Block Letters…beginning..A.B

Since I’m re-grouping from my last major Art Project…the Ballerina, I pulled out my moleskine to doodle up some letters in Block Style.



I free-handed the letters and made the letter the negative space.



Can’t go wrong with b/w stripes as dividers for the colors.



Next the B….which is anything but boring!



Did a Mandela look with my compass, then added swirlies on top.



Kept the circles white, kinda looks like bubbles.



I am out-of-sequence here cuz this isn’t a “C”. 



If I were to do the “E” again, I’d keep the left vertical line straight…not sure if I like the curvy E.

Winner Chosen

First of all I want to thank everyone that took the time to answer my questions for this Blog Survey.  I’ve jotted down a bunch of suggestions from you all.  You guys always amaze me with your insight and positive feedback.

I used the Random Generator to pick the winner and she is:



I wish I could send out a directory to all of you, really!   Please stick around because I’ll be doing this again sometime.  I think they’re fun!

Phoenix Peacock please email your snail mail address to me here: elg921 [at] yahoo [dot] com

Thanks again EveryOne!

It’s about time….

Fin-A-Lly….finally Spring Break time!!  What a l.o.n.g. winter this has been.  But we survived!  And now it’s time for some much needed rest and beach time.  No big plans once there, just going with the flow.   My favorite way to vacate.  How about you?

Have a nice week yourself.  I’ll see you on the other side.

One Meal-lion Doodles

You heard right!!! That’s One Million Doodles.  The “meal-lion” is suppose to be a take on an Austin Powers movie where Dr. Evil puts his pinky in his mouth and wants to be paid ONE MEAL-LION dollars to not blow up the world.   That movie has some funny classic lines.

Sue over at Sue Doodles posted about this doodle challenge a few days ago, and I thought I’d give it a try.  I’m a more structured doodler so I wasn’t sure how I’d approach this. 



Here are the guidelines for the World Doodle Challenge.

The task is easy
1. You don’t need to be able to draw well. A doodle is meant to be whatever comes to mind.
2. You can doodle on anything, a blank piece of paper, a napkin, a post-it, a lined page, a note book anything at all.
3. Your doodle can be any size, the ideal size would be 5 x8 inches or what ever you like.
4. You can use one color or many and the doodle can be done while you are in a meeting, on the phone, watching television, on the train…. anywhere you like
5. The doodle can be of anything, what ever pops into your head. just pick up a pen and draw.
6. The important thing is you must date stamp your doodle and list which City and Country you are in.
7. If you are travelling you can submit doodles from multiple cities.
8. Scan your doodle or take a photo and e-mail it to me : warren@tjomiesvintagestationery.com
9. I will begin to post the world doodles as I start receiving them (I anticipate it will take a while to kick off, with the first few trickling in)
10.  Your doodles will eventually wind up in a world book, and will be used to support charities.



Had a bit of time to kill the other day as 10 inspectors walked into our lab to inspect our policies and procedures.  I had to be at their beck and call as they asked questions and reviewed logs.  Having given up my desk to a couple of inspectors, I didn’t know what to do with my hands…….so, I doodled on a scrap piece of paper.   I don’t know if my doodle really counts as a doodle, because there are a lot of free-association words written down.  Ah, well!

It’ll be interesting to see how long it takes Warren at The Doodle Daily to reach his millionth submission.  I did my part, I hope YOU can too.

Insert Inspiration Here

Every now and then I need to Organize my Thoughts and my Finds and post what’s inspiring me lately. If I really get my act together I might just do this quarterly!! But that’s IF!!

DRAWING:

*image posted with permission

Andrea Joseph- If you haven’t spotted this lady yet, you will be in for a treat when you visit her blog or flickr site. She can do the most amazing drawings, with a pen. Yep, a pen!!! Your standard bic pen! Who’d have thought?

Andrea Joseph's Art Blog

Andrea Joseph Flickr illustrations

PAINTING:

*image posted with permission

Leah Giberson- Oh my goodness, I have been totally suckered into thinking her paintings are photographs. She does the most absolutely amazing still life’s. Usually they are of houses, cars, RV’s or even pools. Fascinating!!

Leah Giberson Etsy Shop

Leah Giberson Flickr Photostream

ABSTRACT COLOR:

Thaneeya McArdle- She uses every color known to man. She knows what she’s doing and has a wonderful way of making ordinary things look EXTRAordinary.

Thaneeya's Website

Thaneeya Flickr Photostream

INTERVIEWS:

I am naturally curious about other people. Especially people that I can learn something from. It’s nice to get a look at the personality behind the art. What and how the artists do their work and their inspirations. Because I think we are all influenced by each other. There is no new thing under the sun (with the exception of technology). I guess it’s just the way we use it or present it.

Stephanie Levy Artist Interviews

ZENTANGLES:

Caroline’s picture Indio

Where do I begin with all the zany zentanglers out there??? Oh My!! I think this is such a good way to practice, to steady our hand with our chosen tool (pen/ pencil or brush). It’s unbelievably relaxing and for me it s.l.o.w.s. my mind down! Which can be a very good thing, indeed. Just ask anyone that lives with me.

And for the more COLORFUL zentanglers out there……I bring you Bostinstuff.

Check out their photostreams for more amazing work by both Caroline and Sheila.

TYPOGRAPHY:

For all you ART JOURNALERS out there, who isn’t influenced by dynamic type fonts? I see what these ladies can do and I drool!! Really!!

Martha Lever

Besottment by paper relics

Tammy's Art Journaling post

Dawn Sokol's Art Journal pages

Lori at Elvie Studio

Aimee at Artsyville

BOOKS:

1- My Stroke of Insight- This book was recommended to me by a Local Art Instructor. It’s about a 37 yr old Harvard trained Neurosurgeon (brain scientist), who had a stroke in her LEFT HEMISPHERE. She talks about all the beauty and peace she felt during and after her stroke. During her stroke, she had to call 9-1-1 and once she recognized the 9 she punched it…..and kept punching it, because she had no sense of time (left hemisphere) and finally realized she had to cover up the 9 on the sheet of paper to move on. She gradually regained her full use of her left-analytical hemisphere. She now could chose to let go of negative judgments or memories (left hemisphere) that she didn’t want to have a hold on her anymore. Worth every minute to read this book. Especially if you’re curious about how our hemispheres interact. Loved it!!

2- The War of Art- I heard about this book thru Mandy at Messy Canvas. There is so much good stuff in this book and I recommend taking your time to read it. Read a chapter at a time. No need to read it all in one sitting. If you take your time, you can let the ideas simmer for awhile. Very thought provoking.

Quote from this book: “I believe in Angels. They work for God- it’s their job to help us. Wake us up. Bump us along. They shout “Evolve! Evolve!”……Angels are like muses. They know stuff we don’t. They want to help us. They’re on the other side of a pane of glass shouting to get our attention. But we can’t hear them. We’re too distracted by our own nonsense. Ahhh, but when we begin. When we make a start…..When we commit & face our fears------ A crack appears in the membrane.”

QUOTES:

Raise your hand if you’re inspired by Quotes? Actually, it would probably be easier to count the hands of people who aren’t!

It’s not that some people have willpower and some don’t. It’s that some people are ready to change and others are not. -James Gordon

Maybe being brave is no more than staring down the “less than” feeling and stepping up to the “I am worthy” feeling. -Terri St. Cloud

Tension is who you think you should be, Relaxation is who you are. -Chinese Proverb

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma- which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is seconday. -Steve Job

YOUTUBE:

And last I want to leave you with this youtube video from John Cleese on Creativity. It’s about 10 minutes long, but he talks about some very do-able principles. Lots of insight and funny too!

Thanks for staying with me to the end here. I am a bit humbled to say the least. But at the same time these people excite me. To think that someone can actually draw like that, paint like that, or write like that. Wow! Hope you found something that inspired you as well.

Digital Credits:

• Picture frame for VISUAL STIMULI courtesy of Scrapgirls Freebie.
• Label Maker used for names on the above pictures, purchased from Scrapgirls Here.

A little Shout Out…..

Now, that I have your Attention with this random doodle that has no direction, whatsoever…..!

I just wanted to post some links of…….

Project Participants.

It’ll be a good way to see what other people are up to with their projects. Give you some ideas on how to expand the book you’re working on. Or…..help you see that this is a fun project and You Can Do It Too!

Here ya go:

1. Rebecca at Daisy Doll Gypsy Caravan……her theme is “Faces in the Crowd”

2. Dawn at Cathartic Creativity…….her theme is “In Flight”

3. Hanna at iHanna's Blog…..her theme is “Grids and Lines”

4. Ingrid at My Peace Tree…..theme ???

5. Liz at On the Surface……her theme is “A Day in the Life”

6. Sketchbook Doodle Head group

7. Alice at Ally Louise…..theme ???

8. Dori at The Dreaming Bear…..theme ???

9. Kathryn at Dyche Designs…. theme ???

10. Donna at The Happy Painter….her theme is “In Flight”

It’s always fun to peek into other peoples heads/ or art worlds, I think. If you are doing this sketchbook please leave a link in the comment section. I’d love to see what your up to as well.

7 Links Challenge

I’ve decided to play along with Tammy from her 7 Links Challenge post that’s been making the rounds in the blogosphere lately. I finally have some substance to this blog with over 210 posts……Wow! Did I just say that outloud? Who’d have thought this little artsy, quirky, bloggy habit could’ve been sustained this long? But I guess this is where we are headed, with our technology, and our super-fast mode of communicating. I’ve had such a fun time getting to know all you “bloggy” friends and visiting your little niche’s on the web. I really enjoy seeing what you’re up to. You are teaching me so much about art, photography, the internet, different sites, and it’s fun to see your fun and colorful personalities shine through! I hope that some of you play along with this little link challenge.

Just post a link in the comments to your response so we can hop over and have a look.

• 1- Your first post……..That would be Avatar Mosaic. It was a bit scary to post for the first time, but this was harmless enough. Click on the picture to see it larger, these avatars are too small to decipher unless you do.
• 2- The Post you enjoyed writing the most…….That would be My Manifesto or What do you want to be when you grow up? Obviously, not much art in those. They’re more about what I think. Art you enjoyed creating……that would have to be the Part 6 of the Friends Sketch. It was something I’ve never done before, even though it took a week to complete and I need a lot more practice sketching, I surprised myself.
• 3- The post which generated the most discussion……that would have to be Notes and a Doodle.
• 4- A post on someone else’s blog that you wish you’d written…….Can I pick more than one??? Good, here’s three.
• i. Artsyville’s- A Handwritten Perspective
• ii. Brooke Castillo’s- Live You
• iii. Christine Kane’s- How to stay motivated when you're not feeling it.
• 5- A post with a Title that makes you proud……..Oh, that’s easy it has to be Craving Color or A Bird in his Right Mind
• 6- A post you wish more people had read…….I like Art Inspires, even though it’s not a long post I think I was able to communicate what art means to me pretty openly.
• 7- Your most visited post ever…….Hands down it would have to be my Doodle Directory series of posts. Doodle Directory, Doodle Directory stimulus, Doodle Directory continued, and Doodles upon Doodles. Most fitting I’d say, with that being part of my blog name et al.

I wanted to thank everyone for all their nice comments on my last post about the recent passing of my Father. It really meant a lot to me.

Word for the year

Oh, No!! I just realized the year is halfway over and I never did get around to picking my word for the year. I had such High Hopes that I’d pick a really good word that would propel me to do more with my life….but alas, I forgot!

Look at this list….I’m surprised that none of these words resonated with me this year.

Last year I was one of the first on the word-bandwagon. My word, Start really got me off my duff to do some things, make some changes.

How about you? Did anybody pick a word? How has your word worked for you?

idk…..i don’t know

What am I going to do with these all these letters?

idk....I don’t know!! That’s text talk! Speaking of which , the more I keep texting family and friends the harder it is for me to write NORMAL emails to ppl people (especially at work). I have to stop myself from using a “u” for “you” and a “ur” for "your"! But don’t you just love the simplicity? Less key strokes! I’m always up for less keystrokes!

I digress…..The question is: What am I going to do with all these letters? idk…Sure don’t….and does it really matter? The little entrepreneur in me says, sell them, make money, push them. But I figure things will come together as they should. I enjoy doodling, coloring and just playing with these shapes. So, really that’s enough for now.

I could also be asking myself….. What am I going to do with all these moleskines? Ha!!

I’ve just started a fifth, Moleskine that is!! They are the BEST!! But let me clarify that, I only buy the watercolor moleskines. If you’re a sketcher you wouldn’t need the watercolor version. But us marker ppl people we’ve got to have some weight to the paper, or else! Or else, it gets pretty ugly, pretty fast with the bleed thru, ruining 1-2 pages underneath. Ugh!

This project should really be done by now!! I feel kinda bad for neglecting it! If you can remember from this post, that I need to put something on the wall above the couch. So, this was my decision! I haven’t touched it since I finished stitching the tulip! Must get it in gear here! Really!

Is anyone else wondering what your gonna do with your projects/ art?

What do you want to be when you grow-up?

Find your Passion- What are you good at? Walk with the dreamers, the believers, the courageous, the cheerful, the planners, the doers, the successful people with their heads in the clouds and their feet on the ground. Let their spirit ignite a fire within you, to leave this world better than you found it. -Wilfred Peterson

Well, at 8 I wanted to be a teacher, then at 11 I wanted to be a P.E. teacher. Six years later I thought I’d show the world I could be a Navy Pilot. Yep, sure did. Living in a city that trained Navy Pilots, it seemed logical. However, I didn’t want to cut my hair. I wasn’t afraid of the physical side of training (that much…just don’t make me run too much). But the shaved heads scared me. Yikes! And it didn’t matter if you were male or female…..equal rights and equal opportunity employment. But being the practical gal that I am, and knowing how much i hated Physics, even though I loved math….I had to reconsider. Fell into my profession since the counselor’s at my University seemed to know where to steer the “undeclared”….so off I went to study biology, microbiology, botany, chemistry, bio-chemisty and medical technology. It’s been a good profession. I’ve been able to work anywhere I’ve lived, full or part-time/ half-days or full-days. But was this my passion? Ummmmmm……I wanted to help people, and stay healthy (hence medicine), but CSI- work (non-field) can get a little mundane.

So, armed with all my little mini-ideas of professions. I asked my DD who has one year left in High School. What do you want to study? What are you interested in? At first the only answers were 3 words: “I don’t know”….”I don’t care”….followed by her quick exit from the room!!!! You see she’s young, she has no clue what’s out there, she doesn’ t know what she doesn’t know. But, I’m thinking “throw me a bone, here!" Please! Anything. I see my role with her as a supplier of information. If she said she was interested in veterinary school, well then I’d be feeding her all kinds of articles about dogs/cats/ cows! Heck, I’d even be planning the pictures I’d make to put on the walls of her clinic! I’d be so excited! But…this isn’t about me.

As hard as I’ve been on her over this issue, I think I’ve figured it out. She doesn’t want to make the wrong choice, so she’s not making any choice. Now, you’d think I’d know how to treat a pre-college student concerning their future since she has an older brother. But as easy as he made the path for me, he made it twice as hard for her. He knew at 5 what he wanted to be. I thought it was me that helped him figure it out way back when! But….this isn’t about me.

So, now….I know as she gains experience and sees the real world and talks to real people about real work, and listens to herself…..listens to herself….listens to herself!!! She’ll figure it out.

This drawing is dedicated to her. Cuz it’s stuff that’s worked for me over the years. Wait, it’s not about me….but these are general truths so it’s all-inclusive.

Today- I’d probably answer that question as Textile Artist or……

What about you? What do you want to be?

Swim Time

As you can see, I’m still on my birdie kick! And being that I am really desiring Spring or better yet Summer weather, I just had to create some of my sunshine.

I have not had good results doing hair with markers, so off I went to grab my watercolor pencils to do her hair in the only way that I know how. By lightly sketching the strands of hair, then using a small brush that I dip in water and apply to the watercolor pencil marks. Quite fun really! I do enjoy this technique so I’ve got to make a note to self to do more of it! LOL!!

And since my little birds can’t live their lives fully without a name. I named her too!

I thought this name appropriate because all my DH and I have been talking about when we mention travel, is Australia! Don’t know when that’ll happen but just laying the groundwork….laying the groundwork.

Hope you all are getting some nicer weather and can move yourselves and projects outdoors to get some much needed vitamin D.

If anyone is interested in a 4x6 print of a name or word. Contact me at elg921(at)yahoo(dot)com.

Art inspires

I’m having one of those days. A day that I really don’t want to try too hard! I want to watch, I want to feed my visual monster! I just want to gaze upon the works of others and make sense of it. I wonder how they did that? What makes this piece more interesting than the other piece? Is it the colors used? The white space inherent in the picture? The idiosyncrasy, the breaking of the rules that I follow?

Art!!! It really can’t be boxed in, can it? It is before us, with us and beyond us. It inspires and moves us! It works with the senses, mainly the visual and the hearing as in music. But also the mind and emotions as in good writing. It needs to have it’s place in our life or we wouldn’t feel complete. Imagine not seeing anything of beauty, hearing anything that moves you to Tears or to Dance. Or even tickles your funny bone. I think without Art we’d be robots, just merely a walking p.c.! How Utterly Horrid! I think Art inspires us to be better people! It resonates with our human-ness. I also think there is ART in love. We remember it most clearly in new love. Be it a love relationship or new baby. But isn’t there a certain ART to showing you care, to your spouse? Your family? Your friends? People you just plain like for no known reason.

How does Art manifest in your life that you didn't expect?