CT: Birds of a Feather (#71)

Happy Creative Tuesday! 

The most recent challenge was to work with the theme Birds of a Feather.  What a fun one considering my new crush on red tail hawks.  I love the idea of getting familar with the way their feathers look and how they carry their feet when they fly.

I just played with pencil this time.  It's soothing, meditative.  And upon further reading I saw somewhere that among Native Americans traditions, hawks are considered the messenger of change.  And couldn't be more appropriate as things, they 'a changing. 

Hawks reminded the people they needed to be awake and aware and can achieve great things through persistence and sheer strength of will.  I love that!

 

Creative Tuesday: Ideal Coffee Break

It's Creative Tuesday and I'm grateful for that.

This week was particularly special as I really needed the excuse to pause my worries and sit down with my pad and watercolors and create for the theme over at Mr. Toast's Creative Tuesday's assignment!

Here is a quick peak at my desk as I started.  Messy, yet inspiring.  And it's a little strange because there were no less than three times that the power went off and came back on while I worked (at times by candlelight).

This week's theme is Ideal Coffee Break!  Why so challenging?? 

Yes, I drink coffee.  In fact, I have a mug of it every morning.  But coffee for me right now is associated with driving to work in my car and I don't think I will be drawing that.  So, I let my mind wander back to college days when I would shuffle off to the book store, buy a cup of coffee and daydream in a big comfy chair.

My ideal break has an orange mug filled with coffee that has a little sugar and milk.  A pink frosted cupcake and my favorite idea pad accompanied by a nice sharp pencil.  Here is a look at the whole design!

Finished piece on my desk.

And here is a scanned version.  Although I realize now that the watercolor pad that I got is bigger than the scanner, so that colors got a little weird in this one.

I hope you consider joining in this or the next assignment (really hope you do) and please take a look other artists in the community here.   

New Life for an Old Treasure

This footstool was a housewarming gift from my Mom when I first moved out on my own.  I have had it all this time and always found a nice spot for it in each place I have lived. 

Now that I have my house... I thought it was time to breath new life into this treasure.

BEFORE:

This adorable fabric really had matched a lot of my places and decor. 

Light, airy, and worn by cat scratches (yes, at one point I had cats)

One of my favorite things about this little footstool is that the top opens up to a little hiding nook. 

I have always kept little treasures stashed away in there!  It now holds my color pencils, crayons, and crochet hooks!

I took the wee little hinges off the top and started to remove the fabric staple by staple.

MAGIC OF FABRIC:

Once I had the old fabric off it was just a matter of deciding in what orientation I wanted to use the new pattern and then cutting the new fabric to size.

Here it is ready for stapling!

AFTER:

And voila!  It's like a new little piece of art.  And it really fits the more modern and playful look I have going in my art spot!

Here's a peak at that nook!

Fancy crayons, sketching pencils, art books, web-cam, and I store crochet hooks in that re-used Japanese gummy tube (such a green re-use and it still smells like strawberries!!!)

I will still do something with that empty piece of wood underneath.  I'm thinking of painting something, but not sure what yet.

Do you have an old piece you treasure that could use a little new life infused in it?

This pop of color and my blue pencil and crayon case are serving as my Midweek Blues entry hosted by Rebbeca over at The Dusty Cellar. 

I hope you will check out other cures for the Midweek Blues there!






I have also linked this post to Fabric Tuesday hosted by Fresh Poppy Design over at Quiltstory (my new found favorite blog as I dust off my quilting juices!) 

Also, be sure to look at what others are creating with fabrics!

Whoa, windy!

It's time again for Creative Tuesday's hosted by Mmm at Hot Toast and Jam!!

This rounds theme was "Wind/Windy."  My first thoughts... ummm... wind isn't something you can see, so will a blank page suffice?  I promise the wind is there.  Honest, just look a wee bit closer.  Can you feel, uh, I mean, see it?

A blank page wasn't going to cut it.  I convinced myself.  So, I began thinking of windy things.  Chicago? Windmills? Flying things? Pinwheels.  Ugg.  My pad was bound to sit blank.

A few days ago I tried again.  My brain leapt to three masted ships on the high windy seas.  Flags and banners wavering in the wind from the tall masts.  But, the drawing just wouldn't come out. 

So, last night in a last ditch procrastinating manner I picked up my pad once more and I can't believe how easily this came out.  When it's right, it's right.

I give you "Windy Hair," or is it "Hair a Blowin'," or maybe "There She Blows." 

It's been a while since I broke out my sketching pencils.  The lead is very soft, which makes it's fun to smudge and then run around the house after the dog with black pencil fingers. 

(Ok, I didn't torture the dog with this, but I did make a mess!  And I would certainly say that making a mess this way is loads of happy!!)

A little closer look.  Can you feel the breeze?

Another thing I haven't done in a long while is sign my work.  I married.  I changed my name.  I love my husband to the ends and back.  I lost my artistic identity along with it all.  Christie M. was a very creative, confident, free spirit artist.  Christie W. is still trying to figure out her place in things.

But look.  I signed it.  Yup.  Swished that W right into a circle.  Maybe my swagger is coming back?

One last look.  I'm feeling pretty proud of this one.   

If I had been told that the more I would share the easier this would get, I would have chuckled.

Honestly, this is turing into one of my favorite things to be a part of.  I enjoy seeing the creative results from the other participants.  I enjoy being a part of something so much bigger than me.  But most of all I like how it's stretching me and giving me a reason to pick up my pad and fill in a page or two.


(So, if you have a pad that itching for you to give it attention... pick it up already and join in!)