The Second Week of "The Artists Way"

Here is my second post for "The Artist's Way" series. I am moving along with the book and really taking my time with it. In other words it is layed out in 12 week chapters but my weeks seem to take me 14 or more days to work through. I did not want this to be added stress and I must say it does seem to be sparking something.

I am still doing the morning pages most mornings.... not all and again I am not beating myself up if I miss.
However I do enjoy doing them. So I have started to open up with more collage work.

I am an 'old school' Commercial Artist, trained to not make mistakes, not to make messes, no smudges, ink blots,etc...
Allowing myself the freedom to splash, spray, blot and not really think about design but just go with my feeling, has given me a renewed creativity that I haven't felt in awhile.

So these may not sing to everyone, but they are singing to me and I can't wait to do more!

Back To School!

Today we have a guest blogger - Virginia from Ceruleanblue is here to remind us that it's never too late to learn something new.

from Fabrication Beacon - Gwenno James

There are many opportunities for those who want to hone their skills, or even learn a new craft. They range from ongoing classes at local studios to online workshops and travel-study tours.  Here in Beacon, we have Hudson Beach Glass, which offers a wide range of glass-related classes, including glass blowing and lampworking.

Recently, a private studio near my home, owned by textile designer Gwenno James, has begun offering a range of classes and workshops in silkscreen and digital fabric design - Fabrication Beacon.

The Garrison Art Center, where I currently teach, offers a wide array of classes and workshops in a range of areas, including painting, sculpture, bookbinding, printmaking, and glass, as well as ceramics.
For total immersion-why not try a study/travel tour? Next spring, the 92nd ST. Y will be offering a jewelry tour of Japan!

Increasingly, more and more learning opportunities are offered online. This past spring, I enrolled in a class aimed at practicing potters and advanced students, which focused on surface design. The class was led by a potter in San Francisco, and 129 of us from around the world viewed an online tutorial each week, then posted images each week of our completed assignments on Flickr. We continue to share news and information through a Facebook group.

I recently became aware of creativebug.com, an online site which offers a wide array of classes. For a flat monthly fee, subscribers can access unlimited lessons! Of course, there are many more classes around including from suppliers-i.e. yarn and bead shops -offer instruction and/or workshops.

Virginia from Ceruleanblue

Keeping Busy

Joyce Carol Oates made the comment, "'Keeping busy' is the remedy for all the ills in America.  It's also the means by which the creative impulse is destroyed."

This is a busy time of year - and will only escalate until the end of the year.  Getting kids back to school, resuming our usual schedules that might have been broken over the summer, preparing for upcoming holidays - the demands seem endless.  And with the cooler weather we have the energy to keep up with all this externally driven busyness.

Do you notice a drop in your creativity level?  When I have times that are not filled every moment, I'm surprised by what comes out of me.  When I go on vacation, I find myself drawn to doing types of painting that I don't usually do.  If I take a retreat during the year, a whole other set of ideas come bubbling out, as if I've just released a top on a selzer bottle that was shaken.

When I'm constantly busy, running from my babysitting, to meetings, to preparing lessons, to keeping up with online tasks, to various community involvements, I find that I'm only capable of putting out some small familiar work.  It doesn't feel very original or exciting.  It may be "nice" enough, but it isn't coming from a place of depth.

I talked a little about this a few weeks ago, using a quote from Brenda Ueland.    But I bring the topic up again, because I think it is so important at this time of year to try to preserve little oases of quiet for ourselves.  Getting busy can become habit, where we use adrenaline like a drug.  I'll probably bring it up again, little reminders for myself and maybe others so we can sustain our best creative lives.

Where To Find The Hudson Valley Etsy Team This Weekend

Knot by Gran'ma, Anjali Creations and Kokma Toys will be showcasing (and selling, of course) their wonderful pieces at Cornell Street Studios in collaboration with Art Riot for the Summer DIY Craft Fair in Kingston, NY, on Saturday, September 8, from 11-5

Knot by Gran'ma

Anjali Creations

Kokma Toys

Meerwiibli by Sarah-Maria will be at the Red Bank Street Fair in Red Bank, New Jersey, on Sunday, September 9, from 11-5.

Meerwiibli by Sarah-Maria

 See you there!

Craft Fair Displays Part One

How you display your wares is an important part of your craft business.  Whether you have only a table or a whole tent to showcase your craft, you can do so much to show your style and create an inviting ambiance that says, “Come in and look!”

Here are a few displays from the Hudson Valley Etsy Team and others who were in the Garrison Craft Fair in August.  You couldn’t find a lovelier spot for a fair, on the Hudson opposite the stony edifices of West Point, with the river only a few feet away from the tents.

Come in and buy me!

Here is a very effective display by Jess of Knot by Gran’ma.  Her two tables are covered in black, and her boxes and baskets are painted black.  This gives great cohesion and brings out the bright colors of her unique hand-crocheted monsters and soft sculptures.  

Take me home, please.

A black basket and child’s chair adds to the charm!

Many of us are constrained to keep our displays as light and simple as possible.   Sarah-Maria of Meerwiibli has two racks for her dresses, two tables for her accessories, a mannequin and even a dressing room for her customers of light and easily assembled materials.  Her tablecloths, banners, and even her hangers match the colors of her clothing designs, making a fun and enticing display.

I loved the clean modern style of L&M Studio!  It was like stepping into a chic shop in NYC.  Her shelves are made from Ikea furniture and wire cables attached to her tent frame hold up her wonderful birdhouses, lamps, and planters.  Gorgeous work in a great setting!

More displays from the Garrison Craft Fair coming soon!

Jody Lee
a Studio by the Sea