Art42 party

Here is the crew who created ART42: Sandra Wallace, graphic designer; Atom Powers, site designer (did all the tech work in creating the site); Danial Powers, who I think is the driving force; and Jeremy Wallace, staunch supporter and husband to Sandra.


It's amazing what these folks have done in a year! Art42 started from ground zero, with only Faith Marie (Sandy Wallace) and Empress Dragon (Danial Powers) as members, and built a community of 849 artists from all over the world creating and sharing tiny works of art--in just a year!.

The largest piece shown at the celebration Saturday night was 6" square. The smallest art, 1" square, was arranged in tiny "quilts" of 9 squares. The most common size was ATC's ( artist trading cards), only a little bigger than a business card.

First Step--the impossible garden

So Here's my first step. I planted natsurtiums next to the fence, which meant digging up the ground and adding compost. I put compost then newspaper on top of that, and topped it with a layer of chips from the downed maple. I can't wait to see the nasties pop up and bloom, so I picked up some little plants today to put.....where? I don't THINK the deer eat nasturtiums.

It's just a little step, but they say a journey of a thousand miles begins with just one step, soo.... Here I go!

Don't worry, I haven't stopped painting. I have two pieces with resist on them ready to paint, and two more images in my head bursting to get out.

quote for today:
Mental sunshine will cause the flowers of peace, happiness and prosperity to 
grow upon the face of the earth. Be a creator of mental sunshine.
- Kathi's Garden

Doing the thing I cannot do: create a lovely landscape out of this mess

Kelly Rae in her class "Flying Lessons" suggests doing the thing you think you cannot do. It builds character.

So I made a list of things I cannot do:



fly to the moon
sail around the world in a small boat
run a marathon
create a really beautiful and welcoming landscape in my backyard AND maintain it

Well, I really have no desire to fly to the moon or to run a marathon. People do run marathons, and they seem to enjoy it, but for me, that seems like as much fun as getting all my teeth pulled without anesthetic. Someday maybe I will sail around the world, but right now I have a lot of other things I want to do. That leaves the landscaping.

I really do want a beautiful back yard, yet getting out to even pull a few weeds in my tiny garden just doesn't happen.My grass is knee high now, and by the end of this month, I'll have to keep a close eye on my two year old grand daughter so that she doesn't get lost in it! I envy people with green thumbs; mine is brown. Things die under my care. Creating the landscape I envision is a real challenge.
So that's my committment: create a beautifully landscaped back yard.

quote for today:

It is only when you start a garden - probably after age fifty - 
that you realize something important happens every day.
-

Teaching Artist

After a year of feeling cowed by the application process to (this is a mouthful) get on the Washington State Arts Commission Roster for Teaching Artists, I've finally completed the application!

3:30 pm yesterday I picked up the printer ink (can you believe every ink color cartridge was kaput?) and I'm ready to print out the application. AARRGG!! My printer suddenly stopped working!! What happened to the Gods taking a step toward me? They aren't supposed to BLOCK me!!

3:45 figured out the printer problem
4:30 mailed the applications a whole 24 hours before the deadline! I think that's a first for me!

Quote for the day:
Joseph Campbell
I have found that you do have only to take that one step toward the gods and they will then take ten steps toward you. That step, the heroic first step of the journey, is out of, or over the edge of, your boundaries, and it often must be taken before you know that you will be supported.

Flying Lessons and next steps

I've begun KellyRaeRoberts ecourse, Flying Lessons, on how to thrive with a creative business. Wisely, she started with a post on commitment and goal setting, then on on handling fear. It is definitely fear that gets in MY way! I have all these wonderful ideas--that go nowhere. I get all fired up about a course of action, start to make it happen--and get distracted or blocked. I even put out money to hire a personal coach! Sandra Jones helped me stay the course to complete and show my first series of silk paintings, to fill the space for opening night and for my photo presentation, and even to get my first ever really good commission! Thank you Sandy!! But then I fell down again. The creative road has more pitfalls and traps than a video game.

Sandy invited me to a Landmark Forum presentation. It helped something break loose! I started cleaning up my studio enough to work in again, and to begin the application process to be on the Washington State Arts Commission roster as a teaching artist, something I've been putting off for a year. I think I'm back on the road to creative success!

Finishing the Commission

My first major commission is finished and delivered! The buyer loved it!! When she unwrapped the covering around it we danced in joy! Now for the next step.
I am applying to be on the teaching artist roster for Washington State Arts Commission. The application form includes 7 narrative questions, plus a short bio, a lesson plan, and a write-up about the 10 sample art pieces I'm submitting photos of. Wow! It pulls in all of my training and experience as a teacher and a good deal of my work as an artist. A special challenge was condensing the important experiences of my long adventurous life into 125 words! Thank goodness for friends who helped me think this through and who edited/critiqued my writing.

Peonies and cranes

I'm working on a piece, 30" x 40". It is the largest piece I've ever done in any media, and it is really coming out nice! I am so excited!!!! I've begun the details, and expect to have it complete, framed, and hanging by May 16th! These photos show two stages. In the top photo I have put resist on all the lines. In the bottom photo, the piece is ready fro the details. I then painted resist over most of the cloth so that the dye I add now will retain the character of the brush strokes.