Get Your Art On!

Hope my readers are having a relaxed Holiday! Enjoying lots of pictures and experiences (and scraps of cool present wrapping paper) to ad to our artwork...

I got "the Cloth Paper Scissors Book" last week...full of INSPIRATION. Editor Barbara Delaney was tasked with selecting an assortment of articles from past issues of the magazine, with some extra tips and resources thrown in for us loyal readers.

So far I have read Jodi Ohl's "beginner's guide to BEGINNING" chapter. An excellent place to start at the New Year with the inspiring words, "Make a commitment to do something, anything, every day to make your creative life a real part of your daily routine." A great reminder to me that no matter where else my life is pulling me - kids school and activities, work, divorce, parents, teaching, etc. - I'm choosing to carve out time each day to be creative for ME (what a concept).

My favorite part of Jodi's chapter is her "TIPS to get you started" column. This includes the idea to enlist some of my creative friends to have a regular art play date, begin an online blog (ala ArtBookBug), take pictures when I have a dry spell (got a new kickass camera for my birthday in Nov - thanks Tim!), and think about working in themes or collections to build a "body of work" (I'm finding this is soooo important), plus a lot more ideas, including "How to start?". Her wise words for us living the creative life, "I only manage doing it all by simply doing." My words...decide SOMETHING to do and (like putting one foot in front of the other) manage at least a small move forward every day!

My creativity takes on many forms; sometimes just being able to take 15 minutes to read an artistic book or magazine to feed my brain, drawing zentangle(r) patterns or pictures that only require a pen and piece of paper, to full out days that I give myself about once a month to spend 4-8 hours straight pulling out all the stops in my studio with my papers/paints/mediums/inks/hard and soft canvases/encaustic wax/colored pencils and markers/and on and on! Please comment with your favorite creativity times/activities/supplies...

Here are my latest Zentangles(r):

 This is done on a watercolor postcard, so can be sent through the mail.

This is done on an Artist Trading Card (ATC).

By the way, thank you to all who gave me gift cards to my favorite Utrecht art supply store this Christmas! :)

Here's to making achievable artistic goals for 2012. ENJOY  THE  PROCESS and APPRECIATE THE AMAZING PEOPLE YOU WILL MEET ALONG THE WAY!!!

HAPPY READING AND CREATING ;)   Tristina