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Yes, I am still here!!!

26 Apr

Just that for various reasons my creative activities have slowed recently. Plus I just haven’t felt up to blogging. Anyway, here is the latest exchange on the visual dialogue in my altered book.

Jill's response...

...and her next spread.

My response...

...and the next spread.

Due to the binding becoming strained by the growing thickness of the book, I had to remove a couple of pages and make some repairs before returning the book to Jill. So there are fewer pages to play in. Which is a shame as I’ve really been enjoying our dialogue. The good news is that there is still plenty of room in Jill’s book for us to play for quite a while yet. In fact I have just about finished my next spread in her book. But more on that another day!

Stepping into 2012….

1 Jan

First, here’s wishing you all a very happy, prosperous and creative New Year. With my thanks for following my blog and for all your ‘likes’ and comments, all of them always appreciated.

Last night I was sent an email by WordPress with my stats for 2011. I’d share it with you but every time I try to read it through, Firefox crashes, lol. What I do know is that my little blog is more popular than it was at this time last year, and for that I thank you too.

Over the past week or so I’ve been procrastinating over my WORD for 2012. I had thought of perhaps continuing with STRUCTURE, the word I adopted back in July, having failed miserably to establish a rapport with my January 2011 word Balance let alone be inspired by it. Structure worked well. I’ve laid down some guidelines, structured my creative activities, including learning (and yes, I’m still ‘studying’ from my personal library as well as continuing with my Morning Pages) and am creating within a flexible yet thought out daily schedule, health and the Muse permitting.

But, the WORD has done its job. I can continue along the path now that my structure has been laid down. And so, time to choose a new one.

However, deciding on that new WORD has been fraught with mental wrestling, lol. Eventually I decided, via my Morning Pages, that the problem lies in my wanting too much from one word. There is no one word that adequately conveys the path that I now wish to follow. Briefly I wondered about having two words for 2012 but decided against that. If I want to, I can always choose a new one in June (according to the rules laid down by Christine Kane that is perfectly acceptable).

And so, after much careful deliberation, my new word is CONSIDER. (See Wiktionary for one definition). For me, that definition contains part of what I want to do over the coming months: to think about my creativity seriously and perhaps most importantly, to look attentively at the work that I’m producing as well as to consider and study the processes and techniques involved. My favourite definition however is here, with this line in particular jumping out at me:

“To fix the mind on, with a view to a careful examination; to think on with care; to ponder; to study; to meditate on.”

There are other connotations to CONSIDER and I’ll be mind-mapping them in my journal later today. Giving greater consideration to other people and events included: sometimes I feel that I become so wrapped up in my own little world that I ignore what else is going on around me.

Today I’m also hoping to put up the ‘mood board’ that I bought yesterday. Blank at the moment, I’m hoping to fill it gradually and use it for considered inspiration over the days and weeks and months ahead. See you all again soon, and thanks once more for your support.

Journal and writing

4 Nov

Week 15 "stickies"

Heart journal prompt was ‘stickies’, any type including (I think) collage as well as embellishments. My spread used bought papers plus crumpled dress pattern tissue painted with acrylic inks. Then various bought sticky embellishments. Not my best spread but my thoughts have been on writing this last week, not visual imagery!

Why? Because I signed up for NaNoWriMo and have thus been writing since Tuesday! More about that here on my Rohinval blog.

I’ve also made two more zentangled ATCs, although I need to scan them in so will show them later. But if you wonder why this blog is quieter than normal during November, you now know why!!!

Journal and sketchbook

26 Oct

Week 14

This week’s prompt for the Heart Journal was for two main colours or tonal. I sort of ignored the tonal and went for yellow and black, lol. Well, I decided I needed cheering and yellow is a cheery colour, plus I felt like doodling. So black pens on yellow acrylic ink it is!!!

I’ve also been ‘doodling’ in the Art House Co-op Sketchbook. Two of the following pages (the bed + chest; and the mug) are drawings from the original layout. They are the last to be carried forward into the new-look book – everything from here on is completely new. An assorted collection of drawings and another Holga photo. And I’m still having fun!!!

A photo and a drawing.

My 'happy' mug and a drawing inspired by Aubrey Beardsley.

Two urbanscapes - one real, the other complete fantasy.

Journal play

19 Oct

Numbers - week 13 in my HeArt journal

For various reasons I haven’t been doing much visual imagery during the last few days. Have been doing my ‘morning pages’ and a lot of thinking, jotting down some notes and sorting things out to send off for swaps.

Have done the spread for this week’s HeArt journal, though. The prompt was Lucky Number. Now, I don’t have any number that I consider to be lucky. But I do regard 21 as special, probably because it’s my birth date, lol. And the other numbers featured seem fairly significant to me for various reasons. I used acrylic ink for the background and various pens.

Doodling :)

I also had a play in my ongoing ‘arty journal’ yesterday, whilst thinking and watching tv. I do so love the zentangle style of doodling.

Apart from that, I’ve signed up for the National Novel Writing Month after being prodded by 2 friends (thanks – you know who you are!!!). I’m not sure that I’ll stick to the remit and I definitely won’t write my novel in November but hopefully it will nudge me into writing every day – same challenge as for the art, I believe – 30 minutes a day, but writing instead of just any creative activity. If nothing else I hope it will help me to get my notes into some sort of order. And there is a lot of useful information and helpful forums on the site as well.

Heart journal, week 12

13 Oct

Week 12

Whilst online to publish this week’s Heart Journal spread in time for the deadline, I thought I’d post it here too. The prompt for this week was “watercolour wonder” so I went a little wild and just splashed around with watercolours, brush, spray and some inks. The face was stamped then drawn over and altered, whilst the letters are stuck on. The effect is a bit more playful and haphazard than some of my spreads. Bolder, too, perhaps. But then, I WAS playing, lol!!! Great fun :)

Another feather and sketchbook pages

7 Oct

Red and blue feather

Yesterday I decided to stitch one more Magic Feather for Jude Hill’s project as I was in the mood for some sewing. Using some tea-dyed muslin backed with a cotton square. I also stamped on the cloth with fabric paints as I felt it needed a little ‘something’ to finish it off.

I’ve also done 2 sketches in my Art House Co-op Sketchbook 2012. There is still plenty of time before I need to mail it back but there is over half the book to fill yet, and I’d like to get it done and sent by Xmas, if not before. I think setting myself a deadline will help urge me on, lol.

Along with the writing (I’ve made a few more notes) and the Heart Journal (ooh, I got a mention in their latest post!!!) I have plenty to keep me busy :)

Pages 14 & 15: wooden box and dragon with Buddha.

Feathers and growth

5 Oct

"Magic" feathers

Here areĀ  my embroidered feathers for Jude Hill’s ‘Magic Feathers’ project. The material is from an old ethnic skirt that became too worn to wear any longer. I rather like the shabby effect it has, though – hopefully Jude will appreciate that too.

I also finished the latest HeArt journal spread : Bloom and Grow being the prompt for this week, with growth being the key word. The quotes read:

Growth itself has the germ of happiness: Pearl S. Buck

The strongest principle of growth lies in human choice: George Eliot

From a small seed a mighty trunk may grow: Aeschylus.

Week 11 - Growth. Acrylic inks, pen, graphitint pencils, embellishments.

Continuing…

4 Oct

Lace in the making.

… to be creative every day, even if I’ve gone quiet here, lol. Some writing, map-making (see Rohinval), a bit of lace-making now that I have a proper lace-makers pillow (yay!!!) and 2 more zentangled ATCs.

We also visited a relatively new antiques and art centre in Sheffield on Sunday. Had a lovely time browsing and yes, I gave in and bought a few little bits (vintage buttons, postcards, old embroidery and fabric pieces). Great place, and one to which I know I’ll return.

Zentangled J ATC

I have several projects lined up, including the next spread in my HeArt journal, the Arthhouse Co-op sketchbook to continue and the making of at least one magic feather for Jude Hill’s project. I’ve been following her blog for ages, love her work. When Jill announced that she’s stitching a feather or two I decided it was time to do my own – thanks, Jill, for the nudge.

There’s also my writing. I’ve been jotting down a few notes, mainly via my morning pages. Hopefully I’ll start to sort them out into something more comprehensive soon.

Zentangled K ATC

Writing and tearing

27 Sep

Torn papers, week 10, HeArt Journal.

Here is the finished spread for week 10 of the HeArt Journal. Torn dressmaking pattern tissue was layered down first before being painted with acrylic inks. I then added various torn papers plus some net and fabric torn from an old card. After adding more ink using a sponge and graphitint pencils to deepen the hue in places, I added the text, first with a Sharpie pen then a staedtler black pen to make the letters stand out more. Not my favourite spread in the journal but I’m pleased that I’m still doing the project – only 14 more spreads or pages to go!!!

I’ve also been writing. This week is the last for the current Travelling Artists’ Guild project. Our characters had to return to the Guild and I also wanted to bring Zentara’s current tale to an end. There will be one more episode after the one I posted this morning, plus possibly a final note from the ‘author’. But more on that later.

For now, I’m delighted to reach Day 27 of the get-your-art-on challenge having not missed a day. Only three more days to go :)

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