HOLIDAY TIME!...

Well it is very nearly Christmas! I have been working a lot and have not had too much time to do any art or crafting, hence not blogging regularly either! I am looking forward to some time off after this week and have a few plans for the new year! Organization and painting the house are in the works, also going to do some colour boards for my portfolio to give it a bit of an update. Secretly glad there is not a whole crapload of snow to contend with right now although it would be grand to have a snowy new years at the cottage. I have two parcels to pick up today from family so excited! Have a good season everybody and stay close to your loved ones! This afternoon will consist of yummy bacon and eggs, old CSI episodes and paper folding and a hot glue gun marathon! Happy Christmas! 

FINALLY...

So I was finally able to do SOMETHING, gah!!!! so many days with no creative flow, it was crazy making!! been organizing and counting and making lists of supplies for the new year regarding new projects and ideas. I'm excited to venture into some more illustration type projects, get my drawing up to speed a bit after so much collage, I forget how to hold a pencil! I know many people combine collage and illustration together but I have never been one of those people, so who knows? Wishing my printer had ink right now, would love to start on my "lookbook" for card shops around town. Etsy isn't really doing it for me these days either so I'm not sure if I will continue with my shop. I think I need to get into more of a niche market instead of a little bit of everything. Separate the art from the craft and focus on one thing...dont really know what that looks like but hey, I'm working on it.  Final day off until the One of a Kind show starts and I will be helping my boss with her booth and things so might not get to the blog for a bit. Hang in there! Keep doing whatever it is you do..until next time...Jeff.

FEELS LIKE HEMINGWAY...

Well another Sunday rolls around. Friday I went to the Frida Kahlo Diego Rivera exhibit at the AGO it was incredible. There were many black and white photographs of Frida and some of them together. There was also some old film footage of the two of them together which really gave you a sense of how they were together and who they really were. I was surprised at how small Frida's paintings were some were only the size of a poscard! so much detail and colour! I felt like I really did get immersed in their world for a moment. At the end of the exhibit there was a beautiful Day of the Shrine all along the hallway, beautiful Katrina dolls and a huge panel of tiny skulls in metal lining a portion of the wall with candles and flowers...just amazing. It was confirmation once again that art really fuels me and inspires me and that I need to immerse in it on a more regular basis. So many ideas!!! I have been reading Hemmingway these days which has also been very inspiring. Somehow he makes me feel alive and not alone. Bitter sweet and joyful, aware and content. Reading him makes me want to fight for my life, fill my life, live my life.

TILL TUESDAY...

Here we are on a Tuesday afternoon...last night the storm was crazy loud, lot's of wind and rain! Of course nothing compared to what was happening on the East Coast and I am so thankful it didn't really get to crisis mode here. It's events like these that really make you realize just how severely dependent we are on the grid to keep us civilized...Zombie apocalypse or no, we should all be prepared in some way! I rounded up all the candles and put them on the bedside table just in case, as well as filled up the extra water bottles! On another note, artistically I have hit a wall. I have not been terribly motivated these past few months and I am feeling the familiar desires but nothing is coming out. I wonder sometimes if it's because I work with my hands full time and by the time the weekend rolls around I just want them to rest. I have had blocks before and yes, this too shall pass, but I hate waiting!! maybe I will try today, it's my day off and the house is quiet.  I have been so inspired by Nick Bantock and Barbara Hodgson that I am going to make and send them pieces as a thank you...Wish me luck!!

ANOTHER DAY GOES BY...

i'll never get sick of what she looks like!! lol. Another Sunday has come and I am trying to find the motivation to do something creative. I cleaned yesterday and everything is in it's place now so I don't have any excuse! I have yet to experiment with the coffee filter flowers, they looked really interesting as well, I need to make some more collaged cards so we shall see what the day will bring. I didn't make it in to the toronto City of Craft fall show, so that is kind of a bummer, not really motivating if you know what I mean!! but I know they received an obscene amount of applicants and they had to be very selective this year, so next year maybe! My bike wheel finally died on me and I don't know if I should get it fixed or if this is a sign that it is time to put it away for the winter. It has been getting steadily colder these past few weeks and I have been thinking about it. Anyway, hope you have a good week and we shall talk soon! stay motivated and true to yourself!