Big Questions of Life

A piece of shimmering silk and dyes

make me feel magic.

This time was poppy-heads time.

One of my favorites. 

I don't know how it exists, 

how this form is possible, this poppy-head form...

Have you ever examined a form like this? 

I am completely amazed.

Big questions of life...

Big question marks.

Flickr Favorites- A Color Enthusiast

1. The Perfect Day-  2. A Colorful Existence-  3. Lobster Blissque  4. The Proper Use of the Kickstand

 Mixed media artist Danny Phillips from Canada calls himself color enthusiast. I love the simpicity and  the energy of these pics. And I am full of enthusiasm when I create, so I easily relate to them.

Check out more mosaics at Artmind.

How to Make a Designer Necklace?

Originally I had a silver pendant and I decided to make a colorful necklace to hold it.

I searched over and over my drawers and finally found these items, and I suddenly saw

my designer necklace in my mind's eye.

Materials you need: 

colorful yarns, I choose 3 different colors

and a silver thread 

"macaroni"-size  plastic tube 

hot glue

magnetic fastener

1. cut a necklace size from the plastic tube

I wanted a middle size one so I measured 70 cm

S 50 cm

M 70 cm

L 90 cm

2.  make a knot around the tube and begin to wind the weft around the tube

change colors as often as you wish overlapping the previous loose end.

This easy technique is coiling: a method for making 

baskets for centuries in almost every culture.

3. Cover your tube fully. Use your yarn tightly.

4. At the very end of your tube fix the loose yarn with a fleck of hot glue 

5. Finish it with a magnetic fastener. 

As you glue the magnets into the hole

your yarn-end would be securely double-finished

Version 1: I used a shawl clip to make my necklace hip.

Version 2: I coiled the silver pendant and... 

I can't decide which version I like better. 

Can you?

Bloom

Bloom.

This silk shawl flowers.

As the light varies from hour to hour

the flowers grow and bloom 

and  change their "outfit"in the light.

 No one tell them to change. It happens. 

They change from pale to bright and back to pale.

New shades from hour to hour. 

Life lives new colors.

My Creative space- Art Love Life

Back to real art. That was my slogan for today. 

But the truth is that art can not be separated from life and love.

So this is how I see. 

 Art. Love. Life.

On a silk shawl.

Warm oranges and browns.

That is on my table.

More creative space at Kirsty's

Flickr Favorites-Art Journal

1. art journal - feel, 2. Art Journal 'Stop', 3. Art Journal Pre-Journal Inside, 4. Grow "art journal"

Art Journals make me feel extraordinary feeling.

 A feeling that I can peek someone's Soul  for a moment. 

And I love these glimpses. 

I love these moments. 

Moments of truth.

They are so clear, so simple. 

And now the best word: alive.
And see others' favorites at Artmind

Joyful Journey- Ready

You might see my creative space. 

These fabrics were on my table waiting for their new life as a bag.

So here it is: my "Joyful Journey" outside...

and  inside...

Ready. 

And I am happy.

So I share these pics happily. 

How to Use Your Flip-Flop for Your Art Project?

Sometimes brainstorms happen.

That time no choice but paint.

Anything anywhere, just color.

Color into the night.

Square meters are needed to color.

And more.

Paper, canvas, or other art project.

If you feel like this sometimes,

then you know how fruitful and rich those hours.

Materials you need:

an old flip-plop, preferably one with textured surface

acrylic paints

a pair of scissors

brush

paper or textile

I printed on cotton

Cut simple shapes from the flip-flop

Don't worry if you shapes are not perfect

Try your shapes and colors on a piece of paper.

Use your stamps freely. Color and mix.

Let your fantasy move your stamps.

You might want simple overlaps like I did here

or more loose brushstrokes as a base and than stamp.

Let them dry.

Iron them and they are to use for art projects.

Table cloth, cushion, book-cover, quilt, bag?

My Creative Space-Joyful Journey

Hand painted hearts are on my table...

a big one

and a few small ones.

And all those big and small hearts

are going to be a bag.

A 'Joyful Journey' bag.

From canvas.

And I live happily ever after.

For more creative spaces pop into Kootoyoo's place.

Flickr Favorites

Batik and wax on silk by

Mônica de Godoi

I am amazed by the texture and colors.

Flickr favotites- Batik

And see others' favorites at Artmind

How to Make Colorful Coasters?

Materials you need:

round cardboard pieces

(you can use your old coasters also if you

want to give them a fresh new look)

3 colors of acrylic paint of your choice

brush

drawing ink and a bamboo-stick

and decoupage glue

Loose brushstrokes. That's all you need.

Have fun! Mix and paint.

After a few minutes as the first layer has already dried

I cut out a heart shape from a piece of not too thick cardboard

and use it as a template.

Use black drawing ink and a sharpened bamboo-stick to embellish.

My lines are uneven and I am very happy with this outcome.

Let them dry. At this point I am really impatient...

so I do something else instead of waiting there...

And finally paint a decoupage-glue-cover layer on top.

It makes the coasters waterproof.

And here they are, ready to use!

Have happy drinks, have fun, have friends!

And I wouldn't be surprised if you want to

paint more. Be ready. New surfaces are thirsty

for refreshment.

Coaster time

Sometimes one thing leads to an other. It happened to me with this set of coasters. I pulled out my 'treasure drawer' and saw these raw cardboard coasters. And after a while I had to take a brush and paint to follow an idea.

And loads of coasters wanted to be created.

Really.

These 4 are just the first set.

Do you know how it is?

There are more to come.

And textiles also:

And more ideas come, as if I turn a tap.

Really interesting.

If you are a creative type, you might already recognize the process.

By the way do you need coasters? I have a ton.

e-mail me.

Glasses

Color study, watercolor

Painting this study made my color-thirsty-part-of-me completely satisfied.

The task seemed easy and became more difficult as it unfolded into details.

Which Way to Go?

Dear Fellow Lover of Color,

it takes time to glean signposts and

decide which way is good or best for us.

Sometimes it takes more than we thought it would.

And there are crossroads where we stop for a moment:

'which way to go?'

And it takes time to paint them.

Even if I do have or don't have answers at all.

Heart song

(water soluble pencils, ink, art journal)

When my heart sings I paint illustrations like this.

Excitement

(watercolor, 24x32 cm, 9.5x12.5")

Do you remember the excitement, when you were child and you got a new toy?

When I got a new toy and went to sleep I saved some room for my toys on my pillow.

Sometimes I had only a few square centimeters left for myself, because there were the old ones as well. And I wanted to be fair with the old ones. I wanted them to be part of my dreams.

(It is strange that quite a lot of my clients in therapy complain about the opposite. They don' want to continue and dream about their daily life. Their life are full of bad things, so they don't even let themselves sleep at all. But this is a different story.)

So this memory was recalled by the excitement that happened when I was painting this picture. The picture landed on my small table beside my bed. I was awaken suddenly in the middle of the night and felt that I was still painting it.

I can state that something has changed ... has happened...

Conclusion? It is fun to paint figures.

Meditation

Meditation as a child does.

Do you remember when you were child and had

a few moments of rest in the kitchen?

The kitchen stool was so uncomfortable that your tights

got strips at the back.

Childhood memories came to surface as I painted

this picture. No, this is not me on this picture.

6 legs? What a stool is this?

Beach moments

Beach moment.

Thinking about big questions of life,

while your partner is having nap on you.

The meaning of life. Zen moment.

Evaporated moment.

Before the beer gets warm.

So much fun to paint them.

Hot Day

This is a completely different picture from my sketchbook.

The reference photograph was captured

on a really really hot day by the sea

Phi Phi Island.

I realize that it is so much fun to paint humans.

Prior to that I had those really boring experiences from school-drawing lessons.

Hey, that could be fun!

Redefining figure painting.

Colorful Spring

Here it is. It is sunny and windy. Spring.

Perfect time for scarfs.

To wear and to paint.

Here is one of my version.

Enjoy. Spring-scarf.

Silk scarf.