Spring flowers

Bell pepper flower

Pen and colored pencil sketch

Pen and colored pencil sketch

Pen sketch

Playing around with flowers for this month’s theme for Creative Every Day Challenge.

The beauty of what is

This weekend was jam-packed with activities, including a wonderful birthday party at a friend’s house. It was such a great gathering outside on a slightly-chilly-but-sunny afternoon—plenty of food (including dishes I had never heard of like coo coo and fish) and lots of relaxation and fun. Good thing that my son, husband and I started the day off by working out at the Y. We collapsed into a pleasant food coma when we got home.

Sunday was another great weather day, so I started the morning by going out and finally, finally (don’t judge me) taking down the Christmas tree lights. Hey, I have a hard time letting go of Christmas.

I took my time soaking up the sun, loving the view of what remains of the tulips in my yard and just breathing. I didn’t get around to making any art this weekend, unless you count putting flowers into pots for the front steps. But sometimes it is important just to slow down and enjoy the beauty of what is.

This month’s theme for Creative Every Day Challenge is flowers, so this perfectly fits.

Art workshop projects

What a weekend!

It was filled with art-brainstorming and art making. On Saturday, my art buddy and I went into Boston to a salvage store that has great items and inspiration for art projects. I’m blessed to have a friend who gets just as excited as I do imagining what we can do with the most mundane objects. No scrape of cloth, paper or metal is safe from our imaginations.

I spent today in the studio whipping through ideas for art projects. I’ve been given the opportunity to facilitate art workshops–for the first time ever. This is all new to me and came out of the blue, but it feels like I’ve been waiting for exactly this for a long time. I have always wanted the opportunity to do something truly meaningful with art.

I don’t have it all worked out yet, but I’m leaping and trusting that just the right ideas will come to me. I’m trying to design workshops for adults who don’t consider themselves “artist” (of course, we are all artists, aren’t we, in one way or another?). The projects need to be crafty, easy to do but not childish, interesting to both men and women.

These are challenging guidelines, but I feel so alive just thinking about all of this.  I love the rush of trying out these new projects! Can’t wait to share them with others.

I’m open to ideas. Please feel free to share anytime. And I’d be happy to share how I did the projects you see here. Speaking of sharing, a big thank you to a fellow artist who donated her fabric scraps to me. I used them to create the flowers on mat board that you see here.  Thanks, Molly. She’s a very talented fabric artist. Check out her blog.

A playful Saturday

Oh, I’m loving today. I’ve spent the day focusing on being creative–finally. Didn’t have any major errands to run for once in a long time. So I filled the day with sushi making (not too pretty, but delicious), art making (love these papers, but not sure what I will do with them yet, and learning a new routine for Zumba. Now, that’s what I call a Saturday!

Happy Spring!

April exhibit opening

I’m really excited about this exhibit at the Hope Lodge in Boston. Not only is it an opportunity to share my art, but it also is a chance to do what I always hope to do as an artist–lift the spirits of those who most need it.

The Hope Lodge is an inn for out-of-town cancer patients. Rather than having a single gallery space for the art, the entire building is used for display. I toured the inn when I dropped off my pieces (several paintings and two portfolios of works on paper) and was just floored by the tranquility and healing spirit created here.

The funny thing is that I never knew this place existed. The curator of the exhibit found me somehow—she doesn’t even remember where she learned of my work. Funny, huh? Meant to be…maybe. If you are in the Boston area, please come to the opening. A percentage of the sales go to the American Cancer Society.

The art of being social

I had a great day today! I spent the morning and part of the afternoon as a panelist at a workshop on social media for artists at the Dorchester Arts Collaborative.

The internet now offers us so many platforms to share our work and connect with each other–Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, Twitter, and even LinkedIn, where you can upload a portfolio of your work. However,  sometimes it can become overwhelming to figure out how to effectively use it all (or any of it), while still finding the time to actually make art.

I remember before I joined Facebook I wondered what the hell it was for. It seemed silly. Now, I don’t know what I’d do without it. It is one of the most effective, efficient and inexpensive ways to engage and interact with people (other artists, gallery representatives and potential clients). And, no, Mark Zuckerberg is not paying me to say this.

So, what an honor to talk about the issue, share what I’ve learned so far, and to hear the great ideas of other artists at the workshop.

My main points for using Facebook as an artist:

• Dive in and try things out; you will learn as you go.
• Keep your audience in mind (is this for business? just personal? both?) and post accordingly.
• Be authentic to make stronger connections; people want to see the real you. (Check your privacy settings; you might not want your mom to see the real you.)
• Treat social media relationships like any other—be nice, smart, funny, giving.
• Post often—once a day, if possible–but not too often. (Promote your events; celebrate your victories; share tips as well as your creative process; support other artists; collaborate.)

I would love to hear from you. What’s your favorite form of social media? How do you use it? Any tips on what you have found to be most successful? And I’d be happy to “friend” you.