Creativity is a Way of Life

I know I've been really bad at keeping up this particular art journal, but I've been really swamped w/writing and family stuff. Michael started school this past Monday...he's been doing really well so far. Today, Christina's teacher and her 2 assistants came by for a home visit. Went well...this is the 4th home visit (2 when Michael was her teacher and now this is Christina's 2nd year) so I'm a veteran at this thing.

I finally started on my ATC (Artist Trading Cards) project. ATC's are basically miniature works of art that are made to fit on a piece of material (cardboard, canvas, whatever) that's about the size of a baseball card (about 2.5 in.x2.5 in or  6cmx9cm.). You can use paint, collage, fabric, whatever and the cards are usually traded with other artists instead of sold. I'd had this pack of blank ATC-sized cards for almost forever, but I could never find the time to actually work on this. Plus, I'm still getting used to doing my art on a small scale (I'm used to 16x20 canvases!)

Anyway, I made 6 little ATCs. 2 have quotes, one is a collage, and the other 3 are mini-paintings. And I had a lot of fun making 'em. They turned out OK, I think. I'll snap some pics of 'em and link 'em when I'm done. And if you trade in ATCs, drop me a line and we might do a trade.

Gonna sleep early though. Got the migraine from hell. :(

Annie

I just LOVE clearance sales and coupons at different places! Sometimes you really have to work at finding some really good deals on supplies and other things, but when you find them, it's great! For example, I was at Office Depot earlier this week and found an set of Nexus liquid ink pens (with an extra ebony ink pen!) for less than $4. A whole bunch of 'em were way in the back in the clearance bin. I had to take it up to the counter and make sure that price was right. The person behind the register was kinda nonplussed, but yeah, that was the right price, so I was like, "I'll take it!!"

To put it in perspective, I saw the same set of professional Nexus pens in Michael's, just down the ways in the same shopping center. They were selling them for about $25.00. Whoa. I had a double-take at THAT price, too.

Speaking of pens and inks, I managed to find cartridges for my fountain pen. Not my calligraphy pen, my fountain pen. You have no idea how difficult it is to find those refills...they have a little nub at one end that the nib screws into so the ink can flow freely. My Schafer's calligraphy pen cartridges are flat at both ends, so they won't work in the fountain pen and vice versa. But I finally found Monteverde USA makes the international size fountain pen cartridges. Check 'em out at Monteverde Pens.

I bought a little bag of ATC (Artist Trading Cards)-sized paper, so I can get to work on a few originals and maybe, if I get a chance, a series. I've had a few ideas floating around in my head for a while. Going smaller scale is going to take some getting used to, though. (It's only about 2'' x 3''). A wonderful primer for what ATCs are, how to do 'em and some great ideas is here, by Joumana Medlej.

And check out this unique set of findings from Tim Holtz's idea-ology collection. These are Word Keys stamped with single words like "Life", "Dreams" and "Heart." These are beautiful, and I got a set from Michael's.

I finally got around to taking digital photos of my latest paintings and I'll link them once I get them cropped and resized. I haven't had the time to do that, so I was falling quite a bit behind in it. Hubby took the kids out to the mall this past afternoon, so I was able to get some art and writing done. I was really beginning to get cranky because I hadn't had the opportunity this week to do much, and it was starting to show. Didn't take it too well when he tried to renege on his promise, but at least it all was OK at the end.

Planning on doing more painting tomorrow, if I have the time.

Annie

...a very good place to start, as the song goes...

This makes it the, what, third blog I have? Something like that? Oh well. Thanks to seekergeek for the invite code! A bit of an intro:

I'm Annie, and I'm an artist, writer, editor and domestic engineer. I have 3 kids (the "mum" part), Christina, Michael and Sarah. Art and writing have been my links to sanity, especially since my older two kids are autistic. I could either laugh or cry about the challenges, but I choose to paint, draw and write instead. My LJ is mostly my writing and fics, while the one I have on Blogger is mostly about daily life. This one on DW is going to focus mostly on my art and the creative process.

I started painting 6 years ago, after my son Michael was born. I was doing it in oils, but now I do mostly acrylic and watercolor. I also do sumi-e (Chinese watercolor) and calligraphy. I draw in pastel (oil and chalk), watercolor pencil, colored pencil, ink, and brush pen. My art studio is my kitchen table. Not a lot of room, but at least I do have a place to set up and paint. And I usually find time late at night, after the kids go to sleep or on the weekends.

People ask me if I sleep at all. I joke, "Not really."

In any case, I'll be putting some of my work up here, and if you're on DW and would like to be friends, let me know!

Cheers,
Annie