Brush Pens and Paper

Taking a break from paper mache to play with a little pen and ink.

I feel a bit like I'm channeling Wanda Gág. 

Millions of Cats is one of my very favorite picture books.

That's the Prismacolor Premier Brush Tip Marker and Sakura Pigma Graphic Ink 1 pen, which (when not in use) are stowed happily in the new case I mentioned in my last post.

Hope they inspire you to do some drawing!

Down the Rabbit Hole

The paper mache odyssey continues

Nesting for Creativity

As I mentioned last week, I recently did a little spring cleaning around the office.  Now my art space - my first, real, all my own spot reserved 24/7 solely for my creative work - is feeling much fresher.

Or at least it was up until I got back to work the following day.  At the moment, my desk is again cluttered with papers, pens and projects in-progress.  Does it help that it's at least all organized into separate piles?

My mind tends to reflect the state of my surroundings, so I generally try my best to keep my space neat and clear.  In fact, one of my favorite morning rituals is sweeping the floor.  Maybe that sounds hopelessly OCD, but it really enhances how I feel and think.  It's like wiping down my mental and emotional chalkboard and starting with a clean slate, first thing in the day. 

But sometimes I get lazy, things get messy, and my mind starts to feel a little scattered or sticky.

For this reason, I am currently working to cultivate a space that feels neat, nurturing and inspiring.

Just as we make nest for our baby-babies, this ritual is equally important in the rearing of our creative-babies.  My goal is to surround myself with colors, images, and textures that nourish my heart and creative spirit.  My hope is that putting a little love into my studio will both motivate me to keep it consistently clean and organized, and also enhance my process and productivity.

I haven't got much to work with starting out, but a quick trip to the Goodwill provided adequate fodder.  For less than $2, I brought home a couple of cute and colorful frames, complete with hangers and matting.

I just wiped down the glass and frame, made a few little snippity snips, and in no time at all had some cute, original artwork to perk up my otherwise bare walls. 

I never seem to get tired of foxes. 

I love thrifty deals and making old things like new :-)

Just a little something.

These two showed up on my desk today.

Spring is coming!

For the love of Paint.

I found some really amazing old watercolors here at the apartment the other day.  They turned out to be just the thing to help alleviate the funk that marked the earlier half of last week.

It's a medium I haven't had much experience with, so I basically just let myself play around with shapes and colors.

Not surprisingly, a few of my favorite friends decided to show up. 

Contented Fox.

Sunbathing Bunny.

Painting just for the love of it.

Ahhhh definitely feeling better :)

A visit from the Easter Wabbit

Whipping up some last-minute Easter cards!

Earlier this week, I mentioned how eager I have been to try my hand at carving my own rubber stamps.

So I took a trip to the Blick art supply store on Market and picked up a few Speedy-Cut blocks.  

This was my first time working with this material, and it certainly feels a lot different than carving a linocut.  It cuts very easily compared to linoleum, but luckily I didn't find it too difficult to adapt. 

I also love how it's sturdy enough to cut into even the tiniest pieces.  The grass I threw in as an afterthought, just because I had some corners to spare.  I'm grateful it happened to work out this way, since the added color and texture seem to pull the scene together.

I think I'll get to work addressing some envelopes.  Of course they wont arrive in time for Easter, but hopefully they'll serve to brighten someone's day all the same.


Update: I ended up carving even more wee stamps from scraps

...and have used them to create some original stationery.

...in festive spring colors!

That's the envelope on the left and note card on the right

A little detail of the mushrooms.  They are tiny - about as big as my thumbprint. 

I love snail mail! And rubber carving! And Spring!

Solar Power

Meep eep eep.

Thumpatta thumpatta thumpatta.

  Mouse said I think too much.

Rabbit called me skittish.

"Perhaps a moment of stillness?" they suggest.

Face in the sun,

Feet in the grass,

A tree behind my back.

 I find solar-powered peace.