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I haven't written about the affirmation art for a really long time. But here I am with some words and pictures.

I had a long go at trying to master Adobe Illustrator. I did sort of get it but realised I was still discouraged and depressed after my best day with it - and it was not a harmonious house hold. So I decided, spurred on by Kim's success with finding an illustrator through guru.com, to give it a go to find a graphic designer to do the whole thing including the words. I had lots of offers but didn't like any of the samples. As the samples came in and I didn't like them I realised that I could do the letters myself - or at least Stu can cut them out of vinyl so that I get back to the whole thing of the child putting the words down them selves. Which gives both ownership and a kinaesthetic experience which cements their affirmations in much more strongly. So I thought maybe I should go for an illustrator not a graphic designer and then I thought no, the whole thing was to based  round my art so I'll do it. These are the first two tries. Feedback given is that they are too busy and maybe they are. I will make simple ones and get the whole lot printed on vinyl and stick letters on top and see what looks best. Will this be done before I go to England? Maybe not.

And, I have been and continue to be busy with being a fledgling funeral celebrant, helping with the organisation of Heart Politics this summer and joining the VES committee. Plus of course playing with SoulCollage.

My first reading

I did this reading yesterday morning as part of my morning pages.  I seemed to read from both the main figures in the card. Once I wrote it out and read it  I edited a bit. ( I like nice edit!)

I am the one who is pretending to scare you but, I am just a mask. I have no arms. I am strong and menacing but I am static and cannot move.  I am powerless except in your mind. I am the one who menaces your thoughts. I am easily devoured by flames and I have around me beauty and new life if you can just see it. I am the one who watches over you while you have your head in the sand.

I am the one who has buried my head in the sand and left my gold exposed on the earth.

I am the one who holds the world in my hand as a memory.

The gifts I bring you are to remember that I am in your mind. I am your thoughts. I only have the power you give me, I have none of my own. Because I can do strange and powerful feats, like not breath for a long time, the gift I have to offer you is to remember your strength and your power. Remember that you can do or be anything you want as well as, as healthy as you want to be.

We both want you to rise up like the flame in the middle and become like that flame, pure, bright, vigorous and unfettered by fearful thoughts.

Flowers

Not having a great time at the moment. I feel stuck. And have a lot of self talk about not being a good artist. Which we all know becomes self perpetuating. I need to make pointless play an end in itself. I seem to be on this whole thing about making flowers with my fingers. So, here is what I have been doing for the last few days - on the canvas with tissue paper on it, which has gone through any number of incarnations. Oh and in the desperate attempt to use cut out roses so I can justify cutting out more, I have placed them on the picture. I actually did some more on this before I put this up and now I see I could do something quite amusing as the back of someone's head! Well, we'll see what comes out next.

Stage 2

Done the first paint over after cover it with rice paper then scraping some of it off again. Colour not so good on this photo and still along way to go.

Picture up before it gets the big going over

I get that I am trying to do something new and in fact it could take 6 months to get it right. I'm back to hand painting and rubbing off color on a differently textured background with things on top - or at least things on top is the plan I would put a picture of one of the bases up but the purple looks blue on the photo as does the green so it just looks blue. I see that failure thinking rather than learning thinking was what made me stop all painting for a couple of months. So, new broom and I am now into learning thinking.and if that means 'wasting' paint and canvas then so be it. The picture here is going to be covered up and I am going to start again. I like it, sort of but its on a wall I don't look at so I obviously don't like it that much. I have also learned that 24 x 24 is too big an area to waste paint on. so 18 x 18 and 20 x 20 will do. I've spent the morning outside on the deck on the 3rd of July - middle of our winter - sunning myself  near naked  cos its so hot. I thought I should stop cos I could well be getting sun burnt. I'm sure all that vitamin D is very good for my pretend chest infection. My volunteer stint at the movies - Toy Story 3 - calls.

I'm painting again

Np picture yet - I'm into something new and want to see how it progresses before I show off. The 24 x 24 I put up the other day has been painted over. I oil pastelled it and I think, no I know, it was the nastiest thing I have ever made. The colours were diabolical. I don't know what happened but I didn't like it. So tomorrow I try hand painting it. Had a very down couple of days re the kids affirmation art but feeling positively back on track again, Thanks Lynda. After Heart Politics I will do a bit of a motor and get things happening. But for now, well its go slow, keep my immune system as healthy as possible and do some painting tomorrow. No gym in the morning if I feel like this tomorrow. and now the soccer is on. Yoo Hoo

Colour again

I've put some pictures up just to get some colour back into this blog.The one on the left, which is still wet,  is another 24"x 24"

 This one says:
I ROSIE AM LOVED ACTIVE VIBRANT NIMBLE TALENTED CLEVER CHARMING TRUTHFUL HONEST MAKES LOTS OF MONEY AM VERY SUCCESFUL
and as of today 29.11.10 its going under gesso.I'm interested to see what the textural outcome will be.

 I'm at it again with the art! I've given up on Illustrator. Last Wednesday I had the best day so far with it and I was still discouraged and depressed about it. I hated sitting down all day at the computer, I didn't like what I had made, though I was happy with how much I had learned, and if I was going to keep going I was going to need a new computer. My little darling is 10 years old, which is probably about 100 years in human terms. It works really well for everything except big graphics. So - I put a project proposal up on Guru.com. I've had a number of replies and getting some samples through. Some have great promise, Leah's wont work for kids but I think will be dynamite when I get into the adult stuff. The others look too young. The best is from Germany. Go figure. I think the samples being young are my fault. I didn't specify 6 - 12. If I want to see more I will offer to pay.

What's happened to the art?

I'm not doing any. I'm tied up with learning how to use Illustrator. I more properly costed out the Kids Affirmation art idea. It is costly to make. So I am learning how to do much the same thing on Illustrator. This way I can offer a series of prices cos I can do PDF's as well as original art. My practice words - given that it's all about affirmation is I ROSIE AM A WONDERFUL LEARNER.  I am also doing an internet marketing course and have been thinking long and hard about what I am creating, why and who is it for. Then, writing a sales letter, pulling together resources, freebies etc etc. There is a lot more to do on that too. Plus of course trying to come to grips with Twitter. This all takes time, lets write that again TIME! I'm back on my bum at the desk. I need to incorporate standing up which was how I painted. I feel much better after a day of standing rather than a day of sitting. Changes need to be made but I am not sure how to work at the computer standing up with out moving it all over to the art table which feels like a huge sell out. This is not a moan. I am having a really great time solving problems, learning new things and creating a business. Three of my favorite things. Put some art back in and I am doing brilliantly.

This is too good not to pass on!

SCRIBBLE KNITTING

Nothing much to do with art but heaps to do with having something nice to do while watching TV! I just looked up scribble knitting on Google. Apparently it comes from Debbie New's Unexpected Knitting
book published in 2003. (She has an incredible collection of knitting experiments. ) I learnt this technique from a wool spinner at the Hornby Markets (off Vancouver Island)  There are lots of scarf versions - my version goes like this:
# 10 needles. A ball of funky colourful wool anything up to 8 ply and a ball of 1 ply kid mohair. (In New Zealand its made by Naturally hand knit yarns.) The whole scarf is knitted in garter stitch.
With your funky wall loosely cast on 130 stitches.  Leave a 20 cm (8") tail of wool. Then knit five rows with the 1 ply. Then one row with funky wool. 5 rows 1 ply, one row funky etc. Every time you use different wool leave a 20 cm (8") tail of wool. This makes the fringe. One ball of 1 ply will usually give you (including casting on and off) 8 rows of funky colourful stuff. When you have your eight rows of funky, cast off loosely and there you have it a long, soft, pretty and warm scarf.

Two scarfs

A Waiheke Event

A local Waiheke Event - and some information about The Red Shed our local co-operative art gallery that I am on the committee of and some times exhibit in.

Kids Affirmation Kits

No pictures today. I have been focusing on marketing and social media I am now on face book and twitter! Who would have thought. And... on the first page of Google if you type in Affirmation Art. I am very pleased. I have been doing marketing and headline copy. I am certainly not the best in the course. But did come up with Kids Affirmation Kits. Domain names and copy right now. All those other little bits that I like doing but mean I don't paint. I intend getting some pictures to Daring Donna to put into the cafe as part of the gifting economy. That will empty out my wall big time so I will feel like making some. Oh all right. One picture of something! My Maori heart phase. I made two in January. Both given away now.

Hot Air Gun Art

Spent some time today using the hot air gun and cheap oil pastels. Just mucking about getting my 'hand' back in. Maybe I need to think about what I am doing before I get started rather than my usual launch. But the launching in can also sometime make good stuff. These are close up pictures and they look great. If I was really exposing myself I would show the whole thing not just the close ups! Taking pictures has given me a whole new level of interest - yeah for blogging!

Frustrating!

I tried to add two pictures to the last post to show what they look like with the oil pastels. Couldn't do it, they just wouldn't go where I wanted them to so try again on a new post. What a mission!

                                                    Just paint                         Paint & oil pastels

Not the best day

Well, there have to be some. I have been trying to get the backing sorted so that I can get the letters for the Affirmation Art cut out easily. Stu showed me how to do it. It looked really easy. I found it difficult and I gave up on it quite quickly. Also the system isn't going to be cheap. Then I decided to paint the four bits of rice paper I prepared yesterday. I should have gone and read my book. Given that they are going to be cut up into tiny letters it doesn't matter but I would love to have enjoyed painting them more. I also foolishly tried a rice papered canvas. Scraped the paint off and tired to tear the rice paper off while it was still wet is was so awful. Might have to have a day or two off and regroup myself. Maybe go into town tomorrow. The paintings are still wet - I really shouldn't put them up wet as they look much better than dry, but I haven't blogged for a few days.  I'm putting the two best ones up and will put them up dry tomorrow to see the difference .
WOW, they look great here! A clever bit of turning around and hey presto.

Finger painting again

One day finger painting will also work. I will get it. In the meanwhile I will continue to just enjoy it. I did it yesterday again after creating a major drama over nothing, and giving myself a 'bad' day. I think my life is too calm and content and as an old drama queen I need a little more positive drama in my life. An adventure. A trip. Something. Anyway I dealt with yesterday differently as I decided to end the afternoon doing fun things that I like doing. One being finger painting the other making a fairy. I do think the finger paintings look a bit like "My Cat Could Do That"!

They both have glitter but it doesn't show.

Great day

Didn't really get started till late but - I have been experimenting and playing all afternoon after yesterday's fun. Pictures and explanations below.

The top one is called crappy sunset! Then I did the over paint and have something fun and mysterious. It looks better in real life. but I sense I am on to something here. It seems to work better on canvas than paper. I have also discovered that if I make the canvas really wet with paint, I mean flooded, I can, if I don't like what is happening with the mixing colours (like this)

wipe if off with the ever handy paper towel and start again. So I have been doing a lot of joyful flooding!
At the moment this canvas is now in its fourth incarmation and looks like this:

It will look different tomorrow when its dry.  I love this shape canvas. I'm cleaning off  a big one I did a terrible collage on. Thus endeth today's post.

Tinglement

Interesting afternoon. I had a Byron Katie session this morning about my early childhood teachers. Not going to go into it here. I haven't painted for four days. Did a long thin one this afternoon and then mooched around not doing more because I was full of "I should paint I haven't for four days." I decided not to, cos I know that when I paint with a should or am trying to make something it almost always doesn't work. It was 4.30 and I thought OK I'll read a book. Then I looked at the long thin one I painted earlier - I want to paint on top of it like the first one below and thought what if it doesn't work? Could I put dark colours on top? I grabbed another orangey paper trial I had done a few days ago and splashed dark paint all over it. It's kinda crappy but oozes potential.

 So then, all fired up, I launched into a really bad one that I've been experimenting with  (I was trying to reproduce something I did with oil pastels  three years ago)  I painted over the top of it. Pictures of before and after below. The thing is, there was such a stunning change in my energy, even though they aren't great my energy and connection just soared. I felt that wonderful tingle of creative excitement & wanted to document it.

This isn't great art! But it's great creative tinglement! Let's hear it for tinglement. I like that word!

Playing with rice paper

I've done four more 'nebulae'. Unfortunately I think the first one was just a wonderful fluke ~ but its got me playing with rice paper again and seeing what I can do with it.  No pictures yet, but I will put some up in the next few days. One thing I tried was sticking another piece of rice  on top of a painted piece then painted that. This particular one looks like a very light filled Easter Egg. Oh all right, I'll put that one up here, it's so appropriate for the season.  I've just set up five more play sheets to fiddle around with over the Easter weekend.