Garlic scapes

Garlic scapes are the curling top of hardneck garlic plants.  As they grow they get really curly and then they need to be cut off so the plant can put all of its energy into the bulb instead of the flower.  They can be used in pesto, saute, dips, soups, in dips, pretty much how you would use garlic, just a little more mellow flavor.    With their unique curls and slender stems, I thought it would be fun to turn them into a little piece of art. 

My Lucky Day

I was picking strawberries this afternoon and I have clover popping up here and there.  Sometimes I pull it, sometimes I just leave it, but today I looked at a large patch and thought "I'm going to find a four leaf clover" and within 30 seconds I had myself a four leaf clover!  As I was looking at it to make sure it was indeed a four leaf clover I noticed that two of the leaves were still connected at the base, so they were not completely separate.  I wondered if this would still qualify as a four leaf clover or not?  I then thought to myself, "I'm going to find another four leaf clover and within 15 seconds I had myself another four leaf clover!  This time it was without a doubt a four leaf clover, and that it indeed had four separate leaves.  What are the chances of that?  I haven't found a four leaf clover since I was a kid.  I pull a lot of clover out of our garden and flower beds and will sometimes quickly look or just keep my eyes open for that extra leaf, but today I just knew I would find one.  How cool is that?  I love it.  

She's got talent!

While reading "The Artist's Magazine" I came across Ali Cavanaugh and was completely intrigued by her use of figures in her work.   She works with watercolor on a dampened clay surface in a modified version of fresco.  I would love to learn more about this technique.





All of her figures are against a pure white background, many of them the face is hidden or turned away as if covering their face from a bright light.  Gestures and body language play an important part in the composition, while the arms are usually covered in brightly patterned socks.  It's interesting how she uses the light and will even have parts of the figure that are completely overexposed and therefore not even painted.


I love how expressive these paintings are even though in many of them you can't even see the face.  The bold colors and patterns add to the emotions,  I'm completely amazed that these are watercolors. 


















 Very striking work.

Inspired, then uninspired, but now inspired again!

Recently I picked up a few copies of  "The Artist's Magazine" from our library for  50 cents and I am totally loving them.  I've read them from front to back.



 A lot of the work seems to be in oil, but there is some watercolor, acrylic, pastel,  and a bit of mixed media.   Much of the work is figurative, but there is also landscapes and still life.   Reading about all of the artists, techniques, styles, art school and inspiration makes me long for art school again and almost makes me want to paint a still life, but not quite, but  oh how I would love to take life drawing again.



By Robert T. Barrett



So even though I've been totally loving this magazine, I think partly why I haven't been too inspired to paint lately is because of this magazine.  It has made me rethink what I'm doing, questioning my style, my talent, my own inspirations, where I am going with it all.  It is so hard not to look at all of those talented artists and feel a bit inferior and compare myself to them, that I may not be a real artist because I paint "cute" things or because I don't paint in oils or I don't have an art degree, or my artwork isn't serious enough.  So while I've been enjoying this magazine, it has also brought up all of these issues within me.

I've realized this is all part of the growing process as an artist and also as a person.  I'm learning that it really doesn't do me any good to compare myself with others, it gets me no where but down.  I know much of it has to do with gaining confidence in myself and with my artwork.  And I'm slowly learning to do this.

I feel like I'm slowly coming out of my little funk.   I'm realizing there is no need  to compare myself with others(it definitely doesn't make me feel good),  but I can learn from them and incorporate that into my own style and growth.  I love to paint and draw, and I especially love to cut and paste too.  I know I could never be patient enough to work on a realistic portrait painted in oils, I'll leave that to them, but amazingly I'm patient enough to cut out hundreds of small petals and glue them down to form a flower.  This is what makes me happy, this is what makes my little heart sing,  this is what I know I love, learning to be me and expressing "me"!

                                                                                                      "In Bloom"  by me!

underwater

Finally!

I actually picked up my pencil and paintbrush today and started a painting!  Yeahh!  My goodness, it has been awhile, it feels good.

Summer time is:

homemade strawberry ice cream!

Happiness is:

the simple things

Hanging With The Girls

To-Do Lists

I think it's time for me to start taking my art a little bit more seriously.  I have to-do lists of things pertaining to my art and the business side of things that need to get done, but I never seem to have time to get around to this list.  My art always seems to take the back burner to everything and everyone else.  For the most part I've been okay with this.  So much of my time is invested into my family and taking care of them, but I'm really feeling like I need to start making something more out of my art and take it to a level higher.  I feel like I'm ready to do this!

I've never been much of a list maker, but over the past year I've gotten better about it and have realized that it really takes the stress off of me to put things on paper instead of having them float around in my brain all the time cluttering things up.  I have enough daily distractions without adding more to it.

I've been making weekly lists of things to do around the house and also with my art.  All of my chores get accomplished every week, but my art business  list gets totally neglected. Why do I do this  I wonder?  I'm not making much money at it for starters, so I feel guilty when I do put time towards it instead of doing things around the house, I almost feel like I'm wasting my time when there are other more important things to do.  Sad thing is, sometimes those more "important" things that I feel I should be doing are things like cleaning the bathroom or vacuuming.  I really need to learn to give my art biz some quality time and not feel guilty about doing something that I truly love to do.  I really want to be able to make this work and make some money at this and not have to go back to work as a nurse. I know that this is possible.

I need to change my mindset.  From now on my art biz list is going to be just as important as my "chore" list.

For some reason I seem to respond better if I call it a "list" as opposed to  my "goals".  I don't know if I feel too intimidated by the word "goal"  or if it sounds more unattainable and just out of reach, "list"   feels so much more doable to me and it feels like it has more priority and I should get to it right away!

With that being said, here is my to-do list for my biz for the  month of June:

1)  Change my mindset!  Take myself and my artwork more seriously!
2)  Order note cards and get them in my Etsy shop and at the local boutique where I sell my art.
3)  Submit artwork to Stampington & Company and to Cloth Paper Scissors. I've been wanting to
     do this for quite awhile.
4)  Find a resource for affordable frames for my artwork so I can frame them to display at local         
      businesses.
5)  Order supplies such as mattes, clear sleeves, envelopes etc.  (money is tight so I keep putting this
      off, but it then prevents me from selling more)
6)  Make list of things to do to prepare for art the Driftless Area Art Festival.

These items have been on my list of things to do for months!  Now that I've put it out there, I have to do it.  A nice little push for myself.  To some this may not seem like much, but with strawberries in full swing, (I spent at least 1 1/2 hrs this evening just picking them, now I have to do something with them, and tomorrow there will be more to pick!) the raspberries are just starting,  my days will be filled with picking, jamming, and freezing.  I seem to have so little time right now but I can do it!

What are your goals, or I should I say,  what is on your list for the month of June?