Some recent work.

It has been months since I have posted. Sorry. So much has happened. My husband had surgery, while I was massively pregnant during which we had a two week stomach virus, then ebola, and then I began having three ob appointments a week, and then we had a living, breathing baby. Holy crap.

Still, me and the girl have been doing lots of art around these parts, though, and I have given myself permission to consider my writing and my still life 365 blog work part of the creative every day challenge. Also, maintaining still life with circles with occasional posts. I also participated in a silent art auction for SHARE-Lancaster and met the amazing Mother Henna, Emily,  Stephanie Cole, who hosts this website Beauty in the Breakdown and has a book coming out that you should totally buy, and of course, Hawk and Kara's mother and stepfather and cousins. It is always amazing to connect in real life with other grieving artists and mothers (and fathers). I am continually moved at how these women and men who were strangers before Lucy feel so much like family.

Alright, onto the art, on still life 365, I have started a travel journal, and so here is my entry for the first page of the journal, then it went to Germany...

Travel Journal, Watercolor, 03.31.10.

In February, my dear friend Kristin asked me to do a painting for her. She wanted something to inspire her to write. Something meditative. Something that touched on nature and art. She gave me a quote by James Therber, "Don't get it right, get it written." A week later, I became embroiled in caretaking, for my husband and daughter and myself. It was so consuming. I felt especially drained creatively. I can't really express the level of stress I was under. I just about exploded. Still, her painting was there lurking, and I felt terrible about not being able to devote the time and attention to meditating on it. After my son was born, I felt a level of comfort and stress of his surviving the pregnancy and birth part was diminished, though will always still be there, I assume. Anyway, after he was born, I also ordered a watercolor journal to begin art journaling. In it, I found myself sketching Kristin, trying to find some images I connected with.

Kristin First Sketch, watercolor and ink. 

Kristin Second Sketch, pencil.

Instinct and Inspiration, watercolor and mixed media.

Here is the explanation I sent to Kristin:

I started sketches a few times, and just didn't connect with it. I was having trouble with inspiring inspiration. I wanted it to be right for you, but I was creatively drained. Finally, I had an idea for it that I connected with, and began sketching. And so, here is your painting. I am calling it "Inspiration and Instinct" It is on watercolor canvas. 9x2. The image itself I wanted to make fantastical and accessible. I made your hair long and flowing to give it an air of exaggeration, as well as extend your arms out of encompass novels and ideas. I have an old dictionary/encyclopaedia, and I thought it would be cool to cut out the definitions for inspiration and instinct. I also handwrote the quote by james therber that you sent me. The dictionary/encyclopaedia has a section of nature sketches, so I thought it would be cool if you were inspiring not just painted swirling ideas, bits of paper, literature, but also these butterflies and moths, each an inspiration. Moths I always associate with night, and butterflies day, so they are supposed to inspiring work day and night. I actually thought of painting them, but liked that between your hands was both fiction and non-fiction; painted and from a book.

Other work I have done in the journal:

I Prayed for Each of You, acrylic and ink.























Mizuko Jizo with Pinwheel. Watercolor.

























The Wind Blows my Kimono, but not my Hair. Acrylic.

Day in the life. Watercolor.

Pray. Acrylic and Mixed Media.

Broken Hearted Geisha. Acrylic and Mixed Media.

Catching up on CED, and heART swap.

Well, I recognize how lame it is that it has been a very very long time since I posted with my CED projects. I have been sketching here and there, and doing art, some needle-felting. It is ironic that this month's theme is home, because I have really really been focused on my home the last two weeks. My husband had surgery, then my daughter and I got the vomiting/stomach flu/norovirus. I am also 32-33 weeks pregnant, so I am exhausted after taking care of people and my home all day.

Still, I have thought about CED everyday, and sometimes I get to sketch, even if it is just crayons and paper with Beatrice. As most everyone that reads here knows, I maintain a daily blog called still life 365, which is a blog for parents who have lost a child through pregnancy loss, stillbirth or neonatal loss. I post a piece of art every day from a different person. It is amazing, and I feel incredibly privileged to be privy to art in this way, and to share it with our little community. So, even when I don't get to do some kind of daily creative, I help spread the art-y love around. One of my favorite features of still life 365 is the newly started section called Artist to Artist. I interview a grieving artist about their art and grief. This past Sunday, I interviewed Kara Jones aka Mother Henna. You can read that right here. She is also participating in the CED challenge. The previous interviewee was Ines, again, she is also participating in CED. I promise that it isn't a conspiracy. I just am familiar with their work and their sons and their grief. I just love those conversations, and wanted to share them. When I think about home, I think about good conversation, comfort food, relaxing, art and ease.

Speaking of Ines and Kara, yesterday, I received my three cards from the the amazing heART swap. The awesomest part of the package was receiving work from some of my favorite artists--I knew everyone! I received a beautiful painting from Mother Henna herself:

 

The second one I received was from someone who has submitted a few times to still life 365, Amy McCarter. Her work is so moving and important. Her paintings are amongst the most commented upon on still life 365, which means she is resonating with a lot of other grieving parents. I personally had my breath taken away with this one.

And lastly, but certainly not leastly, the amazing Ines' carved heart rock found its way into my home. I feel so blessed.

I am in love with this heART, and now have to find a beautiful place for them. Has to be the altar, but we will see...My three contributions are needle-felted cards, which I have posted about before.

Beyond that, yesterday, I had a jizo commission. To be honest, I have a few commissions waiting for inspiration. I can't tell you why I haven't quite been able to muster the emotional strength to paint them, I just cannot. But jizos, I also paint them immediately. They require all my attention, my meditation strength, and my grief-focus. This one in particular was from a woman to her brother and his wife after the loss of their twins at 19 weeks. I couldn't let it sit in my inbox, so despite the constant cooing for Mama, I closed the door, meditated and painted. Here it is. The words represent the six realms and are also a haiku. I feel more inspired to tackle the other ones. Now, if I can just find the time...

Sunday. 02.07.10

 

 Home, Needlefelted, 02.08.10

Just feeling a bit home-y and literal today. I have no idea what I will do with my home now that I have felted it, but here it is. My daughter thinks it's booful, so that is success in my book.

Friday. 02.05.10 and Saturday.02.06.10

Friday was much of the same, still overhauling the website, rewriting sections, looking at consistency in the content. Boring but useful. Definitely in the cleaning house section of the Home theme.
Today, we are snowed in, and I made another egg and bacon magnet for my dear dear friend, and also on the home theme, I was thinking about the idea of nesting, and so I needle felted a very crappy looking nest with three eggs--blue for thor, pink for beezus and purple for lucy.

Wednesday. 02.03.10 and Thursday.02.04.10

Redesigning my blog still life 365 to be more streamlined. I think black and white are cleaner, and will focus on the art more. Who knows? I am still tweaking. Of course, I didn't do much of the html, except the usual tweaks of margins, colors, etc. Just not feeling terribly creative. Whenever I say that, I end up doing something a few minutes after that.

Tuesday.02.02.10

Eggs and Bacon. Needle felted magnet. 02.02.10


When I was thinking about home this morning, I was thinking about breakfast. Breakfast foods are so homey to me, and throughout my life, my favorite meal to meet people and share is a good diner breakfast. So, I felt compelled to make an Eggs and Bacon pin. After it was done, my husband said he needed for his work locker, and so, it will become a magnet instead.

Monday. 02.01.10

Doodle of Bea with a painting. Watercolor, Ink, Acrylic. 02.01.10

Bea wanted me to doodle her and her painting. It is the only thing I did creatively yesterday though, if rearranging my daughter's entire room doesn't count.