Cars, colored pencils and patterns...

It has been a week and a half now with the new to me wheels. Snow White is the 06 Jeep Liberty that I have found for the next phase of transportation.  She has plenty of room to haul around fabric totes, furniture finds to paint and what ever other creative goodies need haulin'.

Now that is out of the way, new projects are just around the corner and with the weekend, moving garages is the task at hand. The garages here leak. They flood in the wet season and then the heat of summer grows yucky stuff like a green house! We are moving to garages that the drainage is hopefully better and closer to our door.

Snow White will live in the garage, she is clean and well maintained, even under the hood and doesn't look like she lived outside in the elements much. I wouldn't want to stress her out. I need to be able to depend on her....

So, more boxes came in the house, it felt just a little too much like moving again and made me almost feel sick to my stomach. But.... it is just another chapter in the purging saga... Where does all this stuff come from? I have done a huge purge about 5 years ago... this one seems to be dragging on for ever.

So far there is no space set aside for any creative doings... with my creative overflow, I have been revisiting my colored pencils and coloring... it is relaxing and great for playing with color relationships and value.. I like the Berol-Prismacolor brand of soft core colored pencils. The color is fully saturated and they blend beautifully with one another. I have been focused on a seashell coloring book and some book marks that I bought at the Renaissance Festival late this summer. It is my end of the day winding down routine. It will do for now, but soon I will need to feel the texture of fabric at my finger tips and get back into writing again...As the idea of a blogging schedule would help me, so I thought, I found for right now... it paralyzed me. So random and inspired, seems the path to finding my voice again. To reacquaint myself, this is briefly what has had my attention lately... aside from the logistics of life mentioned above.

Lately the urge to gather my patterns has been nagging at me as well.  There is quite a collection from over the years and I am always on the lookout for some intriguing vintage ones. Clothes just inspire me... they always have. So, cataloguing, sorting and organizing those in one handy and easy to access system is working through my subconscious.

Well, that is the post for today, rather chaotic, but from this will come order... and then it will be time to move again!

How does your creativity get thwarted? How do you make promises to yourself and keep them? Or do you.....?

A New Vehicle for Navigating through Life... for now.....

Emerging back into the 'out there'. I have been hermit like for the past few months. More recently, not by choice.

My car of 11 years decided she was done one friday night a few weeks ago. I knew she wasn't feeling well. She was starting to really show her age. Age spots were starting to mar her complexion (rust). It was just beginning though. But moving quickly along her back door....  When she just had a bath, she looked pretty good on the outside. Inside, the upholstery was cracked and dirty. She mostly lived outside, only last year did she have a garage.

She always had a bit of a tick or knock when I started her. Like a bad cough. I was very connected to that car and have relied on it for the past 11 years. It got me around, except when there was an issue, we took it one thing at a time. She just had brand new tires and new belts put on 3 weeks before her demise.

So for about a week and a half, I was stranded. Literally, no way to get anywhere, luckily, there are stores like Target across the street, on the other side of our apartment complex. (We face a courtyard, so the trees are nice, not looking at Target parking lot!)

It was challenging, projects were becoming ready to install (or so I thought, that is another story, not getting into here). It is like having the water shut off for a day that you become aware of how much you need to use water, if you know what I mean?

Two friends offered to take me out driving to check out new to me cars. It is the first time I have opted not to purchase new. I had a specific dollar amount, years and mileage requirement. The first day, I drove an 06 Jaguar, it was a lovely car, but the maintenance issues that I heard about them steered me away. Also, they aren't the greatest on gas mileage. Then I drove a handful of other cars, Trailblazers, Muranos, Vibes. They just weren't it.

Then I drove an Audi A4. A beautiful red... great handling, pass through back seats, good gas mileage, higher mileage than I wanted and a bit older. Great price.

Then I went on to drive a While Jeep Liberty. The car was in good condition, clean, leather interior, low miles, priced higher than I wanted, but lots of room for whatever I might need to move around. That is the one I got. There are some issues, with the experience of purchasing that car. Would not recommend the dealership to my enemies actually. But, I won't have to deal with them any more, as they don't respond to any calls or questions anyway...

So now it is just me and Snow White, navigating the roads again. She eats a lot though... maybe once I get those new spark plugs, it will curb her appetite.

Hold ups, Set Backs and Getting to Paris....

The summer seems to be over, there may be a few more days of warmth in our near future, however, the energy has shifted to back to school, routine and regimen, structure and discipline. Not at all bad things; keeps things orderly and running smoothly.

There are great ideas with the blog and sharing information, inspiration and all. The hold up seems to be doing it the way I want it to be done and finding my own style. Winging it is always an option and keeps one in the moment, which is great when there is a solid routine and knowing of one's abilities and  limitations.

Now, when it comes to creativity, there is nothing that intimidates me, frustration is lately at a heightened state, but intimidation, no. If I don't understand a technique or how to execute something the way I visualize it or a comparable outcome, I am off my game. There is a gap that must be filled.

Integrating technology is my problem these days. Setting things up to do things efficiently, daily, weekly and monthly tasks, keeping myself organized and accomplishing is of paramount focus recently. The world has been turned upside down in the last year, moving a collection of creative materials and supplies, along with just plain life paraphernalia, has had me a bit out of sorts. Talk about creating a whole new routine!

My life of 18 months ago is far different than it is right now. It feels like I have been put through the wash cycle, several times over and hung out to dry a couple of times too.  (Here would be a great place to post a photo of my recent laundry out on the line at my mom and dad's house. It was a wash day of my small vintage table cloth collection, beautifully blowing in the breeze against the backdrop of a bright blue sky and brilliant green grass.)

I didn't even think to snap a quick photo as my mom and I spent the afternoon out on the patio, reminiscing about my grandma and laundry and tips that my mom learned from her mother about properly hanging clothes out on the line. My mom was also pleased to share with me a newly cherished memory created with my niece, who had no idea the concept of hanging clothes outside to dry. Mom took the opportunity to share some home keeping  wisdom and memories of her childhood. I hope my niece remembers the experience, too, when she gets older.

But, that is not what this post is about.. I haven't been writing much, I have been slowing getting into creative endeavors, only to be thwarted by broken sewing needles and not sure where the supply is currently located. Recently, I have created a box of file cards with potential topic cards to keep the blog(s) more organized, consistent and fluid. That is the goal anyway. Getting back on a regular writing schedule with a routine of topics is my goal.

Sometimes though, just journaling what is in my head, keeping me stuck, is the best release. Being heard,  if you read this, you are thinking something about what I have written. It will go through the filter of your experience, you will either relate or not to what my experience is. My hope is that you will recognize the same or similar insights in your own areas of creating. Yes, creating, it could be a sewing project, a painting project, writing or a home project, even a life project.

Maybe you are in search of a new career expression, or expanding on an old one. Just looking at where you are at in the process, being with it, is all you need to do to move forward. After all, you can't get to your destination without starting from where you are currently at. It is impossible to get to Paris, via New York, if you are still in Minneapolis. Gotta figure out how to get to New York from Minneapolis first. (Although, Air France is back at MSP for direct flights to Paris!)

Paris greenery.... how quaint.

The Beauty in Chaos

Marbled paper 1990

It has felt as if my urge to create has been thwarted the past 18 months. Not a lot of production going on over here. Just an abundance of ideas and no where to take action on them. No idea where the tools and materials are that would allow implementation of such inspiring projects. So, they have not yet been realized.

Then this morning as I realize what I have been doing, in the past 3 months, in spite of unpacking boxes and purging, is that I HAVE been creating something. I have a goal in the back of my mind that is always emerging as I move a box from one corner to the other, not quite ready to take on its contents, or releasing items that have only held emotional connections for me.

I realize it is the memory, not the thing, so I snap a photo of the thing with my iphone and let it go. Maybe I will do a collage or something some day. There are some things though, a tangible item that a dear person who is no longer in my life may have touched. A sort of evidence and physical reminder of their existence. More like a channel to them, to experience being in the moment with them, one more time.

As I let go of things and hang on to memories, I am forced to sort them, to file them in my heart, not keeping them cluttering the foreground for any new blessing to trip over. Instead in a sacred place dedicated in honor,  a location that I can retrieve and re-PLACE,  should I wish that experience for any length of time. A moment may be all that I need or desire.

Yes, what I realize I am creating is order. An order for my past to reside within, with built in flexibility to accommodate an ever expanding future. Life will no longer pile up in the doorway, scattered across the floor to step over and be reminded of incompletions. It is time to pick up the laundry, neatly fold the clothes and put them away in closets and drawers.

In preparation for writing this blog, I have organized topics and have sub categories of how to best communicate them. Actions are being taking, one small, baby step at a time to keep it orderly and fluid. Thus a context and expression in my life for all of the things that interest, inspire and have me being alive.

What makes me feel alive is a unique blend of images, thoughts, values and relationships. The relationships are the result. How to relate to these things, places and people. What has you feeling alive? Which takes precedence for you? Does the order of your things, in your places reflect the relationships you have with people? Which are most important to you?

No matter where you are in the creative cycle, find the beauty where you are, ground yourself in it. There is after all beauty in chaos too! http://www.chaos.umd.edu/gallery.html

The cracking open of the Cocoon!

Playing with my own photos and using them as creative inspiration, never having to worry about infringing on copyright issues (that is complex business!) This has been something I have wanted to do ever since my college photography class.

Technology has finally caught up with my desire and the ability to create quickly and eloquently is at hand. Painting and drawing have their place and I will continue to practice and polish my hand work skills, but learning something new that can net FAST results... that is wonderful!

I am starting out with a photo of some roses at Lake Harriet Rose Garden in Minneapolis. Yes, they really are that color! Isn't it great! I love this color!

The original photograph, taken with my iPhone

 After bringing the photo into Photoshop from iPhoto, I have simply posterized the image. This is in the Edit menu on Photoshop. It has become more stylized and the colors have been reduced. I didn't want it to look too simple, a complex screen print is what it is starting to look like.. hmm yes, I like that.....

The photoshopped version, posterizing the image. 

Next, the photo is shown with the color bars of each of the main colors in the palette. There are twenty colors shown in this image.... yes the idea is becoming more clear...  A few posts back, my fun with illustrator was featured, creating quilt blocks and a resulting pattern of two blocks used together.. stay tuned for how that gets integrated with this thread of thought... connecting vibrant threads to create something.. I can't see clearly where this is going, but it is definitely going somewhere... Welcome to the beginning of Vibrant Threads, the butterfly is cracking the cocoon!

The color palette extracted for identification

More Techie Explorations

For the past few years I have been fortunate enough to own Adobe Creative Suite 5.5. While playing around in Photoshop and getting comfortable with that part of the suite, Illustrator, well, that has been completely sit and stare at the screen wondering what the...??? Where do I start? What does it do? What do I want it to do? There have been ideas of things I wanted to do digitally, but where to begin to learn it... it is a whole new language to me....

So last week, I started a tutorial from a book I picked up at Half Price Books on Illustrator. It is amazing how a little bit of practice helps to pick up new things just by doing! I haven't even finished the first chapter yet!

Then I started researching hex codes on the internet. You know the color code that is the universal formula for all of the colors on the web? The look like this.. #FFFFFF or #000000 (white and black respectively) and any combination of numbers 0-9 and/or letters A-F.  I often wondered what the pattern or code meant...

Well, here it is.. there are three colors in the formula, Red, Green and Blue (these are the light primaries, as when all are mixed together they make white. This is subtractive color. Additive color uses pigment or dye and when all of the colors are added together the result is black.

The first two spaces of the formula are the code for RED, the second pair of digits/letters is GREEN and the last two spaces are the code for BLUE. The combination of 0-9/A-F in each of these spaces is the formula for any color.

It feels for me that a great mystery has been solved.

A photo I took at Lake Harriet and the main colors

The photo above is one of my favorites of sailboats at Lake Harriet one evening at dusk. Often color palettes are inspired by nature and the environment.

The pursuit of images and color combinations and how they impact emotional responses and communicate on a feeling level is an area that this technology will assist me in researching... and studying. My questions to engage you, my readers... are these..... the same questions I ask myself when working on a project of any medium.....

What do you feel from the image and the colors that emerge in the palette? What do the shapes in the photo suggest? Are they enhanced by the color palette or in opposition? These are the questions about design that fascinate and intrigue me.... this is why I love what I do... to create palettes, shapes and relationships to communicate a subtle message or cue. It is my way of being heard, without SHOUTING!

What do you think? Are you aware of the subtle language all around us? How do you feel about this communication?

PS The hex codes are as follows.... DDAABB, 445566, 778899, 886666 and CCAAAA.

I think there will be a lot more of this in the future. I am working the details on one, that is quilting inspired..

A Quick Fix Creative Expression-Illustrator and Quilting

Today, I sat down at my computer with my Jinny Beyer  The Quilter's Album of Patchwork Patterns and created a couple of blocks from the 12 x 12 grid section. I found out from my friend Google how to color the sections then put a quick quilt together to see how the patterns create a secondary pattern.

Playing in illustrator a whole new creative quickie has been born!

The Jinny Beyer book is beautifully photographed and a true inspiration to any quilter or any one interested in pattern for that matter.

I like what got created. That may be as far as the idea ever gets... for this one, but what a great practice ground for exploring color, pattern and scale.

My next task is to play with the swatch libraries and create some of my own... the creative juices are flowing again... so, when lack of time or inspiration hits, there just might be a quilt pattern of the day showing up.

Writing and staying focused has been challenging lately. Feeling a bit like a pin ball in a machine, bouncing from one bumper to the other and occasionally falling into the hole... only to start a new game... Creative rescue has been found... at least for now!