Work in Progress Part 2

I can't believe how this week has just gone by! This is part 2 of my painting process and I must say that this post has motivated me to keep working!

Materials Used:
Acrylic paint (mostly Liquitex, Golden fluid and regular)
Shiva Oilstiks
Portfolio Water Soluble Oil Pastels
Pencil
Pitt Artist Pen (black)
Collage materials (newspaper, sheet music, patterned paper)
Gesso
Matte Medium
Canvas (gallery stretched)

I start laying in the colors for her face. I use Siva Oilstiks (I found out about these from a class I took with Misty Mawn). I use my fingers to blend. The colors and texture of these oils are luscious and creamy. Her collar is a piece of paper doily (so cute!)

I add some gesso mixed with water into the background. These drips and splatters add depth and texture. I let it dry.

I add more color to her face (for her lips and cheeks I use reds/browns and for the rest of her face I use white and yellow ochre with a warm brown tint). I use a black Pitt Artist pen to define her eyes, ears and face. I use white acrylic paint and a small round brush for the whites of her eyes.

* I use the Siva Oilstiks for her face only  and do NOT mix it with acrylic. The Portfolio Oil Pastels, however, are water soluble and can be mixed with water based paints.

* N.B. You have to let the Siva Oilstiks dry completely (about 48 hours) before applying the pen (or another medium) on top.

I add turquoise blue (Portfolio Water Soluble Oil Pastels) to the background. This color really vibrates against the hot red/orange background. I also decide I want the bird on the other side for balance-plus he's too squished in the corner! I use gesso and cover him up.

* These Portfolio Water Soluble Oil Pastels are amazing! I use them in my journals/sketchbooks/paintings. Thanks for joining me in my painting process -feel free to ask any questions. See you next week!  BTW, setting up my website is driving me a little loopy!

This and That

This is the last week of Flying Lessons and let me tell you, it has been an amazing experience! I can't believe  a whole month has just flown by (no pun intended!)...but, here we are! Kelly Rae has been an amazing teacher and I already notice huge changes in all of us. There is just so much info + heart + inspiration...I can barely keep up!
In other news, I am trying to set up my website. I have been meaning to do it for such a long time but...have been prodded now by ...Flying Lessons! I have decided to go with Squarespace. It is such  a learning curve for me but...I am hopeful that I will have it up and running soon! Well, at least within the next month!
Also, Tara is just growing like a weed! I can barely believe it! It's such  a bittersweet thing to see...on one hand, I am also proud of every little thing she does; it just fill my heart with such joy. And on the other hand, I wish I could just stop time and keep her my little baby forever...sigh
Great news! Tim is flying down this weekend-lots of family time and fun stuff planned this 4th of July! Can't wait for those big bear hugs:)
Happy Monday!

A Happy Mess!

I have made some time to create these last few days...what a happy mess! I find that now that my time is so limited, it has forced me to focus more and use every minute I can efficiently. Multi-tasking, prioritising and scheduling...not pretty words to me but...so necessary!!

                                          Happy weekend...creating, living, loving...

Memories of India

These past few days, in between working on my website, painting and taking care of Tara (!!!)...I have been sorting through things. I came across my India pics...When I turned 30, I spent 4 months in India, travelling by myself. I was born in South Africa but am of Indian descent. This was my first visit to the land of my ancestors...of mySELF. It was a pilgrimage that continues to gift me, even today. How can I even begin to describe what it all meant to me. How this experience changed me, blessed me, strengthened me and nourished me. This experience brought me face to face with mySELF. India was a mirror held up to me, reflecting everything I am. The first month was horrible! A mixed-up jumble of thoughts, sounds and smells, pollution and noise, blazing heat and confusion, malaria pills and adjustments. I felt a rage of emotions-guilt, frustration, confusion, anger, distaste, contempt, misery, euphoria. I realized that the ugly monster of mental colonization lived inside of me. I had to learn how to love India, learn to let go and trust the Universe. Then one day , suddenly, I fell in love with India! And once I did, I saw the whole of life unfold...I saw how life is mixed with death. I saw that change is the only constant; everything is in flux, non-permanent, in transition. Marigolds mixed with dung. In India, everything is surreal. Life is lived in the streets, out in the open, in technicolor. Humility and arrogance, temples and blaring music, ancient stone statues and Sanskrit chantings, stultifying poverty and the blazing sun. When I stood at the tip of India with Lanka behind me...I saw the whole of Mother India before me. This is where India begins...this is where I begin. I fell in love with India that day and in the process...with myself too...Here is the picture-I remember it as if it were yesterday.

(me at the tip of Mother India-Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu-1999)

Work in Progress Part 1

Recently I was asked by  a fellow blogger if I would post my painting process. What a great idea! (thanks Amy) So I am going to post a work in progress for the next few Tuesdays until it is done.

Here are the materials I use:
Acrylic paint (mostly Liquitex, Golden fluid and regular)
Shiva Oilstiks
Portfolio Water Soluble Oil Pastels
Pencil
Pitt Artist Pen (black)
Canvas
Collage materials (newspaper, sheet music, patterned paper)
Gesso
Matte Medium
Canvas (gallery stretched)

 I start with a basic sketch. I have a general idea of what I want the painting to look like but I am open to the painting evolving as we go along as well.

                                                            This is just pencil on canvas.

          

                                                            I lay in washes of acrylic.

I want her to have an Indian script dress so I use matte medium to collage newspaper for her dress. I add some basic color washes to her face and neck.

I add more color and a few collage pieces to the background. Add some definition to the form. Still have a long way to go but it's starting to develop. I am open to any questions-feel free to ask. More next Tuesday!

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We received some cards in the mail from Tim yesterday...He is the sweetest, most generous man I know. Always doing special little things for us. I am lucky and...loved.

 

                                               

                          

One's True Song

(Music I-2007)

"These are some good questions to ask until one decides on the song, one's true song. What has happened to my soul-voice? What are the buried bones of my life? In what condition is my relationship to the instinctual self? When was the last time I ran free? How do I make life come alive again? Where has La Loba gone to?"
                                                                      -Clarissa Pinkola Estes
                                                                        Women Who Run with the Wolves


Recently I have felt a deep need to return to mySELF. In the midst of holding my fragments together, I have gathered courage and strength. Here are some things I do to nourish my soul:
1.  write in my journal
2. create (paint, bake, garden)
3. take long baths with baby
4.  eat my food with my fingers-try it! Not only does the food taste better but it is deeply nourishing to touch what feeds us
5.   read-words that touch me
6.   touch the earth with bare feet
7.  greet the sun
8.  fill mySELF with gratitude
9.  love
10.  rest-relax, nap, sleep
What are some of the things you do to nourish yourSELF? Please share...I would love to know.

Honor the Journey

                                    

I don't feel particularly intelligent this morning, or creative or funny or...I actually feel sick and plagued by "mommy guilt" and a little unsettled. But here is what I am learning-more and more each day. I am learning to honor the journey-my journey. I am learning that there is grace and wisdom is allowing myself to feel all of my fragments- no matter what they are; guilt, shame, resilience, blues, joy, success. It is this very acceptance I have of all parts of mySELF that I will pass down to my daughter. I can't be anywhere else on my path other than where I am .There is wisdom in the knowing and accepting of that. And even in those moments when I feel so fragile(especially in those moments) ...I really need to accept the journey I am on that is my very own path. It may not look like anyone else's because it's not meant to.

Today, please join me in celebrating your very own special journey that is... your life.

                                                          

Flu Bug!!

Tara has a flu bug (and so does mommy!) I kept her home today for lots of TLC and rest. She loves walking around the house with her backpack and snuggling wih her baby bear. Thanks to everyone for all your concern and loving wishes.

Hope has Wings...

This post is very difficult for me to write...I have been struggling with it for some time. There is  a silent genocide/gendercide happening right now against Indian women. Over 50 million girls and women missing. Just gone, killed, disappeared. Entire generations and martilineal lines...vanished! That number is actually a very conservative one; a more realistic estimate is 60-100 million. How are we killed? Sex-selective abortions, female infanticide, dowry deaths, general neglect and starvation. Why are we killed? Because in Indian culture, females are not only devalued, we are considered an economic liability, a burden. Where is the Goddess now? But hope has wings...find out more about this atrocity right here, sign the petition (it just takes a few minutes). I am so thankful that I have all the freedoms I do, that my daughter will have access to an education, clean water, food, health, the right to vote...the right to live. Hope has wings...something has to change.

                      

Things that are inspiring me...

some things that are inspiring me:
1. summer
2. 60's prints (bold graphics)
3. Chola bronzes (these sculptures always take my breath away
 with their perfect synthesis of grace and energy)
4. love
5. Flying Lessons (with Kelly Rae Roberts)
6. girlie dresses for Tara (so much cuteness!)
7. lush Indian colors (vermilion and gold, turmeric yellow,
 saffron, peacock blue...)
8. O magazine (chock full of inspiration-every month!)
9. Zen Buddhism (simplicity, grace, mindfulness)
10. African Mudcloth (the rich colors and graphics
 are sensual, bold, magical)

what's inspiring you these days?

Painting Again!

I started painting again! With Tara in "school" for half the day, I have huge chunks of time to paint now. I am just loving it! Paints and brushes and ...ideas, ideas, ideas. I had a few paintings in progress that I can hopefully bring to completion soon.

Tara is adjusting well to her new routine. She is still having separation anxiety...totally normal and understandable considering that she is used to being with me all the time.. But she is definitely taking to it.

I am also researching websites etc so hopefully soon I will have one up and running!

 happy weekend-painting, creating, living, loving, relaxing...

Tara's first day at "school"

“There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children: One of these is roots, the other, wings.” – Hodding Carter

Today is Tara's first day at school! This all came about pretty suddenly; I have to go to physical therapy for my knee (runners knee plus well,  just...age!). I had been looking around at lots of childcare centers and was planning on doing a drop-off just 3x a week for 2 hours. But then I found a really great place that offers a strong educational component and has the very best staff (thanks Miss Monica!!). So just yesterday we made the decision to enroll her every day for a half day. She's only 16 months but...she is growing up! This is going to be a great opportunity for her to grow, learn and socialize with other children her age. I am so sad but so proud and happy too. I love witnessing her life unfold; it is a privilege I am ever grateful for. I am thankful that I can be there to hold her, hug her and guide her through all of this. So as I say goodbye to her this morning...I keep all of these things in my mind to heal the hurting in my heart. You will always be my baby, Princess Tara.

Perfect Summer Day

                                                         

perfect summer day

Today...the world can wait...

This morning I decided that I was going to "take the day off" from art/classes/blog etc. Okay-half the day off! I have been staying up crazy hours to work on my blog, reading up on class comments, working on my art...
So today is just for me and Tara-we are going to go for a long walk, have a picnic in the backyard and just enjoy each other...Today...the rest of this crazy world can wait...
P.S. I added a new blog header that I made myself! Now I just have to figure out what to do with the background. Any ideas/input would be helpful:)

Left Brain/Right Brain

I am reading this excellent book The Creative Entrepreneur by Lisa Sonora Beam (a recommendation from Kelly Rae) that is really an amazing book for the right- brain dominant person (like me and maybe, you!!) Prior to reading this book, I had thought that I was exclusively right brained and has almost no left brain capability. I mean, I have always uttered these words as far back as I can remember (I am so bad at math!!). But there is a really neat exercise in this book that really forced me to examine the reality of the situation. And this is what I discovered:

(page from my sketchbook)

 I am not as hopelessly bad at left-brained activities as I had thought. I love (and excel ) at baking and that requires a lot of measuring. I am very good at accounting (numbers) and even though I am not tech -savvy, I did manage to set up every aspect of my blog myself! I also installed a 3 column template for my blog!!! (using the awesome tutorial here). I also love to plan everything from inception to finished product whether it's a painting or  special theme dinner. I understand verbal and written instructions very well, write lists for everything and love details and facts (all left brained characteristics). So many women feel the exact same way I do-I hear it all the time. But I bet if you examine this in depth, you will find that you are really good at many left brained activities. If you sew, scrapbook, bake, cook, plan, photograph, do digital anything,  keep schedules, run a household...then maybe you, too, are a lot more left -brain oriented than you thought!
That being said...I am still predominantly a right-brainer!!

                                                             (page from my sketchbook)   

P.S. I am tinkering with the look of my blog; please bear with me:)

Making Time for Creativity

Well-the first week of Flying Lessons is over and it has been equal parts inspiration, information and...HEART. What an amazing week! One of the recurring issues that a lot of classmates have is finding time for creativity. We all have busy lives with children, husbands, family, jobs etc....so how can we make the time to write, paint, blog etc. Like everyone else, I, too, struggle with this daily; I have a toddler who requires my constant attention.  Here are a few tricks that I found work for me:
1. I plan, plan, plan! I really try to utilise the time when baby sleeps.
2. I carry my camera with me everywhere I go. That pic I took last week of a hot cup of tea and an apple pie might be perfect to use for a post on gratitude or simplicity that I have yet to write.
3. I carry a little journal with me and constantly write down ideas for my blog. They could be just scribbles of info. or more thought-out ideas
4. I set aside x# of nights (after baby goes to sleep) to paint no matter what. I don't await for inspiration or an idea, I just start.
5. I really try to set aside some me time-even 20 mins for a hot bath, a cup of tea and a fave magazine or meditation. This replenishes me.
6. I exercise with baby (walks, swimming) so I don't have to use spare time to fit this in.
7. I don't watch T.V. (this may seem extreme but it works!)
8. I cut back on sleep-not a whole lot but even an extra half hour adds up over time.
9. I don't stress about housework. Sometimes if the laundry isn't done or there are a few dishes in the sink; it' s okay.
10. I really try not to allow negative people into my life; I find that this is a major energy-zapper. Of course sometimes, it can't be helped eg a co-worker etc but ...I try to be mindful of the energy I allow into my space.
I have a really supportive hubby so that helps tremendously. Two books I highly recommend to help prioritize and plan are
1. The 7 habit of Highly Effective People
2. The 8th Habit
Both books are by Stephen Covey. They are not the artsy books I love with great visuals; lush art and photography, but these books are EXCELLENT in time management and achieving goals. It gives you the tools so that YOU can write a lush, artsy book! Now I have no idea how women with 3, 4 or more children manage their time to fit creativity in, but I would love to know!! I would love if you shared your tips on how to make time for creativity!

Heart and Meaning

I am immersed in a journey of HEART and MEANING! This is part of  a page in my sketchbook for Kelly's class and I am asking mySELF all sorts of questions! I don't know a lot of the answers yet but...I am going to give mySELF permission to evolve, to celebrate the journey of not knowing and to create the SELF I want.

I wish all of you a HAPPY FRIDAY full of HEART!

"Who Does She Think She Is?" and other Girlie Goodness

After a morning of teary goodbyes and heavy hearts (Tim left for Ca), I really needed some soul-fortifying girlie goodness. This video is amazing and an eye-opener; I think so many of us women feel this way everyday. P.S. I found out about this video via Kelly Rae's class, Flying Lessons, which is super Girlie Goodness!




I came across this video ages ago and it is amazing! It appears to be deceptively simplistic but...just watch! It still makes me cry.

This video is close to my heart-it talks about microcredit loans that help women out of dire poverty. It is amazing to think that for just $5-$10, we can change a life, a family, a village! Dare I say...the world...

Brave Heart...Trembling

Lately (okay, just since yesterday!) I have been feeling BRAVE. And it is a wonderful feeling full of possibility and ...trembling. After last week's "fears gone wild"...this feels...new and wonderful, exciting even. Sure....some of the trembling is still from fear but most of it is from sheer....exhilaration and ....anticipation. What I am realizing, more than ever, is that we all have fears....the fears of inadequacy, of failing, of succeeding and on and on. But we cannot let those fears stop us from handmaking our lives and ourSELVES from reaching our full potential. Today I feel...brave.