and even with the harsh light of criticism, the creators march forward with heads held high.

big steps

  So I have finally taken a big step with my creativity. I have applied for an artist grant from a state wide foundation. I am guessing my competition is about 100 proposals for every 1 selected. Since this is my first honest to goodness grant I am not holding high hopes, but I did make my best effort and I can only hope they see the potential in giving me money.
  Oddly for as many different avenues of creativity that I regularly explore I chose fabric arts as the arena. Quilting seems to be a pretty expressive medium for me and I want to explore more options in that direction. 
  I tend to avoid the classic patterns in favor of pieces with a specific feeling and message. 
If I get the grant I will certainly dedicate more time to pursuing this medium. 
  Fingers crossed and away we go. 
Dreams of sewing machines will dance in my head right up until they tell me I did not get the grant.

my winter retreat

Its that time of year. I get to spend an entire weekend focused on creating along with a group of about 50 other women. I get to chat with friends I do not see often enough, I get to teach a class (first time for doing this particular craft), and I have my next fiber art project in mind.
I plan to take advantage of the weekend to explore a bit more on the quilt techniques I am developing and documenting it all along the way.
I am planning on applying for an arts grant and I need pictures of the work I do. the pictures I have on hand are not really ones that work for such an application.
It will be a very busy weekend but also energizing and a chance to let my creativity flow while surrounded by positive energy and immediate feedback and support.
I am a bit of a black sheep at this event. So many of my fellow stitchers follow patterns and assemble the hundreds of triangles, squares and strips at the direction of kits and classes.
I am teaching a class about a quilting technique that can be applied to other quilt patterns to make them more unique.
So much quilting is about color and shape now I want to add texture.
If I can get the arts grant I will be able to do even more creative efforts in the coming year.

Happy New year

Rather than resolving to do things I am unlikely to do, I am resolved only to teach and learn this year.
I had the chance to teach somebody how to use a sewing machine recently and it was a very rewarding experience for both of us. I am teaching a class on my quilting techniques at the retreat in January. So already I know I will succeed.
As far as learning goes. 
My job working with special needs kids is always challenging me to learn new ways of working with them and teaching them as well. 
I have a project I am doing with 4,5,6 th grade kids doing some engineering and design work. 
So as I said it will be a good year. I am determined on that score.

starting something new

Ok I am determined to write a book.First I said I needed something to write about. Got it.It needed to be something different and interesting to me. Got itI needed a new computer so I knew it would not crash and I would lose everything. Got it

I needed time to just write. Can make it.

So what excuses do I have now?

Not enough room. In the winter my work space is limited to what I can do in a recliner in our tiny cabin.As I am writing a book on an innovative quilting technique (hey there is a bigger market than you may think.) it would be nice to have the space to actually play with the fabric more. But I can at least write up what I have tried so far and some generalities that apply. I can set up my formats and work on photos of the work I have done so far.Soon (ok this is a relative term to mean sometime in the next year) I hope to have it more or less pulled together and ready to print. I have a friend who is self publishing her science fiction novels and she has become quite the expert on the publishing thing.

Expectations: I may sell a few copies to friends and probably give away more than I sell.Hopes: it will be well received and I may be invited to teach some classesDreams: It goes really well, I can quit my job, I get to travel all over teaching my techniques and become a well known artist.

But first.... start writing.

for a few more details about the subject go to my entry about the 1/4 yard challenge in "Rouches and ruffles"

creative joy in the spoken word

I truly enjoy storytelling. I did it for many years as part of my job. Telling stories to kids around a campfire or under the stars at the environmental education centers where I worked.
It was a fun way to engage the kids in listening and often becoming part of the story. I did not always feel that way though. I resented that in a setting where we were supposed to be teaching science and natural history I was being made to become an entertainer and well as taking kids fishing and canoeing, playing four square and volleyball.
But someone changed my mind. I had been enjoying the Keepers of the Earth and other books with native American stories for awhile and the chance to work with one of the authors at a conference was great. He said something important at that conference. He said that the most important story anyone has to tell is the story of their own life. And there is no greater joy than helping someone enhance their own story through the experiences you are doing with them.
OK I turned my thinking around. I thought back to the experiences I had where others had helped me enhance my life's story and I knew that those times learning to canoe, ride a horse, sitting around a campfire singing silly songs helped me become a better me as well. I could do anything with much more joy because of Micheal Caduto's words.
I never became a great foursquare player or volleyball coach, but I did continue story telling. I took a summer arts class with it and love anytime I can work a story into something I am doing. But now I have found that as I do almost anything the reason behind why and how and where and when often create a story to go with my art or project. I find myself quite disappointed when people just want to look at the object without the story.
Maybe that is why I find so few paintings very compelling. when I look at them I am missing the story, the who, why where, how... of that image. I tend to gravitate to the artworks where I have a little bit of that, but I mostly gravitate towards creating artworks that have a story.

seeking that new thing

Every day I look around and try to notice the small things.  I think about how I would do it differently or other things I could do with what I see. 
The other day while sitting in a waiting area. I noticed some candle stands and I found myself thinking about how I could make a version of them using my own techniques. Then I thought about how else such a candle holder could be used. 
And that launched a brainstorm of ideas and note taking. From my original idea I spawned several variations and I have even thought of several markets for them. 
The only thing I have left to do is try it out.
Stay tuned and we will see how it goes.

Finding Passion

If you are seeking your own passion or seeking other who validate your passions then stop. For just a bit and start hanging around people who have a passion. You may never have the same passion but if you spend time with them you will see living examples of the possibilities. I am blessed to have in my life several people with passions they have followed. From becoming an expert on ancient South American civilizations to knowing almost all the species of arctic moth, to raising organic vegetables and spinning local fibers to recycling electronics, to teaching the next generation these people are diverse in their focus but equal in the joy they get from what they do. And each of these passions has a real complexity to them. They did not just sit down with a pile of books and gather the knowledge of others. They took those books and tried things and went places and talked to people and wrote their own books and took pictures and voiced their opinions. They made discoveries, and shared their information. They became the experts and professionals because of their passion and the energy it gives them to go beyond what other people do.

That is what I seek when I think of finding my passion.
Find those people and walk with them see the world through their passion and know that you passion awaits you too.

juried art

Tomorrow i am exhibiting/ selling in a juried art show. I am excited as it feels more about art rather than arts and crafts at a bazaar. I am hopeful there will be a big turnout and at the very least my paintings get more exposure in the community.
Selling one or two would be a bonus.

small things big rewards

If you ask any crafter they will tell you about the value of the smalls. That is the little things they have in a basket or hanging to one side of their booth. things that are a small representations of what they "really" do. 
These are items they can turn out quick and cheap. bottle cap magnets, coasters, postcards, rings... These often make up the bread and butter for the crafter. If I sell one $100 item in a day I am thrilled but I can churn out $10 items all day long and make more profit in the long run.
For me I can make 2 wire wrapped stones in an hour. This includes cleaning, varnishing and packaging which I tend to do in batches. There are also things like package design and printing that probably factor in there and if I was honest I probably undervalue these stone pendants. 
But then I can and do make copper wire pendants from large gauge wire that take me about 5 minutes each to make them including stripping the salvaged wire and hammering the final squiggle and adding cordage. So make it easy and say 10 an hour. I can make $50 in the same amount of work time as it takes me to make $30.
There are lots of intangibles that go with making the more complicated item including the opportunity to spend time exploring local rivers.
Each item will apeal to different buyers so there is value in having more than just smalls.
I have seen 1st time craft vendors who only had smalls. hair bows for babies, clay fridge magnets, wire and bead rings. after managing to sell a dozen of more of their items they would recover their booth fee.
Yep I sell the smalls but after I sell a dozen of those I have also sold three of some of the higher end items and maybe even one of my big ticket items.