Mixed Media Mondays - BELIEVE

I've been in a HUGE creative funk for a VERY LONG TIME!!  Even before we moved out of our old house and I had to pack up my "studio" and put it in storage for 11 VERY LONG MONTHS, I wasn't feeling much of what I was creating.  I didn't love any of it.  I kept telling myself that it's the process and just the time to myself to create that I really enjoy.  And although that's the case, I really wanted to at least LIKE what I was creating.

While we were living with my aunt I couldn't help it and I went to Hobby Lobby one day and bought about 15 tubes of paint, a stack of canvas paper, about 5 brushes, and a few other materials.  They sat in the plastic bag until the day we put them in a box and moved them into the new house.  Without a space to work I just couldn't get into it.  I missed it.

Once we got into the new house in May, and I had a "DEDICATED" space for my "studio" I couldn't wait to get in there and do something.  I stalled out until I could get boxes unpacked. Had to start with the necessities, like food and clothing for my family and such. (so needy)  Shortly after we moved in we had some friends who were moving to the area and were in between houses as well.  Fortunately, they were only "in between" for three weeks and not 11 months like we had been just weeks before.  Although we would have been happy to have them here as long as it took!! (God Bless Auntie and Uncle Woody for putting up with the 4 of us for "just a few more months"!)

Once I got the chance to get into the spare room, I needed a work space.  I had decided I really liked working on a horizontal surface as apposed to the easel. I'd been doing a lot more palette knife work and enjoyed standing over my work instead of in front of it.  I needed a large workspace. I created one.  I built a table from two bookshelves and a hollow-core door from Lowe's.  Shannon helped me put trim molding around the edge of the door to give it a finished look and I stained it and finished the surface with several coats of polyurethane.  This was in August.

Remember this:
Shannon couldn't find his real saw in the boxes in the garage, so he had to use the old miter box and hand saw....he loves me!!

I had a work surface, but all my stuff was still in boxes.

During this long.....waiting period....I discovered Chalk Paint!!  I needed a new project!  I needed storage for my supplies.  I found this old dresser and hutch at the re-sale shop, Arlington Resale, not far from our house.  I really like this store, not so much by what's inside, but what they support.  It's a re-sale shop that supports the Crisis Pregnancy Center of Arlington and Mansfield. I stopped by frequently to see if they had anything that I could use for a project....always looking for something!!  One day I found this dresser and hutch and decided I could re-purpose that to help hold my art supplies.  I replaced the mirror with a pegboard and painted the whole thing with chalk paint.  I love the way it turned out.

 I thought I had a great deal (free) on some amazing hardware that my aunt was getting rid of in a bathroom remodel.  But unfortunately the handles were the wrong size.  It makes a difference...had no idea... So I found a shop on Etsy that had old hardware pieces that the lady fixes up.  I don't have a good picture of them, but they worked out ok.  Not my favorite, but it works. Here is my space....which is still in need of organizing and purging.  When I get time....I still have tons of boxes and bags, and just stuff shoved everywhere.  But at least I can get around well enough to create!

I literally just took this picture with my phone. I didn't even empty the trash....This is exactly how I left it after I painted this afternoon.  It is a work in progress.  It needs better lighting, a fan, some style.....  Maybe this summer...

(I share the room with the "guests", who is usually my amazing Mother-In-Law who comes to help with the kids when we need her....I tried to leave at least half the space for her, and when she comes I try to clean it up a bit).

OK, so back to my funk.  I have had a very strong desire to get back in my creative zone and now that I have a workable, albeit a work in progress, space to do that, I have enjoyed getting my hands in the paints again.  But I wanted to do something different.  I wasn't happy with the pieces I was creating so I got on the Internet....wow.  I spent days, weeks, months, more hours than I care to really think about, on Pinterest, YouTube, Google, you name it, I've checked it out.  I spent hours in museums looking for inspiration. I even dabbled in some new types of paints, Vitril paints. I really like these and I'm sure I'll work them into my work quite often. But the thing that kept drawing me in was mixed media.  I wanted to try it.  It requited a few more tools than what I had so I looked around at what I would need to get started with some of the processes that intrigued me the most.  Thank you Amazon Prime! (and a few trips to Hobby Lobby) I had enough elements that I felt I could really take a leap into some of these processes.  I spent many a nap-time in my studio (let's just call it that....it sounds nice) in trial and error....lots of error.  

In my quest for inspiration online I watched hours of YouTube videos....way to many hours of YouTube Videos....I felt like a 9 year old boy I know.....My poor YouTube algorithm thingy that determines what videos to suggest can't tell if I need to watch Minecraft or Bob Ross!!!  I found several artists who inspired me.  One artist in particular, Tracy Weinzapfel, really stood out to me.  I'm not sure what it was, but she had several years of videos that she had posted that were called Mixed Media Monday.  Each (almost) Monday she does a live UStream session where she creates a piece live and on the fly.  She has a chat room of her viewers who make suggestions, ask questions, just chat....I watched about 20 of her videos in various forms.  Last night was the first opportunity I had to participate live.  I LOVED IT!!  I know getting to my computer at 8:00 on a Monday night will be tough.   Even last night I missed quite a bit because the should-be-sleeping-two-year-old needed a new band-aid, more water, another song, a pop-tart (i said no), so now we need extra consoling, but I really enjoyed the time.  I also joined the facebook page where people share their art, and gather inspiration.  It looks like they also have weekly/monthly challenges that you can participate in. It seems like a nice little "get out there and create" kind of community. (Isn't the Internet amazing!)       

After watching Tracy's MMM last night I was anxious to get into the studio and create something start to finish.  I'd started lots of projects and had never really completed any...or not any that I liked. Maybe one or two things have come lately that I would say I liked.  

And as always, if I manage to get into my studio while Reagan is awake, shes right in there with me!! I love it!! I talked her into taking off her shirt and pants, but couldn't talk her out of the necklace.  (She made this necklace by herself by the way.  She found a bead kit that someone had given us a while back and brought it to me.  I figured she would thread about 5-10 beads and get bored, but no.  She threaded every single bead.  And she wears it a lot!!!)

Throughout the day, when I had an opportunity I would slip into the studio and work on my piece.  I strongly mimicked the piece that Tracy made last night.  I needed to feel confident in the "what" was being created and work on the "how" I was going to create it.  Most of the supplies she used last night I didn't have on hand so I had to do some sample squares using different techniques to try out different finishes and processes.  Each step along the way I tried new things and when I found one I was ok with I added it to the project.  

Here is what I came up with. (And note: Reagan's piece in the background)

  

 BELIEVE