Filed under: catalyst
As always, thank you to all of our visitors and all the encouraging comments you left for us. For those of you who did, thank you for playing along with us.
Ok! Here’s catalyst number fifty:
What is something that you turn to, to lift you up out of a bad mood?
We’re so delighted to have Jen Crossley as this week’s Guest Artist.
I can’t remember where I first saw Jen’s art but I remember the first impression it made on me. The way she combines paper and metal is unlike anything I’ve seen.
Her mixed media jewelry spoke to me immediately. I wanted to touch each piece, examine the details, feel the different textures. Each piece is so unique that I can spend hours looking at it. This is the kind of art I’ve always wished I could learn and I would love the opportunity to take one of Jen’s classes if she ever comes to the United States.
If you haven’t seen her art before be sure to visit her blog and her etsy shop.
Here is Jen’s art with this week’s catalyst. You can click on it to see a larger version.
Jen Says:
My art work lifts me out of Bad mood, I escape into another world, and my mood automatically changes. I throw myself into my art it’s my sanity.
Technique Highlight:
I gain a lot of comfort from my art. I use lots of techniques I love having paper and metal together, either wiring the two, or riveting it to combine the two elements I just like the look of the soft paper and the contrast of metal with it. Another technique I like using is layering to give a 3d effect to make your work POP. I like to think outside the square and look at things differently yes I could put a small word or picture in say a key hole. I think small and love attention to detail in my work.
Thank you so much Jen; we’re so very honored.
Here are some interpretations of the catalyst from members of our team. As you’ll see we have another new member on our team: Karin. I will make sure to write an entry about our new members in a short while.
Karin:
Karin Says:
No matter what kind of mood I’m in these two boys can always bring a smile on my face. They remind me what’s important and what really matters in life. I put the phrase “Simple Things” because it really does come down to the most simple things that make them happy and full of wonder. That in turn always brings me to that level of contentment with my life. Even if my bad mood is brought about by one of these cute little faces, they both always have a way of bringing it back around to laughing. My youngest has a new thing where after he’s done something wrong he will come up to me and say “Mommy, I want to tell you a story.” I’ll ask him what’s the story about. And then he says… “The story is I sorry to you.” How can I stay in a bad mood after that? Never!
Karen:
Karen Says:
The one thing that never fails to lift me out of a bad mood is music. Even if I’ve had the worst day, I can get in the car, jack up the music all the way and feel better instantly. That’s why I am thankful for my 120gig iPod. This way I never have to worry about not having the kind of music I am craving at that moment. All my music is in one little machine.
Debee:
Debee Says:
I’ve recently taken up the art of crochet. And just in the nick of time. Wedding planning. House hunting. Future dreaming. All have left me a little chaotic. You would think it’s crazy of me to take up crocheting during this crazy phase of my life. But in fact it has helped silence my thoughts. During these times of learning and practicing the rhythm of the process, I have found my thoughts are all hushed. My time has been well spent. Thinking pondering and praying. There are times when I just listen. And most of the time I’m not such a great listener. It has also helped my patience level 🙂 But the combination of the two has helped my outlook on all the things I’m juggling. I find this time to be the best at bringing peace to my heart. All the while I am bursting with pride taking up a lost art in my family and creatively expressing myself in another form. This is for sure something I hope to continue throughout my life.
I laid a drawing I drew years ago of one of my hands over the top of my blanket that is still a work in progress. I felt like it fit the picture perfectly. As drawing was once my quiet time long before scrapbooking and crochet came into my life.
Fran:
Fran Says::
To get out of a bad mood, I have the perfect prescription for me! It’s been the same things for as long as I can remember – music and art! I listening to music with an uplifting beat that forces me to dance off the “icks”. While doing this, I set up my paint palette and pick up my paintbrush. I allow myself to become completely absorbed by the movement of the paint on the canvas or paper. Following that intuition has always helped me to work through anything.
Opal:
Opal Says:
I have always turned to music to lift my moods. Most often when in the darkest of moods, I am instinctively drawn to the powerful and intricate, carefully woven music of Mozart or Bach. At other times I seek songs with lyrics that touch my soul, words that will hold my hand and pull me forward, giving me strength and hope. In recent years, I have found that I can work through a mood by watching and sketching the birds outside my windows, allowing me to step outside my mood and focus on lines and shapes and color. I always smile when I see a heron in flight, or a handful of feisty chubby chickadees at the feeders, or the pair of eagles who call my trees their own . Completing the lines on a sketch of a sparrow or junco will always lift my spirits. Finally, playing with fabric is sometimes all it takes to move me beyond a mood. I can rummage through a bin of fabric and watch the play of colors before me, touching the different pieces, moving them around, remembering the projects that were made and pondering those that will be. Always, there is the possibility of new ideas emerging and taking over the mood that was there.
Technique Highlight:
This piece embodies all three paths I might take to lift a mood and is constructed in the way of my journal quilt pages. The background fabric is a batik I found in my stash that suggested the ‘not so clear’ lines of a mood. The black swirls were cut from another fabric, rearranged to form both a musical treble cleft and the swirls and spirals of a dark mood. The musical notes are cut from a piece of hand-dyed fabric and quilted on to a background of iridescent Angelina fibers. A watercolor sketch of a heron is tucked into the bottom. All three paths are shown: music; bird art; and fabric play.
Kimmi:
Kimmi Says:
No matter how bad my day has been, or what has happened, there is nothing that can brighten my day and my mood like a smile from this little boy.
Kris:
Kris Says:
Quiet. Solitude. Serenity. Those are what I crave when I’m in mood. I’m not one to sulk for very long. I have to get through whatever is bugging me and in order to do that, I need calm. I need to be alone.. With kids being homeschooled during the day and everyone being home in the evenings, I find I get in bad moods when I don’t have quiet time. I need it. My brain begs for it. If I have that calm I’m able to think over problems, plan what to do next and how to go about it. I need serenity.
Technique Highlight:
I started with an old white tablecloth and cut a piece. Spritzed with Glimmer Mist (pink). Added layers of papers/stamps. Stenciled ‘S’ w/Shiva Paintstiks & rubon letters for the word (outlined all in gel pen.) Image is from AlteredPages.com. I sewed, strung beads and gathered the fabric strip. Used a broken piece of trim from an old bed on the top as well as a flower from a 1930’s hat and button from my great grandma. I swiped glue around the edges and sprinkled pink glitter. Sewed on flowers & beads and glittered them as well. Sewed jeweled necklace piece on the top as a hanger. I then glued the whole piece to mat board for support. It hangs in my art room wall to remind me to take time to be calm.
Christine:
Christine Says:
When I’m upset or feel distressed, it’s often difficult for me to know what to do. But during those times, I hear a still, small voice whispering in my heart…calling me to a place where I can find comfort. My journey towards towards that place begins with a prayer for God’s grace and wisdom and my steps are guided by the words of Holy Scripture. When I step forward in faith, seeking wisdom from God’s Word, I find that all the things that once burdened me fall away. Then I find that I my heart and soul are renewed with hope and a loving reminder of God’s love and care for me. That is when I find peace…from words of comfort in my Bible:
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. -Matthew 11:28
For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. -Romans 15:4
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. -Romans 8:28
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. -Romans 15:13
Amy:
Amy Says:
My awakening to birds is relatively recent and yet the birds have become an anchor and a hinge of my day. I write about birds. I watch birds. And I draw birds. When I draw a bird, I am able to lose myself in the lines and textures and tones that give contour and edge and softness to the bird. No matter what my mood, the act of drawing a bird soothes me and settles me within. I knew that my response to the catalyst centered around drawing birds. But then I was sitting at my table late one night with a cup of tea, and I was sorting through several small bags of scraps, pulling out pieces to be used for patchwork birdhouses and making another pile of even smaller scraps to be used on cards. As I fingered the fabrics, delighting in the bits and pieces that remain from other projects, I realized, suddenly, the beauty of the tableaux in front of me. It is true that sketching brings me calm. So, too, does working with fiber, picking pieces and laying out possible combinations, and creating a whole, seam by seam. After sorting through the scraps, I had intended to sketch my bird for the day, but first I did a quick sketch of the cluttered space in front of me…. an unexpected still life. The next day, I took some photos, hating to disturb the space but unable to work on anything else if I left it all there! In this drawing, I see reflected the way my creative self turns to the birds and to pen and ink… and to fabric… to keep me in balance.
Wendela:
Wendela Says:
When I’m in bad mood, I’m going to sing, and really, it helps me to turn out of the bad mood. I love to sing, one of my favorites songs is this, it’s from “Hillsong”:
My savior
Redeemer
Lifted me from the miry clay
Almighty
Forever, I will never be the same
Cause You came here
From the everlasting
To the world we live
The Father’s only Son
And You lived
You died
You rose again on high
You opened the way for the world to live again
Hallelujah, for all You’ve done
Technique Highlight:
I used a chipboard background. I made the edges wet, with water, and I crunshed the edges it with my hands to get an old distressed look. I dried the chipboard with my heat gun, and sprayed glimmermist on it, midnight blue and applegreen. After that I added some paper, and laces. I printed the song on a sheet, and add it on the paper with un visible cleartape.
Now it’s your turn: show us your therapeutic art around “What is something that you turn to, to lift you up out of a bad mood?” I urge you to give it a try. This was a particularly healing catalyst for our team, I hope it will prove to be that way for you, too. Embrace the healing power of art. It can be any form of art as long as it speaks to you.
Leave us comments with your work and you will qualify for the RAK we offer to a random participant. If you don’t have a community or blog where you upload photos, you can upload them on our flickr group.
Remember, this is not a competition. If your art makes you feel even a bit better at the end, you’ve won.
Until next week, enjoy each and every moment.
Filed under: catalyst
As always, thank you to all of our visitors and all the encouraging comments you left for us. For those of you who did, thank you for playing along with us.
Ok! Here’s catalyst number forty-nine:
Pick a photo that brings up some emotions and create your art around it.
We’re so excited to have Kelly Rae Roberts as this week’s Guest Artist.
If you haven’t heard of Kelly Rae or seen her art, you’re truly missing out. Her paintings are so beautiful, so soulful, and so stunning that I keep wishing I could reach through the computer and touch them.
As if being able to create such beauty isn’t enough in itself, Kelly Rae is also an amazingly inspiring soul herself. I cannot say enough good words about her book Taking Flight: Inspiration And Techniques To Give Your Creative Spirit Wings. It’s so much more than an art book. Kelly Rae’s story of how she started her art is inspiring to all artists in hiding, wishing they could pursue their dream fully but not having the self-confidence to do so. I would so love to spend a day watching her paint, seeing her create those beautful paintings.
If you haven’t seen her art before you will be blown away, so be sure to visit her site and her blog. You can also buy some of her artwork in her etsy shop.
Here is Kelly Rae’s art with this week’s catalyst. You can click on it to see a larger version.
Kelly Rae Says:
Not too long ago, my older sister Jennifer, sweetly sang a song into my voicemail that I had long forgotten. It conjured up a whole flood of lovely memories because it was a song she used to sing to me whenever I had trouble falling asleep as a young child. In response to this, I made this painting that includes an old photo of us – one that honors those childhood memories of my older sister and me. There we are, framed in the chest of a girl who is expressing simple and sweet healing of a childhood that has long passed.
Technique Highlight:
I wanted to give her a somewhat youthful appearance, hence the childlike hair style. But I also wanted to give her a face that was somewhat weathered, representing a well-worn, well-loved and well-traveled spirit. To get this effect, I painted her face with acrylic paints, then I softly sanded over the dry paint to create the aged/weathered effect.
Thank you so much Kelly Rae; we’re so very honored.
Here are some interpretations of the catalyst from members of our team. As you’ll see we have a new member on our team: Lia. I will make sure to write an entry about our new members in a short while.
Lia:
Lia Says:
As with any relationship, A and I go through lots of ups and downs. But each time I look at his pictures, a surge of all the wonderful moments we’ve shared and all the hopes I have of our future rush through me. I’m reminded of the love we have for each other, and all is good again with the world.
Karen:
Karen Says:
I look at this photo of my son and I am filled with emotions. Not just for him, but for all the other people I can see in his face. In his eyes and long eyelashes, I see my wonderful husband whose eyes were one of the first things that made me fall in love with him. On his nose, I see the freckles that my sister and dad have; the little dots we used to hate as kids that I now find adorable in my son. This little boy, in one photo, can bring together everyone I love in the world and make my heart explode.
Fran:
Fran Says::
One Saturday in the past few months, I was looking back at my Sedona photos. I love Sedona. There is so much peace there. So much natural beauty. I took this photo and used it as a catalyst for the encaustic painting I did. It’s a really abstract sunset painting. But I was in a happy Sedona nostalgic mood.
Anita:
Anita Says:
I decided to take advantage of this catalyst and scrap the first pictures of my daughter being pregnant. This isn’t an easy subject to talk about but we are dealing with it. We know that we will love our granddaughter no matter what.
Lori:
Lori Says:
I’m on a mission to find my inner child. You know, that part of us that rejoices in the little things and finds fun in everything? I’ve hidden my child away so deeply, that I fear I’ve lost her forever. This photo represents how I see myself. I may be smiling, but I’m constantly hiding behind my crossed arms of protection. I want to find my inner child and free her for good.
Larissa:
Larissa Says:
I picked up five photos that show my daughter giving me some flowers. For me, getting surprised by her act of love was simply a moment of true happiness!
Technique Highlight:
I drew and painted my watercolor background. After highlighting some lines with a dark pen, I glued some stickers and worked the layers for my scrapbooking page.
Severine:
Severine Says:
I love old things, and i really really love this old merry-go-round with wood horse and swing. It’s amazing to me and I can stay to watch it for a long long time.
In French:
J’aime beaucoup les veilleiries comme on dit et j’adore ce vieux manège que l’on trouve place de Tourny à Bordeaux, j’aime ses chevaux de bois et ses balancelles, je pourrais rester des heures assises devant à le regarder.
Katie:
Journaling Reads:
It’s amazing how kids can find joy even in the worst situations. This day would be one of the hardest days of your life. Today would be your Uncle Ian’s Memorial Service. Fittingly it started raining that morning. You still found the little girl in you that still wanted to dance in the rain. July 27, 2008
Katie Says:
My 19 year old brother-in-law was killed this summer by a drunk driver. My girls were and still are devastated. This was the day of his Memorial Service and even amongst the heavy grief, Maddy was still able to be a little girl and dance in the rain. At the time I felt guilty taking pictures of her dancing in the rain but now I am so beyond glad that I did. When you see these pictures, you might see a happy little girl dancing during a rainstorm. When I see these pictures, I see the only happy moment of an otherwise awful day. I see a little girl that brought a moment of joy to a grieving family. I see my Maddy.
Now it’s your turn: show us your therapeutic art around “Pick a photo that brings up some emotions and create your art around it.” I urge you to give it a try. This was a particularly healing catalyst for our team, I hope it will prove to be that way for you, too. Embrace the healing power of art. It can be any form of art as long as it speaks to you.
Leave us comments with your work and you will qualify for the RAK we offer to a random participant. If you don’t have a community or blog where you upload photos, you can upload them on our flickr group.
Remember, this is not a competition. If your art makes you feel even a bit better at the end, you’ve won.
Until next week, enjoy each and every moment.
Filed under: other
Since we have a new RAK as of last Sunday, we can now pick a recipient for our previous RAK. The little boy picked your name Lori Congratulations!! Thanks, once again, to our generous sponsor: scrap for a cure. I will email you with directions on how to receive your RAK.
As always, I wanted to take a moment to thank everyone for your ongoing support, generosity of spirit, and for sharing your own journeys with us. It is so inspiring and therapeutic to me.
Thank you.
Filed under: catalyst
As always, thank you to all of our visitors and all the encouraging comments you left for us. For those of you who did, thank you for playing along with us.
Ok! Here’s catalyst number forty-eight:
Create art around a secret you’ve been keeping (hidden journaling is fine.)
We’re so honored to have Ruth Rae as this week’s Guest Artist.
Ruth’s art is unlike any I’ve ever seen. Maybe it’s because she is fantastic at so many different forms of art like quilting, jewelry, mixed media or maybe it’s just who she is but each of her pieces is rich with texture, meaning and soul.
Ruth’s work has been featured in galleries across the country, countless art publications as well as Quilting Arts TV and two workshop DVD’s. She also co-authered the very unique A Charming Exchange which is full of unique jewelry projects. Her next book “Layered, Tattered and Stitched: A Fabric Art Workshop” will be released at the end of 2009. She also teaches around the country at events like ArtFest and Art Unraveled.
If you haven’t seen her art before you will be blown away, so be sure to visit her site and her blog.
Here is Ruth’s art with this week’s catalyst. You can click on it to see a larger version. The two pieces go together.
Ruth Says:
I was asked to create art around a secret: Consequently the vast majority of my artwork revolves around a private matter, integrated with hidden meaning. I obtain pleasure in using words and poems in my work as they can be interpreted in a variety of ways. I rarely make known the circumstances of a piece, as I want the interaction to belong single-handedly to the spectator alone.
The two works that I created for this creative challenge were fashioned to tell a story of a liaison. And to give a peek into how paradoxical relationships can be.
“My heart is pure”
My soul is you.
My heart is pure.
I am my beloved and he is mine.
“Lurking at her heart”
My heart.
Tonight.
Amazed, confused,
He found his power expired. (The words “lurking at her heart” are hidden on the backside of this heart)
Stuffed and free motion sewn fabric hearts have been manipulated with heat, to represent passion. Followed by the combination of torn then crumbled love letters to express a break up. Lastly to facilitate mending and strengths: I drilled into one inch thick Plexiglas then I stitched multiple red X’s with embroidery floss. The textures that I used are a nod to the differences and similarities that we encounter in any relationship.
The passage of the heart is oftentimes misunderstood; I over emphasize this with my half hazard style in which I depicted the hearts and their surroundings. The words used are both an echo as well as a reminder of the past as well as the future of this relationship.
Technique Highlight:
When creating a piece of art, I frequently build up a pallet this will include words along with a variety of elements. I tend to work in a series and find that 2 to 3 different ideas will frequently appear when I am working in the design stage.
For the most part I retain a good idea of how I want a project to turn out but in the instance of these pieces I had started to assemble the hearts just for the sake of expression and had intended to place them in a large box to entice the textile nature of the stuffed hearts allowing them to remain interactive. However as I started to interact with the pillows my thoughts evolved into more of a story and I wanted the piece to have more substance and control.
Attempt to remain open to change in your own art work and you will soon find that your ideas will start to flow more forthright as you create. Staying attached to an idea that is not working will only lead to frustration. When you create in a state of the soul allowing yourself to drift freely with out attachments you will discover a much more harmonious course in your artistic endeavors.
Thank you so much Ruth; we’re so very delighted.
Here are some interpretations of the catalyst from members of our team.
KL:
KL Says:
I’m always focusing on the past. old memories, whether good or bad, always seem to linger. the good ones i hold in my heart, the bad ones haunt me still. they hold me back, i know they do. they have too much control over who i am and how i live my life today, in this moment.
it’s a process, a hard process, concentrating on processing the habits and secrets that haunt me. someday the pieces will all fall together, i’m getting closer, i’m knowing more and feeling how it affects me.
Technique Highlight:
for this weeks catalyst i created a shadow box with the bottom of an old game box and some old photos. there are lots of layers and some machine stitching, i love building lots of texture in my work.
the actual shadowbox was painted with a light wash of blue paint {diluted more than half with water}. the base has been lifted by re purposing some old glass drawer knobs. i removed the screw and glued it to the bottom of the box with zip-dry.
Karen:
Karen Says:
It may not seem so, but this catalyst was incredibly cathartic for me. I spent my whole life being the girl with the diaries and the girl with secrets. I would never tell anyone anything about me. Anyone. Ever. Many good friends complained how it wasn’t fair that I knew everything about them but they knew nothing about me. I agreed it wasn’t fair but I just couldn’t get myself to share.
But somewhere along the way, I shared once and then once again and then I realized the healing power of sharing. The connection it created, the way it helped me resolve my problems just by talking about them. And imagine my surprise when I sat down to do this week’s catalyst and realized I had no secrets. Nothing. I feel so relaxed and peaceful. When it comes to keeping others’ secrets, I am still a perfect confidant who never tells a soul but now I don’t have to fill dairies with my own secrets anymore. I have kind souls to share with and I do so as needed. I am eternally thankful for that.
Fran:
Fran Says::
There is always an internal struggle in keeping a secret, especially when you’re not sure if in keeping the secret you’re lying to yourself or to others. This mixed-media collage represents that struggle for me.
Amy:
Amy Says:
In December, I worked on a wall hanging made from many black fabrics and with touches of pink and orange. It is a piece called “Promise,” and in working on it, my table ended up covered with piles of black clippings and threads. In my fiber art, I often work with small pieces, turning scraps into collaged cards, so deciding what to throw away when I straighten up my space is often a challenge. What seems small and worthy of the trash pile is often perfect to be recycled into a collage piece. When I was cleaning up one night, I picked up a pile of mostly black threads, and I wadded them up between my fingers, certain the little pile was safe to toss. But as I looked down at the threads in my hand, I saw I’d rolled it into a small ball… and there was beauty in this ball of mostly black threads with some slivers of fabric lending color to the mix. For some reason, I saw in this little cluster the seeds of my response to this catalyst, and a few days later, I wrote in my sketchbook, “I saw an unexpected flower. Secrets are hard to keep, but sometimes there are blossoms, too, maybe tinged with the palette of the secret itself… beauty in the field.”
Kris:
Kris Says:
Fear. I don’t even like the word. If you knew my personality you’d you wouldn’t think ‘there goes a fearful person.’ I like to be the strong one. When friends and family look at me I don’t think they see a crying sniveling fearful person balled up in a corner somewhere. But I feel that way inside sometimes. It’s my little secret, I think I keep it hidden pretty well. I usually get the better of these feelings but I don’t like having them at all. The ones that linger are the thoughts I can’t change. Things I have no control over. Maybe its a control issue. What if the plane crashes, the kids grow up to hate me, the boogie man gets me, what if I end up alone in my old age? These are things I can’t fix. I was expressing some of this fear to a homeschool friend this week about teaching my kids. She is always good with the straight talk and positive attitude. She sent me this verse: God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7. Now I don’t know about the sound mind but the rest I think I can embrace. (To read journaling, click for closeup.)
Technique Highlight:
This was a lesson in layering. Paint. Papers, stamps, more paint. I swiped paint on paper and then quickly pressed it to the background to give it more texture. Circles, cut out letters, lots of scribbbling with my trusty drafting pencil. It’s supposed to look a little chaotic since that is how fear makes me feel.
Larissa:
Larissa Says:
I chose 8 big secrets i’ve been keeping for all my life and I wrote them in small pieces of paper, but as I was not prepared to open them to anyone, I just have decided “to keep my mouth shut”, to zip my lips, “to zip my art” and “not trip on words never spoken”. So, I have hidden my secrets again by sewing the small pieces of paper which contain my secrets.
Debee:
Debee Says:
I wrote on the strips and then sewed them on top of each other. Pretty strips with fun little secrets. I’m pretty good at keeping secrets.
Kimmi:
Kimmi Says:
This has to be one of my favorite layouts I’ve done. Maybe not because of the design, but the overall idea of my secret lying behind that layer of paint.
After typing up my journaling for this week’s catalyst, I felt so completely guilty and exposed, but at the same time it felt so amazingly great and relieving to have written about it and get it out in words. The secret that I wrote about was something from my past that I did. No one knows about and its something that at the time I regretted doing, but now looking back, I wouldn’t have changed that I did it. It made me realize a lot of things in life and getting it down in words really was an emotional process for me. I know that every time I look at this page, I’ll know exactly what the journaling says and in a sense, it helps me to acknowledge my secret, but still keep it one.
Technique Highlight:
I painted a square onto patterned paper, added my journaling strips, then painted over the top of them to conceal the words.
Now it’s your turn: show us your therapeutic art around “Create art around a secret you’ve been keeping (hidden journaling is fine.)” I urge you to give it a try. This was a particularly healing catalyst for our team, I hope it will prove to be that way for you, too. Embrace the healing power of art. It can be any form of art as long as it speaks to you.
This week, we’re lucky to offer you a beautiful RAK from a recurring sponsor Sakura of America. The brilliant colors of these pens ignite the darkness and radiate emotion. Reveal the inner heat and energy that words and images express by using vivid colors for a sensational effect. Fluorescent colors glow under a black light (UL light).
Leave us comments with your work and you will qualify for the RAK we offer to a random participant. Now that we have a new RAK, this week, we’ll choose a winner for the previous RAK. If you don’t have a community or blog where you upload photos, you can upload them on our flickr group.
Remember, this is not a competition. If your art makes you feel even a bit better at the end, you’ve won.
Until next week, enjoy each and every moment.
Filed under: catalyst
As always, thank you to all of our visitors and all the encouraging comments you left for us. For those of you who did, thank you for playing along with us.
Ok! Here’s catalyst number forty-seven:
When was the last time you were up all night?
We’re so delighted to have Misty Mawn as this week’s Guest Artist.
I can’t even remember how I found Misty’s site for the first time but I made a note to ask her to guest for us the minute I found it.
Her art has a soft and magical quality with dark, deep, and rich colors. I felt drawn to her pieces and wanted to keep looking to make sure I saw all the details. She is talented with paint in a way I always wished I were. I am so thrilled she agreed to guest with us. Misty also teaches all over, including at Art & Soul and Artfest.
If you haven’t seen her art before make sure to checkout her blog.
Here is Misty’s art with this week’s catalyst. You can click on it to see a larger version.
Misty Says:
The last time I stayed up all night was last Saturday night, just for Creative Therapy! Everyone that knows me well knows that I love to stay up late. Neighbors love to mention how at times they have been out late at night, pass by our house, and see my studio lights on. What can I say, I have always been a night owl. I feel most creative/artistic in the late hours of the night when it feels like so much of the world is fast asleep. My only struggle with staying up late is getting up early with my family to make sure our children get to school on time, but a quick cup of coffee and all is well.
All week I was looking forward to spending the whole night in my studio creating art. I had this big idea that I would start a journal from scratch (making the journal) and fill it with art all in one night. Well, by 6am the journal was created and a few pages had paint on them, but to fill each page in that short amount of time would have been a miracle. Luckily, I had a whole week of journal prompts ahead of me to keep adding to the journal, again hoping to have it finished by the end of the week. Still there are a few pages with just a paint foundation, but mostly the journal is coming along quite nicely and I have really loved adding to it daily.
Technique Highlight:
For this journal I used cotton watercolor paper cut to size, stripes of fabric, and the piano hinge technique for binding the book, a very simple & elegant way to bind a book. I then layered bits of collage, paints, inks, embellishments, and pencil over the pages.
Thank you so much Misty; we’re so very honored.
Here are some interpretations of the catalyst from members of our team.
Severine:
Severine Says:
The last time I was up all night was for the party of my village in my native “Landes”, or maybe for “les fêtes de la Madeleine” but it’s realy realy a long time ago. We were dancing, singing, and drinking all the night with friends and strangers and it was amazing.
In French:
La dernière fois que je ne me suis pas couché de la nuit, se devait être pour des fêtes de villages dans mes Landes natales, ou peut être bien pour la fête de la Madeleine, mais cela remonte déjà à pas mal d’année … J’avoue que ça me manque un peu maintenant que je suis expatriée en Gironde 🙂
Karen:
Karen Says:
The last time I stayed up all night on my own accord was in 1997. I was living in New York and my husband (then boyfriend) was still at school in Pittsburgh. We were talking over the phone and computer all night. At the time, I was taking a class on 3-Dimensional computer graphics and I was drawing a trumpet for my class. I spent the whole night working on that instrument and chatting with him. It still is one of my fondest memories.
And the trumpet turned out ok, too.
Fran:
Fran Says::
The last time I stayed up all night was quite a few years ago. I was taking high doses of steroids for my chronic illness and I had trouble sleeping. My husband was out of town and I needed to do something. I pulled out my paints and a piece of foam core that was sitting out and I started painting. I just moved pain pigments, and my brush around and created what turned out to be an angelic image.
Opal:
Opal Says:
The last time I was awake all night was on a United flight from Seattle to Frankfurt. It is a long 12 hour flight. I can’t sleep on an airplane….I’ve tried all the suggested ways…I have done this and that…but it is true…I can’t sleep. When flying at an altitude of 30,000 plus feet at night, there is not much to see. But there comes that moment, sometime around 5 a.m., depending on the time of year, when night becomes day, and dark becomes light, and the moon and sun might both be seen outside that little window.
Technique Highlight:
I used a piece of silk upholstery fabric that has been in my stash now for many years. I come across it often, and as most of us do who love fabric and fiber, I pick it up and hold it, feeling the satisfying weight of it, running my thumb over the smooth textured surface, and then bring it to my nose to sniff….I love this piece…and the repeating circles of positive and negative lines on a field of violet. It is the sun and moon…and it was the perfect piece to use for this catalyst. I wanted to capture that moment of first morning light …the reward for staying awake all night….the glow in the sky, the emerging colors…as they penetrate the layers of clouds. This piece is the size of my journal quilt page…8.5″ x 10″…it is hand beaded and quilted on silk.
Lori:
Lori Says:
The last time I was up all night long was the birth of my now two-year old, Brody. I wasn’t feeling well the evening before he was born and as it turned into full blown labor at 1:00 a.m., I knew I would not be getting any sleep. I was fortunate to get a few hours of rest in the afternoon the next day and that set the tone for the first year with Brody, who hates sleeping. It was wonderful finally getting to meet my youngest and certainly worth the all-nighter. As a morning person, I do my best to avoid staying up all night. I much prefer going to sleep early and waking up early. That suits me just fine.
Dedra:
Journaling Reads:
The feel of paper, the textures of different embellishments and the smell of Staz.On Ink….A great photo and the memories that it stirs inside me as I look at it…. The stories that I want to pass on into future generations of our family….The occasional midnight visit from Ellie because she knows I’m down here working….This is the passion that keeps me up, in my own little space through the nights and early mornings…..1.2009
Now it’s your turn: show us your therapeutic art around “When was the last time you were up all night?” I urge you to give it a try. Being that it’s the beginning of the year, it’s the perfect time to state your dreams and goals. Embrace the healing power of art. It can be any form of art as long as it speaks to you.
Leave us comments with your work and you will qualify for the next RAK we offer to a random participant. If you don’t have a community or blog where you upload photos, you can upload them on our flickr group.
Remember, this is not a competition. If your art makes you feel even a bit better at the end, you’ve won.
Until next week, enjoy each and every moment.
creative Therapy 
