Arcadia Falls

Over the holidays I had a chance to read the novel "Arcadia Falls". I read it in a day and I really enjoyed it. My only complaint was that it got wrapped up rather quick in the end and it was hard to follow the confusing details. One this that I liked about it was that it was based on a small art school and former artist colony. The question was asked throughout the book as to whether, in the case of a woman, getting married and having children means the end of a woman's art career. Sadly this is often the case. Let's face it. If you have the responsibilities of a family and a home it leaves little time for yourself. I experience this on a daily basis. For instance, I would love to spend the next week being creative, but instead I find myself cleaning and doing laundry. I know that someone has to do these things, and I would be doing them whether I had a family or not. It's just theres so many things now that have to compete for my attention. Would I give up my children to be a full time, dedicated artist? No. However, I still long for the days when my only responsibility was myself. I still dream about living in New York with a loft studio. I still harbour many of the same dreams I used to have. However, with age and responsibility comes another thing called realism. Bills have to be paid, suppers have to be made, weekends are spent in hockey rinks. Maybe I have sold out, but I do the best I can. I teach art full time, I knit or draw at the hockey rink, I read whatever I can on the subject. And really, does being a successful artist mean you have to be featured in magazines and the recipient of large amounts of money and prestige, or does it mean you find ways to express yourself in many aspects of your daily life? Something to think about.

New Marionette Head

Just a quick post to show you the latest porcelain head for my next marionette. She is painted with underglaze and a commercial clear glaze, then fired to cone 6. The only drawback to using porcelain is it is extremely breakable, as I have already found out when I smashed a hand and a foot on my last creation. Can't wait to get a chance to work on the rest of her.

Countdown is on!!!

Only 2 days left of teaching until the Christmas break, not that there is a lot of learning going on in the days leading up until Christmas. I'm not just looking forward to eating, sleeping and santa, but also to a few days to work on my marionettes. They've been stalled for the last month due to all the xmas preparations that inevitably get dumped into the lap of the resident woman. I managed to get 3 porcelain heads made but only painted and glazed one, as I haven't decided what to do with the other two. Most of my time has been spent madly knitting two adult sweaters. As always I left it until the last possible moment. I hope to get some time as well over the holidays to talk about the second marionette I created from wool and silk. Unfortunately there won't be much creating going on over the second week after xmas (Jan 1-8) as I will be taking my two boys and husband to Disneyworld in Orlando. I really hope we have fun, because I am only planning on doing that once. Part of me wonders what the hell I am thinking going to the pinnacle of commercialism in North America during the busiest time of the year. Long lines, screaming children, and overeating are sure to await me. However, in a weak moment I decided that this may be the last family trip we can take that includes my oldest, as he is in the forces and his second year of university. Taking family vacations will not be high on his list of priorities. I also wanted someplace fun, warm, and with something for everyone. Let's hope I made a good choice, and that the weather cooperates.

In the meantime, I made the nicest porcelain teapot, hand carved and wheel thrown, that I have ever made. However, as fate would have it, it did not survive the first firing in the kiln and came out in pieces. I scrambled to make another and it is about half the size and not as nice, but it did survive and it needs to be under someone's Christmas tree in two days. I have included a shot since I know the recipient does not read my blog.

Fantastic Tim Burton Exhibit

One of my favourite creative and bizarre geniuses has to be Tim Burton. You know him from such films as Edward Scissorhands, Beatlejuice, The Nightmare Before Christmas. He can make our worst nightmares seem almost fun. This week Toronto is lucky enough to have his latest exhibit which includes not only his films but many of his art pieces as well. The venue is the Tiff Bell Centre and runs through April 2011. It is organized by the Museum of Modern Art in New York which also hosted a hugely popular exhibit of his work. The films include more than just his blockbuster hits, but also some of his student work. I am really hopeful that I can find a way to fly to Toronto to see the exhibit before it's gone.

So why am I such a huge fan? You have to admire a person who can come up with such bizarre characters and stories, create the designs for them, then put them to film. I also admit that I am a fan of the weird and strange. I went through a period where I painted nothing but cancer cells, which was a bit unsettling to some. Burtons work is very unsettling yet touching and hilarious much of the time. I wish I could create like he does. So far my marionettes are pretty tame, but who knows what could happen? If you can't make it to Toronto then check out the Tiff website and enjoy!

http://tiff.net/timburtonhttp://tiff.net/timburton

I'm back, dry spell has ended!

I logged onto this blog for the first time since July. I couldn't even remember what it looked like anymore. The reason for my absence is simple. For the last year and a half I have been in a creative valley. I picked away at a painting for 2 months this summer. Nothing I did struck me as overly interesting. This is what a dry creative spell looks like, and it's not pretty. I look at others in the art/fine craft field and envy their focus. They've found their niche and have grown it. I instead have been the jack of all trades. A painter, a potter, a textile artist, a jewellery maker. I see something and I want to learn how to do it myself. The problem is, just like the jack of all trades, I have become the master of none. I was supposed to start my MFA this year, but put it off because, I told myself, it was too much money right now. The real truth was I wasn't totally committed to being a painter. I wasn't really totally committed to anything, which seems to be the story of my life.

I seem to be walking up out of the valley now, and for that I am eternally grateful. For about the last ten years I have considered doing something on and off, but two months ago it just started to seem right. I am making marionettes. Each one is unique and has their own story. I just finished my second and am already several steps ahead in my own mind. The first has a body, arms and feet sculpted out of porcelain. I clothing is made from thai silk dyed in, wait for it, maxwell house instant coffee ( I lost my dye kit and had to come up with a quick substitute). It actually left the silk a lovely shade of gold. I nuno felted her cape with wool and silk. I love her. Her name is Mother Earth Autumn. I have included a picture. My second project has been a needle felted version of my great grandmother from England. I found an old picture of her with her family in my attic. More in my next blog on how I created her and the symbolism of various parts of her dress.

After accidentally smashing one of the porcelain arms on Autumn I decided to pack her up in bubble wrap. I also had a foot stolen at school by one of my students, so had to remake one of those as well. Yes, a student stole a porcelain doll foot. I am sure it was just to annoy me, because what teenager needs a porcelain doll foot? Anyway, enjoy the photo and let me know what you think! Cheers!

State of the Garment Industry

I watched a really good documentary today on HBO about the state of the garment industry in the United States. It was called "Schmatta: Rags to Riches to Rags". I certainly learned a lot from it and it gave me pause when thinking of my own shopping habits. Let's face it, we all like a good deal. Just look at the popularity of stores like Walmart, as well as the many dollar stores. But how often do we think of exactly why these items are so cheap? In most cases, it's because products are now manufactured overseas where people are paid dirt wages in sweat shops. Canadian and American companies cannot begin to compete with these wages, and if you want your company to survive, then you will no doubt outsource your labour there as well. The problem with this model is of course that it eliminates good paying jobs  at home. Skilled workers can't find work in their trades, and we see what's happening to our economy. I was first alerted to this issue when I read the beginning of one of my favourite books, "Alabama Stitch Book". The beginning of this design book educates the reader as to how the cotton t-shirt industry in the south of the USA has been virtually eliminated by the outsourcing of labour to other countries. The author of the book, a designer, has taken a different approach and specializes in hand made clothing, hand sewn in fact, by skilled women who used to work in the t-shirt factories. I admire her greatly for this approach. You won't find an $8 t-shirt at Alabama Chanin, but you will find quality hand made garments that are supporting local workers who are paid a fair wage. Something to think about. By purchasing discount items made in another country you are literally biting the hand that feeds you. By this I mean that as we eliminate work in our own countries, we eliminate taxpayers, people to buy the goods in our stores, people to buy the house you built, etc..... You get the picture. Just my opinion, but again, something to think about. If you want to support the art industry close to home in many of it's forms, check out etsy.com. Go to your farmers markets. Check out the little design shops. Support fair trade whenever possible. Remember that buying goods made elsewhere could mean that it's made by children, and it could also mean that the workers are treated unfairly, paid next to nothing, and have unsafe working conditions. So the next time you see an item of clothing that is an awesome deal, consider how it came to be that price.

Getting Noticed

As any artist knows, getting noticed in the art world is not an easy task. There are a few things that you can do however to help the process along. First, join associations that are related to your area of expertise. I myself belong to Visual Arts Nova Scotia and the Nova Scotia Designer Crafts Council. Being in these organizations gives you access to newsletters, competitions, special events, and exhibition possibilities. The cost of joining these organizations is usually quite small as well. You don't need to limit yourself to local organizations. There are also excellent national organizations, such as the Canadian Painters Association or the Surface Design Association. They usually offer associate memberships if you don't feel you are at the stage where you want to face a jury.

Having subscriptions to the various art related magazines are also beneficial. Not only do they keep you up to date on the latest happenings in the art world, they also provide workshops, great photos, artist bios, etc... My favourites are Fibre Arts Magazine, Quilting Arts, Canadian Art, Threads, and Drawing (American Artist). Think about checking out the section on making submissions to the magazine. Got an idea for an article or a how-to? Check out some of the smaller publications. I recently had an excellent felting spread or several pages in "A Needle Pulling Thread". I didn't get paid, but it's great exposure, and something I can add to my resume.

Finally, there are various websites out there who's purpose is to inform artists about competions on a local, national, and international level. Two years ago I was chosen as a Canadian Artist to exhibit in Iceland through one of these sites. A word of caution. Beware some of the sites that have online exhibitions. They charge a fee for entry ( a common practice in most competitions), and you are exhibited on the site, however the only people viewing the site may be the entrants. Do your homework. I have gotten burned a couple of times this way. My favourite site for finding competitions is artshow.com. One final word of caution. When sending a work out for exhibition, make sure it is clear ahead of time how you will get your work returned to you and who will be footing the bill. I can one incident where I sent my paintings via regular post, but the gallery sent them back fed-ex with a HUGE pricetag that I was stuck with. Contracts are a MUST.

Good luck exhibiting!

I won, I won!!!!!!

I just received notice from the lovely folks at Adventures in Dressmaking and Paradiso Designs that I won their free pattern giveaway. I got to chose the pattern, which was of course the Lolita Skirt ( Pictured in my last entry). They are going to mail it to me. The MINUTE it arrives I will be whipping myself up a skirt, and of course I will post the results. I have just 4 days left until my summer break from teaching, so I will be sure to make at least one. I will also be checking around the bargain bins at the fabric shop for some cool fabrics in anticipation. Now if only the skirt could make me look as thin as the model in the picture........ Thanks again to Adventures in Dressmaking for the contest!

Paradiso Designs Lolita Skirt Pattern

Funky patterns

Good morning all. I just wanted to let you know about a small pattern company, paradisodesigns.com. If you like cool handmade bags, then check it out. Myself, I really liked a skirt pattern called the Lolita. It was very funky. If you go to the blog "Adventures in Dressmaking" you can enter a contest to receive one of the patterns for free.

On another note I FINALLY finished my wrap dress from the sewing book "Chic and Simple Sewing". I wouldn't recommend this pattern for a beginner sewer, as I had to make several changes to the pattern because it just wouldn't work out. I'll try to post a photo later. Since I altered the pattern from a size 10 to a size 16 it now fits, although it was a bit of a pain to grade all the pattern pieces.

The end is Near

As any teacher will appreciate, the end of the school year is a mere 2 weeks away. You may notice it's been about a month since I posted. My excuse is it's because of work. I hope to spend the summer in my gardens and of course making art. As I write this I am sitting in my classroom and it's the last period of the day, and the last period before summer vacation. Exams start next week. I've just been leafing through the latest issue of Fibre Arts Magazine and am feeling very inspired. I have recently managed to fit in finishing my Alabama Stitch Book skirt, finish knitting a halter top, and have almost finished my wrap dress that I had to adjust from a size 10 to a size 16. I have found with each pattern that the skirt did not fit the bodice, so I am going to contact the author to see if there was a problem. The problem may be mine, and if so, I need to know where I went wrong. The pattern is from Chic and Simple Sewing, a book which I have recommended. I will keep you updated.

On another note, at 10pm last night I received a phone call from a lady who had just read my article in "A Needle Pulling Thread" and wanted to let me know how much she liked it. Even at that late hour, it's always nice to be appreciated!

The Library

In the age of instant gratification, easy credit with your credit card, online ordering made simple, and the non stop bombardment from advertisers telling us what we need to buy, it is easy to overlook the simple things. I myself am a book-o-holic. I go to Chapters every couple of weeks, grab a latte at Starbucks, and head for the section with the art books or the craft book section. I cannot tell you how many knitting and sewing books I own. Some I never even make anything from. As you likely know yourself after awhile all of these purchases tend to add up, not to mention the fact your books are overtaking your home. I usually end up once a year dragging boxes full of items to the second hand stores to donate. So imagine my surprise one day when a friend asked me "Why don't you check the library for the books you want?". The Library? You mean that old place with the 50 year old books ? The place that never gets any new books in? The place where I checked out all 50 Nancy Drew books one by one when I was a little kid? Surely in this new and enlightened age of the internet the library had become obsolete and irrelevant.

Still, as I looked at my maxed out credit card balance I decided anything was worth a try, and boy, had I been wrong. There were books by my favourite mystery writer. There were current magazines. They even had season one of True Blood from HBO on DVD! I even realized that I could check out if they had the book I wanted online from the comfort of my own home! I blushed at my own ignorance. Best of all I could check something out for free.

As I write this I am getting ready to head down to the Library to check out three books from the "The Not So Big House" series. I was all set to fork out over $100 online to have them delivered straight to my door. I have decided to work with what I have in my house, even though it is over 100 years old and small. This will save me money and help the environment, but I'll save that for another blog. In the meantime, the library just saved me $100. While I'm there my six year old can rifle through the kids section, and I might read the latest Knitters Magazine. Happy Reading!

Great New Contest for Those who Love to Sew!

Check out Burdastyle for a brand new, and very top secret, contest. In today's newsletter I found out they are going to send out patterns to a variety of sewers to be altered, and those who do the best job will have their work featured! Sounds pretty exciting to me! I entered my name and now I will cross my fingers in the hopes that I get picked. The lucky entrants will also be sent the fabric they will use. Go to Burdastyle.com for more information, and good luck!

The best way to learn is to teach

Sometimes being a teacher teaches me. Right now I am teaching all of my students various forms of linear perspective, which can get pretty tricky indeed. My grade 11/12 class is learning how to draw in 3 point perspective, and sometimes I get confused as well. Today I realized that I had given out some misinformation when one student asked me to explain a certain angle that she had draw following my instructions. It didn't take long to realize I had lead the whole class astray. I managed to figure out my mistake by working through the problem in front of the class. Now I will be sure to remember it next time, and I think I have cemented my learning in that area from the experience. I am a firm believer that in order to really learn something you need to roll up your sleeves and work through a problem via trial and error. Experience is the best teacher.

Cake as Art

I just made my first attempt at decorating a cake with Fondant. Luckily I had already backed the cake the night before, because the process took me 3 and a half hours last night. I was exhausted when I was done. I wanted to be creative, and I think I achieved that. keep in mind this cake was for a boys 19th birthday, so it needed to be fun but not feminine. No flowers. After this experience I have decided that I will never try to become a cake decorator for a living. Strangely working with the fondant was like working with clay. You had to make a fondant and water mix to "glue" pieces onto the cake much like you would do with clay slip. You had to handbuild everything and let it dry to a point where it would hold it shape, not unlike you might do with clay to make a mug handle, for example. I decided to buy the fondant colors already made instead of trying to color them myself. I am actually thinking of taking the picture I took of the cake and making an art quilt, as I love the colors and the feeling of fun I get when looking at it.

On a side note, I bought all the supplies for the cake, including the checkerboard cake pan and fondant, at Michael's Crafts. I should also warn you they are not cheap! This cake is going to be eaten tonight by my son, his friends and my family as we have a little surprise dinner for him at The Keg. I can't wait.

Green Challenge

With Earth day upon us tomorrow I thought a good topic to discuss would be options for those creative types who want to be Green. You might want to check out knittingdaily.com where they have a green challenge and also feature a new knitting book called Knitting Green. While I haven't personally gone through it yet it's gotten some good reviews and contains several neat projects. Another book that I have recommended in this blog is the Alabama Stitch Book which is all about using old t-shirts (or organic cotton ones) to make something new. I have made 2 projects from this book and LOVE it.

Unfortunately in the world of fine art many of the materials we use are toxic, such as paints that contain cadmium, turpentine, bleach, etc... I for one have been bad for sanding pieces of pottery or mixing glaze without a mask on. Very bad idea! Breathing that dust can cause lung disease. Alternatives are becomming more available however, such as low odor turpentine, natural plant dyes, organic cotton, and the list goes on. I recently saw a new art book that gave recipes for making your own paint and other concoctions. It's called Green Guide for Artists. It sells on Amazon and is also carried by Chapters. I have seen sculptures made from recycled materials, and multi-media pieces which also have recycled elements.

If you know any other great Green art resources I'd love to hear about it.

Latest Creations

As I mentionned yesterday I have done a few things creative, such as use up the last of a block of porcelain clay (I use Tucker's MCS Cone 6) and threw 2 bowls and a small vase. They came out of the kiln this afternoon and I was glad to see the glazes turned out OK, especially the ultra clear (cone 6) on the white bowl. I've had a few issues lately with areas turning white. The other bowl was Pam's Blue (coyote glaze) and the vase was a combination of Blue Rutile and True Celadon around the upper lip ( I think Laguna).  Although I have tons of chemicals to make my own glazes I am using the commercial glazes now because I simply don't have the time to weigh and measure and then cross my fingers for my own concoctions. My favourite glaze is called lavender filagree from Laguna ( crystalline cone 6) and when fired correctly produces amazing small gold crystals. The only drawback is that it's not food safe, so it is purely decorative. One final note. For the sides of the Pam's Blue bowl I used shaped cardboard that something had come packed in and pressed it into the sides. Enjoy!

Correction!

Recently I wrote a post about one of my new favourite books "Chic and Simple Sewing" where I stated that size large in the book was an 8-10. The author, Christine Haynes, who was kind enough to read my blog, pointed out that a large was actually a 10-12. My apologies! While I am on the topic of that book, I have been working away at grading the pattern for the wrap dress up to a size 16, so I am hopeful that my second try will be much more successful than my first. I just like the pattern so much that I decided it was worth the extra time and effort. I hope to cut it out in the next couple of days. Happy sewing!

Re-vamping my webpage

So I looked at my webpage today and all I could think was BORING! I built the whole thing from scratch using html code four years ago. What I couldn't figure out my students helped me do. While it's not bad it certainly lacks pizazz. I did manage to put a really cool animated icon on the opening page today, and I re-wrote my artist statement, although it is pretty sparse at the moment due to the fact the creative juices have hit a bit of a standstill. It's not that I'm not doing anything creative, it's just that the creativity is someone else's. For instance, I'm knitting a cute sweater for summer right now, but someone else designed the pattern. I'm grading a pattern to sew myself a dress, but I did not design the dress. But wait! I did sculpt that porcelain angel, and I do have a vase and a couple of bowls firing in the kiln as I write this. Maybe it's not so bad after all.

I seem to have gone off on a tangent. Back to the webpage. I am going to try to update a little bit every day so it is a bit less boring, although I still plan for it to be minimal.

Last item of the day is that there is a brand new spot for those of us who love fiber to visit and sign up for. It's called Feltbook and can be found at feltbook.ning.com. Not to be confused with facebook, although it promises to become just as addictive. I checked it out today and you can find lots of things to sign up for, and of course you can register your blog.

Happy Felting!

First Time for Everything

The last few months have seen me focusing largely on fibre with painting coming in a close second. Over the last two days however I have pulled out my porcelain clay and made a sculpture of an angel. I am not a sculptor and don't claim to be, although I do have a lot of experience with clay. Mostly I stuck to the pottery wheel. I only meant to make myself a little sculpture for fun, but along the way it evolved into something else. It has fallen apart several times already, which makes me more than a little nervous about what could happen to it when it is in the kiln. Clay is always somewhat of a crap shoot, because at any stage your work can be ruined. Maybe it breaks up in the kiln, maybe something goes wrong with the glaze. It isn't over until it's over. I have taken a few pictures of the angel at the leather hard stage which I will post hear. Not to toot my own horn, but I think I did a pretty good job. My final plan for the angel is to cover it either in a clear glaze or perhaps in a lavender crystalline glaze that I have. If it makes it to the end I may also make a latex mold of it and cast a few for around my gardens. I know angels are overdone, but I just couldn't resist.

Embellishments

Lately I have been noticing that everything seems to be embellished. The last two t-s I bought have various forms of embellishment. Naturally a lot of these things cost a pretty penny, so what's a girl to do? Well, do it yourself of course! I have been blog surfing today and found some neat sites that can help even the most challenged embellish their own clothes on the cheap. To see some nice embellished clothes, check out Anthropologie.com. The Burda sewing website is also a daily favourite of mine, and the blog today just happened to focus an article on embellishing. Check out the blog adventuresindressmaking.blogspot.com or another good one is a site called Primrose Corner which shows you how to make a sweet flower brooch.

What I have been discovering is that there are simply not enough hours in the day. Dare I admit that while I am teaching art in high school every day I may be carrying a knitting project in my pocket, or cutting up t-shirts on an empty school desk? I can usually justify this by saying it is important for the students to see that I am interested in being creative or that by watching what I am doing student's interest in piqued. They actually get very interested in what I am doing, even if I have an alterior motive that I simply can't help but be doing something with my hands all day.

As I make another extra panel for my Alabama Stitch Swing Skirt I have also started knitting a little halter top for summer. I just couldn't help myself. I don't believe in having one project done before starting another. I usually have several on the go at once.

Happy sewing and knitting.

Here is the skirt in the Alabama Stitch Book.

It's a Good Day

Ok, so today is turning out to be a pretty good day. The best news is that I scored awesome seats for the Simon and Garfunkel concert in halifax in May. I am on the floor right in front of the stage, 3 rows back! I can't WAIT!!!!! I know I am showing my age, because when I told my students about my great news their answer was "who"? I supposed there will be very few people there under the age of 35. I'm just really glad I got these tickets, because Simon and Garfunkel aren't getting any younger, and neither am I!

On to more good news, I am almost done sewing my swing skirt done in reverse applique and completely hand sewn. It's from one of my favourite sewing books, "Alabama Stitch Book." Now I am no country girl, but I can't help but love the designs and the fact that you can make everything from recycled t-shirts! You don't get much greener than that. The only draw back is that all this sewing by hand takes a really long time, but maybe it's good to have something that forces you to slow down in this age of everything done at the speed of light. It even gives me something to focus on while all the guys in my family watch sports. I hope to have a picture up in a couple of days. While the picture in the book is made with burgundy and grey t-shirts, I was forced to use grey and white because that was all I could find at the second hand store that day. It still looks great.

Check twice, cut once

Recently I bought a really nice sewing book at Chapters called "Chic and Simple Sewing" by Christine Haynes. After browsing the sewing section for over an hour I finally settled on this book because it seemed to have the best selection of patterns that wouldn't go out of date in a hurry. I was really excited to try the Classic Wrap Dress, and even more excited when I found 4 metres of really nice cotton pink fabric in the clearance section for $1.00 a metre on sale! Wow! A dress for under 5 bucks. I decided to make the largest size, which was a large, and busily cut out my pattern and began sewing for several hours. I immediately knew something was amiss when I went to try it on and couldn't even begin to get it to wrap around! My mother arrived at just that moment and was as perplexed as me. Then she asked me what size I had made. Well duh, of course I made the large. Then she said, "well what size is the large?". uh oh. had I really neglected to check that before I cut and sewed? Apparently yes I had forgotten. Upon closer inspection of the book I saw that large was actually an 8-10. Are you serious? I wear a size 16. So now I will have to grade the patterns, which I am NOT looking forward to. I downloaded some good instruction on how to do that from Threads magazine. I'll let you know how it goes. The moral of the story? ALWAYS check sizing not once, but twice.

Silkscreen for son

When my six year old son saw my own silkscreened shirt the other night he wanted one. I went back to the drawing board and created an image based on the ghost rider cartoon with my son as the ghostrider sitting on the bike, complete with flames and the text "Jeremiah is born to ride". He loved it. I had a couple of issues with this one as I decided not to have a helper. This meant that I had to try to both manage the ink and hold the screen down flat, with mixed results. The next time I will definately use a helper. I don't see myself becomming any kind of a silkscreen artist, but it is sure fun to do for something unique and distinctly yours. Enjoy!

Painting #4

I have almost finished my fourth oil portrait, and it's of my friend Debbie. I wanted to show how Debbie had been "wounded" by events in her life over the past year. My idea was so have some areas of blood on her shirt which symbolized a wound. I found I was not able to do it however. Maybe it was because I was afraid of her reaction, or maybe because the symbolism was too strong even for me. Instead I used plan B, which was to paint an angel standing on her shoulder, symbolizing the loss she experienced and the fact she is not alone. I think I almost felt that by painting her with blood it could create further trauma. My gut told me not to do it. Sometimes as an artist you have to make decisions, take chances. I'm thinking I didn't take that chance, maybe I just wasnt ready to.

I still have a few more touch ups to do but I need to wait for the paint to dry a bit, which will take a couple of days due to the fact that I used oil. I feel the need to do something else right now, so I may hop in the van and take a half hour trip to Moncton to get another Burda pattern and some fabric. I feel the need to sew again. I really like being creative.

Speaking of fabric, I made my first silk screen the other day. It was a quote from Paradise Lost and a picture of myself with bat wings. It turned out great except on one edge where the dye leaked out a bit and created a line on the fabric. My 6 year old liked it so much that he wanted one. I made a new screen for him with him riding the motorcycle from the movie Ghost Rider.

Finished the dress

This weekend I sewed my first Burda pattern, and I have to say I was impressed. It actually fits. The neckline was a bit complicated, but otherwise it's a pretty nice dress, made from Burgundy knit, which a nice stretch width wise. My biggest complaint is hurt pride, as I measured a size 20. I was expecting a 16. I have signed up for Burda Style, which is a nice site with a lot of pictures of the clothes sewn by "regular" people. I saw one yesterday that I just have to sew. I was also impressed with the the simplicity of the directions. I could have made it in a day, but I preferred to work in spurts as I start making mistakes when I am tired. I think I am a Burda convert.

Tonight I am determined to start my latest portrait painting. Not sure if my friend will like it, as I plan to paint some blood on her blouse, symbolizing how she is wounded. She may not want to hang this one in her front room. Of course many of my pieces are not really for the front room.

Sticking to it

Yesterday I said that I was going to stick to my New Year' Resolution of doing something creative everyday. I managed to stick to it yesterday in spite of running after a day of teaching between a union meeting, power skating, working out, and doing homework with my 6 year old. I drew two portraits yesterday, one of my son and the other of my niece. Unfortunately I drew on scrapbooking paper, which means it likely won't hold up over time. Acid Free, heavier weight paper is usually the best bet. I just finished Gessoing a sheet of masonite, so later today I will put a graphite sketch down over the Gesso, then begin my painting, hopefully tonight, of my friend Debbie and her "inner Demon". That reminds me, I am all out of turpentine, and you need that to clean your brushed when working with oil paint.

I do have one roadblock to being creative tonight however. I have become addicted to the HBO series True Blood, having just bought Season 1 on DVD. I watched 3 episodes last night, and can't wait to watch more.

The New Year

I have many new years resolutions, including the usual lose weight and get in shape. I am happy to say, however, that I have actually been making a bit of progress in this area. Another big one is to try to do something creative every day. I find that like anything else, creativity can be addictive. If I am knitting a sweater, it is difficult to put it down. Once I start a painting, I have to force myself to walk away from it. The problem is actually getting started. Now that the holidays are done, my oldest is back at university, and my youngest's birthday party is out of the way I hope to start this. I am actually under the gun a bit, as I need to perk up my portfolio in the next month. The reason for this is that I am applying to the Masters in Painting program at the Savannah College of Art and Design. I am not happy with the current state of my portfolio, the main problem being that it is all over the place. I used to think that demonstrating I could do a bit of everything was a good idea. Not so. I need to focus. My focus this fall has been portraiture. Unfortunately I have found a way to spread portraiture out, working with it is fibres, painting, and drawing. The degree is in painting, so I am supposed to show a concentrated body of work in painting. I guess I know what I will be doing every night for the next month. Painting portraits of women. My focus now is painting them with their inner demon. For example, I painting myself knitting with a crow, which symbolizes my ever present struggle with depression.

Lucky for me I have done my creative thing for today. During my off class I did a sketch of my youngest son. He loves it when I make pictures of him. Speaking of which, he enjoyed the book and pictures I wrote about him for Christmas.