Recently, a friend of mine asked if I could paint a bunch of flower pots she had that were plain terra cotta and worn out. She wanted to brighten up her back yard...and she came to the right place! There's nothing I love more than bringing things back to life by making them as bright and colorful as possible, and I had just the right paints to make that happen. I used Duncan Bisq-Stains, which are very opaque acrylic paints that are specially formulated to use on porous surfaces like ceramics and flower pots. I had so much fun painting her pots that I painted several for myself...
These are some of the ones I painted for myself...
You may not know this but I am a critter junkie. OK, well maybe that's not a big surprise. It's pretty obvious how much I love dogs and cats, but I have huge admiration and respect for just about every member of the animal kingdom (with the exception of flies. I really hate flies). I can't think of any better way to spend a day than to go exploring into the wilderness to look for life in its natural habitat. When I lived in NJ, I would go to lakes and rivers and flip over every rock I could get my hands on to look for salamanders. If I came across a frog, forget it. I was over the moon! When I lived in Phoenix, I'd go hiking in the spring and become ecstatic when I'd find a family of chuckwallas lounging in the sun and munching on dried leaves. I was in heaven when I'd come home at night to see geckos stuck to the walls outside my house, or go out to the back yard during the day and see lizards racing up the fence or hummingbirds hovering in mid-air while looking at me straight in the eye. It's all so amazing to me!
Now that I live in California, there's a whole new list of local fauna I get to see. Cambria has incredible tidepools all over its beaches that are filled with critters. If you go at the right time of year, you'll also see hundreds of beached elephant seals. Seriously mindblowing! And now that spring has sprung, I am starting to see my very own backyard come to life. I bought a variety of those flowering plants that come in 6 packs like I do every year. And just like I also do every year, I don't get around to actually planting them until weeks later when they are about to take their final breath. I was trying to resuscitate them by watering the begeezus out of them the other day when all of a sudden there were these little snails crawling all over the place! I knew we had snails here because I see their slime trails on the sidewalk and see shells stuck to the walls of my house of the ones that didn't make it back to a damp place before the sun came out, but I never saw them alive and crawling around in broad daylight. They were so stinkin' cute! Many people would have freaked out because they were super slimy and/or they were going to eat their plants, but I don't care. I was happy to have them! I ran for my phone so I could take pictures!
Don't you just love them? They are going to be the subject of my next art project!
If you have been following my blog or my Facebook page, you know that I'm on a journey of sorts. I'm not sure what to call it exactly...I think it's a combination of several things. Part of it is spiritual and I am realizing more and more every day how beneficial (at least to me) it is to practice things like mindfulness, meditation, yoga, and Buddhist teachings. That's not to say I am going to end up becoming a Buddhist monk anytime in the near future, but these ways of thinking really help me to put everyday frustrations and disappointments into perspective and they become less, well, frustrating and disappointing.
Another aspect of my journey is to be happier. I am not unhappy by any means, but that doesn't mean there's not room for more happiness. One of the best decisions I've made was to download Gretchen Rubin's The Happiness Project on Audible.com. The book inspired me to change little things in my life and to strive to make the simple, mundane things I do everyday more enjoyable and satisfying. I still have a lot to do in this area but I'm off to a good start.
A third mission of my journey is to love more, hence the birth of my 52 Weeks of More Love project. This one is tricky and I'm trying to figure it out as I go along. I've been trying to not use the word 'hate' as much, especially when it comes to people. Don't get me wrong, I generally like people but everyone has one or two that can really get under their skin, right? Anyhoo, when I catch myself thinking badly of someone I try to turn it into something positive, or at least change my thoughts to something that makes me happy. Again, this is going to take lots of practice. But I do believe that sending positive thoughts into the universe will get positive things sent back to you and vice versa. Same with love....sending more of it out into the universe will get you more back. I've been doing things like helping elderly people at the store (which makes me feel good, is that selfish?), hugging more and telling people that I care about them (instead of trying to hide my feelings which is something tended to do in the past). This is probably the area that is most challenging for me, which is why I decided to make it the focus of this year's challenge. Every week when I make my heart art I am reminded of my committment to love more...which leads me to the fourth facet of my journey - self care.
Self care sounds like an obvious concept...eat healthier, exercise more, schedule regular doctor visits, etc. I am definitely trying to incorporate more of these things into my life. But after reading and listening to all of the 'life improvement' materials I listed above, there seems to be another common theme which is loving yourself. This is a REALLY tough thing to do, at least for me. I always seem to focus on the things I don't like about myself. That is such an unhealthy thing to do! I think my biggest challenge on my journey will be to learn to love myself in spite of all my flaws. I honestly think this is the key to true happiness and contentment, and I am going to go after it. And I am about to take a big step into that area by showing you my latest heart art project...
This is really uncomfortable for me because I always assumed that talking about myself in a positive light would sound conceited and self absorbed. I am definitely one of those people that will downplay a compliment or make jokes about my flaws. But on Valentine's Day, I decided to do something completely different. I sat down with my papers and my paints and my gel medium and I made a Valentine for myself. I forced myself to come up with things I like about me and put them all in a letter that I gave to myself. I also printed out the Self Love Affirmation by Louise Hay, cut it into pieces and collaged it onto my project. That affirmation is really powerful stuff! Although I haven't started yet, I'd like to remember to read it out loud every day.
I'm generally not a big fan of Valentine's Day. Even when I'm not single it has always felt fake and forced. And when I am single, it's hard not to want to vomit while watching all the lovey dovey couples showering each other with gifts and affection. But this year in light of my 52 Weeks of More Love project, I am going to celebrate!
First, I dressed myself in red and wore my handmade ceramic heart pendant I made out of yet another chopstick holder. Then I posted a Valentines sentiment on Facebook (Bah Humbug) that led to me bonding with other VD unenthusiasts. Lastly, I ate a ridiculously large quantity of home baked treats that my friend at work gave me in honor of this glorious holiday. So far it has been quite enjoyable!
I have big plans for tonight as well, which will really go along with my theme of more love. But I'll save the details for another blog post.
I hope everyone has enjoyed their Valentine's Day! And if you don't have a special someone to share it with, give yourself a hug and buy yourself some flowers or chocolates. At least that way you'll ensure you'll get the ones you really want!
I have been slacking off on my Zentangle inspired art lately, not to mention that I haven't opened my art journal in months! I usually take it with me when I travel for work, but I haven't been doing much traveling lately. So...in order to prevent any additional dust from accumulating on my journal or on my tangling skills, I decided to combine the two for my 4th project in my 52 Weeks of More Love series....
I love working in my art journal because it's portable and since I mainly use fine tipped markers like Copics and Staedtler pens and my favorite art supply of all time....my Peerless watercolors, I don't have to carry much around with me. I made this while sitting on my couch watching a Grey's Anatomy marathon with a giant dog head in my lap. Now that's my kind of art!
Lately I've had this fascination with painting these little chopstick holders (bisque pieces from Duncan® ceramics). They are the right size to use as pendants, which is what I was originally going to do with this batch I made for my 3rd project in my 52 Weeks of More Love series. The more I thought about it, though, the more I wanted to turn them into something that would keep them all together. I came up with an idea that combined 5 of the six...
I painted another piece of Duncan® bisque with the same technique, got out my drill and a carbide drill bit, and created a lovemobile. People have been asking me if it is a windchime, but it would probably break if I let all the pieces hit each other so I made sure they are all hanging at different lengths. I got some wire and chain at a local hardware store and put it all together...
I love coming up with ways of combining ceramics with other media, so you'll probably be seeing more of this as my series continues. Until next time!
I have always loved the look of Zentangles. For years I have been creating my own 'tangles' and incorporating them into my art, but it wasn't until recently that I learned I wasn't really 'officially' tangling. Since then I have bought lots of books and have been practicing not only the official tangle patterns, but ones created by Suzanne McNeil, author of many Zentangle instruction books. I have to admit, it is VERY addicting! I'm not a big fan of only drawing tangles on the little square pieces of paper they are supposed to be drawn on, so I like to incorporate them into my own designs so I stay true to my artistic style. Here are some of the pieces I've made lately which include color from my Peerless watercolors, Sharpie and Copic markers, and F&W acrylic inks...
Although my 52 Weeks of Art Plate project only required me to make 52 plates, I just couldn't stop there. So may I present to you...Plate 53!
I find it interesting when I read about people wanting to take a break from Facebook. I can understand why they might want to do it, but I don't think I ever will. Almost everything that I have that is good in my life is because of Facebook....my job, where I live, opportunities I have been offered, and some of the best friends I have ever had. I guess it just depends on what you use it for. All I know that Facebook is my friend and I will always be grateful to have it in my life.
I credit Facebook for introducing me to one of the greatest people I know, and I am honored to be able to call her my friend. Back when I was on my two year 'sabbatical', I networked on Facebook with a bunch of artsy people that I had admired in my Cloth Paper Scissors and Somerset magazines. One of them was Jane Eileen, who had a project featured in an issue of Sew Somerset. Turns out she lives in the Phoenix area, where I lived at the time, and we had a mutual friend. We almost crossed paths one day at a local art event and realized this through a post of mine on Facebook. Since that day, we started chatting often and finally met each other in person that year at Art Unraveled. She invited me to have a 'play date' in her studio and happened to mention that she saw a post about iLoveToCreate needing someone to work in their ceramics department. I went home and checked it out...turns out what they were looking for fit my expertise perfectly! I applied for it, got an email back saying they were interested the next day, and the rest is history. I credit Jane for getting me to where I am today.
Our friendship has grown exponentially since then. Even though we have completely opposite personalities, we have so many things in common that keep drawing us to each other (our love for art retreats, doughnuts and sarcasm, to name a few). She recently took a 'vacation' and came out to Fresno to spend 4 days helping me organize my studio. She claimed to enjoy that kind of thing (opposite personalities to the max!), although after the second day I think she was over it. But she kept going. She was like a drill sargaent and worked me hard! The end result was something I could never in a million years picture...an organized and functional studio. I whined and complained the whole time, begging for an occasional break, so I hope she doesn't think that I didn't appreciate everything she was doing for me. I really can't thank her enough because I know this isn't something I would ever do on my own. She taught me so much about how to organize things, and after she left I couldn't wait to apply what I learned to the other rooms in my house and my cubicle at work. The only things she asked for in return was for me to take her to the local art supply shops and to Baskin Robbins (twice). I think I could handle that!
I made her this plate as a small token of my gratitude. I used a quote about art which I thought was fitting and used her favorite colors. I think she liked it because she carried it around in her bag while we went shopping because she didn't want someone to break into my car and steal it. That was quite a feat because it's not small and I'm sure it started getting heavy after awhile!
I am so grateful to have a friend like Jane, and to Facebook for making our friendship possible! I wish we lived closer so we could make art and eat ice cream together more often.
After a too-long haitus, my Etsy shop (thepeculiarpalette) is back up and running! Many people have asked me in the last year if I am going to be selling any of my plates online, so I just posted some to my shop. These are heart shaped, just in time for Valentines day! I hope you like them! There's other stuff listed there too :)
Do you get this one? Mouth the words 'olive juice' to someone you love. They will think you are saying 'I love you'. Same goes for 'elephant shoes'. :)
This one is anti-Valentine's Day. Who hasn't thought this at least once in their life? Thanks to the J. Giles Band for putting it into words!
Now that January is almost over, my 2014 calendars have just arrived! There was a mishap with my delivery so they needed to be reprinted and reshipped. But that's all water under the bridge because they are here now and I am going to give one away!
As you may have noticed, I have been a busy bee making lots of stuff to stock up my new and improved Etsy shop. I have also started my new 52 Weeks of More Love project, and am looking forward to teaching my ceramic plalte painting class at the prestigious Art Unraveled mixed media art retreat in August. I would love to have your help in spreading the word about all of the exciting things I have been working on, and in return I will offer you a chance to win one of my 2014 calendars that features 12 of my favorite plates that I made for my 52 Weeks of Art Plates project last year. The calendar looks amazing, if I do say so myself (thanks to the help of a professional photographer and Mixbook). The photos are so nice that they are suitable for framing when the year is over!
Here are the ways you can get a chance to win. Get one chance for each thing that you do! Want two chances? Do two things! Want three? Well, you get the picture!
The contest ends Sunday, January 26th at 11:59 PST. A winner will randomly be chosen and announced on Monday, January 27th. Good luck! I hope I get to send a calendar to you!
In addition, to celebrate the Grand Reopening of my Etsy Shop, I am offering a 15% discount on everything in it through Friday, January 31st. Just use REOPEN15 as the coupon code when you check out. Click HERE to start shopping now!
