The Most Expensive Pencil Case

For those of us who spend quite a bit of money on art supplies, it makes sense to have nice storage containers in which to keep them.  Plus it's fun to shop for pretty boxes, bags, jars and buckets.  I recently decided I wanted to learn to sew my own zippered bags to hold art supplies and I wanted to use some fabric that I had collected.

The fabric I chose was designed by a friend, Jennifer Heynen, who is the owner of Jangles Beads.  She isn't exactly a close friend of mine, but she is very good friends with my BFF.  She is, therefore, my friend by association.  I'm not sure that she knows that.  Be sure to check out her blog and online store.

My new pencil case

It was a lot of work to sew this little bag, since I don't have experience with sewing zippers.  My sister helped me and her friend, a master seamstress, also helped.  It took about 5 hours over 2 days to complete.  Adding up my time and the fabulous, although expensive, polka dot zipper ($4 from Joann's Fabrics) this is probably the most expensive pencil case ever made.  And I love it!

-christina

Paint Chip Art

Playing with paint chips is really fun.  I can‘t walk through a hardware store without a long pause in front of the paint chip display.  I am like a moth to a flame.  The colors mesmerize me and my imagination immediately begins painting walls all throughout my home.  Admittedly, I have pilfered more than my fair share of paint chips and I like to use them to make art.

Cards that my friend and I made from paint chips

I have used a similar technique to make cards, one that I learned from a book that my BFF owns (my Best Friend Forever).  I painted watercolor blobs on a piece of paper, then cut the paper into one inch squares to decorate the card.  These look terrific in a vellum envelope.  Paint chips would work for this project as well.

Lastly, my daughter and I made paint chip art for her apartment.  We copied an idea we found on Pinterest.

Pinterest idea for paint chip art

 Creating paint chip art is a great activity for a rainy day or (like this summer) a ridiculously hot day.  And it’s cheap!

-christina

 

Artist's Way Update

I am beginning week 4 of The Artist’s Way, although I think I have been doing the program for more than 3 weeks.  I must have extended one of the weeks.  I suppose going slowly is not against the rules.

I have diligently executed my morning pages every day. I am having difficulty with the artist dates (only completed 2 out of 3) and the daily 20 minute walks (not enough to count).  I am trying not to chastise myself about this, but rather encourage growth and improvement.

This morning I was reading chapter 4 and came across this quote from Chekhov that describes where I am right now.

“If you want to work on your art, work on your life.”

That is my journey.

-christina

Arts & Crafts

Last week my daughter was in the mood for a craft project and introduced me to Galaxy T-shirts.  I had never heard of them but, not surprisingly, many examples can be found on the internet.  DIY directions are available on YouTube.  We watched a few of the videos and then made our own.

After applying bleach and 4 colors of paint (blue, purple, black and white) we had finished shirts.  It was a fun project for us to do together and fulfilled our need to be crafty. 

-christina

Art

Art is what we call the thing an artist does.

It’s not the medium or the oil or the price

or whether it hangs on a wall or you eat it.

What matters, what makes it art,

is that the person who made it

overcame the resistance,

ignored the voice of doubt

and made something worth making.

Something risky.

Something human.

Art is not in the eye of the beholder.

It’s in the soul of the artist.

-unknown



Photo by Average Jane (flickr.com)



Creating in Maine

I spent a week in Maine visiting my sister and her husband.  My sister is an artist.  She also teaches art to adults.  That means she makes art, reflects on the process of making art, and then explains it to others.  Pretty impressive. 

Before the visit, I asked my sister to buy some sewing patterns for me the next time she went to her local resale shop.  She ended up acquiring a whole box of patterns from a friend.  Upon my arrival I was asked what I wanted to make with the patterns and that was the beginning of a weeklong creative endeavor.

First we brainstormed what we could make with the patterns.  This step was already challenging for me.  My initial ideas seemed boring and obvious.  So we decided to try the paper on various materials.  We used matte medium to glue it to canvas, painted canvas, painted paper (both light and dark), acetate, and even a plastic water bottle.  One piece we painted with medium and just hung it to dry.  Ultimately I decided I liked the paper glued to raw canvas the best.  It had a leathery look and feel to it.  The next step was to decide what to make from this paper patterned canvas.

My sister and I decided to make a one of a kind tote bag.  I love the results and I have enough canvas left over to make other things.  Right now I am planning to make covers for composition books, which are the kind of book I frequently use for journaling.



My tote bag made using sewing patterns

Is a tote bag art?  I’m not sure.  For me, it felt like art because it was something I had never created before.  Perhaps that is part of the definition of art, although that makes the definition very personal to the artist.

-christina

The Artist's Way

I have started reading The Artist’s Way, which is something that my sister suggested that I do quite a long time ago.  I am finally ready to commit to the 12 week program (at least I think I am).  This is only week 2, by the way.  The purpose of the program is to unblock your creativity.  The author, Julia Cameron, encourages your inner artist to come out, take risks, and create.  Many people I know have successfully completed the book and I hope it will help me as well.

So far I am enjoying writing the morning pages, but it is easy for me since I have kept a journal for many years.  Squeezing in a weekly artist date will be more difficult.  I went to the book store last Friday for my artist date.  I love book stores and find them so energizing.  They are almost as colorful and exciting as a fabric store.  Finally I am trying to spend more time in nature, taking walks through the woods around a local lake.  Even though it’s a hot summer I am enjoying my walks (sans iPod).

I’ll post again in a few weeks to update my progress.

-christina