Gorgeous and Fun

A Brass and Turquoise Necklace

At any given moment there seem to be a million different things in my head! So many things to do and so little time. Work deadlines, chores and bills and then those creative ideas that pop in! I have learned to write down those ideas. That prevents me from forgetting them. And it helps me to get to them eventually.

I have had so many creative interests but have finally whittled them down to a few. The few that my heart adores and can't bear the idea of parting with - making jewelry, photography/Photoshop/iPhoneography and then there is mixed-media. Even though I haven't done much with mixed media myself lately, I love ogling it. I need a time machine, must invent one, that will go on the list too.

Anyways today I am sharing a necklace I made with turquoise that found it's home in a friend's heart. When I see someone's face light up when they see something I made - it's one of the best feelings in the world! It is so much fun to bring some happiness to someone. I have made different pieces for different friends and when people say things like "This piece speaks to me or calls to me or I love it" it makes my day!

 

A Blue Necklace

I know I have skipped out of here, some days it goes like that, just not enough time for all the things I would like to do. But I am back. I am blogging as I watch an episode of Supernatutal, scares the hell out of me but absolutely engaging. And Jensen Ackles looks so good.......

But about creativity and creative things. A few weeks I made this necklace with turquoise and shiny transparent beads and cool, cool links. My friend, L, loved it...... so I gave it to her.

 

More Silver Clay Pendants

I haven't made much this week, I haven't felt well all week - a bad cold kinda feeling without all the sneezing. And today my lungs feel all scratchy, I want to feel better already.

I am sharing a pendant I made with silver clay. Loving PMC.

Do you feel like sharing something today?

Silver Clay

Falling in love with Precious Metal Clay. I have known about silver clay for a couple of years but just didn't work with it until last month. And I fell in love. I took a class on it and now I don't think I can stay away from it. I made 4 pendant pieces in the class from 16g of clay.

And then last weekend I made more!

What does the clay feel like ? Like children's clay, like dough. So easy to work with and so much fun! And after the clay is fired you have a beautiful piece of silver that you moulded on your own! I find making jewelry so much fun because it is art that I can wear. 

These are a couple of pendants I made in class.......

 

What will you share today? Add your link to the comments if you want to share something.

Being Creative #10 - Slaying the Dragons

Week 10, people! Time just flew away!

 

Before we slay dragons, I wanted to make some announcements:

- Even though today's post is my last "talking post" the Being Creative blog party will continue. I hope you stop by and share something you made. It is so much fun to ooh and aah over gorgeous creations. And it is heartening to be cheered on.

- I will be turning the blog posts from these 10 weeks into a "Being Creative" e-book. It will be available for a free download. 

- I am going to post tutorials and tips on Photoshop Elements.

- And here is the biggest announcement of all - I will be featuring interviews with creative folks. I will be starting the artist interviews soon. Watch this space!

 

On to today's topic - "Slaying the Dragons". We all deal with fears, the big bad beasties! And I found that I am not the only one who feels these fears. Here we go.......

 

a. Who am I to call myself creative?

I am not famous, can I call myself creative/artist/<insert phrase of choice>? I call myself creative because I made something - be it a collage, a necklace or a photograph. It did not exist before I made it. I captured a feeling or worked on some idea in my head. That idea in my head took form, I have something to show for it. Therefore I am creative.  I don’t need an official, gilded certificate to say so. 

 

b. I haven’t sold anything or I have never been published. So I must suck!

I am not the only one who has been rejected! Because generally people don’t mention rejection! There is nothing to talk about because not getting published is something that didn’t happen. It does hurt – rejection always hurts, even if it is a little tiny bit.

When I have been rejected and I am tempted to give it up I have to remind myself that I do this because it makes me happy! I am doing this for myself - first and foremost!!

A couple of years back I had asked one of my favorite authors Deanna Raybourn about how she persevered. It took her 14 years to get published. And I asked her if she ever thought of giving up. I am paraphrasing here, her answer was  to the effect - "To me writing is like breathing, how can one can give that up?". To read her full reply go here - Post on Not Giving Up. I found her reply very, very inspiring.

When you are feeling low go read the stories of people who inspire you. Look up Julia Child, her first cook book was published in her late 40s.

Let's change the title statement to - "I haven’t sold anything or I have never been published - YET".

 

c. But sometimes I make crappy work.

Everyone makes crappy work. Everyone has to practice to become good. So not every piece of work is a masterpiece. People just don’t share their crappy work!

There are happy mistakes and bad ones – but if you don’t play you will never know. Expecting to sit down and make that perfect piece every time, is not realistic . Did I wish I had watched TV instead when I made something crappy? Absolutely!

But what happens when you make something that comes out great? Think of that creative high.

 

d. Am I good enough?

I think of that. And only I can answer that question for myself. When I am feeling that way I look at my digital brag book. It reminds me of what I have made before and what I am capable of.

What's a digital brag book? Photograph everything you have ever made. Save it in a folder or even upload the photos to Flickr. That is your digital brag book.

 

e. Am I a hoarder?

When you start out on the creative journey you try to figure out what you like and where you want to go. You will go through cycles of collecting material. These cycles will feel like hoarding but they are not. Call it a process of elimination, like Sherlock Holmes would, but you will have to try different things to figure out where your interests lie. And so you will acquire different materials in doing so.

But you will always have your conscience, there will be that little voice in your head telling you when you are just buying things and not doing anything with them. Let that voice guide you.

There are things that I have tried that I decided that I didn't like as much (soft pastels, ribbons, embossing paste, some stencils), I like giving those away to friends who might use them.

 

f. Not getting acknowledgement from people who you make things for.

Yep, that has happened to me. I have knitted things for friends and sent handmade cards that never got acknowledged. And yes, I did feel a little bad. The lesson I learned? Know your audience. Know whom you show your work to and give your work to. Not everyone can appreciate it and those who can't - don't bother with them. Save yourself the time, effort and heartache.

 

h. Some days finding beauty is hard.

And such is life. Not all days are the same! Some days you see beauty everywhere and some days you see none. I am learning the value of patience, time and grace. Once again - let it go! And watch what happens. 

 

Today I am sharing a piece of jewelry that I am working on:

 

 

Keep Creating!

Amisha

Note:

There was a problem with the Inlinkz tool. It is fixed now, but here are the links that were already added:

exploringthewondersoflife.blogspot.com/2011/04/watercolor-study.html 

alteredschoolmarm.blogspot.com/2011/04/being-creative-10-our-biggest-fears.html

 

 

Pink Beads!

I love colors and textures and beading satisifies that craving in a big way!

Please do join me for the "Being Creative" blog party this Sunday. Click here for more details. This week is about how to start/begin learning something that you are interested in. So do chime in or share anything you created - painting, redecorated furniture, food, music - anything you created that made you happy!

And go on to Beverly's to enjoy more pink!

Pink!

First and foremost, I'd like to thank Beverly for featuring my blog today! And here is the pink picture for today - a vignette of summer as we head into autumn/fall.

I'd like to thank Beverly for hosting Pink Saturday, through this party I have made new friends and have visited the world from my armchair. I would also like to thank my friend Karen Cox for introducing me this party and if you have never been to Karen's, you must. She is the kindest soul I know and a very, very talented artist!

In honor of being featured, I am giving away a necklace. The beads are turquoise and the necklace can be worn at two lengths, really close to the neck or some what looser. So leave a comment and don't forget to leave an email address! I'll pick a random winner to send this necklace too :-). This is exciting!

Pearls Again

I think I have said it before that I didn't really care about pearls much before. But I have taken a liking to them. I think it started with this bracelet. I took a class to learn wire wrapping, the project was this three strand bracelet. The name of the class was "a gaggle of pearls", I liked the name of the class too. I am fond of this bracelet. Do you ever have that feeling - you make something you like a lot and every time you see it you grin?

 

Earrings for a Birthday

Hello, hello! I know I was missing last week. I was off to Acadia for the fourth of July holiday. It was fantastic and I promise to share some of the pics here. How have you been?

Today I am sharing a pair of earrings that I made for a friend's birthday. Her birthday was last week and these have already been gifted. She loved them! And I was excited that she really liked them. You know the feeling when you make something for someone and they love it?

The stones are a turquoisy green in color.

  

Charmed!

These charms were meant for being used in a bracelet. But I kept seeing them in a necklace. And so a necklace it is, with crystals and shiny metallic beads. I get a real kick out of using something in an unexpected way. So what unexpected uses do you enjoy?