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Showing posts from October, 2016

Creative Confessions, Part I

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Creative Confessions. Creative confessions is something I'd like to start and do two to three times a year or as needed.  I'd like this space to be used for growth, for honesty, and for moving on in a healthy manner. When I get creative blocks, sometimes it is simply a creative block. Other times, there are other forces and depths at work. As of late, I have not been painting. At all. Which is partially heart breaking for me as I had heavily gotten into the habit of it with the 100 Days Project. Even before that, since we moved to Arizona really.  But lately, no painting, none.  I've drawn, I've sketched, I've sewn, sometimes begrudgingly.  But I've done it.  I've also, mostly, abandoned my studio room. I know creative slumps come and go, but this slump is something new to me. Some days it's much better and I can feel the slump slipping away. Other days it seems I am wallowing in the middle of it with no end in sight.  I could blame the

October Daily Drawing Challenge: Days 11 -20.

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Day 11: Insect. Prismacolor pencils. White colored pencil paper, acid free, 9" x 12" (22.9 x 30.5cm) 100 lb. (163 g/m). Day 12: Bones. Prismacolor pencils. Toned gray sketch paper, acid free,  5.5" x 8.5" (14 x 21.6 cm) 80lb. (118 g/m). Day 13: Shadow. Prismacolor pencils and Royal Woodless Charcoal Pencil Soft. Toned gray sketch paper, acid free,  5.5" x 8.5" (14 x 21.6 cm) 80lb. (118 g/m). Day 14: Person Falling. Royal Woodless Charcoal Pencil Soft. Toned gray sketch paper, acid free,  5.5" x 8.5" (14 x 21.6 cm) 80lb. (118 g/m). Day 15: Something from the Ocean. Prismacolor pencils. White colored pencil paper, acid free, 9" x 12" (22.9 x 30.5cm) 100 lb. (163 g/m). Day 16: Skyline. Copic markers, prismacolor pencils. Toned gray sketch paper, acid free,  5.5" x 8.5" (14 x 21.6 cm) 80lb. (118 g/m). Day 17

Collective Poetry Book Haul: Arizona Edition.

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Hi everyone, I'm Kristin and I am a bibliophile. Ok, now that that's out of the way, let's get to the goods. While in Arizona, I have really gotten back into reading poetry. Luckily for my ever growing addiction, there is a great little book shop that is attached to the local library . The majority of these books have come from there. That shop sells withdrawn library items and accepts / sells donated books and other media. It is this very tiny, almost over packed little shop full of character.  I've not had a bad experience with them and I wish I could take them with me to Texas. We've been in Arizona for about six months and I have done my best to not go every week to ogle books; some months were more successful than others. Luckily the Arizona heat has helped me from going out and hording all the books for myself. I have gotten other types of books, even a few books on CD, but I noticed the majority of my findings have been of the poetry variet

October Daily Drawing Challenge: Days 1 - 10.

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Day 1: Face. Graphite, line drawing. White drawing paper, acid free, 9" x 12", (22.9 x 30.5 cm) 70 lb. (114 g/m) Day 2: Boat. Prisma color pencils, graphite, and (markers). White drawing paper, acid free, 9" x 12", (22.9 x 30.5 cm) 70 lb. (114 g/m) Day 3: Smoke. Graphite, Prisma colored pencils. Toned gray sketch paper, acid free,  5.5" x 8.5" (14 x 21.6 cm) 80lb. (118 g/m) Day 4: Hammer. Graphite, Prisma colored pencils, (markers), and silver marker. White drawing paper, acid free, 9" x 12", (22.9 x 30.5 cm) 70 lb. (114 g/m) Day 5: Vegetables. Prisma colored pencils. Toned gray sketch paper, acid free,  5.5" x 8.5" (14 x 21.6 cm) 80lb. (118 g/m) Day 6: Tank. Graphite. White drawing paper, acid free, 9" x 12", (22.9 x 30.5 cm) 70 lb. (114 g/m) Day 7: Furniture. Graphite. Toned gray sketch paper, acid free,  

Red, White, and Blue - A Closer Look

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For those of us who are visual learners, this is how I put my star blocks together. There are other ways to do this; you can sew the block together in long lengths instead of smaller blocks. This is  what worked for me when I was still learning. I hope it gives you some insight and inspiration to make your own creations.  After drafting or choosing blocks, I ironed, did math, and cut so, so many squares.  Doing this first made it so that I just needed to sew the blocks together when I felt up to it. You can also separate the pre-cute pieces into bags or envelopes if you care to organize it further for friendship quilts or different days of sewing. Below is one of the final blocks drafted out.  I start by drawing out the block and having a tally of how many squares or pieces I need at the bottom. I prefer this method for myself when dealing with multiple larger blocks when I don't have a pre-drafted pattern from a book, magazine, or from etsy, etc. For me, this all