Surprise Mail!

While I was spending time at the cottage the past couple of weeks, my mail was piling up at the post office here at home. I picked it up yesterday and sorted it into piles all over the living room floor. . . advertisements, letters, bills (yuk!), magazines, etc. And what do I find in the magazine pile? This lovely pastel pink summer issue of Somerset Studio Gallery. The mailing label said it was an "artcomp" issue, which means there is something of mine inside! After flipping through the pages, I found this little Halloween assemblage of mine on page 50! Woo-hoo ~ what a nice surprise!!!

It's always an honor to be featured in Stampington's beautiful magazines along with talented artists like Becky Shander, Karla Nathan, Jeanne Oliver, Ruth Rae, and Linda Harre, whose art is also pictured in this issue.

More Artsy Things

I spent the morning working in my Art Journal completely uninterrupted....ahhhhh, it was blissful! But the sun is shining brightly and it's just too nice to stay indoors, so I am heading outside after this for a bit of fresh air. I'm not quite sure what I will do, but I'm sure I'll come up with something. Perhaps a walk (my body sure could use that) or maybe I'll clean out the potting shed and get it ready to use or do some prep work in the garden. It really doesn't matter what I do as long as I can be outside.

Below is a pic of another Casa Bella project. I found this shadowbox at Hobby Lobby in the unfinished wood section and my Vintage Spoon Fairy fit inside it perfectly. The little quote on the spoon says, "One cannot think well, sleep well, love well, if one has not dined well."

There's still plenty of time to sign up for my Blogiversary Giveaway. If you haven't entered yet, just leave a comment on the previous post. I'll be drawing the lucky winner's name on Saturday, May 3rd!

Studio Time

This is a little assemblage that I created called, "Nest." I have had this idea in my head for months now and yesterday was finally the day it came to fruition. The quote on the roof is by French philosopher Gaston Bachelard and says, "A house is a nest for dreaming, a shelter for imagining." Don't you love that quote? I used colors similar to the ones we have at the cottage, so I think that is where I will hang it. I made an extra one to put in my Etsy Shop, so if you are interested you can find it there.

I worked in my studio all day yesterday and oh how good it felt to be in there. I must admit I have been having trouble lately finding the time to create. There is always something else that demands my attention and I am not really good at doing "a little art here" and "a little art there." I like to have big blocks of time to work on projects. You see, I have found that I work best when I can start a project and see it all the way through to the end. That is a big problem since it's difficult enough to find enough hours in a day to complete all the routine tasks that need to get done. Typically that doesn't leave much time to spend with my creative muse. And then there is the guilt that comes from taking time away from household and family responsibilities to sit and play. (I am not Catholic, but my friends all say that I would make a good one with the amount of guilt I carry around!) Talk about putting the squelch on creativity! Yikes!

I read somewhere that we all should carve a little time out each day to work on our art. ..even if you do not have a specific inspiration to focus on. Just like with anything, setting up a routine is the first step in accomplishing something. If nothing else, simply creating backrounds in your journal for future use is enough to get the creative juices flowing. This goes along the same lines as Julia Cameron's (The Artist's Way author extrordinare) morning pages. And I must admit when I was working on my Morning Collage journal every day I did feel so much better. It was amazing how I never had trouble coming up with a topic to collage about and I really looked forward to getting up each morning and going to my work table in my PJ's to see what would happen. Also, working on my art first thing in the morning was kind of like what financial experts advise their clients who are having trouble saving money - pay yourself first! By "paying myself first" with a shot of creativity every morning, it really set the tone for the entire day. I was happier and didn't feel as "put upon" by everyone else's wants and needs.

So I think that is the answer for me. Work on something small each morning (perhaps it's time to resurrect the morning collage journal) and if it leads to something bigger, then I will go with it. And if not, then I will still have the satisfaction of having created something each day. Thanks for letting me work that little problem out with you all. If any of you want to share the way you keep your creative juices flowing or any suggestions you have for carving out creative time, please leave them in the comments section of this post.