JoDee Luna's Blog, page 37

The Evolution of a Mixed Media Collage

I've been on a real bird kick lately, and this mixed media piece evolved from a poem I wrote and a photo my husband took in Yosemite National Park, California. I entitled the poem, "Broken Promises." I needed a red-breasted robin so I could create a visual poetry piece, so I dug through past pics until I found the bird. Then, I put the two together using Photoshop CS5. Yet, the more I looked at this piece, the more I desired to create a mixed media collage. So, I decided to try to paint the bird with oil paints. Next, I added scrapbook paper to the left side of the canvas. I used Golden Gel Medium (Regular Gel Matte) to collage the paper onto the canvas. This paper is designed by Brenda Walton and comes from K&Company. I added the poem by printing it onto two different pieces of paper. I made the lettering of one a bit lighter so I could create contrast. I then used Golden Gel Medium (Regular Gel Matte) to collage the poem onto the canvas. Embellishments were then collaged onto the canvas. I used Brenda Walton's Designer Paper, "The Timeless Type Stack" by DCWV, and "Tim Holtz Idea-ology."

Lastly, I used Tim Holt Distress Ink to create an antique look: Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain, and Fired Brick.

Collage is an enjoyable way to express yourself artistically. You might begin with a photo, poem, or quote, but then your innovation kicks in and you can create a mixed media piece that means something to you and to others. I encourage you to experiment with mixed media collage.

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I Am Beautiful?

This poem is about aging and how, as women, we can be extremely harsh on our bodies as they change and go through what is a very natural part of life.Also, how we will do everything in our power to slow down and delay the inevitable. I am not passing judgement here. I am as guilty as the next:

"I Am Beautiful?" by Elya Filler

I speak from lips a crimson tint

Plump over teeth bleached white

An apple rouge colors my cheeks

And erases my freckles from sight

READ THE ENTIRE POST…

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Cherry Blossom Acrylic Painting

Take an artistic journey through the creation of a cherry blossom painting that spreads across three canvases. My time spent living in Seoul, South Korea, inspired me to paint cherry blossom trees. This post will take you through the process.

Begin by creating a muted background with various colors of acrylic paints: lavender, blue, and green.

Next, paint the branches with green.

Add shading with brown.

Use a slender brush for shading fine branches.

Here's an overhead photo of the three canvases in process.

Begin to add white cherry blossoms.

The white blossoms make the painting come alive.

Here's a close up.

Add a touch of buttery yellow to create interest and variety.

Extend the cherry blossoms to the branch ends.

 

Display, and enjoy, your paintings.

Visit my portfolio on this website or my blog to see more of my art. Some of my paintings will soon be on sale on my mom and my Etsy store.

 

 

 

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Chapter 2 Aligning your Creative Compass

"Wonderfully written words and I totally relate to the Creative Eclectic thing. Is it a curse or a gift? It really doesn't matter because for those of us who are afflicted with it, it is not a matter of choice."

I love this quote artspiritvillage left on my blog. The artist who commented found the words to describe the dilemma of creative eclectics everywhere.

Chapter 2 of my book, Aligning your Creative Compass, helps the reader to reconnect with his or her creative core. When we retrace our creative history, we become aware of the people and situations that contributed to our unique personalities. This process creates an acceptance of our scattered natures.

Our internal compass directs us to follow our unique path of artistry. The following pen and ink, created by Gina M. Wilson (my sister), begins Chapter 2 to provide a visual of what it might look like to follow your heart's compass.

Here is an excerpt from Chapter 2 Aligning your Creative Compass:

"Aligning your creative compass often includes a sense of "missing" something crucial to your identity. Deeply repressed feelings claw to get out. A little girl buried long ago vaguely flashes in your mind. The need to discover who you are often begins with exploring who you were. A series of personal experiences occurred in my life that helped me to reconnect with my creativity that began in childhood. From visiting with my mother in her country home, to fashioning a clay sculpture with a garden theme, I learned how the simple pleasures of life, family, and gardens bring renewed understanding and alignment with oneself."

For more book information about the book, you can access this link: Refrain the Book Info.

You can purchase the book by accessing this link: Refrain from the Identical: Insight and Inspiration for Creative Eclectics.

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When the Practical Must Trump the Creative

Part of creative management requires that we take care of business—those dreaded details of maintaining an organized lifestyle. For example, we must set down the paintbrush or pen so we can clean out a closet or organize a workspace. Setting our affairs in order often forces us to retreat from the art room and engage in the unpleasant. For this scattered creative eclectic, today's quest involves cleaning out my bedroom closet. I've dreaded this task for months, and it has moved far beyond the intended expiration date—the timeframe I allotted for procrastination to run its course. Now, I must face my foe head on and sort through, pack away for a garage sale, and give to Goodwill. So here are some tips I'm using to motivate myself:

Don't compromise your creative time – If you do, you'll pout. Get up and write first, like you always do, and then tackle the cleaning out project.
Don't bite off more organizing than you can chew – Schedule a clean-out session when you have a few hours in a row free. There are few things I hate as much as taking apart a closet menagerie and then having to leave it in a mess.
Look at the task as a treasure hunt – Out-dated dresses and blouses can provide snippets of lace, velvet, or silk for photo shoot enhancers or collage accents. I'm going through my jewelry with the intent of setting pieces aside for collaging or to use as floral accents.

Make a little bit of mad money with your mess – Need some extra arts and crafts cash? Try a spring or summer garage sale to rid your home of clutter.
Pretend that you're moving – Nothing motivates me like the thought that I might have to move all of my stuff. My husband and I are looking for another house that will provide the opportunity to separate my art room from my guest room. He also needs space to leave up his studio photography equipment fulltime. Even if you're not planning on a move, act as if you are and you'll be ruthless with clutter.
Reward yourself when the task is finished – My treat for today's closet clean out will be time spent collaging a poem on my recent oil painting, "Bird of Paradise."

Remember, these sorting through and cleaning out sessions are as much a part of your creative life as are those "escape into your art rooms and paint" sessions. Cleaning out clutter makes room for personal expansion and can provide fodder for more creative folly.

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Mixed Media, Grace, and the Red-breasted Robin

Yesterday, I spent the entire day creating a mixed media piece inspired by a poem, "Broken Promises." The poem and a photo served as the muse for an oil painting of a red-breasted robin. Although the piece is far from finished, this post includes some pictures of the process. I started by painting the bird and then adding K&Company Designer Paper by Brenda Walton. 

My husband took the picture of the little bird while we were visiting Yosemite National Park. This tiny forest creature delighted us then and delights us now in the form of a mixed media collage in the making.

This is one of the many reasons I love art. Like the little red-breasted robin, you just never know when the urge to paint will hit or a poem will appear.

I awake and the words tumble forth,

like puzzle pieces waiting to be fashioned together.

I think grace is a lot like art—spontaneous, free flowing, alive for the capture. We need only to still our troubled minds long enough to hear the Lord's whispers. In that instant, we know He has revealed something so wonderful that it couldn't possibly come from us.

These delights—art and grace—make our hearts sing…like the red-breasted robin dancing on the forest floor.

 

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Broken Promises

Whether we live in realms of realism or dally in make-believe, broken promises snap off the tender twigs of trust we extend to ourselves and to others:

We promise ourselves that we will stop our addictive behavior, and yet we continue.
We promise ourselves that we will leave that abusive relationship, and yet we stay.
We promise ourselves that we will pursue the art calling to our soul, and yet we dally our days away.

Broken promises.

Others promise to stay forever, and yet they leave.
Others promise to help us grow, and yet they neglect.
Others promise to be fair, and yet they betray.

Broken promises

Although they might be irretrievable as living expressions for this lifetime, we can craft them into something beautiful—a remembrance. As we admire our art, we remember the One who gifted our hands to form something of permanence from disappointment. He is the One who never leaves us and always remains faithful to His word.

Yes, broken promises are a very real part of life. Yet, those who create art from their severed twigs will release healing to other souls.

 

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The Entrepreneurial Side of Art

I'll be honest; I'm mesmerized by the business side of art because I find the idea that people can do what they love and get paid for it fascinating. Entrepreneurs like Kelly Rae Roberts and Mary Engelbreit motivate me.

These innovative women took their artistic passions into the marketplace and changed the world for the better. Kelly Rae Roberts was my muse for getting into mixed media. I followed her instructions in her book, Taking Flight, to create this piece that includes collage, oil painting, and embellishments (mask, feathers, ribbon,  and jewelry):

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So what is it about the business side of art that captivates me and so many other people as well? I can't answer for them but sure can for me. When you make something someone wants to buy, you get a euphoric feeling because your art connected with another person. The sale soothes your doubts that tend to bubble up inside your brain with thoughts like, my art sucks. Who would want it?

Ironically, I had just posted about my tendency to prioritize making art over marketing my new book in The Gift of the Artistic:

"This morning I wondered why the pursuit of art is so important to me. After all, I could spend a whole lot more time marketing my new book instead of trying to oil paint. The first would make me money but the later brings me incalculable joy."

Then at the end of the day, I checked my email and found a notification that one of the masks my daughter and I made had sold on Etsy. I think God has a sense of humor, and I had to eat my words.

When I reread the description of the mask on Etsy, it reminded me of how a little girl's childhood delight can transform into her big girl dream:

"This hand-sculpted mask is another one of Elya Filler's originals.

She designed the mask to generate the imagery of a sea creature (One of Elya's favorite childhood cartoons is "The Little Mermaid"). She embellished the mask with a butterfly and buttons. Her paisley theme is another one of her favorite artistic delights. Black, blue, and white feathers accent the mask."

As I wrapped up "The Mermaid" and sealed the box for shipping, my mind quickly calculated further possibilities, If only I could sell a dozen a month…Now, although I'm not in this to get rich (although I'm open to the prospect of making more money), the goal remains the same; supplement my income so I can pursue my dreams of traveling to far away places, publishing more books, and buying lots of art supplies.

And although I don't yet have a central, focused body of art (mine's all over the place, as is typical of a creative eclectic), I look forward to the day when my artistic product line will emerge.

Elya's Unfinished Mermaid Mixed Media Collage

I've also gleaned some business tips from Kelly Rae's e-book, "Flying Lessons," and I strongly suggest this resource for any artistic entrepreneur in need of ideas for a business model.

Fate seems to have a way of aligning the delivery of messages through multiple means. The day I sold the mask on Etsy, the two curriculums I use in one of my literacy classes coincided. Students had the opportunity to create a job resume in a READ 180 workshop and listen to a vocabulary rap, "How to Become an Entrepreurner" in a Flocabulary song.

Yes, for some artistic souls, there is a business side of art that draws them like those mermaid-like sirens.

In fact, the very definition of an entrepreneur, "an innovator who takes initiative and risks," reveals the creative, innovative assets akin to artistic expression. So, if you feel the pull, you're probably meant to be an artistic entrepreneur. Don't fight the feeling, but glean from the expertise of others. I don't plan to quit my day job, but I'll continue to delight in dabbling in the business side of art.

*The same day I received the notification of the mask sale, I received a Facebook email from someone asking to buy a signed book copy .

Check out my daughter and my masks in our Etsy store. I just lowered all of the prices for these hand-painted masks so you'll get a killer deal.  

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The Gift of the Artistic

The artistic are gifts for humankind. They are light bearers among us.

They show us the way through their creative expressions:

Wrapping truth with words
Painting the imagined so we can see
Sculpturing an idea so we can touch

Artistic expressions also unveil the dark side of human nature:

Shattered visages of what God intended people to be revealed on canvas
The heart's cry fleshed out in song
Passions we often entertain but rarely dare to admit exposed in poems

Recently, my artistic daughter, Elya, posted a poem "Why I'm a Player." Her candid honesty about her competitive nature reels the reader in. We read and relate to her admissions. And in doing so, find it a bit easier to deal with our own.

This morning I wondered why the pursuit of art is so important to me. After all, I could spend a whole lot more time marketing my new book instead of trying to oil paint. The first would make me money but the later brings me incalculable joy.

When all is said and done for the day, I peek into my art room and look longingly at my latest project. I know I'll spend hours layering paint until my soul is satisfied. And just perhaps in doing so, my best friend will pick up a paintbrush and return to her childhood passion.

Who can put a price tag on something so precious?

Here are two blogs that will delight you with artistic expression:

This first blog enchants me because the artist takes you on a journey into your imagination reticent of childhood. Hanneke's art is captivating, http://hannekekoop.wordpress.com/

I love 30 Minute Art because the artist, Melonaide,  brings artistic expression within reach http://30minuteart.wordpress.com/2012/03/11/do-not-give-up/.

Yes, the artistic are a gift for humankind. I invite you do join in.

 

 

 

 

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Bird of Paradise: Finding Contentment through Art

Today, all I want to be is an artist—an oil painter and collage artist. Yes, art has sufficiently seduced me.

Will I ever leave words? No! Words have connected me with my soul, with my Creator, and with others. Like tendrils of a crawling vine, words take my mind up and over the wall of my present thinking.

Yet my love affair with art is different. Art comes to me as an alluring lover—lips dripping with "other world" honey.

"Kiss me," art whispers.

And when I pick up a brush and dab the end into paint, I connect and taste this unearthly pleasure I never before knew existed.

So to answer my lover's call, I've started a new oil painting entitled, "Bird of Paradise." Although this photo is only the first layer from the first painting session, there's something intriguing about its imperfection.

Elya Filler Admiring a Bird of Paradise Bloom

I think this is because, for me, art is about facing my imperfections, embracing my process, and finding happiness in the here and now.

I've crafted a poem for the place in between the young woman and the object of her intrigue, a Bird of Paradise bloom. My hope is to communicate a concept:

Paradise does not exist in some vague, distant place.

We discover contentment by being present in the here and now and making something beautiful from the real stuff of life.

 

Bird of Paradise

Lost in other winds

Of the soul

Dreamers dream

Lovers fly

Winds of promise

Swirl and glide

Drift in fantasies

Of the mind

Yet Bird of Paradise

You grow

Along the path

Where I walk

Beside cracks

That trip my toes

Where passions bloom

And fade

Arrested by

Your beauty

I stop and face

Your form

Plucked free

Of feathers

Oh wingless bird

Of surrender

- JoDee Luna

 

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