Thursday, June 24, 2010

Affirmations

Having grown up at the tail end of the Baby Boomer generation, I can't think of Affirmations without thinking of Stuart Smalley.


However, I've taken two intense classes recently that both strongly suggest using daily affirmations as a tool. One of the classes suggested cards, which really appealed to my artistic side.



There was a suggested list of affirmations on the class blog and many fellow students shared some of their own affirmations as well. I used these affirmations as a starting point, then altered, edited and threw in a few of my own. I came up with a list of 22 affirmations to use daily.


I made the cards out of pastel paper using images from my journaling stash and stamps, watercolors, stickers, etc. This was really fun play. Because they were just for me, I didn't worry about the product, I just had fun with the process. I wrote all the affirmations in my own handwriting.


This project allowed me to get comfortable with my list. Essentially, making the list my own. I'm looking forward to trying these out! I'll report back soon on how the daily use is going.

Monday, June 21, 2010

Vacation Recap

Well, we had internet issues while on vacation. Actually, it was too expensive. The nicer the place, the less likely they are to have free internet. What's up with that??


So, I'm posting now that we're back. We landed in Phoenix on Friday, got our car and found food. Then we headed out for Sedona. It was hot! Although the cacti and terrain were interesting - it was very brown.





Then, we turned a corner and the
view instantly changed. We had
entered Red Rock country.


Beautiful!


There were galleries, hiking trails everywhere, and we took a jeep tour with a cowboy while we were there. I didn't know that jeeps could climb rocks, but now I believe! Scary - and fun!



My hubby brought his GPS along, so we found some cool roadside stuff like the world's largest kokopelli! We also stood on the corner in Winslow Arizona on Route 66!


We went to Jerome on Tuesday. It is a really cool town perched high on a mountain! Lots of cool art and people. There were painters with easels set up everywhere!


On Wednesday, we rode the train from Williams to the Grand Canyon.
It was beautiful!


Ed visited the canyon when he was 16 and
was very happy to be back there again. He
told me that no words or pictures could
describe how it feels to be there.

He was absolutely right. There is an amazing
sense of place there - it's so immense! Not just
in size but also in time. You could almost feel
the eons of time that had passed by in
the Canyon.




This is us on the return train trip. We are already talking about our next visit here! We're definitely staying at least one night inside the park next time - hopefully at one of the historic lodges!

There is so much to do in Arizona! We were able to make a quick visit to the Heard museum in Phoenix before leaving, but there were so many other places we wanted to see and didn't make it to.


We didn't sit still long enough for artwork, but I did manage to start one sketch while at Oak Creek in Sedona. I know that this trip is going to the the inspiration for many pieces of art to come! Our whole family had a blast!


Thursday, June 10, 2010

Packing for Vacation

We're off tomorrow for the West! I can't wait! This will be my first visit to the Grand Canyon - and I've heard so much about it. Plus, Sedona and Jerome sound really cool, too. We've mapped out way more places than we'll make it to, I'm sure.


I always pack art supplies for my vacation - I've always been more creative when I'm not working. I usually pack them in this gigantic duffel bag since we normally drive to our destination.







This time, though, since we're flying, I've had to
narrow it down to just the basics - a handful of
watercolor pencils, some brushes, a tiny spray
bottle, a film cannister in case I don't want to
use a water brush, some scissors (don't worry -
this will be in my checked bag!), a ruler, a couple
of travel watercolor sets, glue sticks and
a couple of travel sized watercolor sketchbooks.

I take multiples of some things because sometimes, my nephews will join in the creativity. I love the idea of establishing drawing and painting as normal parts of a vacation. I carry the supplies with me sometimes on regular days, but I'm not as good at that as I want to be. Still, I really like that in most of my sketchbooks, you can flip to a few sketches that were done by my nephews. I hope to spend more time with my nieces this summer, so hopefully their sketches will be in there soon as well.

These are some of the things we did last summer. One of my nephews is quite the history buff - he did the WWII soldier. I'll share more pictures and artwork from the road next week. Happy Summer everyone!


Saturday, June 5, 2010

Are you ready for an Adventure?

Am I ready for an adventure?? On June 1st, I joined the ranks of the unemployed. I was lucky - the announcement was made the week before Christmas, but my term date was at the end of May. I had a lot of time to process my emotions and think about the future.


I was working part-time for the last couple of my 8 years there while working on building an art business. I did spend time in my studio - mostly organizing, painting walls, etc. I took lots of classes but didn't spend a lot of time developing the skills further at home. Plus, I increased my working schedule often to accommodate business need. I never really developed a focus or a routine. In retrospect, I used my real job as a crutch for not pursuing what interested my most and at the same time - scared me most!


I have decided to take my art business seriously now. My sweetie has set a deadline of September to show some real progress towards my goals. I've spent the last couple of months in some deep soul searching work. I am finishing up my business plan, my strategies, my skills development plan, and (probably for me) most important - a time management plan.


By the way, the painting in the photo was done in a class with Chery Baird at Spruill. She is one of my favorite teachers!


I'm back in blogland and I'm ready for a really fun ride!!