Awaken you Creativity - Art Opportunity

I was reading the magazine Fiber Arts last week and in the back they have a listing of Competitions & Opportunities.

I saw this opportunity and I had to share

The Sketchbook Project: Library

Call for participants. Ongoing. Be one of the founding contributors to The Sketchbook Library by signing up to receive a sketchbook, filling it up with art, and sending it back. Sketchbooks offer a glimpse into an artist's life, which is why we want to make a publicly accessible library of sketchbooks that people can browse, peruse, and check out. This sketchbook collection has the potential to open a new line of communication between the artist and the viewer, since the experience of making and viewing are both so personal. Anyone can sign up to receive a sketchbook. Before joining our permanent collection, sketchbooks will be exhibited at select galleries across the United States. Each sketchbook will be barcoaded and cataloged, allowing visitors to choose what they want to look at via theme, medium, geographic location, name of the artist, etc. Sketchbooks will be shown in Los Angeles, Brooklyn, Chicago, Atlanta, and St. Louis. To sign up to receive a sketchbook, www.thesketchbookproject.com. For more info on Art House, www.arthousecoop.com.

Sound like a great opportunity. Are you going to give it a try? Let me know. I would love to feature you on the blog.

Creative Happenings

One thing I enjoy about living close to a big city (Chicago, IL) is the easy access we have to art events.

This weekend is SOFA Chicago (Sculpture Objects Functional Art).

This is an amazing show that showcases a variety of art from jewelry, ceramics, fiber, sculpture, glass, and fine art, from all over the world.

Here is a blurb from their website:
At SOFA expositions, prominent international galleries and dealers present masterworks bridging the worlds of design, decorative and fine arts, showcasing the rich visual heritage of the decorative arts alongside new, innovative expressions. The works presented bridge historical periods, art movements and cultures, from ethnographica, Asian arts and mid-twentieth century modern to the most cutting-edge contemporary arts and design.

I usually attend this show by myself or with a friend who is into art, but this year my family wants to go. So my daughter, her friends and I, going to take the train to Chicago and meet my husband (who will be coming from work), for an afternoon of art.

This show is very inspiring and I am really looking forward to attending. I will take lots of photo's and share them with you on Monday.

Is their event in your area that inspires you? Please share.

Explore - Creative Obstacles

You were born with everything you need to be creative

You don't have to wait for a muse to give you inspiration;

You don't have to wait until you know everything about your craft.

You only need to get still and listen to yourself.

Tara Leigh from How to be Creative if you never thought you could

As artists we create our own obstacles. We have a tendency to compare ourselves to other artists, other shops, and how we run our business. Not taking into consideration that if we are not creative in one area we are in others, not to mention learning anything is possible.

A couple of obstacles in the creative process are

FEAR - our inner critic and EXCUSES - waiting for inspiration.

The creative process require is a little courage, also

- Surrounding yourself with the tools you need

- Finding what inspires and encourages you

- Practicing often

Trust the voice inside of you that has never stopped telling you that you need to create.

What are your creative obstacle's? How do you overcome them?

Thursday Thoughts

You cannot govern the creative impulse; all you can do is to eliminate obstacles and smooth the way for it.

Kimon Nicolaides

Photo's to Inspire - Art Glass

This week's inspiration came to me in a flash, while I was sitting at my dining room table I looked at a glass and saw the sun coming through it creating amazing patterns.

I went on Flickr and found glass art that will inspire stunning new color combinations, shapes, and textures. It was really hard for me to stop at these few photo's, so I hope you enjoy the collection.

Glass world by Zé Eduardo

Glass Flower by Brian Auer

Bitmore Riot of Color by cobalt123

Glass Flower Sculpture in Bellagio by Martin LaBar

Faceted Triangle: British Studio Glass by Reciprocity

Glass Art by James Neeley

Back to Glass - Lamp Interior #2 by Manas Dichow

Hiromi Mauda: Let's play the Glass 2 by jonushi

Leave me a comment on what inspires you, and I will share with everyone that you were the source of inspiration for the photo's in the post.

Creative Business - Make a List

Today is a quick tip to help you stay organized during the busy holiday season.

Write a To-Do-List everyday

The best way to do this, is at the end of your work day or before bed take 5 minutes and write down everything you have to do on the next day. Transfer over anything you did not complete that day, and add all the new things that need to get done.

Do you have goals set for the holiday season? Consider reviewing you goals and action steps once a week to make sure you are on track and to keep your momentum going. If not consider writing some goals for a successful season. Here are a few posts to help you create actions steps , ideas for setting goals, and staying with your goals.

You can do this in your sketchbook if you use it everyday or a planning calendar. I use a calendar so I can keep track of everything I need to do everyday, including what my daughter needs, and things I need to do at home. Try the ideas in this post for the best book to suit your needs.

Once you start creating your daily list it will easily become a habit. It is nice to know that you are achieving your goals and staying on top of everything.

Want to read more about To-Do-Lists

You are NEVER going to complete your to do list by Laurel Plum

5 Tips for Simplifying You Holidays by Laurie on Tip Junkie

Just a Little by Gordie Carver on Handmade News

Do you make a daily list? Do you find it to be helpful with your business and everyday life?

Artist to Know - Wassily Kandinsky

Wassily Wasilyevich Kandinsky (1866 - 1944)

He was born on December, 16, 1866 in Moscow. As a child he learned to play the piano, cello, and to draw. In Kandinsky's works of his childhood period you can find rather specific color combinations, which he explained by the fact that "each color lives by its mysterious life".

He went to school to become a lawyer and graduated with honors. He became a professor teaching law, and when he was awarded professor of the Law Department he turned it down to paint.

Kandinsky is generally considered to be the pioneer of abstract painting. The early years were basically landscapes, based on color discords. The play of color, spots, and lines, was gradually superseding images of reality.

Through a fluid blend of calligraphic lines and amorphous shapes, the artist expresses a sense of growing detachment from nature. The emphasis is on mood and harmony and reveals Kandinsky's fascination with the relationship between colour and music.

He was one of the most influential artist of his generation and an important art theorist. "Abstract art places a new world, which on the surface has nothing to do with "reality," next to the "real" world. Deeper down, it is subject to the common laws of the "cosmic world." And so a "new world of art" is juxtaposed to the "world of nature." This "world of art" is just as real, just as concrete. For this reason I prefer to call so-called "abstract art" "concrete art." Wassily Kandinsky.

See all of his art and read more about Kandinsky at http://www.wassilykandinsky.net

Shop News

I am so happy I placed my last supply order, and when everything arrives I will have everything I need to keep up my inventory for the holidays.

Business is still pretty slow in my Etsy and 1000 Markets shop, and I am looking forward to things starting to pick up now that it's November. I have been looking for new avenues to market my jewelry, that won't take a lot of time. Anyone have any idea they want to share?

I created new items last week, rings, hair pins, and cuff links that I am really excited about. They will be a nice additions to my shop for the holidays. I will start posting them throughout the week, so check them out.

ITEM OF THE WEEK

All the Necklaces in my Etsy Shop will have
FREE SHIPPING all week (11/1 - 7)

Blog News

Last week I did a post about Exploring Trends, several people shared their thoughts for an interesting conversation. And if you missed Monday's post I shared ideas to make your house warm and cozy for the fall season. Take 5 minutes and check them out.

I joined Blogs by Women and I am looking forward to finding new blogs and sharing ideas. You can check them out by clicking the button.


Stop by this week for inspiration, creative ideas, and a business tip.

Have a great week!