Summer Drawing

I have been drawing on paper to practice some skills. It really is such a change from working on stone and I feel a little out of practice!   I love using pen and ink, copic pens (why do they make so many colors!!!!) and working with thick, rich papers.  The door in the picture is taken from one of the hundred doors that I photographed when I was away last year. The turquiose door was on the beautiful and colorful island of Procida.

Art Journal- Inspired Stones!

As promised, a sneak peak at some new stones! I am so looking forward to my fall shows and seeing everybody. The shows are coming up soon and I will be announcing the schedule in the next while :)

Enjoy the beautiful week! 

Art Journal: Time to Organize!

 

Well,it is time again for art room organizing—something that usually takes place in January or February. Just a little behind schedule!

Sometimes the busyness of everyday life,  the unexpected events that squash plans or something as simple and important as a much needed visit with family and friends can delay a "to do" on your list.

So here is some words of guidance that I try to follow:

Prioritize. 

Let go. 

Seize the moment. 

(Easier said than...right?!)

So, I grabbed some time recently on a weekend and did some much needed reorganizing. I put together some new cube shelving, put up some additional inspirational pictures on the wall, sorted, tossed and performed a good vacuum.

I even found a few "lost" things!

The room feels good and I didn't stress that it stayed extra messy for a few  extra months. 

Now that it is done I hope it will let a fresh flow of creating begin...  

"Toss your dashed hopes not into a trash bin but into a drawer where you are likely to rummage some bright morning." 
~Robert Brault, rbrault.blogspot.com

Art Journal: Stones of Blue!

Love these blue hues.

 My new stones all seems to have a bit of this summer color!
Warmth, water, peace, wisdom.
What does the color blue mean to you?

Art Journal

 Hope your day is going well!
I thought it was time to show you some work in progress. I have some fresh ideas to share and have been doodling and getting motivated and excited by my printmaking class and other creative people. The winter has been long and a little too enclosed...I cannot wait to get out and be inspired by the fresh air and maybe some greenery!
And perhaps to collect some rocks! It has been a long time, hasn't it?

Art Journal- Stones, Stones, Stones

 Hi Everyone,

This is the time of year I am painting and glazing all the time.

It is a lot of fun, as I try to commit big blocks of time to

the creative process...and actually take the designs 

from paper to rock.

I hope you are enjoying all the posts of the new stones as

I am very excited to share them with you!

Two weeks until the fall schedule and special announcement!

xo Karen

Art Journal- New Designs

 

Art Journal—New Spring Stones

 Hi Everyone,

 Just another glimpse of new stones that I have made in the last couple of months!

I cannot wait to show them at my sales coming up—I will post the dates of the shows next week.

xo Karen

Art Journal- William Morris

 Hey everybody!

 I'm lucky to say that inspiration is flowing for me this week! After learning more about Antonio Gaudi and studying his work, I was so energized! 

This week, I've begun to look at the father of the Arts and Crafts movement, William Morris. The Arts and Crafts movement was an international design movement popular in the late 1800s that stood for traditional craftsmanship using simple forms. Morris and his movement were a great influence to Gaudi! Morris' talents included writing and poetry, besides being an artist, designer, and textile maker. Morris' work is known to many and is still influential to art and craft all over the world.

I hope you enjoy the stones I am working on which take bits and pieces of his patterns and art. I have set the rocks on pictures of his work.

I can see that I may be stuck on this for I while!!! 
I just love it!

xo Karen

PS.. Check out the link on the right hand column to a blog called "William Morris Fanclub"
It has some inspiring words and wisdom about art and travel!

-sometimes just the color pallette is fun to work with!

-The above book by Ormiston and Wells, is a great resource!

Art Journal- New Stones

 

“I don't know anything with certainty, 

but seeing the stars makes me dream.”  

-Vincent van Gogh

Hi everyone,

Inspiration is everywhere! Here are a few stones that

I am working on - my love of Modigliani, Eliot, and Klimt is quite obvious, wouldn't you say? I love flipping through art books and getting inspired. I often spend hours searching for new sayings and poems that send me in a positive direction.

  After that, the key is to keep a few bits of joy (art, words, music or beautiful objects) around you every day!

 

I hope your day is filled with kindness and imagination,

Karen  

  

Art Journal

“Three Rules of Work: Out of clutter find simplicity; From discord find harmony; In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.”
 ~Albert Einstein
 

Everyone tries to get the year off to a fresh start, me included. In January, I usually try do a mass re-organizing of my artroom. Things always get a little crazy in there after the busy fall and I find that it is good to start the year on a fresh page. Clutter blocks creativity! 

Every year during the organizing process, it gets to that point where the room and adjoining hallways are filled with stuff, looking far worse than they did before, and I wonder "why did I start this?". But with persistence, you get over that hump and it starts to turn around.

In the end, I reorganized my art books, notebooks, and sketchbooks and put refreshing photos on the corkboard and wall.
I cleared some things away, making room for actual art.

Now it is time to start work!

I hope all of you get a chance to clear a space for yourself, figuratively or literally!

Karen

I added some new pictures and words to my inspiration corkboard

Beautiful drawings from books, magazines and such- stuck on the wall!

Organized book shelf ... by organized, I mean upright!

 Work on some new Lino projects with my photos from Europe has begun!