Beaded Feather Earrings

These are some of my favorite so far. I know they look easy, but after spending an hour each on them I should charge more! :)

My First Commissioned Earrings

Thanks, Leslie and Becca!

Leslie wanted the tri-colored Guiney earrings and Becca has been looking for Peacocks, but didn't want long ones because of her short hair. She also wanted something unique. I'm glad she was happy with how they turned out.

Peacock feathers are a little more pricey (unless you buy them in bulk and have them shipped from China-see ebay). But I was happy to see that they are easy to work with, and fun!

Ta Da

Here's my little Ai Art Crawl Owl. I painted with acrylics and finished him with repurposed broken jewelry pieces. Have I mentioned I LOVE repurposing things!? It makes me feel resourceful and environmentally responsible.  And it helps a TON when I'm broke....ha!

As an employee of The Art Institute of Tennessee-Nashville (That was for you, Kerry), I hope you all come out to see and bid on the Ai student and staff artwork this Saturday. Proceeds go to a fantastic scholarship fund! There is more info at http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=148358991898930

Art Crawl Piece

It has been a very full couple of weeks! I have decided that busyness is, among many things, the enemy of creativity.

The June Art Crawl student scholarship benefit, Affair of the Arts http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=148358991898930 has been on my radar for months. Students and staff member of Ai Nashville are donating small pieces to be auctioned off to benefit the student scholarship fund. Along with being an excuse to do something fun and creative, it is near and dear to my heart because it benefits students who need financial help pursuing a creative career.

Of course, I have put my piece off until the last minute and am in danger of missing the deadline. But that shouldn't come as a shock to anyone. My opinion is that it just proves that do indeed have a creative personality type. All artists are flaky, right??? That's what I tell myself anyway.

So I have finally started. These pictures are of the "canvas" and my sadly neglected acrylic paints. You can see the final piece once I am done. Right now it looks somewhat like a paint-by-number. Brings back memories...

I decided (or maybe my budget decided) to repurpose an old hardback cover as my canvas. Now before you book lovers flip out, you should know that it is a theology book. See, that brought you back around :). My idea is to repurpose some old jewelry odds and ends to create a mixed media piece. I have to get it Monday and I will be in Chicago until Monday evening.. Wish me luck!

Feather Jewelry

I LOVE feathers and hope this fad lasts a while. I did these last night. Working with feathers is tough when they are all different sizes and colors. Overall, it was relatively simple. First jewelry making endeavor accomplished! Now I keep looking at them thinking what I can add to them that would make them better. Luckily, making earrings is fairly forgiving and you can make additions and corrections. This was really fun! I also made all of this from materials that cost a total of $18 and I have plenty left over. Have I mentioned I'm on a super-tight budget right now? It just adds to the creativity (at least that's what I tell myself).

Why, oh, why am I starting a blog?

Short answer: Because my friend, Ashley, did it and so can I. Ha!

OK, here's the real story:

Art and beauty have always spoken to me. As a child I longed to follow in my mother's footsteps as a sketch artist and painter. Creativity is a part of my makeup and I always did well at things I tried.  When I was 9yrs old I wrote and illustrated a children's book. When I was 12yrs old, I won first place in cake decorating. I played around in different mediums-pencil, pastels, charcoal, acrylic paints, etc. 

As an adult I got crafty and tried my hand at sculpture, writing another children's book, and making bath and body products from scratch. Right about the time I was ready to launch my business I realized that making all that from scratch was not worth the time involved. And yet again I lost interest...not to mention money.

The problem with "doing well" at all these things is that I have very high expectations of myself, to the point that art wasn't just something to enjoy and it became...ick...work. I never found the creative outlet that relaxed me and that I was a true natural at, so I quit trying.

Now I work at The Art Institute in a creative environment with all of these super-artsy people. On top of that, my husband is a stand-up comedian and an culinary student, and my best friends are all creative in their own way. I'm SURROUNDED!!! My inner monolog sounds like this: "I'M creative, too!" and "I have something creative to offer the world...surely." Then I realize I sound like a 7yr old who didn't get picked to compete in the first gymnastics meet of the season. Hypethetically speaking, of course.

Now, rather than continue to whine about it, I have decided to TAKE ACTION! I AM creative and I miss having that outlet. Instead of overreaching, I have decided to start simple and accomplish a list of creative ventures I have always wanted to try, such as jewelry making and mosaics. There are also more domestic things I would like to learn, such as sewing (terrifying) and gardening.

By blogging about it, I hope to keep myself accountable to take action and follow through. My ultimate goal would be that, in addition to learning to express myself in different creative ways, I would also find at least one thing that I have the ability to truly enjoy and master.

I talk to the students that I enroll all the time about how important it is for creative people to have an outlet for their artistic side. It's time I practice what I preach.  My hope is that this blog will be an encouragement to others who have not yet unearthed their inner artist. Beauty really does matter.