InteriARTS : March 2013

Friday, March 29, 2013

Day 179 Seeds of understanding

179:365

03/28/13

Day 179 Seeds of understanding

Louise Hay affirmation:

“I love and approve of myself.”

Inspiration exercise from 365 Daily Creativity Journal:

Use seeds to make something.

Media: Scrapbook paper, Magazine photos, Mod Podge

Time: 1H

Comments: Walnuts are great seeds. They are the start of a walnut tree that makes beautiful hardwoods for furniture. They are a healthy nut for people to eat. Their shells can be use in cosmetics to make exfoliants for the skin. They can be used for classic shell game to challenge the eye and mind. And, like the mind itself, they are 'a hard nut to crack'.

Love the flexibility and versatility of the walnut, just like I love and approve of myself when I also show flexibility and versatility.

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Day 178 Peaceful perch at Work

178:365

03/27/13

Louise Hay affirmation:

“I consciously release any mental patterns within me that could express as dis-ease in any way.”

Inspiration exercise from 365 Daily Creativity Journal: Use the world of birds as your inspiration today.

Media: Laser printed personal photo, Tissue paper, Watercolor, Sharpie, Mod Podge

Time: 1H: 20M

Comments: Today was a challenging day at work. Lots of weird energy circulating. But in the midst of it all, I happened to walk by an office that had an egret on the stone trellis just outside the window. He/she stood there calmly, lithely, peacefully. The moment I spent noticing the egret was complete antithesis to the way the rest of my workday was going.

I'm surrounded by a lot of people at work with mental patterns that express as dis-ease. I believe my accidental, but conscious, moment to notice something beautiful was a subtle reminder from Spirit to not let myself become one of them... regardless of how much weird energy surrounds me on the outside.

I recognize now that my catching a glimpse of this bird as I rushed by- and having the wherewithal to stop, ponder his posture and perch, and take a moment to snap a photo that I would later be able to incorporate into today's collage- was part of the Divine plan for my day. Serendipitously, today's exercise was to use the world of birds for inspiration! I'm inspired.

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Day 177 Natural state

177:365

03/26/13

Day 177 Natural state

Louise Hay affirmation:

“I accept health and the natural state of my being.”

Inspiration exercise from 365 Daily Creativity Journal: Make a robot out of everyday objects.

Media: Scrapbook paper, Magazine and Sierra Club calendar photos, Glue Stick

Time: 1H

Comments: The background photo in today's collage is from a Sierra Club calendar. They tend to have a great landscape photography and this image is no exception.

In this case, dunes of snow with crisp blue sky and puffy white clouds above is a perfect snowscape for a couple of robots accepting their natural state of being.

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Day 176 Prairie Egg

176:365

Day 176 Prairie Egg

03/25/13

Louise Hay affirmation:
“I am always safe, Divinely protected and guided. I choose to be healthy and free.”

Inspiration exercise from 365 Daily Creativity Journal: Make somewhere indoors seem like it is outdoors.

Media: Magazine photos, Mod Podge, Sharpie

Time: 1H:20M

Comments: Being in nature, or bringing nature indoors, seems to be sure path to feeling healthy and free. I love it when designers are able to bring the outdoors in.

Today's collage features a classic Egg Chair, designed by Arne Jacobsen, reinterpreted by Restoration Hardware in weathered leather... and a lot of green grass added by me. Not sure the Egg Chair is the best example of bringing nature indoors, but I liked (and started with) the small sketch in the center bottom of the page that showed an outline of the Egg Chair in front of a large window peering out into a vast, grassy prairie. Nice view.

Monday, March 25, 2013

Day 175 A rose by any other name

175:365
03/24/13

Louise Hay affirmation: “Each cell in my body has Divine intelligence.”

Inspiration exercise from 365 Daily Creativity Journal: Create a tiny version of something that would normally be much bigger.

Media: Scrapbook paper, Mod Podge, Watercolors

Time: 1H:20M

Comments: For today's collage, I was thinking about the purple coloring in the chameleon-like lizard on its branch and enjoying how closely the colors match the photo of heirloom roses, and the iridescent purple textiles that make up the background of the image. All from separate magazines, yet all looked to me like they went together. Each cell in a lizard that can color him/herself in purple MUST be guided by Divine intelligence.

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Day 174 As a good friend

174:365

03/23/13

Day 174 As a good friend

Louise Hay affirmation: “I recognize my body as a good friend.”

Inspiration exercise from 365 Daily Creativity Journal: Work only with kitchen tools today.

Media: Calendar and Magazine photos, Mod Podge

Time: 1H:10M

Comments: I hope one day that, indeed, I recognize my body as a good friend... At least as good a friend as a warm chocolate chip cookie. Fully enjoying a well-made chocolate chip cookie is a simple, indulgent experience that can be truly joyous. Making them requires only basic kitchen tools and ingredients, and results in a small bite of heaven on earth.

I included the dog at the top of the stairs, staring down at the cookies, as a remembrance that sometimes I feel removed from my body when I look at it in the mirror. It can seem like a foreign entity, made of too many chocolate chip cookies?

The dog on the stairs also represents an ability to look at an indulgent treat from a distance and not feel it owns its viewer. The dog looks like he could choose to run down the stairs and take it or just gaze from a distance and leave it. He's still pondering his decision from his higher (wiser?) vantage point. Good dog.

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Day 173 All signs point to Good

173:365

03/22/13

Louise Hay affirmation: “My good comes from everywhere and everyone. All is well in my world.”

Inspiration exercise from 365 Daily Creativity Journal: Create a new traffic sign.

Media: Scrapbook paper, Magazine photos, Tissue Paper, Sharpie, Watercolors, Mod Podge

Time: 1H:30M

Comments: The signpost in today's collage is one that I'd love to see on every street corner.

Friday, March 22, 2013

Day 172 Picasso redux

172:365

03/21/13

Louise Hay affirmation:

“I rejoice in other’s successes, knowing there is plenty for us all.”

Inspiration exercise from 365 Daily Creativity Journal: Make a book out of something other than paper.

Media: Scrapbook paper, Picasso Guernica Poster, Ribbon, Sharpie Mod Podge

Time: 2H:20M

Comments: I sometimes joke that "I'm no Picasso" when people ask about the kind of Art that I make. Today's collage is a direct homage to Pablo Picasso, an undeniably successful Artist in his day. The background image of a woman holding the book was inspired by his Portrait of Marie Therese Walter. I used a small-scale reproduction poster of his monumental Guernica mural to create the book itself.

Though I may not find the artistic acclaim that he enjoyed during his life, it's nice to think about the idea that there is plenty of success for us all. His work has inspired artists and Art enthusiasts for decades.

Link for more info:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guernica_(painting)

http://www.pablo-ruiz-picasso.net/work-158.php

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Day 171 Guidance in black and white

171:365

03/20/13

Louise Hay affirmation: “I am Divinely guided and protected and I make choices that are beneficial for me.”

Inspiration exercise from 365 Daily Creativity Journal: Work only in black and white.

Media: Scrapbook paper, Magazine and Catalog photos, Mod Podge, Glue stick

Time: 1H

Comments: Interesting to think about Divine guidance and protection being a black and white proposition. Wish that it were so clearly discernable.

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Day 170 Time for a walk

Day 170 Time for a walk

170:36503/19/13 Louise Hay affirmation:
“All my needs and desires are met before I ever ask.”

Inspiration exercise from 365 Daily Creativity Journal: Make something unintended out of existing instructions by not following the directions correctly, by using different materials, or by using the physical paper the instructions are on.

Media: Scrapbook paper, Notepad paper, Magazine and catalog photos, Mod Podge, Fabric pattern tissue, Instructions for painting bird's nests, Matte Medium

Time: 2H

Comments: Working with contractors is always a fun but dreaded prospect at my house. When selling the job, they make the work sound so simple. Then the project starts and it inevitably takes longer than predicted. We're in day 9 of a 4 day fence replacement at home... and the dog-walking routine is anything but routine.

Feeling gratitude to have employment with some flexibility, so we're able to get away and tend to the pups at home. I'm sure they'll be thrilled to have their dog door back, free range in the back yard, no pesky workmen roaming around in 'their' world, and not having to hold their little knees together too long while we're gone.

Today's collage started out with a bird theme and instructions on how to paint bird's nests, but through a couple of dissatisfied iterations, ended up being about instructions from the dog on how to know when it's time for a walk. All my needs and desires are met...

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Day 169 Housebirds

169:365

Day 169 Housebirds

03/18/13

Louise Hay affirmation: “I am totally open and receptive to the abundant flow of prosperity that the Universe offers.”

Inspiration exercise from 365 Daily Creativity Journal: Create a personal shelter.

Media: Scrapbook paper, Magazine and catalog photos, Mod Podge, Sharpie

Time: 2H

Comments: We can learn a lot from birds, their adaptability and their ability to make a nest wherever nature provides them a place. They are totally open and receptive to the abundant flow of prosperity that the Universe offers. Today's collage is a study of various styles of human and bird houses.

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Day 168 Not guided by ghosts

168:365

03/17/13

Louise Hay affirmation: “Whatever I am guided to do will be a success.”

Inspiration exercise from 365 Daily Creativity Journal: Write a ten-word horror or ghost story. Illustrate it.

Media: Scrapbook paper, Magazine photos, Mod Podge, Sharpie, Masking fluid, Watercolor

Time: 1H

Comments: My ten word ghost story (and Louise Hay's affirmation for today) is about the phantom fears and anxieties, known as The Unknown, that we must fight off to do the things we are guided to do in life. Success comes when we face our fears of The Unknown and do "it" anyway.