Corks and Canvas

After visiting so many art galleries in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Dave and I became inspired to come home and do some of our own artwork!!



Dave got his hundreds. . . .no, THOUSANDS. . . .of corks down from the rafters in the garage. He has been saving them for YEARS! He said that "someday" he wanted to do a "project." He wasn't sure what he was going to do with them, but he kept saving them. It got to the point where the boys and I suggested he build a boat with them, since he had SO many of them!

So he has spent days (literally) just sorting the corks into various categories: wine corks with names of wineries on them, plain corks, champagne corks, "old wine corks," etc. He got out a piece of wood to try to create something. . . .but still isn't sure what. But at least he's in a creative frame of mind!

I got a blank canvas out of the garage, that I've had for about 8 months now, to finally create a project I've had on my mind for that long. I really was inspired by all the different types of mediums that the artists used in Santa Fe. . . .they used all sorts of materials to create different textures and different colors and different types of artwork! So, I'm geared up to finally get a dose of creativity going, especially since I don't have to be working on Master's papers anymore! Yeah!! Inspiration and time ---- a creative person's dream! : )

As soon as one (or both) of us finish our projects, I'll post pictures. And, if you have any suggestions about what to do with thousands of corks, send them my way!!

Books

I really, really enjoyed reading Life Artist by Ali Edwards! Her book is full of ideas about how to "just scrapbook". . . .leaving all your hang-ups aside, embracing life, embracing imperfection, and just getting your story told. She truly is an inspiration to living a creative life!!

I'm still enjoying the wonderful words of Elizabeth Gilbert in Eat, Pray, Love. I've been eating with her through Italy and praying with her at the Ashram in India, and now that we're in Indonesia, I'm guessing we'll be doing some loving! Again, she is a wonderful author and I love all her metaphors. . . . ones that make me say, "Oh yeah, that's exactly what it's like!" even though I would never have thought of it in that way before reading her words. Great book!


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And now I'm thinking of the new books I want to read. Here are two on my list:

I have like 10,000 pictures. And I am not exaggerating! My 'boys' are 22 and 20. I have pictures of indoor soccer games, outdoor soccer games, t-ball, games, minor-A games, minor-B games, majors, pony league, pop-warner football, volleyball, high-school football games, broken arms, stitches, Halloween pictures, Christmas pictures, birthdays. . . . . .well, you get the picture. (Pun intended). So I've been reading about Stacy Julian's new book, Photo Freedom, which is supposed to be a treasure trove of how to deal with all the pictures without being overwhelmed. And even though I'm making a dent in the thousands of pictures I have, I still feel like I need help. The book can be pre-ordered on line (through Creating Keepsakes) but I want to spend the money locally if I can (yes, I'm one of those types of people) so I asked Gena at Cool Scrapbook Stuff to call me when they got their order into the store. I'm hoping this new book will help me get my act together when it comes to my stacks and stacks and stacks and stacks of pictures!

Another book I read about on various blogs of my favorite creative people was this book, 52 Random Acts of Everyday Creativity. First of all, since my word for this year is create, this book seems like a natural way to kick-start some creative juices in me. As their site states: "52 Projects is an exploration of your creativity -- from the culinary to the literary to the artistic". I like that it stretches you in many different areas of creativity. I'll let you know how it is!

Happy Reading! : )

Favorite Books

What are you reading? The two books I'm currently reading are:
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert and Life Artist by Ali Edwards.

I'm only through Italy with Eat, Pray, Love. Next is India, then Indonesia. My sister gave me the book for Christmas, and I'm really enjoying it so far. The author is easy to read; she throws in a lot of humor and is fabulous in her use of metaphors! I'll give an update after I 'travel' through India --- via the author's great descriptions.


Life Artist is very inspiring, with Ali giving hints on how to "scrapbook life's journey". She answers questions, gives examples, and has advice like, "It is okay" and "Don't make it more complicated than it needs to be". (Michelle, are you listening?) Again, since 2008 is my year to be creative, I'm hoping that this book will help keep me on track.

Happy Reading!