My Creative Book Stash

They say….you can learn a lot about a person just by looking at the books she likes to read.  And that’s probably very true for me.



I’d have to put magazines in that book category too!  Any time I travel, I add to my magazine stash.  These are not cheap, but they are worth every penny in the inspiration and visual delight category.

• Where Woman Create
• Art Journaling & Artful Blogging (Stampington)
• Cloth Paper Scissors

Then there are the more esoteric reads:

• Artist’s Way
• the War of Art
• Art and Fear

And since I love textile design….I picked up a few to help me understand this field better:

• Print and Pattern 1 & 2
• A Field Guide to Fabric Design

And to help me figure out the body better:

• Face Parts
• The Big Book of the Human Anatomy
• Lifelike Drawing
• Creative Fashion Drawing
• How to Draw People
• Secrets to Drawing Realistic Faces

Since watercolor frustrates me so, I thought I might gain some insight from these books:

• Watercolor Secrets
• The Watercolor Bible
• Watercolor Wisdom
• Atmospheric Watercolours

Then there are my magazine subscriptions and various zines!  So many people in the spotlight!! So much talent!



Funny that there are so many books titled “Secrets to….”.  The real secret is applying…..put pen/pencil/brush to paper and play!  But when you aren’t in a class with an instructor hovering over you, reading helps tons!  It just takes a bit more time.

I’m probably a half-ass reader.  I don’t read every word written about every technique covered.  But I do look at all the pictures.  And when I’m stuck or blocked or frustrated….picking up one of these books gets me back on course. 

Where there’s a will there’s a way!  Amen

Zander I. Zany

I think you’ll like Zander I. Zany.  What does the “I” stand for you ask??? Intellectual, intelligent, inquisitive, incoming……



I think it’s fitting that this guy is in a wing-back chair, reading in his library.



I don’t think he even noticed that his favorite chair is covered in a floral print.



Personally, I really like that chair.



I wanted to avoid drawing in All.Those.Books, but I couldn’t figure out a way around it.



Zander I. Zany……being the Patriarch of the family, he has earned his right to his own room and his own time.  He’s always been one to keep to himself, he is a very curious sort.  He remembers everything he reads (and almost everything he hears).  He’s won many bets and would do very well at Jeopardy.   But game shows don’t interest him much.

List It Tuesday…….Biographies

I’m using this drawing today because #1- you haven’t seen it yet……#2- It fits with the Biography theme since most biography covers have a face or a head on them.

I drew this last year from a picture of a quilt in the Master's Art Quilts book.  The book is just loaded with visual cloth delights…..seriously!  I wasn’t that happy with this drawing, so I shelved it.  Sure wish I had a pic of the quilt that inspired it, but I don’t. 

And here’s my list of Biographies that I’ve read recently (well, within the last 10 yrs)  for List-It-Tuesday:



I love BIOGRAPHIES!!!  Love them!!  If I had my choice between two books about the same person, I would pick the Auto-biography over the Biography each and every time!  Why?  Because I want to hear what “they” say about their lives…not what someone else says about them.  The really interesting stuff is in the details….always in the details.

1. Open- an auto-biography about Andre Agassi’s tennis training and life from a young child through to  retirement
2. Steffi Graf
3. Ronald Reagan
4. Harry S Truman
5. Dwight D Eisenhower
6. Benjamin Franklin
7. Bo Jackson- professional baseball and football player
8. The Big Picture- auto-biography about Ben Carson,  a pediatric neurosurgeon who performed a successful operation that separated two twins born joined at their heads
9. Crashing Through- about Mike May, a highly successful entrepreneur, athlete, husband and father who undergoes experimental surgery to regain the vision that he lost in a chemical explosion at age three.
10. What’s Your Excuse- auto-biography about John Foppe, born without arms, has faced obstacles-both physical and emotional-his entire life. While some see his condition as a debilitating handicap, John disagrees. "Our only handicaps are those mental and emotional ones that prevent us from participating fully in life
11. Black Like Me- auto-biography about  John Howard Griffin , a white man, who ran a social experiment.  He altered his appearance thru makeup and a drug that would darken his skin’s pigment to help him look like a colored man in 1959. This story is about how he was treated and his thoughts during those 6 weeks. 

I’m just as interested in the not-so Famous as I am in the Famous people…..but I must confess….I’m not all that interested in celebrities.  I just noticed I’ve only read one book about a woman!  Yikes!  Wait....I forgot, I read about Jackie Kennedy Onassis (Jackie O), I wanted to know what the big deal was about her.  Next, I'd like to read about Martha Graham, a dancer, choreographer and teacher for more than 70 years. That would be a good read.

Anyone else into Biographies????  I’d love to hear your suggestions.

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.

What I need to be creative….1 of 3

I’m breaking this piece up into three segments. Because if you’re anything like me, when you stop in you probably don’t want to read an Essay. Just a few paragraphs is usually the best for my attention span.

What I need to be creative. Or just to create!!

1. FOOD

If you could view my blogger following list you’d see all the places blogs I’d like to visit. Every morning I always stop in and see what Tammy’s up to at Daisy Yellow. Sometime during the day, Janet will update her blog at Just Me and My Art and show us some of her beautiful Art journal pages or talk about an on-line class she’s taking. Throughout the day as the updates occur, I can’t bypass Aimee at Artsyville, or Sue at Sue Doodles. If I’m in need of a more charitable or grateful article, I’ll check out Christine’s blog at christinekane.com.

There are so many more blogs that I stop into on a weekly basis. Such as:

• Artsy-crafty babe
• Attic24
• Cathartic Creativity
• Elvie Studio
• ihanna
• Serena Lewis
• Shutter Sisters
• and recently Artist's Who Blog

These blogs are my food! My main meal! My get the creative juices going from the posts insights, articles, eye candy and quotes. I feel like I know these people, really!!

2. Visual Stimuli

Other than the blogs mentioned above. I need visual stimuli!! And lots of it! Books and Magazines and more Books are my friends. Nothing compares to the Somerset Studios magazines out there. They publish an Art Journaling magazine, Artful Blogging magazine, Somerset Workshop magazine and many, many more. Check out your local bookstore like Barnes and Noble or Borders if you want to see more. When I’m traveling or don’t want to be on-line I always reach for my books or magazines.

And another huge visual stimuli for me is ……

Flickr. I love to go into my Favorites, then click on a member that left a comment, from there I’ll check out their photostream, I can’t leave until I’ve looked at their Favorites, too! It is an amazing people connection. I find things that have been uploaded to flickr years ago. Some pics were not even posted into any groups, which means I never would have come across them. I will go weeks without checking out my “groups” pages for their recent uploads because I’m getting my artsy fix by “Favorites” hopping!

Thanks for stopping by! Please stay tuned for part Two tomorrow.

Eden