GPP - Crusade 56: I Believe

Michelle Ward hosts a monthly crusade at GPP. This past month was "I'm a Believer". I have taken part in a number of crusades in the past and felt this one shouldn't be missed.


Michelle listed a number of questions about life as an artist. She asked that we journal about our beliefs about art and being an artist.

Most of my life I never called myself an artist or felt that I was creative. I could copy very well. I have fond memories of drawing cartoon characters.

But then I discovered Haliburton School of Fine Arts and for 7 summers, I spent a week or two with my children there and we all took courses. I took courses in basketry, silk screening, design, collage, watercolour. It made me realize that I loved to create and needed to create. I continue to take courses as I can.

Here are the questions from Michelle:


"Tell us about the artist you are. Tell us in your own way the importance of being an artist - do you have a philosophy or are you just happy to be spending time making cool stuff.?"


As I said above I have a need now to create. I know that I need to develop more technical skills.


As a teacher for 30 years at the elementary level, I know art is crucial for children, especially those who struggle with reading. They are definitely focused on the journey, the process. I really believe children (and adults as well for that matter) need to create, to make things, to draw, to make messes, to have fun.


"Are you a perpetual student and/or workshop attendee? Or are you mostly self-taught?"


I have taken a number of courses and I will continue to do so. I follow certain blogs and take part in certain challenges and lessons.


"Do you participate in swaps?"


I take part in the swaps at "ATCsforall. I really enjoy creating ATCs. I have tried different techniques and many different challenges. Creating art on a small scale isn't as intimidating and the community is very supportive.

I also take part in numerous art challenges: Shadow Shot Sunday, ABC Wednesday, Wishcasting Wednesday, Skywatch Fridays, to name a few.

"Do you find time to work daily or do you squeeze in a precious few moments whenever you can? "

I try to create several times a week. I know I should be drawing daily to improve my skills but haven't the time. For the month of November, I want to take part in AEDM at Creative Every Day. It is a great challenge every year.

" Do you have a studio space or do you work at the dining table? "




A little of both. I am slowly creating my studio, although I still do art at the dining room table.



Tell us about what you do, have done, and aspire toward. Do you paint canvases? Make books? Make jewelry...ATCs...Ceramics...Knit? Our need to be creative usually spills into several arenas - let us know more about you by spelling it out for us on a journal page.



These are the journal pages I created. I really believe that art needs to be a big part of our lives.

I have always been involved in crafts - I have crocheted afghans, made Christmas ornaments and decorations every year, tried new crafts.

I especially enjoy now creating:

Zentangles, Collage Tags and Cards

Photography
(My favourite subjects are skies, macro flowers, trees and water)

Watercolour
These next few pieces were done with a watercolour course and watercolour/collage course done at Haliburton. Following an instructor made the challenge a bit easier. I would definitely love to do more watercolour.

Mixed Media Collage

This piece was created at another week long course here in Cambridge. I learned new techniques and the instructor kept pushing me to go further. Loved the final result - a homage to my Mom and her roots. This is the direction I would like to explore more of.

As I get closer to retirement (1-3 years), my dreams of spending more time creating get more and more real. When I grow up (or enter the next chapter in my life!) , I want to create daily and teach art to children. They are such a joy to work with.

As I look back on my journey, I need to acknowledge that, yes I am an artist, one who is still growing.

ABC Wednesday - D is for Drawing, Degas and Others

This week we turn to D for ABC Wednesday - that fun meme that looks at a new letter each week.

As I continue with my art theme for this round, drawing is the big draw for me. I have not had formal training in the arts, but have taken many courses. Drawing is the most basic and at times the most challenging!

I have had fun with the drawing classes - one of the easiest is the contour drawing and the blind contour.

Using your hand as your subject, follow the contours., either checking or not (for blind contour.) Your hand is a good subject to practice seeing and drawing. The old adage "Practice makes perfect" certainly applies to drawing!

Most of the great artists did drawings of their works and they are quite a record ow their work. Da Vinci's drawings show his attention to detail and mastery of drawing the body.

Here is an interesting overview of drawing from Wikipedia.

There are many artists who fit in this week -

from Dali - the great Spanish surrealist painter

to Donatello - the early Renaissance sculptor

to Durer - the German painter and printmaker

to my favourite - DEGAS -the French Impressionist.

Be sure to check out the other great participants at ABC Wednesday! Lots to learn and lots to see!

ABC Wednesday - C is for Colour, Collage and Canadian Artists

This week at ABC Wednesday, C is our letter of focus.

For an artist C is a very important one - for C is for

COLOUR! Which for an artist is essential.

"Colour is my day-long obsession, joy and torment." ~ Claude Monet

"I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way--things I had no words." ~ Georgia O'Keefe

The colour wheel is a necessary tool - not only for artists. In the course I took last week, I had such fun creating one.

For much more information that I gathered on colour, with more quotes and sites and even an artwork I created (!), check here.

C is also for collage - such fun to create. For more information, check here.

C is also for two very extraordinary Canadian artists: Alex Colville and Emily Carr. They are both so very different with very different styles.

Alex Colville is a very realistic painter, living on the East Coast..

One of my favourite paintings-"To Prince Edward Island"

For a good look at many of his artworks, check here.

For a very detailed look at his life and artwork, check here.



Emily Carr lived in Victoria, BC and is noted for her paintings of native sites.

When we were in Victoria 2 years ago, I was able to visit her house, which is now a museum and art gallery. It was quite an experience to see the home she grew up in and her artwork up close. She is a favourite of mine.

For the most comprehensive look at her life and works , check here.

Be sure to visit the other wonderful participants of ABC Wednesday here.

ABC Wednesday - B is for an assortment of Artists

This week ABC Wednesday's letter of the week is B.
Continuing with my focus on art, B is for an assortment of artists, with different styles and from very different backgrounds.

William Blake (1757-1827) Blake "was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age."

Hieronymus Bosch (c.1450-1516)
Bosch "was an Early Netherlandish painter. His work is known for its use of fantastic imagery to illustrate moral and religious concepts and narratives."

Botticelli (

c.1445-1510)
Botticelli "was an Italian painter of the Florentine school during the Early Renaissance."

 

Pieter Bruegel (c.1525-69)

Bruegel "was a Netherlandish Renaissance painter and printmaker known for his landscapes and peasant scenes"

B is also for:

brushes and brushstroke, which for an artist is essential.

The brushstrokes of a painting are very distinct and can clearly identify many artists. Think Vincent Van Gogh or the Impressionists.

Edgar Degas made this statement: "In a single brushstroke we can say more than a writer in a whole volume."

Balance - one of the principles of design; how the elements are arranged

Background -that part of a picture or painting that appears the farthest away

B is also for Blots and block printing. Visit a previous post where I had fun with these 2 art forms.

Be sure to visit the other great participants here.

ABC Wednesday - A is For Art

This week at ABC Wednesday Round 7 begins! How exciting to begin a whole new round!.

I wanted to try something different this time. I had already begun an ABCs of Art for myself as a challenge, so have decided to combine the 2 challenges. I will restyle what I have already done and finish my challenge through ABC Wednesday.

Art is everywhere and in all we do. As the saying goes, "Art is in the eye of the beholder" .

Traditionally, the definition for art has been that it is form and content.

About .com describes form and content this way:

"Form means (1) the elements of art, (2) the principles of design and (3) the actual, physical materials that the artist has used. Form, in this context, is concrete and fairly easily described - no matter which piece of art is under scrutiny.

"Content" is idea-based and means (1) what the artist meant to portray, (2) what the artist actually did portray and (3) how we react, as individuals, to both the intended and actual messages.
Additionally, "content" includes ways in which a work was influenced - by religion, or politics, or society in general, or even the artist's use of hallucinogenic substances - at the time it was created. All of these factors, together, make up the "content" side of art."

Throughout history there have been so many styles and periods of art, and so many artists who have offered their own interpretations and unique styles.

Take a tour through any art museum and your senses will be touched in many different ways.You can even do it online! Here is the Met!

Each of us develops our own beliefs and feelings about art. I know that I cannot be without art in my life - whether it is listening to music, creating art or just seeing the beauty around me.

It has enriched my life in many ways.

I have been fortunate in that I get to work with young children who, for the most part, love to create. For them it is the process - they don't worry too much about the finished product. I really feel that creating art is necessary for everyone- especially children. Throughout the school year, in my classroom, we draw, paint, do collages, make masks, look at art and discuss the artwork, create sculptures with clay and papier-mache. I try to make it enjoyable and accessible for each child.
Here are a couple of examples from my students:

(We used the flowers of Georgia O'Keefe and Van Gogh as a starting point.)

One day I asked students to create a collage poster of what art meant to them. This was one boy's very perceptive work:

(at the bottom of his piece was a photo of a peacock)

 

 Be sure to visit the other great participants here.

Sunday Weekly Wrap-Up

Today I had fun at the local garden centre photographing flowers. I wanted to have a wide range of blossoms close-up and thought this would be a good spot - and it was. With certain photo memes I taken part in weekly, I was falling behind in photos. Macro Flowers and Weekly Reflections were 2 I have been sporadic with. I am hoping to remedy that.

(2 of my favourite shots:)

This weekend we entertained the middle grandchild, age 7. She stayed over Saturday night and we did lots! It was enjoyable, especially when we dipped into the paints. I was working on some ATCs and I gave her blank cards to paint. She had fun - creating butterflies, flowers and clouds. She also painted me some angels as she knew I liked them. It was such a blessed time - she was so involved in her creativity! She loved taking her work home this morning and showing her parents!

I have quite a few ATC swaps I have signed up for, so I have been working a way at them. They are so relaxing (usually - unless an idea just won't gel). You can be creative, except in a smaller format.

Reptile and Amphibian Swaps:

Favourite Childhood Books Swap:

Dragonfly swap:
Dots and Spots Swap:

ABCs of Art

This week's letter of focus is H and I have chosen H for Handmade!

All my cards are handmade and many times I use handmade paper.

When we create gifts for others that are handmade, we share a piece of ourselves. We use our hands, our hearts and our heads.

The tribute for my Mom that I created Thursday was handmade with love.

Last week was also the Full Moon , so I was involved in creating the Full Flower Moon Dreamboard. Those are very valuable exercises to complete - they really do guide you through the month ahead. Check at Jamie Ridler Studios for more information.

I'll leave you with a quote from Jamie's blog which is so powerful.

"There can be no happiness if the things we believe in are different from the things we do.”
Freya Stark

Sunday Wrap-up

ATCs

Art this week has been creating more ATCs . This has become an enjoyable outlet. The cards are only 2 1/2" by 3 1/2 " and there are so many themes to choose from. I sent off 4 sets today and am still working on several others. I am hosting my own swap - on the theme of rabbits (in honour of my Mom, who's nickname was Bunny, which is where my blog's name came from).

Zentangles - love creating these!

Famous authors and their quotes (2 of my favourite quotes -by Helen Keller and William Faulkner)

On the beach:
Outrageous Hats:

This was also the time of the month to create the full moon dreamboard. I had fun with this one.

(See mine here)

An activity I did with my class resulted in some fun art. We read "Art is.." (by Bob Raczka) It is a wonderful book, filled with great art. Then we brainstormed what art was to each of the children. Each of them then did a collage of "Art is...

The children had fun creating their posters. One stood out though , with the message "Art is in us" centred on his page, with a photo of a peacock at the bottom, with his drawing at the top. So perceptive!

The flowers we did last week, influenced by Georgia O'Keefe, and using tissue paper, turned out very well

ABCs of Art should have focused on E this week, but I got stuck on etching or engraving! I try to emulate an artist in that style for the letter of the week, but I have never tried either, other than using Styrofoam plates for printmaking.

From Wikipedia comes these descriptions:

Etching:

"Etching is the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio in the metal (the original process—in modern manufacturing other chemicals may be used on other types of material). As an intaglio method of printmaking it is, along with engraving, the most important technique for old master prints, and remains widely used today."

Engraving:

Engraving is the practice of incising a design on to a hard, usually flat surface, by cutting grooves into it. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an intaglio printing plate, of copper or another metal, for printing images on paper as prints or illustrations; these images are also called engravings."

Durer is the artist I am most familiar with in terms of engraving. Some of his artwork is so detailed! Visit here to see his complete work.

Eventually, I hope to take a course on engraving, especially using woodcuts. For now, I can admire the process and the artists who engrave and etch.

This week I will be focusing on F - for Faces!

Return of ABCs of Art

Having had a break of a few weeks from my weekly look at ABCs of Art, I am back again on track and am finishing with:

D for Drawing.

While in Mexico I tried to draw while at the pool. Not too successfully mind you! I wonder why?!!

One of the pieces of artwork in the room was a beautiful sketch of a woman. (Not sure of the artist) I tried drawing it.

One site I visited a while ago suggested dividing your drawing page into small squares and doing one a day. That seems doable.

Visiting Rebecca's blog earlier today I found her suggestion of gluing a face from a magazine into her sketch book and practice drawing portraits from this face an excellent one.

Not having a strong background in drawing or sketching, I know I need the practice. So, I plan to draw daily and use these 2 suggestions. I also want to work through some of the art books I have collected over the years.

ATCs

I continue to work on ATCs for ATCsforAll - there have been so many interesting themes. I just finished one on Moms,


as well as Foreign Text,

and Gesso faces. This was such fun - and good practice for faces!

These keep me creating, in a fun way and I receive some awesome art in return.

This week I will work on ATCs for "The Artistic Mother" art group, as well as drawing. I will post next week on my drawing project, and will then move on in the alphabet (finally!).

Sunday Summary

Sunday brings a summary of sorts of the past week. I have been working on completing my tags for "Spread the Joy" and for my giveaway. I had received a beautiful tag from Sherry (Everyday Possibilities) that started this journey of Spread the Joy.

The quote on the tag is so lovely: "To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world." Bill Wilson

As well I have been working on ATCs for 2 swaps.

Not feeling this week has had me creating more as I didn't feel like doing much else!

When I drew the names for "Spread the Joy", I realized that the aim of this challenge is -to spread the joy! So I decided to send a friendship tag to all the women who had commented on that post. So a tag will be on its way to:

Leone, Gillian, Paper Princess, Heckety, Coralie and Angie.

Congratulations!

I finally finished my 200th post cards and they are on their way to:

Coralie,Bevie and Kamana. Congratulations!

 

ABCs of Art

I had said last week that I would be looking at Cubism this past week. I explored some sites and had my hand at creating some faces at a Picasso site for fun. (http://www.mrpicassohead.com/create.html)

Check out these sites:

http://www.huntfor.com/arthistory/C20th/cubism.htm

http://www.artlex.com/ArtLex/c/cubism.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cubism

http://pablo-picasso.paintings.name/

http://www.angelfire.com/co/artgeometry/

I then created "The Eyes Have It" - a take off of Picasso's abstract faces. I used pastels - messy but colourful. It may not be strictly cubist, but it is where the muse led me! lol

Next week the focus will be on D - for drawing. My goal is a drawing a day.

This and That - Giveaway Winners!!

Happy Valentine's Day!


Spread the Love!

Last week I received a beautiful art tag from Sherry of Everyday Possibilities (a wonderful blog to visit!). Her friend Carolyn was "Spreading the Love" and I had responded to Sherry's giveaway. As a follow-up, I am offering to "Spread the Love" as well.

My offer is a "Friendship" art tag to 3 people who respond to this post and who tell me they would like to have a gift of love from me. I will choose 3 lucky recipients on Sat. Feb. 20.

( I haven't created my tags yet...but I will over the next few days. I hope you trust that you will like what I make.)

I am going with Sherry's rules for playing, although I am going with 3 to sign up):

"I like Carolyn's rules for playing but I'm bending them a bit. The idea is for 2 to sign up -- one to get my tag and one to send a tag to me. But I'm going with 5 who will receive from me and if any of the 5 wish to send one to me in return that would be delightful.

If you play though you must offer tags on your own blog to keep the love going!!"

Giveaway Winners!

Last night I had my husband draw the 3 winners for my 200th post giveaway

And the winners are..... (drumroll please!)














These ladies will receive a special ATC created by me. Thank you all who entered the giveaway - it is such a pleasure to receive positive feedback.


Conference

This past week has been hectic and art was put on the back burner. I had a fabulous conference in Toronto on Thursday and Friday - "Reading for the Love of It". I heard great speakers, bought lots of books and ate so well! I went with another teacher at my school and we had a good time.

Stephen Lewis, a great humanitarian, was the guest speaker on Thursday night. What a speech he gave! He is so inspiring to listen to - and he is so humble. Yet so passionate and caring!

I was able to have him sign his book "Race Against Time". The story of his signing the book is a testament to him: My friend urged me to go up after the dinner to get the book signed, so I hurried up and was first in line as he was getting his papers together before he was to leave for a flight to Vancouver. The lady in charge said he was very late and would not have time to talk or sign books. Stephen looked at me with my book open and he said of course he would sign! Which he did. And of course I was thrilled.

Another speaker I had sign a book was Patricia Polacco. What a wonderful speaker - she spoke on the heroes of her life. She had many of us close to tears several times.

The last speaker I heard, at the luncheon on Friday, was Rafe Esquith, a teacher from an inner city school in Los Angeles. The title of his speech was "Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire" - it was very inspirational. I bought his book after the luncheon and have been enjoying it and being continually inspired by his teaching methods.

We need to be inspired, whether it is by teachers or artists or humanitarians - to see the best in people, to see what might be, to reach for the best.

ABCs of Art

Today I have been working on "cat cards" for a swap. My inspiration is our cat Fluffy!

I had hoped to focus on "C" artists - Chagall, Cezanne, Colville and the Cubists for example.

That will be my focus for the coming week!