inspiration and chocolate

For years I’ve been wandering around the creative universe with blinders on. I try to avoid really looking at anything other people make because I’m afraid that their ideas with taint my own and then I won’t know who’s idea it is was to begin with. How dumb is that?

Recently I’ve been mingling with more creative folks. I joined the Craft and Hobby organization and have started making friends. In the process I’ve also started absorbing the creative vibes in magazines. Every time I go to the craft store (which isn’t that often, or my children wouldn’t have any food), I pick up a few magazines in all directions of craftiness.

The brilliance behind what these designers make is amazing to me. Their inginuity and ability to make beautiful things out of old junk or mere paper is breath taking. I’ve started jotting down ideas, and allowing myself to brainstorm. Most importantly I’ve started allowing myself to see the wonderful inspirations created by others and it’s reviving my own love for the process.

One of the trends I really love is the use of earth tones, antiques and the whole “steam punk” direction of things. The mix of old and new has always been facinating to me, and I’ve always been a fan of textured items. Making something appear to be more intricate than it is or have more tacticle elements is a fun challange. The warm browns and coppers is relaxing to me.. it reminds me of chocolate, and everyone knows chocolate is the ultimate in inspiration!

To add an extra bit of flare to your creative moments, consider challanging yourself to combine something old with something new and then pick a color scheme to unite them.

Normally we’re pretty squeaky clean here at MWMS, but yanno, every once in a while it’s okay to show your racy side, yeah?  I’m not a big button-pusher as a rule, but this weekend my fave small local gallery is having another open-call show, and the theme is ‘Erotica’.  I couldn’t resist.  The nekkid body is a work of art!   So what if we sit around most days in our stretched-out sweatpants, smelling of peanut butter and damned lucky to manage a ponytail for a hairdo!  We’re all sexy underneath our Gramma panties. 

Romance is in the air this weekend; what are YOU going to do to free your inner vixen?  And don’t you dare say ‘laundry’……

~Cris

I’m a stay-at-home mom/artist AND snowed in right now! We all know how important the internet is to feeling less isolated in our busy little lives. I have on-line galleries, twitter, facebook, on and on and on. But we can’t forget to get out into the real, live art world. There’s just nothing like seeing your handiwork on a wall, in a store, being enjoyed and discussed by people you can hear and touch and observe. It’s fulfilling like no other virtual event. But it’s also daunting. (Heck, this post is me pep-talking myself into leaving the laptop and actually interfacing with a real person who doesn’t share my last name!) To that end, my Resolution for 2010 is to make more traditional paintings and get into shows. Easy peasy, right?

Tomorrow, I’m in a group show at The Art Pad Gallery in Columbus, Ohio. The turn-out will likely be crap due to the weather, but all journeys begin with one step. Here’s to that first step! These boots were made for walkin’…

(Just in case any of our lovely readers are floating about central Ohio, you can find the show at The Art Pad Gallery: http://www.artpadgallery.com/)