Creativity is Exploration

This year I decided to try out Tamara LaPorte's LifeBook 2017!  Although I know how to do many of the techniques and things that are taught, my personal choice and reasoning is because I want to do more exploration in my art.  I also thought that it might be a bit of an impetus for me to get back to doing art every day like I used to do. 2016 was not exactly what I would call the "Year of the Artist" for me although I did accomplish the creation of several beautiful pieces of artwork that went to very happy homes--which makes me happy and thrilled to know I am fulfilling my purpose by imparting beauty to others.

Anywhoo--the lessons in LifeBook are well organized and thought out (after her many years of doing this I would say that Tam has it down to a science!). The price is not outrageous for an entire year of classes and I love that the videos are downloadable so I can watch them whenever I want--like last night at 12:30 a.m. when my sweetie was asleep and I couldn't sleep.

I enjoy seeing the materials that other artists are using and I have vowed to try a couple of new ones (for me) out this year.  For those that know me, you know I have an ABUNDANCE of art supplies and in 2016 I tried very hard not to purchase any new ones since I had so many already--and for the most part, I did not buy anything new supply wise, although I replaced a few worn out items that I use regularly.

The art medium that I am exploring this next couple of weeks (and will probably use throughout the year) are liquid watercolors.  I have used them in several classes but I do not own any except for three small bottles which are mostly used up now. As I do love watercolor painting anyway and making washes--this seems like almost a "cheat" to me, but I absolutely adore how vibrant the hues are and the deep saturation of color that is possible with liquid watercolor.

I have not decided which set to get yet.  There are several to choose from including Ecoline and Dr. Ph. Martin's on the higher end, and Sargent and Color Splash which are more geared toward the student than the artist (my guess would be they are less pigment than the higher end ones although for the money you get quite a bit more product than the higher end options.)  I believe Ecoline is a British product but can be purchased on Amazon in sets--what I wish is that they said which colors come in that set--they have all these amazing color swatches but don't say on the product itself what colors are included in the grouping. I may purchase Dr. Ph. Martin's at a local art supply shop to give them a try.  So I am excited to give these new art supplies a whirl and see how they up my art.

I was going to try to do a price and quality comparison but as you can see from the photographs, it really wouldn't be a possibility of comparing apples to apples as some of the bottles are larger than others and some sets have more in a set among other variables.  I guess as an artist, the rule of thumb would be "buy the best quality you have the means to purchase."  The other option is to buy one of each brand and see how you like each one after a test run or two and then purchase whichever brand you actually prefer.   I am interested in the Ecoline mainly because it has a nice wide neck for getting to the paint and the Dr. Martin's feels a little smallish in size for the money.  Dick Blick by the way, also has their own line of liquid watercolors and I am sure there are many other possible options. These were the ones that I found most easily.

With that said, I'm off to go work on my LifeBook.  I'm already two weeks behind and it's only three weeks into the program!

(c) 2017 SZing, Bohemian Art Cafe. All Rights Reserved. Photographs from Tamara LaPorte's LifeBook 2017 and from product photographs.

A Creative Tease...

Sometimes you just have to take a vacation.  Apparently, I'm still on mine.  Looking forward to a month of exploring creative solutions and creative thinking.

In the meantime, in joy, enjoy....

Discovering Ted

To stir up creativity, I suggest “show searching.”

I must be living in a cave.  Since I have been chained to my desk for weeks going on months now, trying to work on the “business” end of my art (auctions, selling, photos and text, proposals, lining up classes, etc.)  I’ve not really been doing a lot of the art creation that I prefer.

I admit, last night I was too exhausted after caring for a friend’s puppy for the past five days, to do anything that really required brain cells.  Instead, I was preparing photographs for bohemianartcafe.etsy.com and for my upcoming

Glass Act Auction 

on August 20 at 11 a.m.  

(P.S. You’re invited.  RSVP and I will continue to add new and more items for the auction.)

Raspberry suncatcher, will be auctioned at
Glass Act Auction
11 a.m. August 20 

I was sort of bored with the usual TV stuff, having recently finished watching my DVDs of Castle and The Mentalist.  I admit, I haven’t really been watching all that much live TV or checking out UTube lately.  I know the Olympics were on, but honestly, there’s only so much activity a body can watch without becoming exhausted by osmosis. 

Okay, so…maybe it’s been more than a few months that I’ve been chained to the cave I call my office, since last night for the first time I discovered TED talks.

I know many people have been checking this Technology/Entertainment/Design Conference for a while.  Years.  Well, for me, last night it was a revelation.  I was using my Roku and searching through Netflix by just searching a r t.  And up popped Ted Talks about art.


So, tonight, when I continue to work on preparations for Glass Act Auction, I’ll  tune in again and see what inspires me.  If you haven’t discovered Ted Talks, now is a good time.

Rejuvenating Creativity

One of my favorite ways to rejuvenate my creativity is to head to a library or a bookstore, my preference being the bookstore, since normally, there is a coffee shop attached.  I arm myself with the following:

my laptop
my phone and cord to charge it on the laptop
some cash for coffee
an open mind

When I get to the bookstore, I usually first do one of the following:

A.  Select as many arts, crafts and interiors/architectural/gardening magazines as I can hold. 

OR

B.  Randomly walk through the magazine and books and select items that are as off the wall as I can find or as different from my "normal" selections as I can get.

I take my findings to a table at the coffee shop and usually put a pad of paper and pen or some other item on top of them so people know that someone is sitting there (and so that, in the event that the staff happen to walk through during the next few minutes they won't re-shelve my hard won items).

I order my drink--even on a hot day, I can't help myself.  I love hot chai lattes.  Sometimes I get a little something sweet like a cranberry scone or a piece of lemon bar.  Sometimes I just focus on that venti latte.

Then I spend the next few hours pouring over the magazines and books.  I look at everything--the advertisements, the articles, the pictures. 

Why the laptop and phone?  If I find something that I want to remember or that jogs some other idea in my head, I snap a quick phone picture of it.  If that item really gets my creative energy flowing, I open my Windows One Notes "Creative Juice" Workbook and I type in notes and ideas related to whatever got me intrigued. 

I find that I especially get a "Kick in the Seat of the Pants" (referring to Roger Von Oech's book and creativity cards Creative Whack Pack) when I do option B--finding random items that are far from my normal interests. 

It is astounding what sorts of things can then come up for me.  For example, I was in a sort of "stuck" mode at one point.  I picked up a science magazine (don't recall which at this time) and was inspired by photographs of space and various anomalies.  I then found a magazine (another science one, perhaps the same as with the photos of space for all I know) and it had microscopic photos at a cellular level of various items.  I was supremely intrigued by the fact that...the photos were not all that dissimilar.  This then led me to design a five piece series of enamels on glass that were designed to emulate both types of design.  I plan to do some additional pieces of this type in the future.

It never fails to leave me feeling rejuvenated.  I often regret that the time allotted for this pastime is over. But I always begin that or the next day fully charged and ready with plenty of ideas and plans for creative works.

Frustrated Quilter Gains Inspiration

As a frustrated quilter, I have always loved looking at quilts.  My fused glass artwork frequently is evocative of the textures and sometimes the patterns of art quilts.  So I recently have been reading a book, Twelve by Twelve The International Art Quilt Challenge. 

Cover art used by permission of

Brenda Gael Smith for

Twelve by Twelve: The International Art Quilt Challenge

 These twelve amazing artists chose twelve themes and each one created a 12" x 12" art quilt for each theme. The artistry is spectacular.  I love reading about each artist's techniques and story, as well as seeing the photos of their creative spaces.  Since my art studio is not currently, um, shall we say, up and running (i.e., in boxes waiting to be unpacked) this is a nice jolt of creativity to inspire me.  You can view these works at http://www.twelveby12.org/.  Truly Paducah Quilt Museum worthy!  I believe I can call them inspirational--quite a number of them caused me to intake breathe in amazement and wonder at the exquisite colors and textures.  Who knew a sewing machine could elicit such beauty!

This is "Dandelion" by Art Quilter Diane Perin Hock. (c) Diane Perin Hock,

USED BY WRITTEN PERMISSION OF THE ARTIST

see her blog at www.goingtopieces.blogspot.com

I think there is crossover between all mediums if the artist is willing to look for the connections.  I often use photographs of quilts as an inspirational cue when beginning a new art glass piece.  I also draw upon abstract expressionism and even Henri Matisse' collage cutouts to help me design my work.  It seems to me that human creativity really has no end.  Though I've often heard people say that everything that's been written has already been written, I don't believe that is true.  Each story, each piece of glass, each poem, each painting, each quilt, et cetera, is uniquely its own, even if it draws upon similar themes as other works or even borrows heavily from other works.  The end result is a unique creation.  We seem to have a strong drive toward creating and our creativity pushes the limits of what we've done previously...if we will allow creativity free reign.