Abraham Lincoln(charcoal)

getting at it

"One of the most effective ways we sabotage ourselves from a life in the arts is by waiting for that imaginary day when "it" will be "easier." We think of going to the page or to the easel, and then we think, "It's too hard. If I wait a little, it won't be so hard." 

Waiting for art to be easy, we make it hard. We take our emotional temperature and find ourselves below normal, lacking in resolve. We would do it, we know we could do it, but we decided to wait until the doing of it is more effortless.

The truth is that getting at it is what makes getting at it easier. Each day that we write creates a habit of writing in us... It is easier and softer way to work today, if only for a few minutes, no matter how hard or impossible it seems. 

Most of us want not only to do it but to do it well. We want not just to write but to write brilliantly, not just to paint but to paint a masterwork. 

When we are not working, it is not because we are lazy. It is because we are frightened. We have bought into the idea that in order to work we must be able to work "well," and we are afraid of working poorly.

"I am willing to work poorly" is often a very good place to start. By surrendering our grandiose expectations, we come down to size. Being willing to work poorly, we may actually work very well. Some of the best work is done on the worst days. Some of the finest ideas lie at the very bottom of the well. 

It is the doing of work that makes work easier, the simple doing of work no mater how hard it may feel to begin."

 ~Julia Cameron, The Sound of Paper

in which we talk about being creative

Ever felt like a dry piece of bread? No ideas, no inspiration...  just dry? Have you ever wanted to be creative but just didn't know how? What is creativity anyway? Well, put on a pink top hat with sparkles + blue diamonds and put your mind on a roller coaster because we are going on a wild ride! We're going to look at three things to help you learn how to use your creativity: feelings, imagination, and action. 

First, let's define Creativity.
 Creativity is the use of imagination. You know, that thing you used as a little kid.
Okay, now we can go on.

#1- feel it

You're happy. How do you express it? Do you say, "I'm happy" or do you with twinkling eyes say "I feel like I am smothered in chocolate mint ice cream, covered in sprinkles, with cherries between my toes."... get the memo? Creativity starts when you have one foot in the box, and one foot out. 

#2 -one foot in, one foot out

So how do we do this one foot in, one foot out thing? Open up. Loosen up. Allow your mind to travel the roller coaster. Nothing is impossible... if you want, elephants can stand on one foot on top of a grape... and bananas can wear sparkly dresses and talk. Let yourself imagine in vivid greens and corals pinks. 

#3 -do it

Take that image you have created and put it into words, or paints, or music, or whatever you do! Practice. The more you use your imagination, the better you will get at it. Your life will be like teacups full of sunshine, and smiles dripping with joy.

And because I think it's important, I'm going to throw in a couple extra tips:
 - Creativity takes work. Eventually, you may find yourself having ideas flying into your head like a lady bug, but many times, frankly, it takes work. So, chose to be creative.

- Don't be afraid to fail. Not everything works, k? Not all my ideas develop. Sometimes that little idea turns into something great and that big idea? Well, it got stomped on and  thrown in the trash. Just keep swimming!

A couple misconceptions: 

- Only creative people can be creative. Psh. Some people are naturally creative, but that's doesn't mean you can't be creative too. Kids are creative right? The key is remaining creative when you grow up. Open your mind up... think like a kid again. Remember: anything is possible!

- Creativity starts with a completely original idea. This is huge... and totally wrong. Creativity can start from anything. You see a flyer with bright colors and it sets something off in you, later you see an umbrella with tiny monkeys on it, so you go home a paint a cup with monkeys and and bright colors. See? It's not stealing, it's inspiration and that's totally fine and dandy. 

We've looked at feelings, imagination, and action... and we've even looked at a few tips and some misconceptions!
Are you feeling creative yet? I am! So what are you waiting for? Get busy!

DYI mug

I'm always looking for cute crafts to do. These hand-painted mugs make perfect gifts!

You will need:

-a ceramic mug(s)(Old Time Pottery is a great place to get them)

-rubbing alcohol

-enamel paints

-Ceramic marker or oil based sharpie marker

First clean the outside of your mug with rubbing alcohol. This ensures that the paint has a clean surface to stick to. Next draw out your design with your marker. You might want to practice on a sheet of paper first. Once the marker hits the cup, it's not coming off! Next you can begin to paint. The paint will rub right off if you make a mistake. When you are finished let your cup air dry for 1 hour. The next step is very important if you want your mug to withhold washing: place your mug in the oven and turn it on to 350F.(it's important that you put the mug in before you preheat the oven! Otherwise your mug might crack.) Bake for 30 min., and then let it completely cool in the oven before you remove it.

And then ta-da! You have a cute new mug that YOU made! ❤

P.S. I've seen these decorated JUST with ceramic markers before and they look pretty awesome too, if you aren't much of a painter! 

The Love Of God

Could we with ink the ocean fill,

And were the skies of parchment made,

Were every stalk on earth a quill,

And every man a scribe by trade,

To write the love of God above,

Would drain the ocean dry.

Nor could the scroll contain the whole,

Though stretched from sky to sky.

O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure
The saints’ and angels’ song.

Autumn

The world is singing in bright orange leaves. The sun's piercing rays light up my little world, and the untinted blue skies make me so happy. People are snuggled in their fuzzy sweaters while slightly mourning summer's solemn goodbye. But then the memory of steaming cups of tea--apple-cinnamon, peach, and lemon-- combined with the fact that hugs are always warmer in the cool of the season, make faces once again shine with smiles, and lips say, "I'm so glad it's autumn."

It's ever so gratifying when a feeling turns into an image. :)

hello again + an amazing day!

Hi guys! Soooo, I took a blogging hiatus. No, I didn't know I was going to take one....it just happened. But I'm back with a lot of new ideas!! But first, let me tell you what I've been up too.

Yes, this thing. It pretty much took me all of January, February, and half of March to get ready to compete. But it was all worth it! Every bit, because Thursday was a phenomenal day! So many memories.

The day started early at 5:30 in the morning. I mean, let's face it girls, it would be a shame to go to competition and not look your best, right? So yes, I got up at 5:30. My hair had different plans--it looked like second day hair...you know, the smashed frizzy curls? meh. oh well :)

Things were pretty normal at first. We had a long drive, donuts in the car, and butterflies in our stomachs. The college was filled with people--girls in long dresses with big gorgeous hair, and guys in suits and teasing smiles.

The choir was our first group performance. All went well--definitely not our best year, but not bad considering the practices we missed because of snow and sickness!

My flute solo was at 2:30. I had practiced earlier and was having a rough 'lip' day. I nervously sat down by my assistant band director, Adrian, to await my turn. That's the hardest part...waiting. I must have looked as nervous as I felt because she told me to remember to have fun. This is suppose to be fun? Oh yeah, I forgot. Soon it was my turn and I had to introduce myself.(Seriously, that's almost the worst part. lol) I played it...I didn't do very well. I wasn't relaxed and so my notes came out a bit pinched and I had a small memory lapse at the end. I won't pretend that I wasn't upset afterwards because I was. You practice for months and months and then you only have one chance. One chance. I won't lie....I did cry. But tears aren't a sign of weakness, they are a sign of strength trying to peak through. The next hour was difficult as I had to go on practicing and performing in our small instrumental ensembles when I really wanted to get away from everybody. But I am grateful for kind judges I had. The older of the group walked up to me with a smile and said, "Thank you so much for your hard work, sweetie"

Of all the people there that day, there are a few that I am really thankful for. My band director(whom we shall call Mr. H) and his daughter Adrian are two of them. Both of them being performers themselves understand more than anyone what it feels like to be disappointed in your performance. Though they may not have realized how upset I was, what they said afterwards was encouraging and helped me.

And also my parents were great support. It didn't really matter how well I did because I knew that they would always encourage me. And like my dad told me, it doesn't matter whether you get first, second, third, or don't place at all because what you learned... it's still there.

And last but not least, our group!! They are an awesome bunch of kids! I really appreciate their hugs, high-five's, and good luck's! It's really sweet to me how we can be such good friends... even though we are quite spread out in ages. I can tell you from experience that not every group is like that ;)



As it neared the evening awards ceremony, I walked out into the main lobby to find Mr. H motioning me over. He asked me where my parents were. I told him. Then he said, "I wanted to tell you together, but you got best of show!" Woah. Wait a second. That flute piece that I stunk up earlier got BEST OF SHOW? Yes, I'm pretty sure my jaw dropped to the floor. The excitement lasted for about 2.5 seconds before the nerves hit. Wait. I have to play this tonight in front of a couple hundred people? gulp. 

I didn't play till near the end of the awards ceremony. Let me tell you, it was torture to sit there with butterflies in my stomach through all of the elementary and junior high awards. Finally I was called down from the balcony to get ready to perform. As I stood at the bottom of the stage waiting for them to finish the senior high art awards, I heard my name called. My pencil drawing got first place!! 

Now it was time.  As I walked up on the stage, strangely, my fears decreased. This is going to be fun. And it was. This time I was able to relax more and let the music flow out. Oh I still made a few mistakes, but I was pleased that I didn't bomb it. I'm so thankful that God gave me the strength to do my best, and for the support of all those who encouraged me....and were secretly nervous for me :P



  

It was the most thrilling experience of my life and I'm glad I have it on video. But I want to remember more than that. I want to remember how it felt, how it sounded to me to have my flute echo throughout the auditorium, and the butterflies in my stomach. I want to remember what it was like to look out over those hundreds of people looking up at me expectantly. I want to remember the whispered "good luck's" from the guys and girls in my group as I left to play and the smiles, cheers, and high-fives when I got back. And I want to remember my parents proud eyes and hugs afterwards.

This is only some of us, but luv these guys! 

I owe a lot of my success to Adrian, Mr. H, and my family. Honestly, this was no easy song to learn. I think I cried almost every time I played it for the first week or two. I'm so thankful for the encouragement from my family when I didn't feel I could do it. I'm thankful for the assurance from Mr. H, that even though I couldn't play it perfectly, it was still impressive. And I'm thankful for the advice given to me by Adrian. Not only did she correct several of my mistakes, she gave me the courage that it didn't sound as bad as I thought. She probably doesn't realize it, but I'm confident that I could not have done half as well without her...mostly because of one thing she said. "loosen up. You're too tight" I know it sounds simple, but without her saying that I know that I would have tightened up when I got nervous and pinched my high notes until you could barely call them notes. Loosening up made all the difference in the world. :) :)

I would say that placing first with my drawing; placing first, getting best of show, and a scholarship with my flute made it a pretty amaaaaaazing day!! And all the tears and struggles made it just that much more of a beautiful and amazing victory.

More video's from the day can be found here and here.

I'm also really proud of the band! They went as a junior high band this year, and did great!! The junior high girls ensemble also did fantastic!! I'm also proud of all the individuals who played! Way to go guys!

Congratulations if you made it this far! You're a really amazing follower/friend!! :) :)

my book of creativity

This little brown sketchbook caught my eye as I walked down the isle in an art store. I love art stores. I could spend hours simply sifting through the wide variety of materials and flipping through the pages of a stack of art books. As an artist there's something about opening up a fresh new page that gets my creative juices flowing. If you're not an artist perhaps you can relate to it as the same feeling you get when you turn to an empty page in your journal. 

“Painting is just another way of keeping a diary.”
― Pablo Picasso

Grand Opening!!!

I'm sooo excited to announce the grand opening of my etsy shop!!! Check it out! I would be delighted if you would consider purchasing a set of cards to help me out in buying supplies for my art journey!

Also, I have a facebook fan page so check that out too!


Sarah Jane :)

Wide Eye

My latest creation :) This one was fun to draw, but also challenging! Enjoy!

Wide or surprised eye.

New Drawing Method!

I started Drawing in the summer of 2008 when I was about twelve. I checked out books from the library to learn from and used regular pencils and printer paper. My interest in drawing never faded so I bought some better materials and continued practicing. Recently I found Darrel Tank's 5-pencil method and started learning from him through his dvd's. Here are some examples of what I have learned:

 sphere exercise

 basic eye

 baby eye

sly eye