Following your muse....

guest blog by Barbara Bechtel of Floridity

Don't worry about your originality. You couldn't get rid of it even if you wanted to. It will stick with you and show up for better or worse in spite of all you or anyone else can do. ~ Robert Henri

People often ask me how I arrived at my current style. Being a little shy when it comes to discussing my work, I'm often unsure how to answer. Most often, I divert the question by talking about my methods, my inspiration, and current ideas in the works.

Style is a topic that is ephemeral at best. Everybody likes it and most want it. Some are sure they have it, other think they may never have it. Think of your favorite designers and artisans...be they high-brow or low-brow...most have a style. Some have arrived at it deliberately, some have arrived at it by accident, some have worked very careful to cultivate it.

Being a mixed media artist, and a painter by education, I've never felt I had a recognizable style. I want to be identified...like Georgia O'Keefe or Frank Lloyd Wright. Until recently, this always distressed me greatly. So, I decided to look critically at all of my work and identify patterns.

Identifying patterns is very important. It is through patterns that you recognize what you are doing cohesively from one piece to another.

By identifying these patterns, you can adjust or refine your working method to help you cultivate your own unique style.


What colors do I consistently use? Do I like these colors? Do I want to use different colors? How can I experiment differently with my color palette? I take out the paints I use. I identify the hues on a color chart. I am a scientist with my process....



What shapes or forms do I consistently use? Am I drawn to geometric forms or organic forms? Why am I drawn to them? I make a list....



Texture. Do I prefer clean lines or a rustic pattern? Why do I prefer that? What other objects in my home and my life personify this texture? How can I translate this texture to my work?


How are you evaluating your own process to better identify your own personal style?

How do you feel about style? How would you like to define it? for yourself? for others?

Can you translate your style into this month's Art Spark? Be sure to check it out and submit to win a host of nice things and challenge your creativity!

Art Spark Winner for May

May's Art Spark was to illustrate the word "contain" in either a bead, component, or piece of finished jewelry.

This month's winner is Izzy Winterhart of Under a Copper Sky with her work entitled "Contain".

I chose Izzy's bracelet because the composition of the piece evoked a feeling of being held, cradled, lovingly contained. The turquoise being almost protected and embraced by the crescent of copper lace.

Thank you Izzy for your entry and for giving us the words that were part of your inspiration. They are important part of the work and also an important part of our new Art Spark challenge.

Bravo!

Here is the winning work and Izzy's beautiful poetic inspiration...

The Universe contains
the mystery of the Moon,
the love of the Earth,
the glow of the Stars,
the warmth of the Sun
and so much more.
No matter how vast our Universe,
it is Spirit that gently threads us all together.
Looping over and around
weaving, lacing and embracing
us in the beauty of it all.

Congratulations Izzy!

Please take a moment to check out Izzy's shop to view more of her heartfelt creations~

underacoppersky.etsy.com

 

Thank you to all who participated in our first Art Spark challenge! Check in to see what challenge will Spark our creativity the first Monday in June!

Izzy, please contact this month's sponsors to claim your well deserved prizes.

Art Spark Designer of the Week

by D'Arsie Manzella

Our featured designer this week is Izzy Winterhart with her beautiful interpretation of the word 'Contain'.

Thank you Izzy for your entry! And remember there is one more week to upload your design to our Art Spark flickr group for a chance to win some gorgeous handmade beads and components by our generous sponsors!

Please take a moment to be inspired both by Izzy's design and her meaningful description of her work and inspiration.

Have a creative day!

Contain

LMAJ Art Spark May Challenge

Contain

The Universe contains

the mystery of the Moon,

the love of the Earth,

the glow of the Stars,

the warmth of the Sun

and so much more.

No matter how vast our Universe,

it is Spirit that gently threads us all together.

Looping over and around

weaving, lacing and embracing

us in the beauty of it all.

Contain my Enthusiasm

by Patty Lakinsmith

Sweet inspiration inside a hollow bead.

I've been busy lately creating a studio metamorphosis, and I'm bursting at the seams with excitement. I've had the same torching setup in our detached garage since I started about 6 years ago, and was ready for some changes to make it more functional, more efficient, and a more attractive place to be for me and my guests to create. I'll reveal the complete makeover in an upcoming post, but for now I thought I'd share a couple of takes on D'Arsie's "Container" theme for this month's Art Spark challenge. The first is the pendant above that I created with a message inside. It's a hollow glass bead with PMC bead caps.

The second take on the "container" theme is my glass rod storage. My raw materials are glass rods, cut to around 12 inches long. For the last 6 years I'd been storing them in short cuts of PVC pipe, stacked into a box that I had affixed to the wall. It became apparent to me over a year ago that there were not enough cubbies in this arrangement for all of my glass, and the unit began to show signs of structural failure from all of the weight. Glass is heavy! Not only that, but the mice treated it as a condominium, storing rice that they had found elsewhere in the garage (we don't keep rice out there any more, and the rodents are now gone) in the sections of pipe. Not good.

Original glass rod storage system, in the beginning.

As you may recall, I found some ranch fencing and cut it up to create new, square cubbies for my glass, and found an appropriately sized and priced stereo cabinet (no back, no front) for sale on Craig's List to contain it all. It sits on top of a metal cabinet with wheels, so I can move it any where I want. I cut some MDF for the back and painted it black to match. Then I built a frame for the door on the front and covered it with some clear corrugated polycarbonate roofing material, threw on some hinges, a magnetic catch and a knob, and it's done!

New glass storage cabinet.

No more rice showers when I take a rod of glass out, and my glass stays clean and safe too. Plus it's nice to see all the colors beaming out at me from behind the clear plastic.

I look forward to sharing the rest of my studio makeover with you soon! It's almost complete, and I'm very excited.

Art Spark Designer of the Week

by D'Arsie Manzella

I hope your creativity is on overdrive and you are engrossed with your Art Spark challenge project! I am excited to see your interpretations.

This week I am sharing the work and inspiration of MaryAnn Carroll. Her soulful creation illustrates a beautiful truth. Read on...

You Just Need to Look...

One thing that I am excited about with our new challenge called "Art Spark", which will be replacing the former "Call-to-Create" is that we (the blog authors) are invited to join in. We won't be eligible, of course, for all of the fabulous prizes, but we will benefit from thinking creatively in different ways each month. The other part that I like, which is different, is that the submitted piece can be finished jewelry or a handmade bead/component created by you that you feel fits the theme of the month.

When I saw that our challenge was the word "CONTAIN" it made me think of the troubles that I have been experiencing over the past couple of months. Right away I thought of my favorite bead which I have kept for myself. My family and I have recently been faced with a crisis that I'm quite sure will not be common in the lives of most people. At least I hope not. It was a tragedy that brought me to my knees. Someday I will be able to talk about it, but for now I will talk about it through this bead.

It was a phone call that left me almost unable to move....frozen...... but I knew that I had to be there for my son and his family. I didn't even remember how I left work that day until I was recently told by a friend that it was she who drove me home. After many sleepless nights, daily trips to Syracuse, etc. we had to bring some sanity and stability to what we were going through.
That is where this bead comes in. When I look at it, it reminds me of feeling so lost inside of a darkened tunnel, but then.....slowly....I started to see the openings. They were there already, I just had to see them myself. When life seems so overwhelmingly hopeless, there are always those openings that you will find if only you look. Although, we are still experiencing the pain that this tragedy brought, there were so many people out there willing to guide us and support us...... we just had to find them. Like sitting inside of this carved out black bead surrounded by holes, things just seemed to fall in place. I started to look through those little openings and began moving my way out from what felt like my own little desperate lonely world.

My son Ben made this bead months ago and I glazed it. I didn't make it specifically for this challenge since my bead making has come to a halt for now but thought it worthy of sharing. I think now I will add this to a chain and remember to take it out during those times when I just can't see a way out...... There is always light somewhere when you are feeling lost in the dark; you just need to remember that it's your job to find it.

MaryAnn :O)

*************************************************************************************

And here is a glimpse into my (D'Arsie of Mamacita Beadworks) sketchbook for this month's challenge. My next step will be the clay sculpt. Because I am in the middle of a move, I will need to wait to mold the pendant and cast the finished work in pewter until I am settled in NY.

Hope is a Seed,

to cultivate, to protect and to give tenderly to others. It is a great gift contained inside every moment. Be a steadfast gardener and hope will nourish you through the sparse moments in life.

Hope is a Seed.

Have a wonderful week!

*ART SPARK* creative challenge for May.

by D'Arsie Manzella



On the Road Again

I'm packing. Putting all my belongings in boxes once again to travel the distance from South to North. Back to my homeland, the rolling hills and gorgeous lakes of Western New York. Each item is being wrapped and contained. As I go through the process I wish my possessions a safe journey- until we meet again.

Recently my grandfather passed away. Straight away after hearing of his death, I had a strong desire to create hand folded paper boxes. I didn't really know what I was doing when I started, it's not something I commonly do, but all other creative projects stopped and my quiet time was spent with these beautiful little boxes. I realize now that I was trying to contain my grief.

There are many ways that containers change or affect our lives. Notes arrive in bottles, boxes take us up into tall buildings, heaven wafts out from our morning coffee can. They contain surprises, treasures and mysteries. Sometimes they hold our hearts, sometimes our fears.

So I bring you, from beneath my stack of paper boxes, this month's *Art Spark* challenge. It's a little bit different and a whole lot of fun...

~May you always be inspired by the beauty of your experience~

~*~

*ART SPARK*challenge

Here's a challenge that we can all get fired up about! I'm saying "we" because we will be playing along. The first Monday of each month one of our members will present a challenge. The challenge is designed to not only get you thinking creatively, but also sharing your process and learning from each other.

The creative sparks will be flying all month. One or more entries will be chosen by the "challenge" artist to shine on our blog the next two subsequent Mondays. On the 4th Monday, the winning entry will be chosen and showcased on the Love My Art Jewelry blog for one month and the Love My Art Jewelry website for 1 year with links to your shops or blogs.

Can it get any hotter? You better believe it! These wonderful components were graciously donated by Staci Smith at Staci Louise Originals and will be awarded to the winner at the end of the challenge!

As will these fabulous pieces from Sue Kennedy of SueBeads!

Thank you so much ladies for your support.

We invite you to play along and try out our challenges. This month's challenge is......

~Create a piece of jewelry, art bead or component that illustrates the word 'CONTAIN'~

'Contain' as a verb is defined as: to include, hold
Synonyms include:accomodate, be composed of, comprehend, comprise, consist of, embody, embrace, encompass, have, have capacity for, hold, incorporate, involve, take in\

 

~Once you have your creation ready, here is what you do:

1. Take pictures of your creation and upload it to our flickr account.

2. Leave a description of your thought process while creating your jewelry or beads/components. We really want everyone to share their creative thinking so please make sure that you description is thorough.

3. Since we are a group promoting 'creating handmade with handmade', your jewelry consist of at least 75% handmade. This doesn't mean that you have to create everything that goes into your piece. You could use beads/components created by other artists. Please give credit to that artist in your description.

4. If your submission will be loose beads/components, it may include any medium that you prefer to make those in. These submissions would also require a description of your creative thought process.

5. Please only one submission piece per artist. Multiple views of the work are allowed and encouraged.

6. Have fun an come back often to check out the entries!

7. Links to our flickr site can be found on the blog sidebar.