Cornwall Claimed My Heart (IA Art with Heart)

This week's theme at Inspiration Avenue is Art with Heart. Many years ago, Cornwall stole my heart with its beauty, history and mythology. We moved here over twelve years ago after it bewitched us. Since then Cornwall has continued to inspire me and has become the heart of most of my creative work in some form or other.  I've often posted coastal or woodland photos on my blog. But the rich mystical history in Cornwall also feeds my creativity. The above photo is of Restormel castle I took recently. A 13th Century castle with a wealth of historical stories surrounding it, set in beautiful countryside and close to where I live. Below are a few more photos I've taken in Cornwall recently. These are of Helman Tor, a hill with Neolithic stone that is just a few miles from me:

Due to my mobility I've never managed to get to the top but my children love to explore the 'rooms' and 'stone seats' and 'hiding places' up there. These pictures were on a day when I made (with help) the huge and happy achievement of getting a little further than the highest car park for the first time and so was able to take some photos. It is a wonderful place to exercise the imagination and fuel creativity. Click on the place names to view links that will tell you more about these two ancient sites.

Life feels very busy at the minute and my blog has suffered but hopefully you'll enjoy these photos as a way of making up for my abandonment :-)

This weekend we have the Olympic Torch passing right past our front door. Dances are being practiced, houses decorated (my kids have gone paper chain making crazy), flags up and gatherings organised; should be a fun piece of history in the making.

• What/Who is at the heart of your creativity?

Wishing you all a happy and creative weekend!

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"Connections" mixed media for Round Robin journal...

These journal pages were created for a Round Robin journal swap that I'm part of. It is inspired by my belief that every connection we make with others plays an important part of our lives; some more significant than others. I am constantly grateful for having wonderful friends and having met many inspirational people on and offline. This Round Robin is a connection in itself and I feel lucky to have connected with the inspirational participants. Blogging has opened up a whole world of connections with interesting talented people like you! My other influence was the Creative Everyday April theme of 'language' which seems to fit perfectly with communication and connection.

Pay attention to the people that pass through your life; they may be there for a reason.

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Frida Fiesta Challenge Mandala

This mandala was one step away from the wood burner the whole way through its creation. I'm feeling so stuck creatively and it scares me not having the normal buzz of ideas and enthusiasm. My husband wisely (don't tell him I mentioned wise and him in a sentence otherwise he may become insufferable) told me to go through the motions and eventually it will come back. Therefore I made myself sit down ignore my aches pains and doubts and just try. Every time I hated this mandala and wanted to burn it I restrained myself, took a break and tried again. In the end I like it, most of all because it accompanied me on a journey and contributes to my story. This mandala was originally inspired by Priti Lisa's Inspiration Avenue Team challenge Frida Fiesta. Frida Kahlo was, in part, inspired by Mexican folk and indigenous art and I researched these images for inspiration. But in the end it was Frida's determination and bravery to make art whilst dealing with severe health problems that inspired me most whilst creating this mandala.

Thank you Priti Lisa for your inspiration.

• Who or what inspires you to keep creating when the going gets tough?

Wishing you all a Happy and Creative Holiday weekend!

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'Bon Voyage' to my Round Robin Art Journal

So today I sent out my art journal for a round robin journal swap I'm doing with seven other blogging friends. Here's a peek at what it looks like although the photos don't do the layers and materials used any justice.

Front cover - using wall paper, scrapbook paper, handmade petal paper old damaged children's book and a wooden heart shape 

Back cover - using wall paper, scrapbook paper, old damaged children's      book & a mother of pearl button.

Welcome Pages - including a letter to all the girls participating and an eight page guest book. Using a range of papers, mother of pearl buttons and spun/twisted thread.

My 1st page - an acrylic paint and Pitt pen doodle

Page 2 - A mixed media collage using old party hat, old paintings, acrylic, fabric paint, glitter wrapping and ink. 

I waved my journal goodbye and wished it well on its round the world trip.Wish I could sneak along with it but alas I cost a bit too much to post!

This week is a busy one with the house being decorated and both children performing in an adaptation of Cinderella at their school. It may be difficult to find space, materials and time to create but I shall try my best. Luckily the weather has been sunny the past few days and so I may be able to gain a little refuge from the stress outdoors :-)

Wishing you all a happy & creative week! 

Kat X 
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Imaginative Procrastination & Getting Out of a Creative Slump...

No, I haven't disappeared off the face of the blogging planet. My time and energy has  been swallowed up by a few days break, followed by (or actually started when away) another round of viruses and then ending recently in a creative slump. You know the kind - you think about creating but are sure no idea is worthy, that your skills are lacking anyway and subsequently become despondent. Suddenly the only creative activity you do is to invent extremely imaginative ways to procrastinate!! Sound familiar?

Luckily, I was invited to join a round robin journal swap which has encouraged me to be creative and nudge the muse back into action. Today I was working on my journal. I covered a plain spiral bound brown card scrapbook album with rich red wallpaper as a base and cover. Then I worked on the first two pages which you can see in progress in the photo above. On the left side I've made a little pocked to hold the letter I'm writing to all participants as a sort of 'welcome to my journal' type of thing. On the right side I am making a mini guest book so that each participant can sign in & introduce themselves. With Creative Everyday's mixed media theme in mind I'm adding buttons/yarn/fabric/brads and similar. The photo above shows the work in progress.

• What do you do when you feel creatively stuck? 

I've tried many things including - just sitting down to create even if the page in front remains blank. Just showing up can be half the battle. Often I just need rest, time

and mind nourishment to recover. Other times, like now, a new project will encourage my muse to show its face. So thank you Lisa!

On this subject I find creativity coach and writer Eric Maisel's books helpful. I've read 'Van Gogh Blues' and 'Coaching The Artist Within'. Both are an interesting study of the emotional link we have with our creativity and are full off advice that can help us understand the creative mind.


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Blue Mandala - An 'In the spring' allegory for IA & a completion of last week's texture challenge

 

This week's Inspiration Avenue challenge, set by the lovely Lisa, asked us to use Botticcelli's 'Primavera' ('In the Spring') painting as inspiration for creating allegory, something with a hidden meaning and something from our soul. In my last post (underneath this) I shared a WIP for the IA texture challenge and this mandala painting is the finished result. I'd also like to link this up with Paint Party Friday today and catch up with some bloggy friends there.

The 'tropical' blue was inspired by the gorgeous blue Spring skies we've had this week. Mandalas have been used for centuries as a way of conveying meaning and soul. This is one of the simplest mandalas I've created. Often I like to include lots of fiddly details in my mandalas - but not this time.

Whilst creating this mandala I was feeling the need to strip back, clear my mind and be calm. Interestingly, without consciously making it so, this mandala seems to reflect that inner need. Now looking at it with this in mind: this mandala is also about growing from the inside out, being unafraid of the empty quiet, floating on calming oceans with rhythmic waves, happy making skies and radiating light. But honestly, I didn't think about making meaning as I made this, I just enjoyed getting lost in the act of creating.

Fascinating how art, writing, music or any form of creative expression reveals something of its maker even without their intention. After reading part of my YA novel a friend commented that, despite the story being fantasy fiction, she had learnt so much more about me as a person from my writing. This at first surprised me, almost scared me; I'd known that authors reveal themselves in their fiction but somehow hadn't spent time considering it in a personal context, with me as the author! Silly of me really because of course we put ourselves into everything we create.

• What does your creative work say about you?

I'm unlikely to get much internet time next week but when I'm back online I shall write a catch up post & share with you what I was up to whilst away from my computer...

Wishing you all a great weekend & a happy week to follow!

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"Texture" work in progress (IA) & becoming an Olympic athlete

This week's Inspiration Avenue Challenge was "Texture". I had so little time this week but wanted to share my work in progress inspired by this challenge. In fact it gave me the push I needed to make a start. I do love building layers and textures in a mixed media piece. It reminds me of building a story and the act of creating takes me on a journey with a flexible destination depending on how it develops. I've glued string and wooden shapes on a 10 by 10 inch, deep edged canvas. Since taking these photos I've added two layers of paint. We only just got back from doing a carboot sale half hour before the deadline and so I didn't get time to take the latest photos. But below you can view this from a different angle.

I shall try show the finished piece as soon as I've finished.  It has been a super busy week which I'm pleased to say I've handled well health wise. Hurrah! My friend had a 40th Birthday fancy dress party yesterday. So I spent much of the week desgning and making costumes for a group of friends that would help us transform into comical Olympic atheltes. We all had our individual specialism and a funny quote on the back. Mine (thought of by my good friend & in reference to my mobility problems) was "SPRINTER: 0-60 in...well...never!"  On the front of the t-shirts I transfer printed appropriate wording for us coming from Cornwall like 'Cornish Olympic Team: fuelled by pasties and racing dreckly to the finish line'. For those of you who don't know pasties are Cornwall's most famous food. And 'dreckly' means you'll get there all in good time and is a tribute to the laid back affable Cornish character. I also made accessories like earings and sweat bands etc. It was lots of work but great creative fun and our friend was happy at the amusing effort we made.

Do take a look at the other entries into this week's Inspiration Avenue 'Texture' challenge - there's bound to be oodles of beautiful talent to view. Thank you to Maggie who hosted this week's challenge!

Oooh I nearly forgot: enter voucher code 'PRESPRING50' when checking out and you can claim a whopping 50% discount in my etsy shop. This means you get the chance to buy something beautiful for between 50p and £7.00. Please do have a browse. I post worldwide :-)

Wishing you all a Happy and Creative week!

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Making space for the new...50% off voucher for my shop

My blog posts aren't usually commercials but I wanted to share with you that I'm having a sale in my etsy shop to make way for some new designs I'm working on.   To claim a 50% discount all you need to do is use coupon code "PRESPRING50" at the checkout.

Using your discount code will mean you can grab bargains from only 50p to £7.00 making some affordable gifts for all. And yes I do ship worldwide. Please do take a look now. The sale begins today and will end on the 2nd March after which time many of the unsold items will become unavailable.
Thank you for reading :-)



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Rocking Horse & Bubble Blowing Happiness.... (IA, CED2012)

This week's Inspiration Avenue challenge is being co-hosted by (Bleubeard and) Elizabeth from Altered Book Lover. Anyone who follows Elizabeth will know she collects rocking horses and has over 400. This is my rather amateur attempt at doodling a rocking horse. I named him 'Happy' because drawing and colouring him made me happy. I know there's a lot of pink for him to be a boy but he is a boy - I just know it :-) 

Over at Free Spirit Life Shannon has a post entitled 'Laugh More, Play More, Love More' . This energising post reminds us to slow down and enjoy the moment. She challenges her readers to laugh, play and love more in February. Like Shannon, I believe we can all learn from being with and emulating children's attitudes. I often read Shannon's posts at just the right moment and regularly we're in synchronisation. This week is no exception.  I am trying hard to immerse myself in the moment, find the joy in the small details and be completely present when with my children. A couple of days ago my friend's three year old begged me to go outside and blow bubbles with her. I was tired, it was very cold and I wanted to talk to her Mum inside. But I realised I shouldn't pass up precious fun moments. I was well enough and so I decided to grab the opportunity. We had a fantastic time with our bubble wands, admiring the pretty colours and the way the bubbles danced in the breeze. Our imaginations soared with the bubbles, some of which flew to visit the moon. Priceless. During that time I didn't worry about medical stuff, bills or anything. I simply delighted in the wonder of the moment, caught up in the giggles and simple joy we shared. Drawing and colouring this rocking horse wasn't quite as wonderful but I did experience the childlike joy of colouring 'Happy' into a multi-colour existence.

• Have you recently done anything for the simple joy of it? Have you allowed your child self the freedom to kick back and enjoy a simple pleasure? 
• If not: give it a go. And maybe you'd like to join Shannon in her 'Laugh, Play and Love More challenge'.

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Alphabet Affirmation (IA & CED)

...in love.

...in kindness

...in hope

...in joy

...in your dreams

...in the value of friendship

This late night doodle is my entry for the Inspiration Avenue 'Alphabet' challenge. I've used it as the first part to an affirmation meditation.  Remember: love and kindness are not just for giving to other people. We need to treat ourselves with kindness and love. This is what I'm trying to learn this week.

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