Synchroblog - August Pinterest Project

The Artists Synchroblog is a group of bloggers who post on the same topic on odd months and on even months we take on a Pinterest Challenge where we each take inspiration from a Pinterest picture, creating something (art, a meal, a DIY project, etc) and then posting about it.  You can read more about the Artists Synchroblog here.

 So this project for me came about in a really round about way. I follow a most amazing blog called Young House Love. It's a home DIY blog by a really cute and funny - and talented - couple (John and Sherry). and their darling daughter Clara. And their fiesty chihuahua Burger. Yes, I know - what's not to love?  Is it weird that they showed up in a dream I had the other night? (don't answer that.) (or, ok, do answer that - is that weird?)

[ok, and actually the Pinterest Project component of the Synchroblog was inpired by YHL as well. Sherry teams up periodically with some other creative souls and they do a Pinterest Challenge thing. I liked it, I adopted it. I told you they were amazing. 'nough said]

So anyway, on occasion they house crash. They post a photo tour of someone elses house. They recently crashed a house that gave me tons of ideas and inspirations, so I pinned one in particular as it immediately gave me a DIY idea.

Here is the tour and here is the photo I pinned.

So, what caught my eye? Well those little round plates on the wall of course!  With the white animals - How cute are they!

The other thing that has been on my mind lately is plastic animals. You know how spray painting them is all the rage right now? NO? You didn't know? Well looky here - spray painted plastic animals in a bajillion ways  and more here.

so anyway, I combined my love of those plates, with my growing obsessive need to spray paint some plastic animals and came up with this:

 

Similar, but different - inspired by, but not duplicated!! 

I'm really kinda in love with them. :)  

And while I mimicked the color scheme - these would be so amazing done in bright colors for a childs room. Right??  And you don't even have to do plates - you can do small photo frames and just glue the animals in there! 

I love that it's 3D - it's tactile. It's not a boring plain old same old thing. 

so here is how I went about it. 

I bought some cute animals - ones that we have in our yard constantly. I thought the grands could relate to what they see out back. :) 

so we have a fox, squirrel, and rabbit. Play nice guys.

 

they took a quick trip to Antartica, quickly becoming an 

arctic fox, arctic squirrel, and arctic bunny. 

 

It took a couple of coats before they were truly frosty all over. 

Then the 'plates'. I'm actually not sure if they are plates with a lip or really shallow bowls. But I got them at Goodwill specifically for this project. I thought the little lip would give the frozen chosen a little ledge to stand on and they would be more incorporated into the design rather than the animals looking completely stuck on a plate. The plates were a horrid 70's floral in disgusting drab colors. They took a quick trip to well, wherever things are dark. Very dark. All the time. 

 

Now here is where I point out my major mistake. I got hasty. It was wet outside and very humid and I also sprayed a little to heavily and so there are some bubbles in the paint. Ignore those. 

Please. 

Seriously. they are an embarassment.

What bubbles you say? 

BLESS YOU! 

:) 

inexpensive items + spray paint + glue gun = adorableness

 

In the end I have a little tio of plates that really are quite enchanting. To me anyway. I have NO idea where these will go. I need to apply little hangers to the back and then figure it out. But I kind of heart them. 

My next plastic animals to take the spray paint plunge, I think, will become 

handles on a cup for my older grandson. 

Fun, right? 

Visit the other synchrobloggers:

http://amyestellemetalworks.blogspot.com/
http://www.islandgirlsinsights.blogspot.ca/
http://www.wrapturewirejewellery.on.ca/blog
www.elenorbuffington.blogspot.com
http://doxallodesigns.blogspot.com/
http://www.journeyinjewelry.com/blog/My-Journey-in-Jewelry
http://simpledesignjewelry.blogspot.com/
http://designsbylynnea.blogspot.com/
http://marikach.blogspot.com/
www.createrecklessly.com
http://design.kcjewelbox.com/
www.allwiredupjewelrydesigns.blogspot.com
http://shaktipajdesigns.com/blog/
www.beadsbythebay.blogspot.com

Artists Synchroblog - Morning or Night....?

The Artists Synchroblog is a group of bloggers who post on the same topic on odd months and on even months we take on a Pinterest Challenge where we each take inspiration from a Pinterest picture, creating something (art, a meal, a DIY project, etc) and then posting about it.  You can read more about the Artists Synchroblog here.

This month the topic is "Morning Bird/Night Owl". 

I think its really interesting to learn about people's personalities, creative styles, and lifestyles. So, am I a Morning Bird or a Night Owl?

Well, I'm actually a little bit of both!

My morning commute

As long as I'm fairly well rested, I'm a happy morning person. :)  I wake up, grab my coffee and am pretty much ready to go. I can't say that I feel overly creative in the morning, but I've never had the  opportunity to explore that concept either as I work a full time job outside the home. I'd love the chance to find out though!

I am definitely a night owl. I tend to stay up late although that is becoming a little less so as I get older. ;-) I am probably more creative in the evenings but again, that idea is defined by circumstances.

evening sky from my front door

In truth, I am probably 'creative' at any time of the day or night as long as I have TIME. In terms of personality, I can definitely burn the candle at both ends and be quite happy either way. 

What about you - do you consider yourself more of a morning bird or a night owl?

Visit the other Artists Synchroblog participants:

http://amyestellemetalworks.blogspot.com
http://www.islandgirlsinsights.blogspot.ca/
http://www.wrapturewirejewellery.on.ca/blog
http://doxallodesigns.blogspot.com
http://www.journeyinjewelry.com/blog/My-Journey-in-Jewelry
http://simpledesignjewelry.blogspot.com
http://designsbylynnea.blogspot.com/
http://marikach.blogspot.com/
www.createrecklessly.com
http://design.kcjewelbox.com
www.allwiredupjewelrydesigns.blogspot.com
http://shaktipajdesigns.com/blog/
http://stonezjewelry.com/blog/
www.beadsbythebay.blogspot.com

Getting tweaked

I'm not sure if I mentioned here before, but I've been struggling with things.

What things? my my....EVERYthing things.

Just feeling stretched, stressed, and trying to figure it all out. Is it me? or is it my schedule/life?

Basically, is it internal or external. Can I 'fix it' or do I just have to ride it out?

Well, while I feel like I have loads of experience 'riding out' life, I also feel like I don't want to be 'at the mercy' of circumstances. I feel like I'm a pretty strong person and haven't gotten this far letting life just happen around me while I'm buffeted about. Soooooooooo, with all of that in mind, accepting things that I can not change, I am examining the things that I CAN change and doing a little tweaking. 

One thing I'm doing is refocusing on the Jewelry Artists Network in a way that aligns with things which I'm already doing while cutting out some other things that don't easily align with other things. This way I'm 'working' smarter, not harder.

In addition to the Synchroblog (I already blog so this aligns with something I'm already doing and hopefully will appeal to, and be helpful to, other artists) we are launching DESIGN Challenges on the Network. (this is an obvious 'align' as I am creating  - hopefully - all the time).

I have let go all but one show for this year (ok, and one small one I picked up). (but that's IT)

Finally, one of my most difficult tweaks  - I am, once and for all, choosing to take a break from exploring new techniques. For the next year I am determined to focus my creative energies on what I already know, to explore my past body of work for inspiration, and to use that to develop a line that can truly be called a 'line'.

with the exception of this quick little detour. ;-)

Steel & Gold, April 2013

I don't know if I can count working with steel in my present repertoire and continue it or if I have to put it to bed. We shall see. . . . . .

REJECTION

I don’t think anyone really likes rejection, and some of us never quite get used to it. However, rejection seems to me to be very much a normal part of life. Unfortunately a lot of people are never told this. For them, rejection comes as a surprise and can be very difficult to deal with.

As an artist in particular, rejection can have dire consequences if not viewed with a positive perspective. My mantra re: rejection – “Don’t take it personal!” Art is subjective after all.

Also, being ‘rejected’ by a show or buyer doesn’t mean the work is ‘bad’ it may just mean that they already have something similar, or the price point isn’t what they are looking for…or something else. But it isn’t always a statement of disapproval of our work.

I also think that rejection is an opportunity for growth, both personally and in our art. Personally it’s a chance to push – to look for alternate avenues and to just keep working. It’s a lesson in perseverance.

I love the perspective of Randy Pausch – he speaks of ‘brick walls’ – hurdles in life. . .
"Brick walls are there for a reason. They are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. The brick walls are there to stop people who don’t want it badly enough.”

I think in large part it is about perspective.

Rejection can be especially helpful if it is accompanied by an explanation. Most of the time it isn’t. You can change that though. ASK. That is one way over the brick wall. You still may not end up with THAT sale or THAT venue, but the feedback can be helpful in your next pursuit.

While I don’t always heed my own advice. I am learning to look at rejection as just one small brick in a larger wall that I need to climb in life - rejection is just one part of life. But remember - IT IS NOT FATAL! And its not really an end, not if you don't want it to be. :)

August Synchroblog - Rejection

For the month of August we're looking at a topic we probably all dread...Every artist has to face it at some time in some form or fasion. So lets talk about it!


REJECTION


We've got a goal date of August 29, 2008 - so get your page ready and then come post your link using the form below. :)

Art in MY economy

Some say we are in a recession or heading that way, some don't buy it. I don't really know what to think other than I know costs of everyday items are constantly rising.

I also know that making my art is costing me more. All of my materials seem to cost more than ever. With rising costs of food and fuel, and everything else, whats a girl to do?

For me it means selling, something I haven't really tackled up to this point. My economy means I need to finally buckle down and start thinking about what I like to make and who my target audience might be. Then, how am I going to reach them? Up to this point I've been very lackadaisical about the business aspect of my art. The time has come to buck up missy!

I am setting a goal to write a business plan, even if its simple and somewhat vague. At least it will be there as a guide and it can always be revised.

It seems to me that even though we may cut corners and scrimp, there are still many people who will spend their money on something that brightens their day, something that might be a bit of a splurge (especially in the current economy), something that just makes them smile and feel good. We all need that, don't we?

Thats what I'm going to be banking on as I move forward, a trust that the economy will ebb and flow but that people will always appreciate beauty and the value of handmade. :)

~Janice

1st Synchroblog! "Art & Economics"

Ok, we're off to a rocky start, but its a start! I had mentioned some time ago that we'd start in July with a prospective post date of July 11th, but then I never came back to post the topic here on the blog...so some of you don't even know what we're posting about! Sorry. I promise to do better next time. With all the talk about the US economy, I thought we'd tackle "Art & Economics". Now, I know we have an international audience and participation and this does NOT have to be approached in any way shape or form from an American economy standpoint. You can come at this from any direction - anything that strikes you about art and the economy (current or historical).



If you are going to play this go ahead and write up something, post it on your blog and then come back and fill in the form below with the link to your actual post. If you have any questions, ask in the comments or on the forum.




~Janice

Synchroblog test & sign up!

The Jewelry Artists Network Synchroblog is about to begin!

What is a Synchroblog?

A synchroblog is a way to connect bloggers who choose to blog on the same topic at about the same time each month. It is a great way to see different perspectives and opinions and also see how different topics can be approached. Some possible topics related to jewelry that have been suggested are:

• Creativity (creative block, fostering creativity)


• Learning Processes/Paths


• Marketing


• Customer Service


• Art Jewelry, where is the line? (is there a line?)


• Mentors, Heroes


• Networking (pros, cons, internet, in person..)


• Color theory & balance


• Finishing a piece - how do you know when its done?

(feel free to suggest topics in the comments here!)

With that in mind, I am testing various tools to show links with ease. First up is an automatic link creater. Lets see if this test works. The link generator looks like its working fine, so we'll plan on using that for now!

If you would like to participate in the JAN Synchroblog, let me know by using the form below.