Make Mistakes

One thing that has kept me from doing some things that I've always wanted to do is fear. Where does it come from?  Not so sure, but lately I have been doing things that I always wanted to try. Number one is Art. I am exploring Design and I love it.  I have signed up for another art class, and I'm happy I did. Fear of failing or making the wrong move is not a good way to live your life. You will never know what wonderful things you could have been capable of in a life time, if you don't even try.  I feel good about the choices I'm making now more than ever because I'm following my intuition.  I have stopped worrying so much about what will others think, or say.  Now I focus on what is good for me.

image via: http://etre-esthetique.tumblr.com/post/44567232534

Painted Bedding

Wow! Isn't this bedding eye catching? To me it's like a piece of art. I love the black painted strokes. Makes me want to water color.  The only down side is that it is made out of silk, and must be dry cleaned.  The artist is Paola Navone, who became famous in the 1980's for her avant garde style.   This bedding is currently being sold in Anthropologie stores.  It is a little pricey at $328 for a queen size comforter, so the picture is fine for me. ;)

image via:  http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/product/27558279.jsp

Peony Love

These delicate flowers add a touch of love to any room. They are simply beautiful! While shopping at Trader Joe's my eye caught a glimpse of Pionies for sale, and I was instantly love struck.

image via:http://www.lily.fi/blogit/suvi-sur-le-vif/juhlakukkavinkkeja-party-flowers

Gesso Your Canvas

Yes, before you paint on a canvas with acrylic paint you must apply gesso. Why? If you don't prime your canvas before painting, the paint will seep through the canvas, soaking up the paint. I had no idea until now, and it was a learning process. It took me a night, and a day to prime my canvas, wait for it to dry, and start sketching on it. I read up on how to do it on line. Some websites called it and art form in itself. Other sites just said it was simple. I guess it depends on your mind set. For me, it was not difficult to do, but time consuming. My advise is that if your are going to paint on canvas, set aside at least 24 hours to gesso your canvas before you start painting. I diluted my gesso, and then applied about three coats to the canvas because my bottle was so small. A 4 ounce bottle cost me over $10.00. Luckly when I got to class, my professor had a gallon of it and I was able to give my canvas another coat. A quick tip also, use a painters brush (at least 3 inches). This will make applying the gesso less time consuming. My brush at home was a 1 inch flat brush, and it took forever to apply just one coat. Now, to painting I go.

Tiny Salvadorian Pottery

These tiny fish come from El Salvador. I bought them on a family trip about 10 yrs ago. They are made out of clay and delicately painted by the people in a small artistic town (will post the name as soon as I find out what the town was called.) There was so much craftmanship in this tiny town, from painters, to sculpters, and weavers. I will be back sometime soon I hope, not sure when. Until then I have these little guys to remind me where I'm from.

My Precious

Here's a pic of my favorite piece of decor/lighting. This beautifully designed lamp was given to me by my brother in law. I saw it at his house laying in a pile of things, and I fell in love with it. I saw the potential it had to make a room look amazingly cool. I asked if I could have it, and...just like that it came home with me that day. I dusted it, wiped it down with wipes, then a wash cloth. Now it sits on my desk, cool as can be. Looks like it's from the 70's. Not so sure, but I love it so.

Multimedia Collage

O.k., so you might have seen my origional collage made from magazine cut outs on a previous post. Here's the final product of my multimedia collage. I used acrylic paint, cheese cloth, soft medium gel gloss, paper bag material, tape, along with the origional magazine pictures. I forced myself to cover almost the entire thing with paint because the assignment required me to use paint and add texture. In the end I got a really good grade, but felt like I should have left some of the origional pictures untouched. Please comment with any thoughts on this project. :))