Weather and Creativity - February Blog Carnival

Once again, it is time for the monthly blog carnival from the Jewelry Artisans Community.  Our topic for February is how weather affects creativity.

My first thought was to focus on creativity and winter weather, but summer, spring and fall also have an influence so I decided to touch on all of the seasons.

For many people, winter is a depressing time of year.  The weather is cold, gray and blah.  Travel or just getting outside can be a challenge.  Boredom and cabin fever often sets in causing people to want to hibernate or at least nap a lot.

A winter view from my kitchen

For me personally, winter time is when I'm at my most creative.  I like winter weather, especially rain.  Even snow doesn't bother me too much if I don't have to go out in it.  Spending time at my jewelry work bench doesn't cause feelings of guilt that I should be outside enjoying beautiful weather and accomplishing yard work, gardening or whatever else it is that people do when the weather is nice.

Sun battles the fog on a winter day

 Nope, I can indulge myself in creating, designing and experimenting to my heart's content without that nagging feeling that I shouldn't be wasting a beautiful day by staying inside.

The opposite season from winter is summer.  That's when everyone wants to be outside going camping, to the lake, grilling, swimming and gardening - all that warm weather stuff.  To be honest, I find summer to be highly overrated.  It is hot, dusty and when all the insects (including the stinging variety) are active and on a mission to harass the humans.  No thanks.

I will happily stay indoors creating from June to September without a twinge of guilt.

Which brings me to spring and fall.  These are the best times of the year to be outside and the times when I find myself setting aside the jewelry projects in order to enjoy the fabulous weather we experience in California during these seasons.

A side benefit is that experiencing the outdoors at these times is a wonderful source of inspiration for future projects and jewelry designs.  During spring, the trees bud, the flowers bloom and the weather is sunny and mild with the occasional spring shower. 

A wild iris blooms in my yard

Beautiful California poppies bloom for a short time in spring and early summer

 The wildlife returns.  Babies are being born and making their debut.  It's a time of renewal and everything is fresh.  I keep these types of images in mind for when summer arrives and it's time to  start creating again.

The photo is a bit grainy, but my hands might have been shaking! 

Awwwwww!

The fall brings us astonishing color and textures along with crisp, clean air and the first hint of frost.  Wildlife is busy preparing for winter as are the humans.  It's a fantastic time to be out gathering inspiration for those long winter months when we're all stuck inside again.

Nothing says Autumn like pumpkins

To sum up, I can't say that the hot, sultry weather of summer or the gloomy, gray weather of winter affects my creativity in a negative way.  Rather, both times of year are looked forward to because it's such an intense time of creating as evidenced below. 

My work area on a creative day - I know where everything is!

To see what the other participants in this month's blog carnival have to say about weather and creativity, please click on the links below.

Bead Sophisticate

Painting the Studio - Part 2

The wall that I plan to paint brown (Bourbon Rue) is a wall made out of cinder blocks. They are porous and bumpy.  When I started to roll on the paint, I noticed the pattern of the blocks showing through and thought it looked really cool. So, instead of painting it solid brown, I decided to leave the block pattern showing thinking that it would provide a fun and funky look.  I also thought that the white showing through the brown would help keep the wall from being too dark. 



I'm not sure exactly how I want to go about finishing this, but it does look rather stark and unfinished in it's current state.  The plan is to proceed slowly as I don't want to ruin it by not thinking it through.  Of course, I didn't notice the block pattern until after I'd painted a few of the blocks solid brown, so that will have to be dealt with too.



I am in love with the Smoky Mountain Spring; what a beautiful shade of blue!  It's so pretty that I'm thinking about other ways I could use it in this room without going overboard.



Next steps are to continue working on the block wall and to paint the door and window sill.  It is starting to come together but there is a lot more work ahead.  Enjoying every minute of it!

Painting the New Studio - Part I

The more time I spend in this room that will soon be my studio, the more I like it.  With all this space to spread out, I can only imagine the creativity and inspiration that is going to become part of my days.  Rather than be impatient about moving in and setting up, I am savoring the process of creating this room.  Each little step is an important part of the journey to the end result.  I have a feeling that this room will always be a work in progress which excites me.

These are the colors I've chosen.   From left to right we have Smoky Mountain Spring, Rue Bourbon and Sassafras Tea.  I really like the way the cool blue works with the warm browns.  Hope it works as well on the walls!

Today's accomplishments.

Masking with newspaper and tape and covering stuff with old sheets:





The tedious detail work - painting the corners and edges with Sassafras Tea. Have you ever wondered who gets paid to come up with names for paint colors?





Nearly done painting the walls with Sassafras Tea.



I painted around the refrigerator until hubby had time to help me move it. The fridge is now sitting in the middle of the room so I can finish painting the walls where it was located.  In case anyone is wondering, it will be vacating the room for a spot in the garage.





I really like the Sassafras Tea. When I first started painting, I was worried that it was going to be too dark, but I was worried for nothing. The plan for tomorrow is to paint the ceiling in the same color and paint the block wall dark brown. Bonus if I get the other wall painted blue too!

My New Studio

I am so excited!

We have a room downstairs off of our garage that used to be a guest room, but it was never used. When we had a garage sale last spring we sold most of the furniture that was in there and it was slowly turning into a storage room. My current work area is a drafting table and one very small shelving unit that is tucked into a corner of hubby's office. See where I'm going with this?

Last weekend, I decided the room was going to waste and should be used for something besides storage.  I cleaned it out, vacuumed, dusted and washed the window and am slowly turning it into my new studio.

I was going to buy a desk and a big shelving/storage unit for it, but hubby pointed out to me that we are storing a heavy duty metal desk and credenza in the garage  that I could use.  He's right.  Why buy new furniture when we have perfectly good stuff that's not being used.  Except they are a puke beige color that I don't like. But, that's what spray paint is for, right?

Tomorrow we are going to move the desk, credenza and the small shelving unit I'm using so that I can clean and spray paint them.

Once the paint is dry I can start moving in. I know I am going to love having so much room, but I also know that I'll probably miss sitting next to hubby while working at my drafting table, so I'm going to leave it in his office for working on small projects that don't require a lot of materials, tools or room to complete.

Pics, I know you all want to see pics. Wait no more!

Looking in from the doorway there is a window and a baseboard heater.  I won't freeze during the winter!



Nice bare cinder block wall:



My great grandfather's old trunk, a wild door and a dresser that's already in the room to use for storing tools and supplies:



Outside the studio room, in the garage, is a trail bike hubby is working on.



Our 1950's beer kegger fridge that hasn't been used in a long time. Many years ago, we spent an entire day putting hubby's collection of motorcycle racing stickers on it. Hey, I could start it up and keep snacks/drinks in there!



My reflection:



While cleaning the room, I looked out the window and saw this:



Waiting for it to be ready is going to be hard, but I am going to try to savor the process and not be impatient.  But, it's going to be really, really hard!

January Challenge - Lace

A monthly challenge is held at the Jewelry Artisans Community for fun, to bond with other members, to build or learn new skills and to push our creativity.  Our challenge for the month of January was to design jewelry that was reminiscent of Lace.  There were wonderful entries and all of them hit the mark and then some!

From Caroline of The Crafty Chimp we have this beautiful brooch.  The main stone is Sea Sediment Jasper that is surrounded by seed beads of bronze and blue and designed to look like a lace edge cuff.

This exquisite bracelet was designed by Cat of Cat's Wire and is made of tiny cube beads and crystals in combination with Delicas and seed beads.

Carina of Violetmoon created this lacy necklace out of chain and dagger beads - it's both feminine and sultry.  Lovely worn with a little black dress for a night on the town.

I have been learning a lace netting technique and used it in both of my entries.  First a tiny bottle full of shells that has been covered in wire "lace" and turned into a necklace.

Next, after playing around with a variation on the above wire netting, I made this little basket and filled it with beads.  Cat suggested I permanently attached the beads to the basket and turn it into a pendant which is in the works.  Thanks, Cat!

I'm always thrilled to see how each of the challenge participants interprets the challenge theme and this month was no exception.  Great work by everyone!

Coping With Creative Block - January Blog Carnival

Dealing with creative blocks is the topic of this month's Jewelry Artisans Community blog carnival.

No matter what their craft, every artist suffers through creative block at one time or another.  It's not a good feeling for those to whom creating is an important part of their lives.  We wonder about the cause, whether or not we'll ever feel creative again, where our creativity (sometimes known as the muse) went and what we should do to get it back.

The thing is, at least for myself, the more I worry about it, the worse the block becomes.  I've found that these strategies work to entice the muse back from an extended vacation.

Don't fight it:  Forcing creativity never ends well; it just leads to additional frustration.  Rather, take a break.  Read a book, go out for walks, garden, bake, play with the fur kids, watch a movie, take a nap - do something that you enjoy and that makes you feel good and that is completely unrelated to your art.

Look at other artists art:  Now, this does not mean to go out and copy the work of your favorite artists.  It means to simply enjoy art for the sake of enjoying art.  Spend an afternoon at a museum, look at art books or check out the millions of images available on the internet.  Seeing what other creative people have created with their talented minds and hands often sparks creativity.  I love to look at the jewelry that other designers are creating including jewelry that uses techniques that aren't part of my skill set.  For instance, I am not a seed beader and wouldn't know where to begin to make the gorgeous creations that these people produce, but I can still appreciate their beauty and the skills and talent it takes to make these pieces.

I think what happens when looking at the art of other artists is that I realize that I can and have produced art too.  To expand on this thought, sitting down and looking at work I have created in the past reminds me that I have created art that I am proud of and that I will again when the time is right.

Be open to inspiration:  Inspiration can come from many sources if you open your mind to what's around you.  Nature is a wonderful source of inspiration.  While out walking, gardening or playing with the fur kids, take note of the striking color combinations nature uses, the shape of a leaf, the graceful curve of a butterfly's wing, the play of sunlight through the trees, the unusual shell on the beach - the possibilities are endless.

Inspired by nature, this dragonfly may lead to a new jewelry design.

Look at ordinary household items as sources of inspiration.  One of my favorite earring designs was inspired by a hurricane lamp that sits on my dresser.  The wrought iron scroll work on the patio furniture was the beginning of another design.

This wicker basket inspired the wire basket shown below:

The lines from a song or poem can be inspirational.  Think about how you would interpret your favorite verse through your art.

Talk to other artists:  They've all been through it which means they will be able to sympathize and empathize in a way that people who don't use art to express themselves can't.  Many times, another artist can suggest ways to help break creative block.  Join a local art group, attend a workshop, take a class or join an online artists forum.  Hanging out with other artists fosters creativity.  I've also found that other artists are very generous in supporting and sharing with each other.

Spend time in the studio:  This doesn't mean to force yourself to be creative.  It means to spend time where you create.  Clean up your work area, organize your supplies and handle the tools of your craft.  In my case this might mean fiddling with a piece of wire or arranging different types of beads into eye pleasing color schemes.  As I feel beads sifting through my fingers, I'll ask myself "what if I try this"?  Pretty soon one idea leads to dozens of ideas.

Examples of what happens when I fiddle with wire when in search of ideas - these initial attempts led to new jewelry designs.

More fiddling but the end result of this one is more polished.  This is going to be turned into earrings

Learn something new:  Nothing gets creativity flowing like learning a new technique.  It gets us to thinking about new ways of doing things, incorporating old and new skills and how to apply what we've learned to our craft.  There are thousands of free and paid tutorials online; youtube is a fantastic resource, how to books are available in book stores and libraries and there are many classes at recreational centers, local crafts stores and community colleges.

My desire to learn wire netting techniques led me to make this wire frame so I could practice.  The resulting netted frame has inspired me to make a wire netted bracelet which is in the works.

Learning how to do wire netting inspired this prototype for a dream catcher earring design which is also in the works.

Challenges and contests:  At the Jewelry Artisans Community we hold weekly and monthly challenges that not only result in forming bonds with other artists but also challenge us to develop new skills and to think outside our comfort zones.  If you're blocked, try entering a challenge or contest to break the creative dam.

Balance:  It's important to remember that there is life outside of art.  Nurture those other areas and don't neglect the hubby, kids, friends, fur kids, yourself and your environment.  Spending a wonderful day with family is rejuvenating and restorative.  Keeping your home in a state that makes you comfortable and eating food that nurtures your body leads to a clear mind.  Locking oneself away in a studio and not interacting with others eventually leads to a feeling of discontent that stifles creativity.

Make it fun:  Remember why you started creating in the first place.  Because it was fun and it filled a need to make beautiful things.  Think back to before deadlines, commissions and online selling turned it into a job rather than an outlet.  Turn on some music and have fun creating something just for the fun of it.  Experiment with new techniques; who cares if they aren't perfect, activities like these foster creativity and imagination.  Don't worry about whether or not it will sell or people will like it - just do it for yourself.

If you're anything like me and you find yourself with a creative block, try some of these suggestions and you'll be back to creating in no time!

To see what other members of the Jewelry Artisans Community have to say about coping with creative block, please click on the links below:

Bead Sophisticate

Cat's Wire

December Challenge - Stars

Each month members of the Jewelry Artisans Community participate in a monthly challenge in order to, well, challenge ourselves and our skills.  Taking ourselves out of our comfort zones and working in unfamiliar areas makes us better craftspeople and artists.  It also opens our minds to new techniques and ideas that we can put to use in future jewelry designs.  Plus, it's fun!

Our December challenge was "stars".  Stars are a symbol of Christmas but they are also symbols for many other things.  Sailors use them to navigate, stories are told that ancient people believed they were relatives or friends who had passed into the next life, stars represent astrological signs and astronomers search among the constellations for new planets.

Cat of Cat's Wire created this lovely star using a wire crochet technique and incorporated dozens of beautiful crystals into her design:

Carina of Violetmoon submitted this sweet little star by encasing a star bead in a wire wrapped star shaped cage:

Carina also made this experimental tag which has all sorts of possibilities:

For my own entry, I created a star out of copper wire.  This first prototype is a bit sloppy, but I like the concept and plan to work more on this to perfect the design.

We didn't have a lot of entries in December because it's such a busy month for people, but what we lacked in quantity, we made up with creativity!