From sad to glad - a journey to creativity

I have been away a long time - and will probably continue to be away for a long time to come. And I miss you, every one of you. Even those of you that I haven't met. I miss the camaraderie of the BBEST team, the support through trying times, the delight and joy of sharing a history, and era. I miss talking to you all, knowing how you are and where you are in your lives and in your creative journeys. I miss my friends who remember real rock and roll and macrame plant hangers and curtains. I miss sharing song lyrics and jokes.


Work is crazy busy, and I tell myself that I am lucky to have a job. That I need to "suck it up" and "stay the course." That this should be for just a moment in time, that soon I will come back to my heart, to my creative core. That working from 7 am to 8 pm is not going to last much longer, that I am taking steps to resolve it, that things will get better.

And all the while, with my determination, I pray that I am telling myself the truth. I long for balance, for the opportunity to paint and play and paste and glue and write and think about art. I want more time to spin and knit and crochet and felt. I wrap a wrist brace around my hand, sore with carpel tunnel from too much computer work, and walk through the craft room to admire the new acrylic paints that I bought - 18 months ago.

And I feel alone. Not that my DH doesn't love me and help me - or sympathize with me - but that he just doesn't understand. He doesn't understand the connection with my internet creative friends. He doesn't understand my need for time to create. But you know, even if he did there isn't anything he could do. No one has found that time machine in Harry Potter - you know, the one that allows Hermione to be in two places at once? I want one of those. I have more to do that I can say grace over.

So here I sit, preparing to write this blog, and pouting. Thinking that I don't have any new techniques to share with you, like Six did in her recent post, nor have I had the opportunity to teach, like Altheap. Browsing through the many many wonderful things in the BBEST Team shops, checking out your blogs, wondering what I might have to say that would interest you all, marveling at the creativity in your lives, and pouting. I think about how inspiring you all are - and how I say that each time I post - but I don't know if you know how much you all mean to me, and so I wonder if my words sound trite. So pouting. Geez. I absolutely hate myself when I pout. I feel like an ingrate, someone who does not appreciate all the wonderful gifts I have in this life.


Seriously, Shame On Me!!!

I know the drill. I know that Help Is Not On The Way. If there is one thing that I get, it is that my life and my time are my own. And pouting garners nothing. Nuuuuuuuuuuuttttttttthhhhhing! As Sergent Shultz used to say.

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So I did a little searching, knowing that laughter is the BEST medicine, and found a lot of good clean laughs out on the internet - here is one for you. :)

Know your Apples

Here is the scene: The children were lined up in the cafeteria of a Church elementary school for lunch.

At the head of the table was a large pile of apples. The nun made a note, and put it on the apple tray...

'Take only ONE. God is watching.'

Moving further along the lunch line, at the other end of the table was a large pile of chocolate chip cookies.

A child had written a note, 'Take all you want. God is watching the apples.'

Hehehe! Delighted that God is watching the apples, I took my jillion thoughts about posting here (should I write about my cat, my search for new kittens, all the cool cat items in your shops? should I write about spinning and how, when I get to spin I meditate on peace? should I write about spring and how, when I get outside my heart fills with joy? should I write about the struggles as we get older? should I write about antique sock knitting machines? new books? writing? should I pontificate on civility? how about paints or what happens when I type in "BBEST spring Red" in the search engine? maybe I could opine on my generation, filled with peace and kindness and creating less than that in our lifetimes? should I consider the financial mess, or history? egad.) and made myself get up and take a walk to get some perspective. I took the camera along, and came back with the pictures that you see scattered through this post.


They are my gift to you, a little something from my yard to your eyes, with hope straight from my heart that they may inspire you and give you a smile. You wonderful people do that for me.


It is a gift to stop in the rush of this time and think about creating. A gift to have a chance to share with you - and to take advantage of what you always share with me. I am grateful for this commitment of occasionally guest blogging here. It is a reminder that the creative life is close to me, that I have not lost myself completely. I adore you all. And with the gift of your inspiration, I am going downstairs now, giving myself an hour to create, to smile, to bring peace to myself and my home, to spin.


Much and much love.

Try Something New

While thinking about writing this blog, I decided to share about making
a print using a great material called soft cut. This offers an alternative to
the old lino blocks that we are familiar with.
There are many brands out there that you can try.
Some are better than others. I like Speedy cut ( made by Speedball )
it is thicker and makes it harder to go through the material with your cutting tool.
One of the draw backs to Speedy cut is that it crumbles.
Dick Blick also has a similar product that is easy and doesn't crumble.
Another important thing to know is that you must use water based ink with this product.
That makes it a lot easier to clean up. There is no smell either. A plus for me.
This is also wonderful for those of us who have arthritis and hand pain.
You can still get great lines and a good print.



Here are all the materials that you would need to make a print .
One piece of soft cut , ruler, exacto knife, cutting tool , tape, pencil, ink, brayer, glass or large spoon, and of course paper.
Oops, I forgot to add the tray for the ink.



As you can see the soft cut or speedy cut is very flexible and easy to use.



After drawing your image on the soft cut you can now use your cutting tool and outline the shapes.
I use the smallest cutting blade first to outline the shapes. Then I go to the medium
blade and then the large blade for the big areas. The blades are extremely sharp so please
be careful.





After you finished cutting your design wash the soft cut.
and make sure all excess bits of softcut are removed.
This could cause problems with printing correctly.
Ater that you will want to use some tape and make a loop with it and put it on the back of the soft cut and then
place it on the table or on a piece of board and press. This will keep it from sliding or moving around.
If you are printing cards or something else that needs to be straight and registered correctly you will need to do this with
tape on a board and line up the soft cut. For proofs this is not necessary.
Squeeze a small amount of ink ( water based only ) into a styro foam or flat meat tray that you can save from your
meat purchases. Or a piece of glass or plastic if you prefer. Next you will need to get your brayer and roll it over the ink
until it is uniformly spread on the brayer. When you are satisfied that it is, roll the brayer over the soft cut several times
but not too much. You don't want a lot of ink on your print, This will take some practice. Remember to be patient
with yourself and expect to make some mistakes.



After you place the paper over the inked soft cut you will use the rounded piece of glass or a spoon to
rub over the paper and make sure to use enough pressure so that you will pick up all of the ink.
Make sure you are covering all of the image.



You can use any kind of paper for a proof. There are many types of papers available for printing in all price ranges.
When you are a beginner it is better to use inexpensive paper.




Carefully lift the paper off the print and put aside to dry. It usually takes about half an hour for a print to dry.



This is the final result. I can see from this proof whether I want to cut away more or leave it as it is.
I use black ink because it is easier to see all of the lines and shapes.
I can see that I didn't clean off the soft cut enough because it has many areas where it looks as though
pieces of material have stuck to it . The ink will show up the smallest piece
so it is a good idea to make sure the image is clean before you use it.




This is the second round of proofs. I am not sure about the color choices I made or if I should change a few things.
That is the great part of this process. I can still change the feeling of the work by my choices. I still have some !
You can also make your own stamps. It is more affordable than purchasing them and they are unique. Just glue a
small piece of wood to the finished stamp and your done. Have fun trying something new.

Teaching what you know

  If you be a lover of instruction, you will be well instructed.
       —Isocrates+

When I insisted on attending art school instead of a traditional university, my mother balked.  She kept insisting that I at least study teaching art, so I’d have something to “fall back on.”  However well intentioned and practical her advice was, I determined never to be a teacher.  So — how odd to find myself teaching now that I’m in my 50s and have much less patience than when I was younger.  I tend to be less than organized, to be polite about it, and often can’t see the forest for the trees, but I’m learning.  It never dawned on me that a grown person wouldn’t know you had to rinse your brush periodically, until a student asked me why her entire painting was brown. 

Instruction does not prevent waste of time or mistakes; and mistakes themselves are often the best teachers of all.
         — James Anthony Froude

I thought it was lip service when I heard teachers say they learned as much from their students as the students learned from them.  It’s true!  Preparing lessons forces one to really think through their process, and watching others come up with solutions for their ideas can lead you in all kinds of new directions.  Creating ways to teach what you do in a limited time frame is also a great exercise. I’ve been silk painting for over 20 years and was stumped when Jerry’s Artarama asked me to teach a two-hour class.  After wandering around the store with my hands in my pockets for a while, I came up with a short project idea that would whet students’ appetites.  It came off quite well and each student’s project was completely different from mine or anyone else’s. 

Sharing knowledge does not diminish one’s talent.
— Me

Which leads me to a point often brought up by artists and crafters:  why teach someone else to do the thing you’re trying to make your living at?  Aren’t they just out to steal your ideas?  Am I shooting myself in the foot by sharing my ideas?  No, no and no!  Teaching a person to read doesn’t mean they can write your story, does it?  Teaching someone a skill can often make them appreciate more fully what goes into the making of your art.  Altruism pays!          

+Isocrates the orator, not Socrates the philosopher, in case you were worried about that.