With apologies...

to all my followers ... o.k., so there are only 4 of you. I had thought about just deleting this blog without saying anything, but that seemed so rude! Here's the scoop:

I started this blog during spring break when school was out and I was on a break from work and life was just slower. I've since realized that worrying about not keeping this up is more of a burden than a joy, and I think you'll agree that creativity should be a joy!!

I am not forsaking the projects in The Artistic Mother, I just have to weave them in and out of the other demands in my life. I do have the squares cut out to make my poetry bag and, hopefully, it and the poetry journal will be completed in the next couple of weeks. When they are, I'll post a photo.

My biggest apology goes to Shona, the author of The Artistic Mother. I am such a big fan and such a believer in all that she has to teach that I feel like I've failed her. :) But, to give myself a bit of comfort, I think I am in a very different place in my life and I do intend to continue learning from her techniques and tutorials. Maybe one day I'll be as disciplined in this area as she obviously is ... but probably not ;o)!

Stamped & Ready!

Yay! Project 1, Background Papers, complete! Well, complete for me. If I were to follow the instructions exactly, I would print lists and goals on these beautiful papers, but I'm a computer list person. I do plan to scan my pages, though ... just in case.

My designs are mostly random and are not necessarily meant for use as a whole sheet, but rather torn pieces here and there. I was being very critical of my work (playing the comparison game, to be honest), but I went to read the post from Shona's site on Background Paper Decorating and, fortunately, Step #8 told me just what I needed to hear ... "Stamp the pages randomly, working again in that conveyor belt way. I don't worry what they look like, these will be torn or cut up for use in collage projects. They are not meant to be finished works of art!". Thanks, Shona, I needed that!

Painting ...

Painting was fun, but came with a few lessons, of course! Overall, I'm happy with the papers when I look at them in isolated groups. In the photo, all those disparate colors just don't work together.

I would have been happier if I had stuck with just one color palette for all 12 sheets of paper. Having this many paint colors out and going at once was just too messy and inefficient. This is, I'm sure, an amateur level mistake. :)

I'm also wonder about what I'm going to be doing with these. I'll probably find out that none of these colors work for the upcoming projects and that I was supposed to plan better. Maybe I'll go re-read the book tonight. Now I'm sure my amateurity (new word) is showing ... I wonder if I'll get kicked out of the group? Seriously, it seems that most of these women can do this (with excellence!) in their sleep.

The next step involves solvent ink. That stuff doesn't wash off. I can just envision my lovely French manicure turning into a "Gothic black" look. Maybe I need to buy some gloves! Whatever, I'm having fun!

Gessoing ... new verb?

Step 1: Gesso all 12 papers.

Supplies Ready - Let the gessoing begin!


Maybe I gessoed too hard ... or, more likely, maybe I need new tools ... my brush broke.


I can tell this is going to be hard on my manicure, but in spite of the broken brush and the messed up nails, the first step was very easy and quick. It definitely did not take me more than 15 minutes.

I realized pretty quickly that I probably need to refresh my paint supply as well as get a few new brushes before I get too far along. This is my tendency - to jump into a project without adequate pre-planning. Oh well, it's a journey, right?

Why am I attempting another blog?

Well, as explained here, I've joined a group of women who are going to work through the art projects outlined in the book The Artistic Mother. I'm taking the challenge to fit more creativity into my schedule. This blog is a way to journal my progress and, hopefully, it will keep me motivated when life gets so busy that I am tempted to neglect the fun stuff.



Trudy at Artistic Creations with Trudy is spearheading this effort and keeping track of the many people taking part in this project. Visit her and browse the blogs over a cup of tea ... there are some incredibly talented people out there! I hope some of it rubs off on me. :)