Painting, Zumba and Alcohol

I had plans to hang with my favorite Fresno friend Erika after work for Happy Hour, but earlier that day I remembered that I had a artsy crafty mixer to go to the next day where I had the opportunity to make some extra cash. I had the bright idea to make what I call 'Socially Awkward Valentines' at the last minute, so I bought all the supplies I needed to make them. The only problem was that I got off of work at 5 pm, the event was at 12 pm the following day, and I had happy hour and sleep scheduled in during this time as well. I wasn't sure how I was going to pull it all off, but I was determined. After enjoying a deep fried platter of deliciousness and a beer or two at happy hour, I invited Erika and another friend of ours to my house for an after happy hour cocktail. While I was waiting for them to show up, I strategically got out the supplies I needed for the Valentines and started painting. At first, it was just me painting while Erika was obsessing over her new iPhone. As time went on and our other friend arrived, we were all painting and having a blast. We had paint all over us, were drinking disgusting concoctions consisting cake flavored vodka mixed with Bud Light Limaritas (after the first one they start tasting kinda good), and even turned on the Wii to do some drunken Zumba for exercise. It was a great night! I stayed awake long after my guests left and finished up my projects so that I had plenty of items to sell at my event.

So, this whole experience may sound like it may have derailed my resolution, but believe it or not there were a few things I squeezed into this day that were actually good for me. I had a mere banana and a Greek yogurt for lunch, which freed up some calories for my deep fried dinner (which I, by the way, not only shared, but left a significant amount left on the plate). That strategy served me well until the second cake limarita, when my calorie count for the day started going off the charts...not to mention the taco and fries I ate at about 2 am.

I also made art that is always good for my spirit, spent some time with friends (also good for the spirit), and burned at least a few calories doing drunken Zumba. Grasping for straws? I don't think so!

 

Blog, Resurrected.

Today I announced to the world (or at least to the people who read my other blog, The Peculiar Palette) that I will be completing a new 52 piece art project this year. Not only will making more art be good for my spirit, it will also be good for my body since if I'm keeping my hands busy they won't be able to stuff my face with junk food. Plus, ever since I started working again full time I have been slacking off on posting to The Peculiar Palette, so this project will motivate me to post at least once a week and get it back up and running. Here's my first post of the year, and a sample of what you can expect to see if you become a regular reader (which I hope you do):

Ceramic Painting + Art Journaling = Bliss!

As you probably already have figured out, I am obsessed with anything and everything art related. I am an artist, but when people ask me what kind of artist I am I have a hard time answering. I am a painter, a scupltor, a potter, a ceramicist, a woodworker, a maker of mosaics, a furniture refinisher, an art journalist, a polymer clay artist, an interior decorator, an art quilter, a jewelry maker, a Zentangler....I'm sure I forgot to mention at least a few things. But, what I love to do the most is to combine any and every one of the above art forms into something new and different.

I love 'being into' so many different things because I never get bored or run out of ideas for projects. And it seems like I come across something new that I want to try on a daily basis. For instance, a year ago I had never really worked with low fire ceramics or painting with commercial glazes on bisque. Since I got my job at iLoveToCreate®, though, this is a huge part of what I do. My head is exploding with design ideas and product combinations I want to try at any given moment. Any unpainted bisque pieces I come across at work don't stand a chance against me and my paint brush. In fact, my boss has to calm me down quite regularly and remind me that my job here is to be a ceramic product salesperson, not a painter (although to my delight he has been letting me work on some non-sales related creative projects with my new BFF in Fresno, David Hoff, Duncan® product expert and ceramic painter extraordinaire. I may even be travelling around the country to teach!). But I just love it. And I'm hoping that my excitement about all of this ceramic painting will inspire other people to want to try it, which will in turn increase sales....therefore I really am doing my job! But I digress....

The other art form that I have been obsessing over is art journaling. I have always been an admirer, but I have a hard time keeping up with it. I'll do a few pages and misplace my journal. I'll find it a year later and do a few more pages then forget about it. But that all changed during a recent trip to NJ for a work trip. I got stranded in the Chicago airport for several hours and went to the bookstore to kill some time. I happened to come across a Moleskine blank journal with watercolor paper pages in it, which was great because I had just recently bought a pack of Peerless Watercolors which I happened to have with me. I bought it, headed to the bar for a glass of wine, and journaled for hours until my flight finally left. I went from being miserable about being stranded at the airport to as content as could be, doodling all my cares away.

I am so glad I found this journal. I travel quite a bit for work which means I spend a lot of time in airports. I always bring my watercolors, journal, Micron markers and a aqua brush pen with me and pass the time making art. It's pretty fantastic.

Anyhoo....now that the new year has rolled around, I decided to give myself a little bit of a challenge. Since painting ceramics and art journaling are my new favorite things to do, I am going to start combining the two. I'm going to make a series of 52 plates, one for each week in 2013, as a way to document what happens in my life this year. Of course I will share each one on my blog for you to see. I'm really excited about this project and can't wait to get started on the second one!
Here is my debut piece which states my New Year's resolution for 2013...'I resolve to do one thing every day that is good for either my body, mind, or spirit'. It will hang in a prominent place in my house so I am constantly reminded of it. Now I should have no excuses not to keep this resolution instead of abandoning it in the first week like I did all of the others I've ever made. It has been 8 days and I've stuck to it, so things are looking good!



This project was made with a Duncan® OhFour® Bisque plate, Cover Coats®, French Dimensions™ and Pure Brilliance®.

I Should Have Served Cheese with that Whine.

Wow, apparently I was in a funk yesterday when I wrote that post. The good news is that after it posted, I cranked up some happy tunes, grabbed my paint roller and painted the hallway while dancing around, causing three dogs to stare at me as if I had lost my mind. That's okay though, it's not the first time they've looked at me like that. Not only did I finish the entire hallway, I also put 3 coats of primer on the hutch I am refinishing and prepped my mosaic for grouting, which I will be doing today. It's amazing what a little music can do. I didn't play my Zumba game, but between the dancing, moving furniture, paint rolling and all the other things I did, I broke a decent sweat and my thigh muscles are burning today. That's a very good feeling.

An even better feeling, though, is being able to cross the hallway off of my to do list. Now I can hang all of the pictures that have been leaning up against random walls and stuffed in closets for the last 8 months since I moved in, and eliminate the stress I feel every time I have to step over them. Score!

PS... Today is this blog's one week anniversary and I posted ever day as promised. This is the first New Year's resolution I ever made that lasted this long. Yay!