Inspire Me Wednesdays: Week 8

As a kid, I loved words that flowed together lyrically.

Then I reached my teenage years and I lost most of that love. My struggles with  english class and Mr. William Shakespeare quickly drained any enthusiasm I once had.

But slowly, my love for poetry and literature has creeped back into my life. Many poets and writers have affected me, which encouraged me to dust of the ol' high school stuff and left me to wonder why I didn't get it. (My son's explorations of everything literary as he was growing helped reawaken my interest!) 

I hope to share some of these new and old discoveries over the weeks. A

 favorite is this poem by Billy Collins... clever, engaging and a story about the creation of art.

 CANDLE HAT

 In most self-portraits it is the face that dominates:

Cezanne is a pair of eyes swimming in brushstrokes,

Van Gogh stares out of a halo of swirling darkness,

Rembrandt looks relieved as if he were taking a breather

from painting The Blinding of Sampson.

But in this one Goya stands well back from the mirror

and is seen posed in the clutter of his studio

addressing a canvas tilted back on a tall easel.

He appears to be smiling out at us as if he knew

we would be amused by the extraordinary hat on his head

which is fitted around the brim with candle holders,

a device that allowed him to work into the night.

You can only wonder what it would be like

to be wearing such a chandelier on your head

as if you were a walking dining room or concert hall.

But once you see this hat there is no need to read

any biography of Goya or to memorize his dates.

To understand Goya you only have to imagine him

lighting the candles one by one, then placing

the hat on his head, ready for a night of work.

Imagine him surprising his wife with his new invention,

the laughing like a birthday cake when she saw the glow.

Imagine him flickering through the rooms of his house

with all the shadows flying across the walls.

Imagine a lost traveler knocking on his door

one dark night in the hill country of Spain.

"Come in, " he would say, "I was just painting myself,"

as he stood in the doorway holding up the wand of a brush,

illuminated in the blaze of his famous candle hat.

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Billy Collins
(click for more poems!)

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Take care,

Karen xo

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Inspire Me Wednesdays: Week 7

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What wisdom can you find that is greater than kindness.

-Jean Jacques Rousseau

Leigh-Ann

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I met Leigh-Ann five years ago. I was working at a craft show when this young woman and her mother came up to my booth. They spent a lot of time looking at my art, and they ended up purchasing more than one Inspired Stone! What struck me was Leigh-Ann's (and her awesome mom's) extraordinary enthusiasm. It was wonderful and contagious. We shared a  love for the written word,  fonts and stones. We really connected that day.

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When we met, LA mas making amazing handmade photo albums. She started her Freckled Nest Blog a few years ago and has found much success. Her personality and creativity has connected her with extraordinary people all over the world. Some of  LA's wonderful traits are her readiness to learn, her interest in others and her willingness to take chances. She has had big dreams and she is making them come true. Besides writing her blog, Leigh-Ann now teaches others (like me!) how to manage a blog and also designs gorgeous web/blog makeovers (Fig. 1 - what you're reading now!). She is making a big move to the States this summer to work with another creative superstar, Elsie from Red Velvet Art!
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Working with LA on this blog was a tremendous pleasure, not only because she one of the nicest people I've ever met, but because she has the ability to transform words and ideas into something beautiful. She uses her great eye and imagination to produce inspired work. While working on the blog, Leigh-Ann made me take a hard look at my business and art, and helped me think of new ways to grow and expand. She encouraged me to extend my artistic horizons, which I hope to be acting on in the near future (watch for ArtRocks in paper)! It's been something I've wanted to do for years, but her encouragement and positivity helped me bring out things in me which were waiting to be unleashed!
She has a gift with colours and graphic design , which she's put to use in the best way!
Take a look at the set up for the banner design for my blog!

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LA borrowed items from my artroom, found the right spot and the right angle (on Lake Winnipeg!) and waited for the right time. Isn't that cool? Leigh-Ann spent time talking to me, mining ideas and thoughts in my head and transforming them into this blog.

Everyone, keep track of this girl, because SHE'S GOING PLACES! She both talks the talk, and walks the walk! (and she's a sweetheart to boot!)

Thank you again for my beautiful blog, Leigh-Ann.

I wish you all the best, my friend.
xo Karen

Wednesday, June 16th, 2010

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I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world.This makes it hard to plan the day. -E. B. White

We all have beauty surrounding us at every moment.

What do you do when you see something that inspires?

      Do you take a mental note of it? Do you take a picture of it? Do write about it?

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*I love to collect pictures from magazines, newspapers, and calenders. Sometimes I buy cards just for the image or saying. Postcards, cd designs, great lettering. I collected so many of these things that I decided that it was time to create a  special home for them!  I came up with two main places to house them - the first one being the "Corkboard of Inspiration". This is a great place to have some positive images and words right in front of you.

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*The second is organizing the pictures and words into books. I can flip through them anytime I want, which helps me generate ideas and smiles. I don't  view the books as a scrapbook project but as a place for organization and easy access to the pictures (though I know there are some people who could turn these books into works of art! maybe in the future!!?). Sometimes I add the pictures to my "ideas" journal along with thoughts or a quote that I have found. All of these things are simple to do...just go out and buy a journal or scrapbook and cut and paste away!

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Surround yourself with simple things that you love and that touch your heart.

It can bring a lot of joy!
Have a great day,

Karen xo

P.S. for more snippets from my big happy-smiling-take-me-away scrapbooks, click here

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June 9, 2010

Happy Wednesday everyone!
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A lot of people ask me where I get my inspiration from. Over the weeks I'd like to share different ways I get inspired! So many aspects of day to day life assist me in the creative process.

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I'd like to take this opportunity to share my trip of a lifetime to Italy and Greece! Europe has history, quaintness and spectacular beauty at every footstep. I am now in the habit of taking a camera wherever I go (thank goodness for digital) and in Europe I could snap to my heart's desire.

I am the type of person who will take pictures of walls, floors (the above picture is of the floor in a Milan mall), ceilings, meals... interesting things that are sometimes overlooked! It becomes a photo-journal. I also take a lot of pictures to capture details for future reference but also try to create some photographic works of art!

I love photography and the freedom of digital allows you to take a picture many times to play with composition and color. Here we go!

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The first set of pictures were taken in Florence.

The rhythm of the clay roofs was very captivating.

( view of Bruneschelli's dome from bell tower)

(clay roofs of Florence)

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This resulted in sketches that I hope to use in a painting or drawing. I also painted an Inspired Stone of the Bruneschelli Dome of the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore.

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Another example of art created after the trip is from 

Antiparos, Greece. This small island has the feeling of a charming fishing town, though it has been discovered by tourists. Look at how beautiful it is as we approached the island! That is the sparkling Aegean Sea.

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(harbour at Antiparos)

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I tried to capture the peaceful feeling of the the town and harbour in this Inspired Stone.

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Cinque Terre in Italy are 5 beautiful towns etched into the side of the cliffs along the southern part of the Italian Riveria(sounds so exotic!).

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(Manarola, Italy)

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The color of the buildings and the sea was stunning. Walking paths, trains or boats join the towns. 

 There was lots of local artists selling their wares.

The vibrancy of the people was amazing.

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(Vernazza)

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(Vernazza)

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The result has been many sketches (I am working on a set of pen and ink drawings) and these Inspired Stones!

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I hope this has shown how beauty motivates and can spark the imagination to create artwork.

Since we can't go on vacations every month, I'll leave you with the thought that inspiration can be right outside your window, as shown in this drawing of the view from my artroom!

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Enjoy your day,   Karen xo

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Inspire Me Wednesdays : Week 4

A thought for the day...

Have a wonderful Wednesday,

Karen xo