MY "ARTY" SPRING BREAK!

"Garden Bunny"

It's Spring Break for me this week, and I'm enjoying taking off my "preschool teacher's hat" and putting on my "artist's hat". I spent a whole day spring cleaning my blog, updating the colors and decluttering a bit. I had fun creating a clip art "baby chick" in PaintShop Pro from one of my little drawings to use on my new banner. Slowly, I'm getting more comfy creating simple digital art! :)

I've made time to just "doodle" this week. It's been wonderful to have the time and the energy to sit with my cup of tea and my sketchbook, just enjoying the process of "playing on paper." There's been no pressure to produce... just the pleasure of seeing what develops. I'm amazed as I see these little sketches come to life! They are a gift to me and bring me so much joy!!

Thank you, Lord, for rest and renewal... Thank you for the chance to be inspired and to enjoy the process of creating!!


"Garden Bunny" is available in my Etsy shop, PHOLKART*BLESSINGS

ARTFUL RESOLUTIONS

"Carolina Snowfall"

I'm not one to make New Year's Resolutions... Unfortunately, I've learned from past experience that I don't follow through very well on my best intentions!

But this year I hope will be different for me! I'm feeling the need to define what I'm doing art-wise better & simplify, simplify, simplify!! I want to clean out my studio & make it a cozy place to create (instead of a cluttered place just to store art supplies!). I want to step away from my computer & rediscover the joys of quiet time set aside just for sketching and journaling.

Most of all, I want to listen to my own heart & create art that reflects ME... and pleases GOD.


** As YOU enter the New Year, what are YOUR Artful Resolutions?... and how do you hope to achieve them???

Perhaps we can encourage one another as we grow as artists in the coming year!!

BLOGGING >"< CAATS

One of the unexpected JOYS! I've experienced from selling my artwork on eBay has been discovering the large and diverse eBay Art Community. Many artists, creating in a wide variety of media, sell their artwork as Self-Representing Artists (SRA) on eBay.

These artists "meet" each other and interact together in eBay groups ~ some large, some small, and some focused on certain art topics.

I am a member of several eBay art groups; but my favorite BY FAR is CaaT (Complementary Art And Things). CaaT is a supportive group of artists who seek to help each other learn and grow, both as artists and as successful business people.

Since many artists are now turning to blogging in order to bring their art and their thoughts to the public, CaaT has recently started its' own Blog Theme Group. Each week we will be representing in some creative way that week's blog topic. Some may write or paint or collage or sculpt or capture the spirit of the theme with photography. The interpretation of the theme is entirely up to each artist's very unique imagination! :)

Up to this point, I've been illustrating my blog posts with my own original artwork. I LOVE the idea of creating a blog in this way!! The reality of this approach for me, however, is that, with the crazy~busyness of life, time for artmaking sometimes gets squeezed out. As a result, my blog updates have been few and far between.

And so, I'm embracing something new.... I will still try to illustrate my entries ~ afterall, that's part of what makes blogging FUN for me! But, I may also sneak in a few unillustrated posts now and again. Who knows?... I may even have to try my hand at photography!

No matter what form blogging may take for me from here on, I look forward to joining with fellow artists on this one-of-a-kind creative journey!!