Life with Baby

Life with a new baby is different (obviously). There is not as much time, particularly large chunks of it, available to dedicate to my art and other creative pursuits.

Lately the little snippets of creative time I have been able to snatch have been spent knitting or doing a little bit of sewing. Neither are technically categorized as fine art, but they still feed my creativity and need for colour.

Awhile back I came across the thought that an artist “should create as much as you consume”. I thought it was an interesting concept and have been mulling it over since. To begin with I thought it might be a noble goal to strive for. Now I disagree with the thought. As an artist I need to gather material to work with. Part of the creative process is gathering ideas, taking little bits and pieces from lots of sources, letting them bounce around in your brain and finding that at some point they inform a piece, they have been recombined them into something new. Therefore there is a need to always be looking at art or whatever is inspirational, going to shows doing reseearch. It is a bit like watching the news or reading the newspaper to keep oneself informed about current events.

So this weekend baby and I went to see The West Fine Art Show at the Trev Deeley motorcycle dealership (not the first place I would think of for an art show venue!) It was interesting to see the interpretations of "the West" and who the artists were. The subject matter varied greatly, from cowboy drawings to idyllic west coast wilderness landscapes to busy urban scapes. The painting styles were all a realistic representational style. Most were very well done and it was well displayed and curated. The motorcycle dealership was actually a nice venue for the show.

For Baby

Oh, baby in my womb

Your time is coming soon.

We have planned and prepared;

Paintings for the walls of your room,

A mobile to amuse you,

 A blanket to warm you,

A cradle to hold you,

It shall all be ready soon.

But most of all,

We can't wait to show you the moon,

Oh, baby in my womb,

Whose time is coming soon.

Cards for Strathmore Contest

For the last couple weeks I have been working on my submissions for the Strathmore Greeting Card Contest. The theme was Fall or Winter, I was free to use whatever medium or form of creativeness I chose, I just had to create it on their card product. I chose a pack of their Sugar Cane Cards, made from 50% sugar cane and 50% post-consumer waste fibre. It is a nice smooth paper in a soft ivory colour with the odd little dark fleck. By the deadline I had completed four cards. However, I could only submit three, so I had to pick my 'top three'. These are the three I chose to submit.

Which one is your favourite?

 Autumn Pathways

Soft Pastel

 Fallen Leaves

Soft Pastel

Geometric Winter Wonderland

Soft Pastel and Found Objects

Lastly, here is the rejected and unsubmitted card design. 

Fall Geomania

Watercolour

These were fun, but also challenging. The challenge was working in such a small space, especially with the soft pastel, I generally prefer a larger surface which allows me a bit more freedom. Then there was the fear of ruining a card and trying to make it perfect rather than letting myself play.