Photography and Life

Life is good. I mean really good. I am doing life in a wonderful way these days. That is why I am so scarce here. My blog is suffering, but my family is thriving. A worthy trade say I.

So, a friend is doing a collaborative photography project. My interest is piqued. I am showing more interest in photography lately because it is a means to be creative with less stuff in more manageable time segments. I can feed my need without getting overwhelmed I guess. So, I decided I would join in Chrysti's project... at least for this round.
The prompt was "decorate." Here is my response...

I feel the way I feel

My friend Debbie had one of those goosebumps kind of connections recently. We were talking about our experiences in the past of being told "You shouldn't feel that way." Now, if you felt a shiver go up your spine just now, you are tracking with me.
We feel the way we feel. There is no should or shouldn't. It just is. I think I still struggle with this old tape sometimes. It was good to know I am not alone in that struggle.

As a result of our conversation, I felt inspired to journal a bit on one of my canvas sheets.


I added a little color. More to come. This will turn in to something. It felt good to spell it out.


Are you feeling it?

I don't have a catchy title.

I started off trying to write an inspiring and poetic blog post. Then the phone rang, and it was my mom. Then, my son needed my attention so I could try and guess the lyrics to the tune he was humming. It was the theme from Indiana Jones... no lyrics. Then my husband interrupted me to tell me that he is taking the kids on a bike ride and leaving me.....alone? So no inspiration folks. Sorry, I am heading in to my studio.
Oh! The earrings are on my etsy site. You can follow the link in the sidebar to get there. Click on the image to get to my flicker site to see all the new stuff that is not yet listed on etsy- sneak preview style. Oh, and stay tuned for a giveaway announcement in the next few days.

Join me this Saturday for this Special Event!

The Carolina Mixed Media Art Guild is pleased to present an Indie Business Breakfast in Raleigh, NC on Saturday, June 6, from 9 am to Noon, entitled:

How to Use Social Media to Leverage Your Brand and Attract More Paying Customers For Your Business!

CMMAG member and artist extraordinaire, Lisa Stewart, CREATIVEGoddess of ECStewart Designs in Raleigh will be the featured speaker. She is an award winning designer and illustrator who, along with her husband and business partner, creates an extensive line of sophisticated images that are licensed on all kinds of elegant home accessories and personal products designed to enhance the lifestyle of the sophisticated customer. Lisa is a graduate of Western Michigan University's School of Graphic Design and Fine Arts.
Through the years, Lisa and her husband have become intimately familiar with the challenges artists and crafters face when seeking to make the most of the financial opportunities that flow from their gifts. Lisa and her work have been featured in dozens of magazines and news outlets. Lisa will share from her experience and answer your questions about everything from maximizing online sales to achieving favorable publicity. If you want to learn how to use free and low cost social media tools to entrench your brand in your niche market, you need to follow Lisa's lead! She can help you turn your artistic talent into a vehicle that will help you enjoy your craft while also living a lifestyle you have always dreamed of.

What's an Indie Business Breakfast, you ask?

About Indie Business
Indie Business is where independent business owners connect, collaborate and succeed. We share tips and how-tos, and use the latest branded new media tools to create new relationships and expand our spheres of influence.
Indie Business Breakfast is hosted by Donna Maria Coles Johnson, founder and president of the Indie Beauty Network and Indie Business Media. Known as the Chief Executive Indie and the Original Lifestyle CEO, Donna Maria is passionate about empowering people to maximize their potential through small business ownership. You can follow Donna Maria’s entrepreneurial journey at http://www.indiebusinessblog.com/. You can also connect with her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/IndieBusiness and on Facebook at http://companies.to/IndieBusiness

Interested? Intrigued? Inspired? Join us!

Click here to register. Tickets are $20 in advance, and $25 at the door, and don't forget your business cards!

If you're a CMMAG member, we'll have an area dedicated to showcasing examples of our work, so bring something fabulous to show off. Note: if you're planning to bring something, please arrive at least 20 minutes early to ensure your work is displayed properly.

See you there!

Whee!

I have had an idea in my head for a very long time of a cuff type bracelet made from my painted canvases. With all the moving and deadlines and such over the past year, I just have not been able to set up my sewing machine and play with it. At Art and Soul I saw a similar cuff type bracelet made with a different material with a way cool closure that I knew would be perfect for what I wanted to make. Today, I finally had the time to sit down and try it out. I have to say I am very pleased with the results. It is probably a good thing that I had to wait so long to play with this concept. I have constructed and deconstructed it many times in my head, so my first effort seems pretty solid.
What do you think?




The cord is waxed linen. It is wrapped around the canvas disks in a figure eight.

The longish beads are paper beads I made from magazine pages that I wiped excess paint onto as I was painting.

This is the underside.

Here is what it looks like laid out.

So, I will wear it for a while and gauge the comfort.

It is so fun to get an opportunity to play and try something new. I have been so caught up in production work lately that I just have not had time to play. Production work bores my socks off. I am quite tired of making paper earrings. Don't get me wrong, I love that people want to buy them, but I am ready to conquer new terrain and come up with my next fabulous thing, or just lose myself in art play.

Fly By

In the spirit of being regular with my blogging, I am flying by in the midst of pre-show insanity to show you what I have been doing.


These are my paper earrings. I paint papers, and then collage with them, and seal them heavily. These will get a little hole punched in them, and will have sterling silver ear wires. Cool?!?!?

Oh, and just for kicks, the following is my messy table with a small canvas in process on it.


...and the view out my studio window, which should make someone insanely jealous. Will it be you?

A note from Joanna

Thanks everyone for your prayers for Ron and Joanna. What I didn't mention in my previous post is that Ron was recently laid off from his Job, and thus has no insurance. Keep up the prayers!
Here is a note from Joanna that I copied from their chip-in page.

How do I find the words to express what all these beautiful souls are doing for us? Ron is in a child-like way right now (a side of him that is new to me) and when I told him about this, I wish you could see his reaction. Makes me want to cry just writing this.

How will I ever thank everyone ? My prayer is that God will bless each person who has contributed. I wish I could physically hug each one and thank them in person.

In so many ways this all does not seem real to me. My brain keeps trying to grasp the whole scope of what is happening. I keep hoping I will wake up and it is not true.

My love and appreciation, and from Ron too.

joanna