Once Again.

in my shop.

It's been a rough few months for me.  Hence, my absence. But, quite frankly, I don't want to talk about the negative.  There's plenty enough of that out there. 

I want to talk about the positive.  Like the fact that I have been painting more often.  And that I have actually managed to list some of those paintings in my Etsy shop.  I have always been an artist.  I have always created and made things.  But, unlike most other artists, it doesn't come easy for me.  Inspiration doesn't just flow from some eternal spring.  I don't always have a burning desire to make things.  Honestly, I rarely have that desire.  But once I do actually finish a painting or a piece of jewelry or a new design, I feel a very satisfying sense of accomplishment. ..........

So, I have been working on a smaller scale, painting tiny canvases and doing small watercolors.  It seems to be helping my attention span and my confidence.  I am trying to be brave.  Trying to put myself out there a little bit, even when I don't feel ready.  Trying to remember that we can't wait for everything to be just perfect before taking a step, otherwise we would never go anywhere. 

I've got a lot of stuff floating around in my brain.  I want to get it out and write about it here, on this blog.  But I'm not making any promises.  My life seems to be perched on a very delicate line right now, between inward reflection/growth and public expression/goals. 

I'm glad that no one seems to have left during my long sabbatical.  Thanks for sticking around. 
Much love to all of you.
~ Jo~

Making

See these pillows?

I made them. The others were so ratty and old.

I needed something fresh to cuddle up with.

Something that I could take the covers off of and wash. 

See these stockings?

A friend of mine asked me to make them for her.

They match her new basement that we just remodeled. 

The fancy, lacy tops are cut from an old table cloth.

Pretty neat-o, huh?

It feels nice to be making things again.  

A Picture = A Thousand Words

I settled on this photo this morning on the Sartorialist.
My first thought was that this guy with the random hair and head to toe black is adorable. Someone interesting, for sure.
But then I noticed that he was drawing and that his art is woven into the fence beside him.

Now, I am left feeling a little bit outed. Like the person who walks in at the end of a story. I want to see the real picture. The art. What is the guy drawing? What has he already drawn?

I'm curious.
A picture may be worth a thousand words, but sometimes that just isn't enough.

Filling Requests (if you love me, you will read this)

Annalise made a request.
She asked "If I knew I could not fail, what would I do?" She also added that money is a non-issue, here. We are going to pretend that the money for any endeavor would magically appear. I have seen this question before; on inspiration boards, on blogs, used as a motivational catapult. And, like most people, I have thought "Ha. What wouldn't I do?" and then went on about my business. I never really considered what my real answer would be until Annalise asked me. Now, I could have just went with an easy answer, like "I would be a dancer and be in a dance movie!". But I really don't think that is what she was looking for.

This has been a difficult question for me to answer. Maybe because I am not a very motivated person. Maybe because there are too many things that I would like to do. Maybe because I don't actually see any of them happening. Maybe because it's too easy to become complacent about your own situation in life. Maybe because I have quit trying, already.

I make things. That is what I do. That is what I have always done. I make art. I make clothes. I make bags and jewelry. I make whatever it is that my over-active brain spits out at me. But, as you all have probably already figured out, I don't have a life or death desire to do these things. I don't wake up in the morning feeling like if I don't create something my head will surely explode. On the contrary, it takes a whole lot of effort and ass kicking for me to follow through with my ideas. This is the very reason that I do not do custom orders or list items in my shop that are made to order. I am very quick about filling and shipping orders, but if it is not already made and ready to go, it is not going to happen. Therefore, I have piles of unfinished projects waiting around with good intentions of finishing them all up and moving forward, yet I continue to stand still.

I am envious of artists and designers who have such passion and drive. I wish that I was born with that same determination. But I wasn't. Interestingly enough, I was born with an equally artistic and mechanically inclined mind. This is why working on cars has always been fun to me. Just as much fun as finger painting. So one half of my brain desires to make something beautiful that speaks to the soul, and the other half desires a problem to have to figure out. Thus pattern-making was a natural fit. Designing is a perfect marriage of the two. Yet, it still doesn't excite me.

Bored yet? I'm trying to make this all come full circle. Stick with me.

So, the big question is "what does excite me?" Get your minds out of the gutters. We're not taking that road. Well........ finishing a project excites me. Not the process, but the end result. Singing excites me. But that's a whole other story. Putting something onto paper or canvas that was once only visible in my head excites me. That includes both painting and writing. The thought of encouraging young girls to appreciate themselves excites me. Our society just keeps pushing kids in all sorts of wrong directions.

So what is a girl like me to do? What would I do if I knew I could not fail? Knowing who I am and that my motivational level is not going to miraculously quadruple over night. Knowing that I have the talent, but not the drive. Knowing that making it in the art world involves selling yourself (seriously, guys. not like that.).

If I knew I could not fail, I would start painting again. Painting the things that I like to paint. Not worrying about whether I have a recognizable style. Not worrying about whether they could categorize my work. Not worrying about what anyone else wanted to see me paint, but only about what I wanted to see me paint. I would believe in myself and my skill. I would present my work to galleries and it would sell. And, somehow, somewhere in that mix, I would find a way to encourage people. To tell them "Hey. If I can manage to get up and push myself through each day and believe in myself, then you can too."

If I knew I could not fail, I would be the person that I know I was born to be.

Sounds simple enough, doesn't it? But it isn't. Here is the really sad part. Regardless of what I hope will happen, I am probably not going to wake up every morning wanting to paint. I very rarely actually want to paint. And you know what happens when you force yourself to paint? Shit. Shit happens. Nothing goes right. It doesn't flow. Same thing with writing. And designing. When the Divine Inspiration is not knocking at your door, all your effort turns to shit.

But you wanna know something crazy? I think I'll give it a try anyway. Hell. What do I have to lose? (this is where I pretend that canvas and paint doesn't cost a fortune.) Nothing to lose. Everything to gain. May as well follow my own advice and at least try to kick some ass at life.

Thanks, Annalise. :)

Filling In The Blanks

This was the view from my backyard last night. There is really no way to describe the beauty of these clouds without you being there to see them for yourself. Seriously impressive.

Now. To do a little explaining of myself and that last post. Obviously, I can't really go into great detail on this blog about my personal life and the inner workings of it. But I think I owe you guys a little better explanation of things being that you are all so supportive and such good friends. (I love my blog friends more than you know.)

You know that little saying "Find what makes you happy and do it"? Well, it turns out that its not that simple. Life is never that simple. I have to say that quitting my job at the garage back in February was the best irrational decision I ever made. I have been healthier and happier and more inspired than ever. I hope from the bottom of my heart that I never have to go back to working a "normal" job again. I love working for my brother when he has a painting job for me to do. I show up. I do my thing. I don't have to answer the phone or deal with customers. I just do my job and go home. Love it. And for all the people in my town who keep asking if I have found a job yet........ I'm not looking for one!!!! I wish they would stop asking that.

I know what you are thinking. How the hell does she expect to ever build a house if she doesn't have a job? Well. This is where things get interesting. You see, I have worked a job ever since I was 16. I am good with money. I am very low maintenance and very good at saving. My husband, however, is not. Enough said. I have been without a job for four months. I have just as much money in my bank account as I did four months ago. Me not having a job is not changing the economic situation. However, getting a construction loan right now is nearly impossible unless you already have 90% of the money needed to build the house already.

On to my creative endeavors. Amber asked if I have been sewing up that dyed fabric. (thank you for keeping me in check, girl.) And the answer is a resounding YES!!! I have a whole pile of bags sewn up. And I am still working on more, a new design and some small bags made out of the excess. However, I am having a dilemma as to whether I should list them all on Etsy or try presenting them to a local store. There are several possible stores and galleries that I have considered trying to sell through. The problem with that is..... I could be losing a good chunk of my profit that way. Etsy is so highly preferred because of the low cost of sell. But I just can't seem to get a lot of business on Etsy. I'm just sort of torn on whether to keep selling on Etsy at all. (I will show you what I have been working on as soon as I take some pics. I'm really excited about how this line has turned out.)

Now, I'm sorry, but I have to remain rather vague about some of the things that have been bothering me lately. Suffice it to say that sometimes you cannot make your own fate. Sometimes you are tied to circumstances and people and responsibility. Sometimes there is not one damn thing you can do about life. It just is what it is.

And so, there you have it, loves. Another ridiculously long blog post. I'll try not to be so talky in the future. I know this doesn't even begin to clear up the hazy picture that I have painted, but I hope it at least sheds a tad bit of light on the subject.

Hugs and Sunshine to you.
~Jo~

To Dye For

Last Wednesday, when the sun was actually shining, I decided to have myself a little arts and crafts field day. A few months back I bought a pile of white cotton canvas with the intention of dying it to make some new bags. I put it off and put it off (because I'm really good at that) until the moment finally hit me. And, let me tell you, it was a blast! I even took pictures so I could share it with you. Aren't you the lucky bunch? I'll even give you a play by play just in case you want to try this at home.

So. I started out with several yards of white fabric. I had already washed and dried it (very important). It took all of my good pots and bowls to mix all six of the colors I had picked out. Each dye is dissolved in four cups of hot water with a good heaping tablespoon of salt mixed in. Be sure to have some good rubber gloves and a wet towel handy for wiping your hands between colors. My tools of choice were some cheap kitchen sponges and a few angled paint sponges.

You'll want to put down a plastic drop cloth for this. The dye will soak right through the fabric and into whatever is below. So please, don't get crazy and try this inside your house. That is a bad idea.
This is not your normal dip dying process. What I did was more like "drip" dying. I dripped and wrung out and swirled and splattered the dyes however the heck I found fit. It was sort of hard to be reserved. Of course, the messier I got, the better the fabric looked. Who knew?

Once I was finished, I let the fabric lay in the sun until it was completely dry. Completely.
I actually folded them up and waited a few days to complete the next step. Like I said, I'm good at putting things off.
But at some point in time, you have to wash the fabric to get the residual dye out of it. Now, being that I had several different color combos and some puddles of serious color on this fabric, I hand washed each pattern separate. In my kitchen sink. In luke warm water, folks. And then rinsed it in cold water until the water ran clear.

Ta-da! Pretty watercolor fabrics!
I wrung these babies out and threw them all in my washing machine. Turned the dial to "Rinse" and let the machine do the last step. Final rinse and spin. Then to the dryer.

It was the most fun I have had in a long time. I felt like an Arthur Morgan kid. (you would get that if you lived around here) Maybe I shouldn't mention that I was in a bikini and barefoot on my back porch, throwing fabric dye around. ;) But it all turned out beautifully and I have been cutting out bag patterns today. I'm excited to see how they look all sewn up.

This would be a fun project to do with older kids. Its very messy and you have to be careful, so its not really little kid friendly. Cotton fabrics work best. Always pre-wash; it helps the fibers take the color. Have fun with the painting process. I can't wait to do it again and try some different things. I really do recommend hand washing the fabrics before tossing them into the washer. Be aware that the colors are not going to be exactly what you expect. The concentrated dye and the random application can yield darker or lighter hues depending on the colors you choose. If anyone decides to try this, let me know. I would love to see what you come up with!

Odd Inspiration

Sometimes inspiration comes from the most unexpected places. For instance, every time I put these sheets on my bed I get the urge to paint. I have had these sheets for years and years. They are worn in and soft. And the color combinations are the most beautiful, if not odd, that I have ever seen.

Life can be quite a downer sometimes. Like when I realize that even if I am inspired to feed my creative soul, I don't actually have to time or the energy to do so. I am one of those people who cannot force myself to be creatively productive. After work I come home tired, make dinner, do whatever housework I can fit in and squeeze in my workouts before a shower and bed. You see, when it comes down to it, my artistic soul tends to get pushed aside for the more essential things.

This is sad, people. Very sad. I'm not sure where I'm going with all of this. It's just what is on my mind lately. Am I the only one? Do you find it hard to find time to nurture your soul?

Together- Collection Art

Collection A Day 2010 takes mundane objects and somehow transforms them into art. The feathers were the first to catch my eye. I, too, pick up pretty feathers when I see them. But vintage erasers? Look how pretty their colors are when grouped together. Same goes for the books in washed out greens. Vintage postcards. Now that is art. How often do you see a hand written note these days? Aren't they beautiful?

It's Monday and I'm a little slow to get going. But I have been working on some pretty exciting stuff. Hopefully, I will get to share it with you this week.

Here's to a new week. Hope it goes well for us all.

Snippets

Last week was a long one. The weather has been relentless. Work has been stressful. Life, in general, was pretty tough last week. But tomorrow we get another chance at a new week. Another chance to try it again. Let's hope it turns out well.

Since I have been so busy and my posts have been lacking, I figured I would take today and share a few more of my little collages with you. These are my own little personal inspiration boards. I keep them in a book that I made when I was in high school! I know the photos aren't the greatest, but hopefully you can get the feel of them. I can't give credit for any photos used in my collages. The images have been collected over many years and then they get put together when the time is right. Hope you enjoy.

~Hope your week is a great one.~

Bright One

Seeing as it is Monday and I am on a serious color kick right now, I thought I would share with you one of my biggest art crushes of the moment. Yellena's art has been catching my eye on Etsy's front pages and in treasuries for quite some time now. It's hard not to be attracted to the beautiful floaty nature of these paintings.

I mean, look at those colors, would you.

Like magical, colorful sea life, they seem to be living and breathing. I am just itching to buy one of these lovelies to have as my own. The prints are a great price. I just can't seem to decide which one I want! Maybe I will decide by February and I can buy one for my Valentine's gift to myself.

Please visit Yellena. She was ever so kind enough to let me share her work with you. The least you could do is check out her shop. :)

Happy Monday, loves.

In it to win it.

Have you been to the Bright Side yet? If you haven't, you really should. The Ambassadors of Sunshine give something away every single day!

In order to help my mom enter for one of the prizes, I am posting a pic of her latest project. This is an egg gathering apron and a chicken purse that she made for one of my little cousins for Christmas. There is no question where my crafty gene comes from! Some of my little cousins have started raising chickens. They love it. They get so excited every time one lays an egg. Leave it to mom to come up with an apron just for gathering eggs. The front pocket has separate compartments to hold a single egg each.

So there you go. Good luck to mom. :)

Mark it down.

Here we are, at the end of another year. Time to make resolutions. Time to clean out and start over. Time to buy calendars! I am quite fond of having a big wall calendar for keeping track of appointments and important dates. But what better way to brighten your year and remind you of what day it is than a little desk calendar from Etsy? There are tons of choices. Just search calendars and you will get some 200 pages of results! Here are a few of my favorites.
This one happens to be at the top of my list, both literally and figuratively. The magical world of The Nebulous Kingdom makes me smile. Such sweet, fantasy-like images. And the colors break my heart.

This gorgeous Parisian photography comes from Little Brown Pen. How pretty would this be sitting on a kitchen counter? The gelato shot? Yes, please.

It doesn't matter how old you are, or how tough you try to act, you cannot deny that joo joo has the goods to make you smile. And once used, these little prints would look so cute framed in a child's room. Okay, or yours. I won't tell anyone.

Leah Duncan has a very interesting style of artwork. Like a folksy, Aztec, tribal, block print batik. Lovely, muted colors and adorable animal kingdom characters make this calendar fit in just about anywhere.

Finally, if you have not seen the beautiful illustrations from Immortal Longings, you are in for a treat. Each print is a still from one of Shakespeare's plays. If you aren't into Shakespeare, don't worry. These art nouveau style depictions are breathtaking regardless.

I hope you have a great weekend. If you get a chance, please visit some of the shops above. They are all very talented artists. These desk calendars are a great, affordable way to sneak some new art into your home.

Luv ~Jo~