Mural Project - Finished

What a great experience this last week was for me. I was so happy to find a project that allowed me to paint, and took advantage of every second I had to push myself with painting realistic subject manner, as well as pushed others to paint who had never done so before. Take a look at my Flickr page for more photos.

Another Mural Project

I have been blessed tremendously this week with the best job ever on a work-week trip. Right now, I'm writing from Espanola, New Mexico where I'm on a missions trip working with the McCurdy school doing maintenance and upkeep of their building. . . well, everyone else is doing that sort of thing. I happened to ask the project manager if there was a mural that needed to be painted, in a joking manner, and he surprisingly said that he had a mural that needed to be restored. My eyes lit up like crazy and soon I was on my way to an art store in Santa Fe for supplies.

Here's what the "before" picture looks like. Stay tuned for the "after" shot!

Mural Project

The last few weeks I've been working on a mural for my church's children's area. It's an outdoor scene of Eric Carle's characters, and is coming along pretty well. Luckily I have a couple of very talented artists helping me with it in order to get it done by the coming due date. Stay tuned for pictures of the finished product! Here are a couple of "in progress" picts.

Custom Blog Logo

Check out this fun logo I did for someone's blog. I think it's adorable!

If you'd like a customized logo or banner for your website or blog, contact me for pricing.

Art Reception - Gypsy Hill Gallery

Tomorrow night I'll be showing my artwork at Gypsy Hill Gallery at 47 E. Main St. in Lititz from 5-8pm.

The picture above is my latest painting that I've been trying to finish up for the show. Not sure if it's done yet, but it's based on a common theme I've been doing this year: Love.

Hope to see some of you there!

New Tshirt Creations

Check out my latest fabric tshirts. I'm in love with this new medium. Everything is hand stitched.

Still Thinking . . .

Well, it's been over a week since my last post and I was hoping to have some progress in my definitions to report, but unfortunately, it's still not coming to me. Maybe it won't come for a couple of more months?

But, just like painting, the process can sometimes be more important than the outcome, so as I'm having to discover what's most important to me in art and the reason for doing it, I've been finding old journals and entries that remind me of what was passionate to me at that time in my life. And one quote I came across today was one that I used to hang in the art room of my old art studio in San Diego. I taped it to the exit door and wanted my students to read it as they left to be encouraged and reassured of themselves and their art. It always lifted me.

"To make art is to sing with the human voice. To do this you must first learn that the only voice you need is the voice you already have. Art work is ordinary work, but it takes courage to embrace that work, and wisdom to mediate the interplay of art and fear. Sometimes to see your work's rightful place you have to walk to the edge of the precipice and search the deep chasms. You have to see that the universe is not formless and dark throughout, but awaits the revealing light of your own mind." ~ Art & Fear by Bayles and Orland

Any artists out there want to share your definition of success when it comes to your art? What do you paint or create for? What motivates you?

Still Searching . . .

In response to the "anonymous" person's comment:
"Do you want to be successful in order to gain peoples approval of you as an artist or to make a difference in the world?"
I have to say that I wouldn't be an expressive artist if I cared about gaining people's approval. Painting is a need that I have to release and share what's inside me that would never make sense if shared through words. And no one else necessarily has to like it since it's never painted for anyone else. (Hmmm, maybe that's why they're hard to sell . . .)

Is there such a thing as a "successful" artist?

Yesterday, I attended my first arts conference with CIVA (Christians in the Visual Arts). It was a great experience, and made me think about my life as an artist in a new and challenging way. But that also meant that I am now more confused and lost in figuring out "how to beat the starving artist stereotype" than I ever was before. I've been so focused on trying to sell my art and making art work as a financial means, that I've forgotten all about why I paint and express myself through art in the first place.

At the conference, there was a short time of Round table Discussion with 5 of the workshop instructors from the conference. There wasn't anything in particular about what they talked about that created this "high" inside of me, but just the thrill of talking about the "art world" and being a part of a conversation that I could relate to and want to be more a part of . . . it made the artist that has been pushed aside and made dormant inside of me, alive again. I was reminded of a goal I made, and definition of becoming a successful artist someday: to make a big enough contribution to the art world that I would be included in an art history book someday. (Probably after I died.) Pretty grand, but in school that's what I thought you had to aspire to.

So on the beautiful drive home, while listening to "How Great is Our God" (an amazingly powerful song), I was overwhelmed by how blessed I am in life right now. I had that undeniable peace of knowing that I am right where I am meant to be. But combine that feeling with one of utter disappointment in not being anywhere close to where I thought I was meant to be and you have one wet drive home. So, my definition of success came to mind and the challenge to redefine it. Is it having your name written in an art book? Having shows in NY? Local gallery shows? Being financially stable from selling artwork? Making a difference in people's lives with your art? Fulfilling the inner need to express what's inside, whether anyone else sees it or not? Whether anyone buys it or not?

I'm not sure anymore. Is there even an end result we should be striving for, or is the process of getting there what's really important?

Opening Day at E. King St. Market

What a beautiful day Saturday turned out to be, and how much greater it made the atmosphere at the King St. Market. Check out this video giving highlights of opening day. To see pictures, visit my friend Debbie's flickr page.

Gallery Cruise

What a nice surprise it was to find such awesome artwork all throughout the cruise ship we were on! It was really quite the experience. No matter what floor you were on or what room you slept in, there were beautiful and top-notch works everywhere. No Thomas Kinkades or your typical Van Gogh's . . . I loved it! Too bad I didn't take any pictures of it to share, but I'd probably get in trouble for putting it on here anyway, so here's a sample of other ways I found creativity on the ship.

R e l a x a t i o n

Okay, so most of you will hate me as soon as I tell you that I'll be sitting in that wonderfully, relaxing beach chair for nine days straight, starting on Friday, . . . but I just wanted to let you know that that's the reason I won't be updating this blog for a few days. . . so don't hate me too much.

A girl deserves a little fun now and then!

My New Baby

I remember the good ol' days when my mom taught me how to sew when I was a kid, and then watching her make my wedding dress from scratch a couple of years ago just amazed me. I'm not sure if I'll ever be that good, but hey, I can at least try. So, my wonderful husband caught enough of my hints to buy me one for my birthday this year. And for those who know when that is, yes, it's really take me this long to get around to opening the box. But alas! It's out of the box and ready to go. I can't wait to see what creations will come of it, so stay tuned and I'll be sharing them soon!

Graduation Card

It's that time of year when my backyard is noisier than usual with kids screaming, dogs barking and water being splashed from above ground pools, all because SCHOOL'S OUT! (Well, for some at least.) So, I've come up with a fun and modern graduation card to match the fun and excited feel of that wonderful day.
You can order them from my etsy shop.

To Enter or Not to Enter

So, what are the rules for entering a juried show with a painting that I did more than 7 years ago? One that I did back in college, the ONE that I can't bare to sell because it has so much meaning and myself in it . . . more than any other painting that I have done.
Well, I've decided to enter it into the Lancaster Museum of Art's "Open Art Award" show, and can only hope and pray that it makes enough of an impact on the judges like it has on me for the past 7 years. . . enough to make it worth it for me to keep showing it after all these years.
Prints are available through my etsy shop.