Being Creative Gallery Check In ~ April

 Hello to you all!

It's the April Gallery Check In for the Being Creative Group!
I'd like to thank all of you who have been sharing your work in the Flickr group pool - there have been some fantastic interpretations of this months theme, which I think has proved that there are some really creative people out there!


This month, I decided to work with some air drying clay and created a pendant.  I haven't worked with this medium for absolutely years and I really enjoyed it - I have decided to try and incorporate the clay into my artwork more, perhaps by designing small tiles.

'Dessert' themed pendant

Now it's your turn!

For those of you who would still like to share your work via your blog/Flickr or other photo hosting webpage, then you are very welcome to add your link to the widget below (please just link to the page your work features on).  Don't forget to use the whole caboodle of http://www...etc or else the link won't work.  Anyone who has already posted in the Flickr Group are also encouraged to share your images in the gallery here too!  It's going to be wonderful to have a monthly source to access everyone's work ~ and please don't be shy about sharing...encouragement and support is the key to growing in confidence with your creativity, and although it can feel a little scary, I think you will feel a huge sense of achievement when you share your work and get feedback from the other participants or blog readers here.


You will be able to add your 'Dessert' themed work to the gallery here until the end of May.  There is a list in the sidebar so that the gallery pages are easier for you to find.


For those of you who are working on the project and don't have the facility to share pictures of your work, then you are welcome to add your thoughts about your creative journey so far in the comments section at the bottom of this post.
I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts on taking part in the Being Creative Project, so please do share or feel free to email me privately.

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Oooh!! An one last thing before we start to add our links - the theme for May is HOME
Again, this theme can be interpreted or taken in any direction you wish, or you can use the word as a focus point.  There will be another gallery opening at the end of the month here, but the Flickr group is available for you to add your pictures to every day if you wish.

If you would like to join the Being Creative group and haven't already then you are so very welcome to do so - it's totally free and you can take part on a regular or more infrequent basis, whatever works for you best.  You can register your commitment to taking part by clicking here and adding your link at the bottom of the page. 

And now...here's the gallery for April - it's your turn! :)

Taking Time Out

Hello!

We had our first camping trip of the year last week; we pootled down to Adam Henson's Farm for a few days with a group of friends and it was a complete tonic.  The sun shone everyday in a bright blue sky, peppered with cotton wool clouds and it was HOT!  There were barbecues, tractor rides, rare breed animals, new lambs being born, ice-creams, football games, laughter... it was a heavenly break.

Adam's Farm is in the beautiful Cotswolds, rolling fields of brightest green and zingy yellow undulated as far as the eye could see.  Our last evening was bright and clear and we sat outside our tents until after dark with the candle lanterns flickering, watching the satellites silently travelling the starry sky and listening to a fox barking in the woods.  There were shooting stars and the air was warm and still.

I thought to myself how good it was for the soul to switch off from Real Life like this.  To be away from televisions and computer screens, the chores and the day to day responsibilities.  Life had been pretty full prior to this trip and I had been feeling pretty worn out and run down, it gave me some space to think about doing things differently for my family in order to keep us all happy and healthy.  All we had were the basics: camping equipment, warm sleeping bags, a kettle, some good food and good company, countryside, nature and wide open skies.  It was all that we needed.

What can be nicer than waking to the sound of skylarks calling above, seeing the sunlight streaming through the fabric of the tent, and making a cup of fresh coffee to drink in the warm morning air?  There is something deeply satisfying about walking through the dewy grass of a long field to go for a wash with the little one, past tall pine trees where golden light casts long shadows across the pine cone strewn ground.  Hearing the bleating of newborn lambs in the field, the sounds of nature, breathing in delicious gulps of fresh country air...

I resolve to camp more - we need to be able to come away from our day to day surroundings in order to refuel and revive ourselves.  I always return home with a renewed sense of possibility; bursting with new ideas for paintings and new projects.  And coming home, there is the delicious feeling of climbing into a real bed; there are all the home comforts to welcome us back ~ rainbow crocheted blankets and cushions, my books, my paints.

I hope you have all had a wonderful Easter.  I will be posting the Gallery Page for the April theme of Being Creative on Saturday, and you are welcome to add links to pictures of your work on either Flickr or your Blog post, or add your thoughts about the theme in the comments section.  There are lots of people taking part now, and if you would like to join in yourself you can find out more by clicking the link in the sidebar, or the tab at the top of the page.  There has been some wonderful work emerging in the Flickr Group, and I'm looking forward to seeing what else you are going to share.


Sending love ~ thanks for visiting today, it's always a pleasure to know you've stopped by.
Julia x

Start Off Small

 

Hello friends,

Yesterday me and Carys were painting some little pendants we had made from air drying clay.  And not for the first time I noticed the completely unconcious way my little girl used the paint, happily daubing her creations with turquoise, pink and blue.  She wasn't afraid to ask how to mix the colours, and what would happen if we mixed them all together.  There was no hesitation in her experimenting, no element of self conciousness, no fear, and no shame in what she was creating.  Carys made art from her happy little soul, she didn't care a bit what anyone else might think, that didn't even come into it - she was happy with paint on her hands, making something that she thought was fabulous.



Once upon a time, I went through a phase of being afraid of creating stuff.  I would sit in panic looking at my art pad, paralysed by fear that I couldn't do it - I mean, what if someone laughed at what I'd done or critiscised it?  And, shock of shocks, what if I made a mess on the paper and ruined it!!!  I was horrified that my work wouldn't look as good as the artists that I admired, and I felt awkwardness and shame because I didn't think I wasn't good enough.

happy, painty hands!

Taking the first steps in art can be a scary process - and it's because creating something that comes from deep within us is a personal expression, whether it's painting, knitting or sculpture.  To lay that bare for people to see, for even ourselves to see, can be a big deal; especially if we've been listening to those Little Voices.

Ah yes.  Those.

You might be familiar with them; they're the ones that whisper that we're no good, and tell us our work sucks.  They're the ones who make us feel hopeless.

Children don't hear those voices - they create stuff because it feels good to them.  They don't care.  Children shine their little lights and everything they do is wonderful, the best part about this is that they know it too; nobody has told them otherwise yet.


Start off Small.  That is, think like a small person - ignore the critical voices, whether they be in your mind or for real and create something just for fun.  Let your guard down, be brave, don't be afraid to make a mark on the paper now.  Try something new, a medium you've never worked with but secretly always wanted to.  Do something that feels outrageous to you, life is very short and it's vital that we believe that we are able to do what we enjoy, whether as a new part time hobby or a full scale venture that we hope to turn into a business someday.

Find yourself a scoop of inner courage and think Small.  Do it.  If I hadn't, I wouldn't be sat  here writing this to you today.

Much love to you, and thanks for visiting today
Julia x