This weeks winner is Sharon Driscoll of Right Turn ArtWerks. Congratulations!
I can’t believe it’s almost the end of January! There are so many things I have wanted to do to start the beginning of the year. Mainly get organized and clean my studio. Instead I have been stuck working other things like taxes. Such an arduous task and one I dislike tremendously but the government wants their cut.
My goal since last year has been to start painting again. I miss taking the time and doing something I don’t have to do, but want to do. Somehow doing the dishes, picking up the house, cleaning my studio and in general taking care of a family, doesn’t quite fill that void. We artists are funny that way. I need to stretch myself creatively.
One of the good things about being a part of Art Bead Scene and Studio Saturday’s is that I make myself do things I generally don’t make time for in my schedule. I have had blank bags in my studio for quite a while. It was time to paint. Last night I painted this little bag. OK, scheduling is not my forte. Showing something new was important to me so I stayed up to work on the bag. I found myself remembering painting class in school. The technique I wanted to achieve was always something loose. Of course painting loose eluded me. Leslie, my prof, told me “it’s harder to paint loose than tight.” For me that was correct. My training was graphic arts the first time around art school. Painting realism was what was asked of us.
The bag is my beginning of the new year. I’m not quite happy with the results so far but it’s a start.
I am going to paint this year. It could me furniture, bags maybe even a canvas but I’m going to paint.
I found myself last night as I was drifting off to sleep seeing paint strokes…nice.
My question this week is:
I see ideas in my head as I am trying to sleep or sometimes in my dreams.
Life is short Create!
Leave me a comment and you could win a set of Bead Buttons shown above.
Winner will be chosen randomly.
mairedodd
January 23, 2010 at 5:00 pmwow! if painting loose is hard for you, and you painted that bag, you are in for a real ride!! that bag is awesome! best of luck with your pursuit of that this year… i do see things when it is quiet, on a walk or right before bed… often, it is my mistakes that lead me places i haven't been before… i just grabbed my oils last night and started to apply them places i hadn't before! fun!
Tari of ClayButtons.com
January 23, 2010 at 5:25 pmThanks Marie, you are too kind! I'm better now at loose than before but it was a true struggle when I was taking classes as a "non-traditional" student. It is so true that the mistakes take you places you haven't been before. That is so exciting about your oils!
Regina
January 23, 2010 at 5:54 pmGood luck with your painting, I think you have gotten off to a great start! I don't seem to remember most of my dreams so not much comes from them. My mind does wander before I fall asleep and ideas pop in, but usually, I think the beads talk to me…
Tari of ClayButtons.com
January 23, 2010 at 6:17 pmThanks Regina! The hard part is rebering and writing down the ideas.
Andi
January 23, 2010 at 7:52 pmLately, a lot of my ideas come from hanging out with my daughter and watching her approach to tackling problems. I also love playing with patterns and seeing what variations suggest themselves as I play with them. Good to see you doing something for yourself, Tari… It's hard to remember to do that with everything else we have on our plates.
Pearl and Pebble
January 23, 2010 at 8:12 pmOh boy, well inspiration comes from everywhere really! I only recently posted some pictures of the calcium build-up inside the tea kettle! Annoying, but really cool looking "natural" abstractions. One day it was my oatmeal….. everywhere I tell you, everywhere!!!
(btw, I spell my name the same as you do! I have never run into anybody else whose mother did this to them! Actually, I DO like it)
Gail W.
January 23, 2010 at 8:55 pmI get inspiration from just about anything.My mistakes help me alot.Sometimes,I get my grands old kalidascopes and try to stop the thing when I bee colors that call to me.Other times,it may be a bird,or cat.Mainly from my mistakes,though.
The bag is wonderful,so much color and abandonment.
Sue
January 23, 2010 at 9:08 pmI generally get ideas while running. That is when I can really zone out and then ideas start streaming into my mind.
Elizabeth
January 24, 2010 at 12:13 amLove the bag. Very Picasso-esque! Whimsical and provacative!
rosebud101
January 24, 2010 at 12:47 amI'm learning to look around me and to let my mind take over. Sometimes when that happens, miracles happen.
Right Turn ArtWerks
January 24, 2010 at 2:01 amInspiration huh? I get them while driving and if anyone were in the car they'd think I was crazy. I always have a pen in my pocket and I'll draw on anything. McDonalds bags, napkins, my hand.
And, I'm totally excited about using Jangles Clay piece I won.
Thank You sooooo much.
Tari of ClayButtons.com
January 24, 2010 at 3:30 amHi Andi! Kids have thing for making our inner child come out and play. I hope to be able to continue doing something for myself. You need to do the same for yourself.
Tari of ClayButtons.com
January 24, 2010 at 3:35 amHi Tari this is Tari…I love doing that. I always say my parents were on drugs or something when they named us. I have a twin sister Cari. My dad said we'll think of something else. Obviously that didn't happen. I had to torture my daughter by giving her a 4 letter name, Kali. (btw how did the name pearl and pebble come about?)
Tari of ClayButtons.com
January 24, 2010 at 3:38 amThank you Gail! I haven't thought of the kaleidoscope. Those are so cool. Mistakes lead us many places.
Tari of ClayButtons.com
January 24, 2010 at 3:40 amSue, I used to do that when I walked. I was very much my zone out time, solving the worlds problems or just coming up with another project for my husband to do around the house 🙂
Tari of ClayButtons.com
January 24, 2010 at 3:42 amThank you Elizabeth! It kinda matches the buttons http://claybuttons.com/ButtonPages/FF.html
I am just drawn the Picasso-esque style.
Tari of ClayButtons.com
January 24, 2010 at 3:45 amRosebud, I find patterns on fabric and furniture inspiring. It is all around us. Take a piece from here and there and put them together. Things happen!
Tari of ClayButtons.com
January 24, 2010 at 3:48 amSharon, it is so exciting to win things! I recently won stuff from Margot Potter. How cool is that! I too will write or sketch on just about anything. In the car it's usually receipts.
Spirited Earth
January 24, 2010 at 2:10 pmlove the bag…painting loose is fun but not easy to get that free and easy look.
i get my inspirations from everywhere..colors are my biggest challenge..i love seeing how unlikely combos make an unexpected harmony
Susan Z
January 24, 2010 at 2:59 pmI ususally get ideas from nature-patterns, colors, etc. I also decided to create something everyday this year. Even if it's just something small. Love your bag!
Tari of ClayButtons.com
January 24, 2010 at 6:15 pmThanks Nan/Spirited Earth! I love color! My biggest problem when painting is knowing when to stop and not overwork it. Constant dilemmas.
Love your pottery and rattles!
http://spiritrattles.com/
Tari of ClayButtons.com
January 24, 2010 at 6:16 pmThanks Susan! Nature does provide us with so much in patterns and color. I love the idea to create something everyday. I wish I could commit to that.
Kate
January 24, 2010 at 6:27 pmI'm very much like you Tari, I get my best ideas as I am drifting off to sleep, or trying to! Sometimes they seem really cool and I wonder if that is because I am in this neither-land where all distractions and things that damper our creativity are not present, so I try to keep a sketchbook and pencil by the bed to jot something down or a quick sketch. I can't tell you though how many times I was too tired to reach for that and do it and I believe that my best ideas floated off into space and were never remembered the next day!
Azure Islands Designs
January 24, 2010 at 7:48 pmLove the bag..it that is an indication of your painting you are great…I'd say the bag is loose!!!
My inspiration comes from everywhere…sometimes I will wake up with something in mind…or as I wake up my mind will drift and designs will present themselves.
Cheers
SueBeads
January 25, 2010 at 8:22 pmPicasso comes to mind!
I also see ideas in my head, when I'm going to sleep, or right when I wake up!
Pixybug Designs
January 26, 2010 at 3:08 pmI love the color quote! Nothing makes me happier than wearing bright colors! Thanks for sharing your art!
Artful Diva Designs
January 26, 2010 at 5:04 pmHi Tari! It's great to see you after all these years! I think we "met" sometime around when Max Equations was just getting started? Your buttons are beautiful, artistic and funky. Love them! The bag is darling. Keep painting! Just wanted to stop in and say "hi". Do keep in touch!
Paula
artfuldivadesigns.etsy.com
artfuldivadesigns.blogspot.com
Valerie C. of clinejewels.etsy.com
January 28, 2010 at 12:28 amIt does not matter where I am at or what I am doing I come up with designs. Sometimes I draw them out on paper but mostly I just pick up beads, wire or whatever I need to make the design in my head. Most of the time I will come up with something while I am in the middle of something else. Thats when I have to draw it or just make notes to keep it freash in my mind. By the time I get to work on the new design it will have evolved to something even better.
Mel Mel
January 29, 2010 at 10:54 pmI draw inspiration from childrens books, childrens art(I work in a daycare center),fabric & nature. I often think of ideas when I don't have anything with me to sketch or write it down. I have since learned to always keep a notebook with me.
Tari of ClayButtons.com
March 8, 2010 at 3:09 amKate, I have done the same and just couldn't reach over to write it down. Hopefully I'll dream it another time.
Tari of ClayButtons.com
March 8, 2010 at 3:10 amAzure Islands Designs, thank you so much!
Tari of ClayButtons.com
March 8, 2010 at 3:11 amSueBeads, Picasso is great! I think it must be a state when our minds are free.
Tari of ClayButtons.com
March 8, 2010 at 3:12 amPixybug Designs, the brighter the better! Thanks so much for visiting!
Tari of ClayButtons.com
March 8, 2010 at 3:13 amPaula Maye, how are you? How is your mom? How could I forget you?!! Please visit again and let me know how you are doing!
Tari of ClayButtons.com
March 8, 2010 at 3:14 amValerie C. of clinejewels.etsy.com, that is great that your creative mind works that way. It's great when a design keeps growing.
Tari of ClayButtons.com
March 8, 2010 at 3:15 amMel Mel, childrens art and books are a great inspiration. I wish I could remember to keep a sketchbook with me.