Gorgeous and Fun

Magazine Collage 2

Some red more red, black and white to whet your appetite. Another magazine collage.

 

Magazine Collage 1

My heart has been wanting to tell stories!  Telling stories with images.  At some level, don't we all like stories? Stories intrigue the imagination.

So starting today I am sharing images that I am calling magazine collages. Something about these pictures in magazines appealed to me. Say hello to inspiration!

 The color palette of the bold reds and blacks......

Images are from magazines like Vogue, Vanity Fair, Instyle..... I wish I had written down the exact publication months. Some of these images are ads.

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!

 

Holly Becker, Decorate and BYW friends

Hello, hello! Yesterday I got to meet up with Holly Becker of the Decor8 blog and the gorgeous, gorgeous Decorate book fame. The event was at Anthropologie in Boston downtown, a perfect location for to complement the Decorate book and the mood board presentation.

I have followed Holly's blog for a long time and I had taken her first ever "Blogging Your Way" class. Holly is super-talented, very creative and incredibly nice! Her blog is a huge inspiration for loads and loads of people. The "Decorate" book is beautiful, choc-full of ideas and absolutely inspiring. So a must-have for anyone interested in any kind of design, even though the book is about interiors, the color palettes and textures and photography can inspire anyone! 

 

Yesterday, Holly was in Boston for her book signing. She did a fab presentation on Mood Boards. And I think mood boards are inspiring to many kinds of creativity and not just interiors. Some pics of Holly.......

 

 

 

 

And then I got to hang out with some of my classmates from BYW and Holly and some of Holly's friends.

 

 

 

 

And I got to meet the lovely and talented artist Sarah Ahearn who has written the book Painted Pages. I had brought my copy along for her to sign my book! So I got two signings!! I had blogged about Sarah's book in this post earlier this year. Another gorgeous book that will inspire your creative juices.

That's Sarah on the left!

I had a blast, it was really, really fun!

It was fantastic meeting so many talented ladies - I will add a complete list of their gorgeous blogs, got to run out for breakfast now!

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.

 

Alexander McQueen

For those of us who can't make it to NYC to see the Alexander McQueen "Savage Beauty" exhibit there are some snippets on the  Met museum blog and there is a video.

Image is from the Met museum blog.

Shiny Shoes

See as a teenager I didn't really buy anything shiny. Just wasn't into it. And now I am liking shiny way too much :-). 

The new shiny shoes.........

I was taking a teensy weensy blogging break after the Being Creative series. But I am back and the creative interviews are going to happen very, very soon!

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 Fashion

More pink fashion. This time from the Betsey Johnson store.

 

I hope you stop by for the "Being Creative" blog party on Sunday.

Go on over to Beverly's to see more pink.

Pink & Paper

A lovely pink bow and a dress made out of paper. Wow, whoever made this had patience! Seen at the Papyrus store.

I hope you will join me on Sunday for the Being Creative blog party!

Hop on over to Beverly's to see more pink!