I’m happy because I received my latest order of tea from Adagio this afternoon! I always feel so excited when there’s new tea to try.

Today I received samples of:
Black Dragon Pearls – pearls of tea: sweet and smooth with a touch of earthiness
Oolong Jasmine #5 – tea infused with jasmine flowers
Oolong #8 – oriental beauty tea from Taiwan
Ti Kuan Yin Oolong – tea from the Fujian province of China
Wuyi Ensemble Oolong – smoky tea from coastal China

plus a full size of Darjeeling #22 (which they have renamed “Summer Darjeeling”), which I have been enjoying immensely since my sample size arrived a few weeks ago.

photo by David George

So far my favorite teas are:
Irish Breakfast
Candy Apple
Yunnan Jig
Vanilla Oolong
Darjeeling #22
Lemon Soleil

I also enjoy:
Candy Cane (mixed half-half with vanilla tea)
Chocolate Chip (mixed half-half with vanilla tea)
Cream (mixed half-half with vanilla tea)
Oriental Spice

I LOVED the Rooibos Jasmine, but haven’t had it in a while. I had a horrible cup of Cocomint Rooibos and it was so disgusting it put me off Rooibos tea altogether. I can’t bring myself to brew a cup of the Jasmine, even though I loved it so much. I know that sounds weird, but I still can’t get the Cocomint taste out of my mouth. Blech!

So, these are my version of Zentangles. I know they really have nothing to do with Zentangles besides the fact they are relatively abstract and have a pattern, but… oh well!

These are the first few I did. We were practicing drawing circles and ellipses in my formal drawing class, so I borrowed that idea and doodled these one afternoon. They are rough, I know… but when I started them, I really didn’t know what I was doing, just started doodling circles. I planned on watercoloring them, but I’m sort of going back and forth on them. And yes, I did use a compass to help with the giant circle outline and the larger circles. They take several hours to complete- anywhere from two hours to several days.

Gracie calls them “moon drawings” but while I was drawing them, I started thinking about cells and water and bubbles and things being *absorbed* and there you go.

I’ve completed several more (including a starfish and sea turtle and am working on a fish, all comprised of little circles). Maybe I’ll post those later.

I’m just having a very hard time with devoting so much time to these drawings and have them be absolutely useless. I need to get used to doing art for the pleasure of it, rather than because it will serve a purpose. I really do enjoy drawing these.

When I win the lottery, I am going to buy one of these…

desktop jellyfish tank

Maybe I will buy two.

One of my favorite blogs – Daisy Yellow – posts a monthly list of creative challenges. The idea is to inspire and motivate and I want to try joining in.

daisy yellow : art=happy

I have a very strange approach to making art. If I find something that I really enjoy doing, and I feel I can manage it fairly successful without much obsessing, I will make multiples of that item for a LONG TIME until I get burned out. It can go on for weeks or months or years. Sometimes what I make will evolve (which happened with polymer clay and bead making) and sometimes it will just be the same thing until I stop doing it. I’m much more comfortable when I know exactly what I’m focused on every day. Like when I’m making jewelry, or making beads, or working on a series of specific drawings for class. I like having a map to follow. Creative experimenting is not something I’m god it- it overwhelms me to just “go with the flow”.

I feel myself slipping into the “map” mode with my latest drawings (which I have to photograph and post). I’m obsessed with doing them and every day I spend a few hours working on them. They are tedious and take a while, but I *really* love the process. It just works.

I haven’t felt that way about art in a while, so despite the fact the drawings are “useless” (meaning, they serve no purpose and are not used by anyone for anything), I keep wanting to do more of them.

I have a weird relationship with art. I love the idea of creating for the sake of personal expression and because I love the process so much, but I feel incredibly guilty about making art if it’s not for a *reason*- meaning, not for a gift or for a class or for a particular spot in my house or to sell or whatever. So just the idea of creating something FOR THE SAKE OF CREATING IT is very hard for me. I’d love to know why this is… I’ll have to do some digging in my past for that, I guess.

Anyway- Daisy Yellow has posted her March Creative Experiments, and I am going to try and play along. The ones in bold are the ones I am thinking about.

♥ Create art focused on a square (the concept of a square, something square, the shape)
This I am tempted by, but right now I am SO fixated on circles that I feel like continuing in that direction.

♥ Skim 2 non-fiction books and jot down ideas
I do this constantly, so no problem

♥ Finish an unfinished art journal page
Art journaling is difficult for me. I get too fussy about it.

♥ Write a page of thoughts on 2 days
This is good. I journal a bit as it is, but focusing on thoughts as a reaction to the events of a day might be a good exercise.

♥ Use colors you don’t typically use in an art or craft
Earth tones, here I come!

♥ Explore a new-to-you aisle at an art supply store or a non-fiction aisle at a book store
Too dangerous. I do this all the time and my wallet pays. I am trying to use what I have right now.

♥ Listen to a creative podcast (I like The Creative Mom Podcast, CraftyPod, CraftSanity)
I keep hearing about podcasts and never tried one. I’m not a fan of talk radio and for some reason I equate the two. I love VISUALS. But I need to try out other mediums.

♥ Send a handwritten note to thank someone for doing something
Yes- too long since I last wrote a note and snail mailed it. I may not hand write it since handwriting is not my strong suit, but a real letter is a good thing.

♥ Use familiar art/creative materials in a new way ~ play with your supplies! If you embroider, try embroidering on your art journal page.

♥ Sketch, write, play a musical instrument in a public place
I wanted to start bringing my new Moleskine to Tae Kwon Do and work in it while Gracie’s in class, but it’s close quarters and I was afraid the other moms might peek over my shoulder and see my silly doodles.

♥ In line at the grocery store, take note of a person in line; write a character description for this person.

♥ Draw a rough map of a place in your life – a favorite vacation spot, your house, school, the grocery store.

These were done in my watercolor bead style* and then dyed/painted/inked on top and then layered.

I’m starting to feel very bad for my colored clay. It’s definitely neglected….

(use plain white polymer clay, bake it, and then dye/paint/ink after sanding but before putting finish on).

My favorite song at the moment… “July Flame” by Laura Veirs. There’s just something very haunting and at the same time very comforting about the music and the vocals and the lyrics and the way it all comes together- I can’t describe it but it makes me imagine running free through a big field under a starry sky and falling in love for the first time.

lyrics:
July Flame, a firey kite
will always lead me through the night.

July Flame, sweet summer peach,
high up in the branch just out of my reach.

Can I call you mine?
Can I call you mine?

July Flame, I’m seeing fireworks.
They’re so beautiful. Tell me why it hurts.

July Flame, ashes of a secret heart
falling in my lemonade. Unslakable thirsting in the backyard.

Can I call you mine?

… i caved …

moleskine watercolor

I ordered two Moleskine watercolor journals (one 8×5″ and one 5×3″).

I’m thinking the smaller one I will use for Zentangles and tiny mandalas and the larger for some of the circle drawings I have been doing, plus whatever else. I’m hoping that their portability and their book-ness will free me from the weird obligation I feel that every piece of art I create MUST BE COMPLETED AND PROPER. Maybe if it’s all part of a book, an entire work-in-progress, I can just let go and create.

A constant opportunity to turn the page and start fresh when *I’m* done as opposed to when the art is done, which is NEVER is and never will be.

I’ve never bought into the whole Moleskine fanaticism, but I’m starting to get it. It’s a common thread, the book of pages. It’s not sheets of paper. It’s parts of a whole.

The last thing I need is more art supplies, but – I really wanted them, so I am going to see what all the fuss is about.

One thing I have is a weakness for pretty dresses. Feminine, classic, simple dresses.

A year or two back, when I started whining about there not being enough classic, simple sundresses available, a friend pointed me in the direction of several Japanese clothing designers. By exploring those sites, I found out about this whole Japanese style called “EGL” (or “Elegant Gothic Lolita”, and no- the name does *not* come from the book) that quite a few Japanese designers create clothes for. EGL has a large range of styles included in it, but I really only like what’s considered “classic”. I *don’t* like any of the “sweet” stuff- candy colors and prints of carousel horses do NOT do anything for me.

Typically, EGL dresses are meant to be worn with petticoats and shirts and tights and fancy shoes and hats- a very Victorian inspired look. But on their own, they make *beautiful*, classic sundresses. And many of the designers will ship to the US. Unfortunately, the dresses are expensive- typically $200 to $500 and that’s too much to spend for a sundress that’s most likely going to be stained with paint and mainly worn chasing after a four year old. Plus, I live in my Nikes and I would feel silly pairing such gorgeous dresses with sneakers.

However, I still drool over and covet a bunch of the dresses and skirts, even if I have no place to wear them or would look silly doing so. Maybe if I had some tea parties to go to Anyway, from time to time I might throw an image of a dress up here, and now you know why I do that

This dress is from Innocent World…

Innocent World dress

More watercolor beads from my bead box

My wonderful, creative friend Melanie has been doing these amazing things called “Zentangles”. I immediately became fascinated with them. They are sort of like a cross between doodles and mandalas. I love the texture of Zentangles, love the contrast of black and white, love the “mindful” nature of these drawings. They are also called “Zendoodles”.

Here’s some Zentangles from various artists (including Melanie):

zentangles on flickr

1. mammogram 090826, 2. zentangle 5, 3. WISDOM,
4. Mandala Collaborative, 5. Untitled, 6. Pamtangle 1_2010 W,
7. feel tangle, 8. Zentangle

While I have not attempted any, I have been gathering links. (And supplies, too. Shamelessly collecting supplies.)
Information on Zentangles:
Basic “How To” Zentangle
The Official Zentangle Site

Samples/Inspiration:
Zentangle Group on Flickr

Also check out Suzanne McNeil’s blog because she posts Zentangle patterns fairly often. (I know it’s supposed to be free-form, but I like the idea of a resource if I get blocked. )

And here’s a basic video about it with Jule Fei-Fan Balzer:

There’s lots more, and I’ll post it as I find it.

I’m taking a drawing class right now and in an effort to try and find something new to draw so I could practice the basics of drawing curves and shading objects, I searched the web for images of white vases and pottery. I was hoping for some basic stock images of geometric shapes like the one found in my drawing textbook.

Instead, I found these amazing, beautiful images (and objects) from Sara Paloma Pottery.

Something about their clean, yet organic form really calls to me. When I look at them, I think of the sea. I think of bleached-white shells being slowly tumbled to smoothness in the sand and crystal blue salty water. I can just imagine how soft, smooth, and cool they might feel. Their gentle curves also remind me of some of Georgia O’Keeffes work.

I’m usually drawn to color, but this is such a great example of how color isn’t always necessary to make a statement. To evoke an emotion.

Perfectly clean and simple. So inspiring. I want to not only draw them, but have them in every room of my house.

sara paloma pottery

sara paloma pottery

sara paloma pottery

How cool is this? (note: this is not me)

So there’s this band called Florence + the Machine that I recently discovered. I am in love. I haven’t felt like this about music in a *very* long time. Something about her songs evoke a really passionate, emotional response in me.

This is Florence + the Machine’s newest video, “Hurricane Drunk”. It’s not my absolute favorite song on the CD but out of all the videos she’s done, it’s definitely my favorite. I love the colors and the styling and the *blue*.

Another fabulous song, my favorite on the “Lungs” CD, is “Cosmic Love”. No video for that yet, but here’s the song.

I’ve been working on new beads, trying to combine my love of watercolor painting with working with polymer clay. I really *don’t* like the colors polymer clay comes in, so I’ve just started making white beads and painting them my own colors. More time consuming, but definitely more “me”.

More watercolor beads… (polymer clay cores, surfaces dyed/painted/inked). This I put silver eyelets in so they could fit Pandora/Troll/Biagi style jewelry.

I’m re-reading Lynne Cox’s book “Swimming to Antarctica” right now. It’s *so* awe inspiring to me. I’m a very amateur distance swimmer (I swim two miles every day) and the stories that she shares just blow my mind and make me want to embark on some serious swimming adventures. Whenever I grump about getting into the pool, I think of all the massive swimming she has done in diverse waters (a lot of freezing temperatures and murky water…)

One of Lynne’s adventures is swimming in the waters of Antartica. And a while back I came across these images of striped icebergs that can be seen in that region, and they blew me away. How incredibly beautiful… water in all forms captivates me.

I’m not much a traveler, but maybe someday I’ll get to see them in person and take some photos of my own.

striped iceberg in Antarctica

striped iceberg in Antarctica

striped iceberg in Antarctica

striped iceberg in Antarctica

striped iceberg in Antarctica

(top three images are courtesy of snopes, bottom two images were taken by Karl Rollings and Steve Nichol.)

Lately, I have become a bit obsessed with tea. It all started about six weeks ago- a dear friend sent me an Adagio IngenuiTEA.

ingenuitea

It’s a little tea diffuser that makes the perfect cup of tea using water and two teaspoons of loose tea. And along with the IngenuiTEA came a variety of little tins of tea. Each sampler tin makes about ten cups, so I had a few weeks of tea to experiment with and taste and try.

I’ve always liked tea, but never tried loose tea. And it’s REALLY different, but in a good way. It’s much more flavorful and rich and doesn’t have that weird tangy aftertaste bagged tea sometimes leaves behind. And, of course, after I figured out how to use the IngenuiTEA, I went ahead and ordered more tea samples from Adagio. I picked mostly flavored teas, thinking the black teas were probably all the same (I was *very* wrong about that). This morning I ordered a few refills and a few more samples- this time all traditional black teas.

I have a few favorites: Irish Breakfast, Yunnan Jig, Lemon Soleil, Vanilla Oolong, Jasmine Rooibos, Candy Apple, and Candy Cane.

I also found a few I don’t like or flat out despise: Earl Grey Bravo and Cocomint Rooibos (the Cocomint was just awful- it tastes like something a doctor might make you drink before a colonoscopy). I was surprised that I didn’t like the chocolate teas at all. I’m a HUGE chocolate fan and figured tea and chocolate would be a wonderful combo. But it doesn’t work for me.

(image from getty)

I have two cups of tea every day, one in the morning and one in the early evening. It’s like a little ritual I’ve created just for myself. I love sipping at the tea and relaxing, and just taking a break from everything. It’s amazing how a little tiny change to your regular life (like a cup of tea every day) can really affect the quality of your life in general.

It’s been a while since I uploaded anything to Flickr, but yesterday I uploaded a ton of photos from our Christmas Eve trip to the Naples Botanical Gardens. It was a beautiful, cool, breezy day and the gardens were virtually empty. The three of us spent the afternoon exploring and chasing butterflies and talking. We sort of went on a whim, and it wound up being so much fun we bought a membership and plan on going back every Christmas Eve as a new family tradition.

I’m not a photographer by any means- I just try and capture some of the beauty I see, not create it. Some people are true artists with their cameras but I’m just happy if the photo captures something similar to what my eyes are seeing

Here’s some photos I took:

a quickr pickr post

For Christmas, I got myself one of these Hypotrochoid Art Sets from Uncommon Goods.

Hypotrochoid Art Set

I was thinking about tools I could use to design mandalas, and then I started thinking about the Spirograph I had as a kid (which is no longer available- the new version, like many “re-invented” toys), and then my searching led to this kit.

I haven’t had much time to play with it, but it’s a lot of fun. I don’t use the pens provided in the kit- instead I use either my ultra-fine tipped black Sharpie or my Micron drawing pen.

My only complaint is that it’s tiny. I was hoping for large-ish designs I could paint, but these are very compact. I’m definitely going to try doing a series of ATCs with them, though. I have tons of watercolor paper of all presses, weights, and textures and a drawer full of paper cutters I could use to make the perfect sizes of paper for these guys but I am craving a tiny little block of paper just the right size for them.

I am also eyeing this toy- Quercetti Spirogiro, which seems to be a little bit bigger. It’s only $16, but after the holiday crunch and the insane amount of tools and art supplies I already *have*, I’m going to wait. However, it looks very cool.

Quercetti Spirogiro

I know I should try drawing my own mandalas, but I’m not there yet. I’m too obsessed with things like symmetry and I don’t want that fussiness to effect (affect? yikes, sorry) my enjoyment of mandalas. Right now I’d love to emboss a black image of a mandala on watercolor paper and then color it in using my watercolors. The emboss would act as a resist. So I’m experimenting with image transfer onto watercolor paper, and resists, and dry embossing techniques.

One of the blogs that has been inspiring me so much is Daisy Yellow. I found her blog by doing searches on drawing mandalas and was instantly sucked in. I’m still working my way through the archives, but whenever she posts something new, it’s like an INSTANT shot of inspiration and motivation.

In addition to drawing and painting, there also a lot of information about creating art with kids, which I love because Gracie and I spend a lot of time working in the art studio together. I’m always looking for new ideas and projects to share with her.

Here’s a Flickr collage of some of her work:

Art by Daisy Yellow

Her blog and images have inspired me so much- not only to start drawing again, but also explore the boundaries of the materials I’m using. (I’m currently trying to figure out how to create a resist using dry embossing on watercolor paper…)

Daisy Yellow also has a “Art=Happy” campaign at the moment, which resonated with me.

art = happy @ Daisy Yellow

The basic idea is- art makes people happy, so do more of it. I’m trying to remember that. Even on days when i don’t feel like doing anything but starting into space, I force myself to grab my pencils and doodle. Usually I get sucked right into it and keep going, and it DOES make me feel better.

So thank you, Daisy Yellow, for providing me with so much creative inspiration.

I’m going to try to keep a public blog again.

Years ago I used to keep a series of weblogs/journals called “Bliss”. They were images of artwork I loved, plus snippets from life, and quotes, and poetry, etc. Then I got married and Gracie came and the adoption blog became my focus for a long time.

But now that Gracie is four and I’m finding more time to myself, lots of things are capturing my interest and inspiring me. I love blogs that are a mix of personal expression AND inspiring things culled from around the web.

So I’m going to try that for a while.

Short list of things that currently fascinate me:
mandalas (especially ones that are drawn by hand)
circles and spirals in art
TEA tea tea tea (I love tea!)
flowers
music (rediscovering the emotional response to music)
children’s art (inspired by Gracie and her artwork)
photography (other people’s)
basic drawing- lines, shapes, form
pretty clothes
weird sealife
textures on paper and in art

So much I want to try and explore and share. There’s so many amazing artists on the web, so many awesome photographs, so many cool facts. So I’ll just randomly post whatever, whenever.