Studio & Art Update

Welcome to my little art blog! (with lots of life and other bits thrown in)

It has been a bit of a long time since my last post as I am still getting settled both physically and emotionally from my move to Key West, Florida. It is definitely taken longer than anticipated, for sure! The studio is almost done (just a more couple boxes and  a bit of "pretty-ing" up) Oh and I still need a comfy chair -my little stool is good for an hour or two then it gets mighty hard.

Since my townhouse is so small, I've got art everywhere. Its bright, happy, and whimsical. My big house was more earthy and cozy; this one is lighter and more modern. A mix of whatever extra furniture that made it down with Ikea infills. I'll do a house tour in an upcoming post (I intend to be more consistent again with my blogging -I've got some fun new ideas to implement)

Now for an update on some of what I've been doing artwise... I'm starting a couple movie themed ATCs for a swap, finishing up my Grandma Blueberry painting (the companion piece with gold leafing to a little sailboat paint that I sold -they are now both up on the new owner's wall, yea!) and I completed the hospital fundraiser coloring page.

I really enjoyed creating the coloring page. Hey, it is themed doodling -what's not to love, right? I knew I wanted to incorporate a girl (sort of my signature) as well as flowers (so much fun to color) and immediately my mom came to mind.

She loved making things pretty! From setting out napkins, to decorating for every holiday (yes, she is the reason I have an entire storage unit of Christmas stuff !?!) to having a patio filled with gorgeous potted plants. She would make a ritual of going out in the morning and watering, weeding, and tidying up the plants. And such a collection... whatever lovely blooming thing that caught her or dad's eye made its way into a pot or bed, the more the merrier!

I really miss her. I made her crazy sometimes; she'd worry (my brain worked so differently from hers) but I knew I was unconditionally loved. And talk about a cheerleader, she believed I could do anything even when I doubted. She and dad both were so proud of all their kids. They could give opinions, mind you. And we didn't always agree on everything but I am so blessed to have had them as my parents. What cherished memories!

Anyway back to the coloring page, after completing the image, square to fit the hospital's requirement, I decided to add a fitting quote in honor of Mom and also format the art for an 11x17 page. "She was never so joyful and content as when puttering about her garden." Oh, so true! (The images in my mind of Mom with her curly hose watering various containers tucked under the large shade canopy while I sit on the glider chatting with a cup of coffee is so vivid.)

Now as a send-out-the-love happy for anyone who happens to be reading along this far,  I've separated out the bottom portion of my drawing and switched out the wording as a sharable Black & White image so feel free to save it and use as you will. It is my gift to you!  (Any other images and art I post, please do pin but otherwise don't take or use without credit or permission -Thank you)

Please enjoy! Have an amazingly artful day and I hope you'll come back soon! 
Blessings -Laurie Anne

Music for to today: Marian Hill, a new favorite of mine!

Packaging Love :)

Hi!  I hope you are having an AWESOME AMAZING ARTFUL kind of day  :)

In this post, I am highlighting some of the protective packaging envelopes I CREATE for my etsy art prints.  My materials are quite simple: cardboard or similar material, cardstock and sometimes old book pages, tape, and either back and white ink or white colored pencil.

The part I like about creating the protective envelopes is not the constructing of the thing itself, it is the drawing/decorating part.  You see, I just love to doodle and doodling on the wrapping when I send a bit of may art out into the world makes me very HAPPY! (Sometimes I like the doodles as much as my prints)  There have even been a couple times that I've gotten so caught up on creating my packaging that I've ended up missing my post office deadline and had to go back to mail items out the next day.

How much and what goes on to the package depends on how much a rush I am in and what my mood is at the moment.  Also, I say a short prayer over each one -WISHING that my art will bring a touch of JOY and light into the recipient's life.  I really want to put a little something of my PERSONALITY into each package that goes out.  It may only be a little birdie over my signature or it could be a pretty elaborate cityscape. Each time someone orders, it will be at least slightly different (I know if I was shipping out hundreds this wouldn't be possible, but for now it is quite do-able)

(This is the most typical example of what I usually do)

Part of the fun, is that it is only the packaging, so nothing is too precious or perfect.  It is sort of like a quick peck on the check or a WILDFLOWER tucked behind the ear.  My way of sending a glittering of gratitude out into the universe.  ENJOY!

How About A Happy Dance for Today! Just Click & Smile! 

My Goodness...

Goodness, I am so ready to write about some art instead of the craziness of my life -but alas not yet. First- I am so glad I got to make the trip to Baltimore to visit Patrick along with my other brothers, Robby and David because only a week after I got back (this past Monday, June 15th) I got the call from David that Patrick was not doing well (starting to have the same sort of expressions Dad had that last day or so before he passed away) I had tickets to come up on Thursday but made a mad dash to the airport to catch the first available flight. Unfortunately, Patrick died a couple hours before I got there. David did put Patrick on speaker phone so I had a chance to say a few last words, let him know I love him and give my good-bye before he died. I also got a chance for closure before they took his body away. As I stood there with David, Robby, Stephen, Karen, Krisha, and my girls, I swear it seemed his mouth would slightly curl into a smile and his chest rise as if taking shallow breaths of air while we, in typical Smith fashion, recalled stories through tears and laughter. Yes, I know it was my mind playing games but it felt so real. 

By the next morning, niece Megan had made it to Nashville and by that evening niece Emily arrived. It was so surreal. Too much, too fast. Dad, Mom, and now my youngest brother, Patrick. Barely over a year. Really God, really.

Then on such a diminished scale, the move, the new job (which I have only actually gotten to work four days) the unpacking (or not), the car in the shop, the process of getting the big house ready to rent, …. Overwhelming!  Deep breath, Laurie, it is going to be alright. Well, eventually it will be anyway.

Planning Patrick’s services was harder than planning my parents. Patrick was such an individual. Sarcastic, witty, loyal, rigidly moral, but with an amazing love for family. We eventually decided on three events, all in Fairhope, the first on Friday night was a wake at the bar “Plow”, then a short quiet dignified service graveside (we each played a flower which I guess is now a family tradition) then a large open to all picnic down at the bay. We wrote on balloons and released them over the water. (I’m sure Patrick was looking down and cringing but it was really moving) We also came up with a quote for his tombstone, “No Excuses, No Explanations, No Regrets” Quite fitting!

Can you believe my MamMaw, at 98 years old was able to make it? Oh how hard for her to have lost so many recently. I know she wonders why not her instead. Somethings are just beyond my comprehension and understanding. One day, we will see the whole picture, but for now, it looks like a jumble of colored threads. Rhymeless and chaotic.

Flitting back to the present, it is Sunday afternoon and I am on a plane back to Key West. I’m tired and dirty and achy. I spent the morning, starting really really early, fixing things at the Fairhope house then staging the rooms along with David and Stephen’s help. It is hard to release control and not be able to see the final result. I definitely have some trust issues (some not unjustified, I’m afraid) One more time -ok Laurie, just breathe.

I am more than read to paint. I may have to live out of a suitcase for a few days longer so that I can unpack a studio box or two and create. I’ve got that hair on edge prickliness that I tend to get when I haven’t been able to get my fingers into any paint. My emotions need that release that only comes from artistic doings. I’ve got quite a few images to put down on paper. There is this a male angel with a faraway look in his eyes along side colored balloons drifting amongst the background that is swimming around in the streams of my mind. Hopefully he’ll come to life in my next post.

Well for now, I’ll leave you with music from Simon and Garfunkel.

RIP: Patrick Charles Smith

I LOVE YOU ALWAYS!

Whirlwind

What a whirlwind. Right now I'm on a plane heading from Fairhope to Baltimore to see my youngest brother (after a scary turn where we thought his lung cancer had invaded his brain) then the return flight will be to Key West, my new home. Ok, the packing isn't quite complete (affirming the fears of Peter and other family and friends) so I'll need to take a flight back near the end of June to do some final bits as well as getting the house ready to rent but I'm really doing it. Ah... change. I'm both freaked out yet remarkably calm.

Card by Curly Girl Designs

This is some major downsizing. Basically I will almost be reducing my footprint by 75%. No baby steps here. 25 + years of accumulation plus I still hadn't gone through all the items from Mom and Dad's house. It hasn't even been a year yet since Mom died so everything has a memory. I've tried to disassociate and select a few special mementos instead of holding too tightly to every single thing. I've been marginally successful. Once I move there will be another purging, particularly of clothing. The unexpected time crunch means clothes are simply being bagged up without evaluation (Thank you so much Peter) and driven down.

I bought and read the book, "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up -The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing" by Marie Kondo.  I plan to implement her process as I need to cull half my clothes (at a minimum) There are items two sizes to small and some well over a decade beyond stylish along with some of my mom's old clothes (perfect for a 70 year old but really Laurie, come on), jeans so ripped and torn that no amount of patching will ever put them back together (held on to mostly with the idea of a cool beach quilt to be created in the future) you see, I have a tendency to see potential in everything. And sure with enough time and creativity all my imagined projects could happen BUT really when it been 8 years or more and nothing except additional accumulation has happened, what are the odds I am going to actually do these projects. When I had the room to store extra stuff, it was ok to let things ride, but now I'm afraid not.

It is a perfect time to redefine my clothing to reflect who I am in a more conscience manner.  How fun could that be?  Sort of similar to what I'll be doing in my new little townhouse.  I'm thinking bright clean and happy!  A fresh palette for a fresh start. Turquoise, Red, Coral, Lime.  A modern mash-up of Tropical Boho!

Well I am about to land so until later -Look for the Lovely and Enjoy the Artful Life!

Music: A Little Buffet Fun
Jimmy Buffet -Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes

Change is in the Air!

I am Super Excited about all the Changes which will be Happening in my Life very Soon!

I've been prepping myself for new beginnings since the first of the year.  2014 seems to have been about loss and letting go, but 2015 is all about transformation and purposefully embracing life.  It is time for act three!  I don't know yet exactly how it is going to play out but it is going to take bravery and stepping out of my comfort zone -my safe little cocoon if you will.  

Actually, I like the metaphor of emerging from a cocoon.  It brings to mind the little story of the butterfly who even though he'd promised to come back to his caterpillar friend and explain what being a butterfly was like, he couldn't as there were no words and he knew that once his friend had experienced the change for himself, he would totally understand why.

I'm ready for this remarkable experience. This shedding of the old and taking on the new.  Maybe I'm merely hyped on hyperbole -but I'm letting my fragile dreams bubble and rise like the effervescent pop of just poured soda.  It is new and magical.  We shouldn't always harness our enthusiasm for life by maybes.

If something is possible, it is possible.  It is not a half full or half empty thing (although I am usually a half full kind of gal) it is more of a "if there is an 80% chance of rain that means there is a 20% chance of sunshine" or even if it is stormy, is it a "I'll wear polkadot puddle jumpers and bring a bright red umbrella so I can dance in the rain" kind of think.  

Making the most of all the open doors and being grateful of the closed ones.  For without the closed doors, I might have missed the chance to open this very one which will lead to all sorts of amazing adventures.  Doors that if I'd gotten to before now, I wouldn't have been able to step through.  Timing is everything.  I truly believe that all our experiences are planned out to make us ready for what is ahead.  

I remember when I taught children's Sunday School -one of my very favorite lessons was to go over with each child just how very special and unique they truly were and how God could use only them for what purposes he had personally selected for their life. There are no coincidences.  What we could construe as handicaps or setbacks were only tools and opportunities in the hands of our great God.  In my own life, if I didn't struggle with my weight, I wouldn't be able to empathize as easily with those battling with addiction, whether alcohol, drugs, sex, or anything else that has a seemingly supernatural grasp on one's actions.  This is just one example, but there are so many where God has taken my failings or thorns and used them for a positive purpose.  Then there are the talents and blessings of which we are each so uniquely gifted and just how important it is to nurture and share them.  I think this little Sunday School lesson resonates so deeply because as I was teaching it to the kids, I was also reminding myself of these deep truths and I personally needed to hear it again and again.  How awesome is it that we are so intensely loved and valued and have been given such great purpose and responsibility. (Oh yeah, also I made all sorts of cool artsy crafts and games to go along with the class)

Well, this is what I am thinking and feeling right now.  I can't wait to share more of my journey as it unfolds!  Ok, God, I'm ready for you to lead me into that place you have been preparing me for.  Take my hand and let's go!  What a Beautiful Ride it will be!!!

Quote for today:

"We are at our very best, and we are happiest, when we are fully engaged in work we enjoy on the journey toward the goal we've established for ourselves. It gives meaning to our time off and comfort to our sleep. It makes everything else in life so wonderful, so worthwhile." -Earl Nightingale

Music for today: Echosmith's "Bright"

#MixedMediaArt #NewBeginnings #Artist

Ponderings and Observations

Detail from my Painting "Outside the Gilded Cage"

It is late Friday afternoon. "Good Friday" actually.  The light is starting to golden, making everything glisten and soften.  A gentle breeze dances across the sea oats and you can catch a subtle perfumed whiff of wisteria mixed in with the slightly salty scent of the bay.

The birds are loud and constant in their chattering, especially the seagulls as they try to out do one another.  There are all sorts of dogs, little, big, prissy, curious, aloof, prancing along the path along with kids, some in strollers, some on bikes, many running just outside their parent's reach giggling and swirling.  A wedding party rehearses.  A well dressed family poses for a portrait.  A couple lays out a picnic. A pair of elderly men sit quietly on a bench staring into the horizon. A tan tattooed young man throws a net from the pier.  A group of fit 30 somethings jog up and down the stairs in cute little shorts and brightly colored tanks.  A trio of teens gather cells phones in hand.  I could go on and on.... Vignettes of life are everywhere.

I feel like I am a part of an ever-changing painting.  It reminds me of the musical "Sunday in Park with George"  inspired by the painting by Georges Seurat. I feel like an observer, a sponge. I am a part of it all yet not.  Everything needs to be tasted and tested.  I wonder what the next moment will look like.  My eyes feel like a camera... click, click, click... capturing the subtle differences second by second.  Each insignificant alone but together a story.  It is the very ordinary particulars which make art -paintings, movies, poems, music universal, don't you think?  Generalities don't touch us like specifics.

"Outside the Gilded Cage"

It takes the deeply personal to connect and evoke emotion.  The vague overalls fail to spark passion or awe or fear.  Cancer, hunger, war is bad - true enough statements but until it is narrowed down to an individual, we can ignore their implications. Why are certain commercials so successful?  Why do certain songs transport us? I am hearing the voices of Jennifer Nettles, Carly Simon, Alana Morissette in my head.  Music paints pictures as vividly as brushes.  I think that why I like to include a YouTube link with my posts.  They give a glimpse into my mood at that instant. Our preferences and desires are tiny imperfect reflections of who we are -a single tile in the mosaic of our being. And don't we all want somewhere deep inside to be understood?  Even if we say we don't.  Even if we are scared to completely expose ourselves, we give out clues hoping, even if we don't realize it at the time, they will be noticed.

I want to try and read those around me more accurately.  Try and give encouragement to my fellow earthwalkers.  We live here connected by our humanity and frailty on this precious blue ball.  We all need love.  We all need grace.  We all need connection.  I want to make a difference.  I want to share and give.  I desire to desire less selfishly.  To love more wholly and more holy -even when I don't really want to at that particular moment!

Music: Alana Morissette's Ironic

This photo I took from the bench I am seated at as I write up this post.  What a beautiful evening!

How do YOU art Journal?

So Many Possibilities!
Do you journal BIG or small,  Messy or Polished?

  

Do you use your journal to sketch what you see or what you think?  Is it a practice place for future artwork?  Do you experiment with new techniques and medias or stick with your favorites?  Do you work on one page at a time or have lots going at once?  Do you start front to back or skip all around?  Do you begin a page with a finished look in mind or let it wander and evolve?  Do you prefer painting in prebound journals or on separate sheets to bind together at the end? Do you have a favorite type of paper or do you mix it up?  How often do you art journal?  Do you have a particular day or time of day which you tend to work on your art journal?  Do you journal alone or with others? Do you use your art journal to battle demons and combat fears?  Do you keep your journal private or enjoy showing it off?

There are as many ways to Art Journal as there are Journalers!  Although I do think there is this something that connects most art journalers together.  A certain something inside -an introspection and seeking.

I just love keeping an art journal.  I am sporadic as life gets so so busy, but I've noticed that my creativity all arounds intensifies when I am faithfully painting in my journal.

Several of my art journal pages lately have been in response to the Life Book Workshop.  The diversity of teachers and prompts is such a joy, but I find that by doing my pages on large individual sheets instead of a bound notebook, I tend to turn them into more polished works and they can become a bit too precious to me.  

I get caught up in trying to make everything just so.  I've even found myself wondering, "Will other people like my page, will it gets lots of Facebook comments?"  It is embarrassing to find myself think this way.  It is so NOT what art journaling is all about for me (it is perfectly ok if it is for you -totally no judgement here)  It is about process, exploration, expression.  It is all about the journey, not the final destination.  

I'm working on finding that balance which allows me to get lost in the freedom of letting go -letting go of the constraints in my head, telling me what I should be painting or should be thinking. I have this sneaky little monster on my shoulder that wants everything to be part of some larger goal, have an outwardly measurable worthy bigger purpose.  He questions my daydreams and tells me to be more "productive."  My best weapon against his pointed attacks is pencil and paint and more cowbell (wait skip the cowbell part, I don't know where I was going with that, random tangent -although more cowbell is always good.) 

OK, back to the art journal.  Focus Laurie.  I wanted to share a page I completed earlier this week.  I feel really happy with this one.  It represents the deeply personal messy unselfconscious attitude I like. It is not a "work of art"; it is unabashedly an art journal page -flip flower, secret meaning, imperfections, aspirations!

It started as an example of background techniques when I invited a few special ladies over for a little art play on my birthday. Very random and quick.  Then I just added bits (like the cut out flowers from a birthday card) off and on during the week after work. 5 minutes here and 5 minutes there and ta-da, here it is!

Music for today: The Who - Who Are You?
(I had such a crush on Roger Daltry when I was young)