A month of LOVE

February... ugh.  

If you live in the Midwest, this time of year is just hard.  There are lots of cold grey days with little sunshine.  I'm always surprised to how much the weather affects my mood.  I know lots of people have a really hard time during the winter months before spring.  February has historically been a pretty hard month for me.  It was in this month my first marriage collapsed, but it was also in this same month I met and fell in love with my current (and "bestest") husband.  We all have stories and maybe some sad ones.  I just think they are even sadder if they take place in the month of February.  I also remember that February was the hardest month for me to learn to spell correctly.  It's weird what you remember...

Mostly,  I just wish I didn't feel like sleeping all the time.  

 On one hand I'm really thankful for whoever started the Valentine theme because there is no other month that could use a shot of red, pink and sprinkles all over it.  And I love red and pink!   And, I love them together.  But on the other hand February has Valentine's Day and that can be a bit irritating with the pressure to have, find or be in love.  I am choosing to celebrate ALL the different kinds of love in my life.  I'm glad to have a husband and romantic love.  But boy am I thankful for all the other types of love out there.  Let's celebrate it, think and focus on it and perhaps these grey days won't weigh so heavy.  

So this month I will be blogging on things that fill my heart with love and joy.  This is so needed   right now.  My life is so far from perfect and the grey days have me heavier than usual.  So know, I'm trying to focus my own mind and heart on anything other than the grey, cold and dreariness.  

ABC Cards

A week before school started and one of my friend sent me a text "You should do ABC cards, I can't find anything on Etsy I want."  And sometimes that's just where inspiration to make something comes from.  Of course I thought it would go much faster than it did.  For example I had originally done an "A' for acorn.  But because this was a Pre-K 4 class and this teacher is both excellent and precise, all the vowels had to be the "short kind" so that meant I had to scrap acorn, iris and United State for apple, insect and umbrella.  Then the 'S'  needed to be a straight "s" sound so shell was out and I painted snail.  But I have to admit I later wished I had painted a sloth.  Aren't those the most fascinating animals ever???? They are my new favorite animal to pretend to be.  Sometime we play sloth dinner and needless to say it's funny and lasts maybe 2 minutes.  You should try.  But but but, I digress, So as you can see creating ABC cards wasn't just going to be pretty art hanging in the classroom but it was going to be functional.  I think that this is the most functional and hopefully helpful bunch of watercolors I've ever done.  (I really need to sit and think of the weight of that ... okay, done.)

I thought about using a font but I decided that my own neat handwriting would work and it's more like how kids write anyway.  Seeing a font is just so stiff and stuffy next to these nature inspired.

Hope you like them.  I posted them on my Etsy shop here.  The size is 8/12" x 11" per card and I also have the in 5x7 inches as well.   

My favorites are the owl, eggs and vegetables.  You?

Love this school and how perfectly these nature inspired ABC cards fit into this classroom environment.  

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Strange Folk Festival in Lafayette Square Park

So I have this friend who is sharp, talented, stylish and I feel like I can call wise.  (And that's not a word I would use to describe just anyone.)  So when she said I should do the Strange Folk Festival in Lafayette Square Park, almost in passing, I took her seriously and I signed up for the first art fair/craft show I've done in years.  My little girl is getting older and at age 4 she isn't as demanding and I felt like I could tackle this.  Then, I had friends who just jumped on board to help.  And I have to say if it weren't for them this show would not have happened for me.  I had a graphic designer guru layout my cards and calendars and help me style my booth.  Then, friends from Kansas City drove down to help me set up and man my booth during the two days of the show and they were the best company ever.  Girlfriends came and carefully packaged my cards in cellophane so I looked professional and put together even though I felt like I was not going to "fool" anyone.  This was hard work.  But I loved every minute of it and I have to say, I was encouraged and felt like a million bucks even before the event opened on Saturday morning.  I did it.  I set a big goal, I  accomplished almost everything on my lists and with the help, prayers and hands of so many people - it was great.

Then the show happened.  I had no idea what to expect.  I mean this was a festival called "Strange Folk Festival"  and my thoughts were there were going to be a bunch of young people who thought my art was sweet, and well, dare I say, old fashioned.  But I was so pleasantly surprised.  The demographic of people who bought my art wasn't what I would have expected. And boy was that encouraging to realize.  And, if I think about it, I've been a bit locked up in my studio for the past four years paintings with out any feedback.  So it was good to see and hear who liked it.  

Did I mention it was 90 hellish degrees for those two days.  I drank lots and well I just felt like a hot, wet but happy mess.  The people at this show were super kind inspite of the heat.  I talked to so many people and not just about my art - their art too.  I love talking to kids, so that's always fun.  And then when my little Daisy was there she liked to be by my side and she did lots of drawings herself.  I let her display them, but allowed her to give them to whomever she wanted.  She kept hugging me.  I guess she was proud of her mama.  

After Sunday I was worn out, I had used up all my words and then some.  I stood both days because there were just so many people to chat with.  Plus there seemed to be so many people who bought my work and said nice things to boot.  I had decided before hand, I was just going to be happy with breaking even.  If I paid for my booth and ALL the expenses that being part of a show incurred I would be pleased as punch, tickled pink, happy as a clam.... you get.  And I did just that and then some.  Thanks St. Louis for loving and encouraging me with both your words and purchases.  I needed that!  

I'm on the left and my Kansas City cheerleader, helper, idea maker, Bloody Mary deliverer and dearest friend Cara is to the right.

2016 Summer in Watercolors - Art for Kids 6years & up

Summer is my absolute, most favorite time to be a watercolor artist.  The light, flowers,  greenery – all the natural world is beautiful to explore, see, study and paint.   I will teach and encourage a small group of "budding" artists to watercolor paint plein air (outside) and with still life using flowers, greenery, rocks, basically anything they find in my garden that intrigues them.   They each will have a watercolor sketchbook that I will provided to use both on their lesson days and to take home with them and continue the practice of observing, drawing and watercolor painting.  At the end of their summer lessons, they will have a body of work in their sketchbooks to be proud of and that will encourage them to keep working on their art all year long.

This is a small classroom setting – only 6 students.  Some may think individual lessons are primo and but I personally have found that I have grown the most as an artist learning watercolors with other artists.  We will learn everything from how to observe a subject matter to using pencil, brush and paint to represent objects accurately.  All along I encourage my art students to try new things, be okay with mistakes, and to trust that the creative process is more about learning than creating a final piece of art.  I have been told over the years that painting in watercolors is hard because you don't have much control.  But I've found that the surprises that come from this relative lack of control are what makes watercolor so beautiful and exciting.  

watercolor by Amy Woods

The watercolor light filled classroom. Photo by MCK Designs - Krissy McArthur

Enough

Long before there was Pinterest and Facebook, I was collecting quotes.  Quotes that I hoped would change me.  I think I've been collecting quotes since 1990.  I have this fabric covered journal I made and I would write quotes from books or cards that I liked in order to inspire me.  This quote collecting was manageable and fun.  Now there's Pinterest, and I must say I'm overloaded with quotes.  Heck, I'm overloaded with everything.  I love beautiful art, pictures of great home decor, fun things to make and most of all quotes that should inspire change and hope and... well, change.  But like everything else, I just seem to collect these things but don't seem to do much about them.  Sometimes, I'm even drained by what I think I should be doing or being.  And I'm left with the question, "Am I really being inspired by all that I see on the internet or am I just collecting, comparing, adding more to the pressures of my life?"

It's such a tricky question.  I don't know that there's an overall absolute correct answer.  But I do know for me, now more than ever, I need to practice some self-discipline.  And, I would have to say, Self-Discipline (dunt dunt DAH) is not something I've ever had to really practice.  I've come pretty far by handful of smarts, good metabolism and just plain luck (or so it seems.)

Now more than ever I need to self discipline - which means self train and guide towards things and thinking that is best for me especially as I raise a little girl.  I think the biggest and hardest thing for me to come to terms with is just how visiting all my favorite sites like Pinterest, artist sites and blogs is really affecting my own creativity.  Sometimes (lately ALL the time) I just feel terribly discouraged and frustrated as an artist.  Like, my work is not enough.  I'm not as good as so and so.  Why can't I be more like....   And then I find I become this weepy, whiny weirdo.  EWWW!   Yes, comparison is the thief of my joy.  And I am weak.  Limiting my time on the world wide web of wonderful things probably is a good start for me to practice the fine art of self- discipline.  I hope to regain a stronger sense of self and new creativity.  There is nothing worse than ending a day wishing I had done more because I've spent too much time on-line believing everyone is passing me by.  I'm hoping that self-discipline in this one area of my life will grow in others too. 

I so dearly want to end my day and close my eyes in peace, not with my mind racing around thinking I should have done more.  That's been an awful was to live.  I can only do so much.  You can only do so much.  Let's trust that we are enough for today and we have done enough.