Monday, May 17, 2010

Art!

About 16 years ago, I discovered/was introduced by a friend to the art of stamping and card-making and began making almost all of the cards we needed for various occasions. The materials for that hobby overlap significantly with the hobby of scrapbooking, and a few years later, another friend introduced me to that world as well. That hobby has now branched off or segued into yet another area.

Off and on for few years or so now, I've loved reading about and learning how to create different types of art - particularly collage, such as ATCs (Artist Trading Cards) and art journals. In the past few months that interest has been renewed once again, mostly through the discovery of some inspiring blogs. One that sort of tipped it all off again (my fascination with this type of art) is An Artful Life by Shona Cole, author of The Artistic Mother, a book that I hope to add to my collection some day. At the same time (maybe before?), Artistic Creations with Trudy became another favorite blog to read. She is working through The Artistic Mother and if/when I acquire the book, I hope to join in with her group in working through the projects. Today she posted that her daughter is also participating and has a blog, which I showed to my daughter who is close in age and wants to start a blog of her own soon. (She's just waiting for me to set it up, but my hang-up at the moment is trying to come up with a name for it that doesn't include her name in any way, as protecting her identity is a big concern for me.)

My most recent cool art blog discovery has been artsyville. Such bright happy colors and great quips! There's a great one on parenting in her post today. Love the happiness of the art and the humor of the rest of the post in this one. And I can certainly relate to this procrastination piece!


Another fairly recent discovery and now daily read is daisy yellow. More bright colors and fun inspiration! I could blog hop for hours from all the links to great ideas and suggestions for art and artsy things to try out! Reading through some of this blog inspired me to throw a black marker/pen into my purse and a handful of ATC-sized white card stock and to use them when I have moments of time while waiting for the kids at various things that don't require my involvement. I've always enjoyed "doodled" art but never tried to make any, so these 2.5" x 3.5" projects are a great place to start! This quote in one of her posts is classic!

"Housework is a treadmill
from futility to oblivion
with stop-offs at tedium
and counter productivity."
~ Erma Bombeck

Besides all the inspiration and pretty things to look at on these blogs, I appreciate that most of these ladies are also mothers, and many of them homeschool as well. There is a very weird, dark, spiritually evil or "new age" side to much of the art world in general, and it has been fun to find these artists, many of whom are also Christ-followers.

I've mostly been reading and dreaming about making artsy things, without much application (though there are a few things in progress). And even that is late in the evening when everyone else is in bed, and I should be, but instead stay up enjoying the moments of quiet and peace. Hope to have a few completed things to post soon!

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