Life is Art

Hi friends,


Years ago, I asked a friend what defines an artist.  Is it creating art full time, being shown in beautiful galleries and salons?  Is it a Master’s degree in Fine Art?  I will never forget her response.  She asked if I thought someone who loves to sing needs to have recorded an album to be considered a singer.  Touché.  I came away from that conversation realizing that we can believe ourselves, creatively, to be whatever we desire.  I have to be honest; I have a hard time considering myself to be an artist.  I love to create and I have had moments of brilliance when I’ve thought, “I AM an artist!”  But, most of the time, I just enjoy the process; learning and experimenting with different mediums, techniques and supplies.  I love to read stories of artists and their journeys.  One great place to do this is Crescendoh.com.  I also blog stalk - maybe even yours!  Last week a friend of mind posted the following quote on Facebook:

 

This quote has been in my thoughts all week.  Because quite honestly, how many of us have the time to sit down and create art every day?  So, as I've gone about my week I've tried to be more conscious of my "art", and in doing so I feel good.  I feel like I've been able to enjoy "creating" as I am making it part of my day.  Yesterday, it was as simple as rearranging my bedside table with some newly created pottery, a gift from my son.  And, even though it wasn't something I will hang on a museum wall or enter into an art show, it felt good.  It felt creative in it's own way. 

Really?  A tie with shorts?

My new pottery piece

I want to be more mindful of the “art” I am creating every day.  Because isn’t part of creating art and sharing art expressing how you feel and about how you make others feel?   

Dixon and his special friend, Clyde Bair

Last night my family had a visit from a dear, sweet gentleman.  He is just that, a gentleman.  He is in his 80’s, and is soft spoken, kind, and goes about doing good.  He has been visiting our home for the past 10 years as a church assignment.  He comes once a month to visit with us, and then leaves us with a spiritual message and a prayer.  We all look forward to his coming.  He brings humility, calmness and good into our home.   Last night he asked my son, Dixon (who just turned 14) to come and sit next to him.  The room became very solemn as my son made his way across the room.  We felt like something profound was happening.   Our dear friend told Dixon that he had been watching him for many years, and that he wanted him to know that he has something special about him.  He feels strongly that Dixon has a special purpose in life and that if he lives a good life, he will have great opportunities.  He then gave him a gift.  It was a book of scriptures, beautifully crafted, that had been given to him by men, the leaders of our church, that he had known and greatly admired.   This book should have been given to one of his grandsons, but it wasn’t.  It was given to MY son.  He then said to him, “Dixon, I want you to remember how I feel about you and what I see in you.  I see greatness.  I want you to remember me when you look at this book and remember that I saw greatness in you and that I think you have a great purpose in life.  You are an exceptional young man.”  As I tearfully watched this touching exchange,  a thought flooded through me…THIS is art, he is an artist.   You can bet I’ll be trying to create a lot more of that kind of art as I move forward in my journey.  I hope you'll do the same.  

Have a wonderful "artful" day!  

Emily

Lucky us

DIY with Vintage Wallpaper

I have to admit that I have been enamored with vintage wallpaper ever since Julie and Candice sent their welcome kits for an Art Nest art retreat and they used some sweet vintage wallpaper to decorate them.  One of the teachers at that retreat was Pam Garrison who was using a lot of vintage wallpapers in her art journaling at that time.  I fell in love with the soft colors and the florals and geometric patterns.  Since then I have seen vintage wallpaper used in many ways and it always looks so fresh and lovely.  Here are some fun examples of things that you can do with it!

Pretty Correspondence

100 Layer Cake

A Fresh Approach to Wallpapering

Pinterest Pin

Oh Joy

Applied to Furniture

Better Homes and Gardens

bare wunderbar

Country Living

A Sweet Wreath

Such Pretty Things

Mini Chocolate Bars

Such Pretty Things

Fabulous Lampshade

Fondue

Decorative Windows

Mitzi's Collectables

My Vintage Wallpaper Cabinet

When I was thrift shopping I found this ugly, brown, house-shaped wall cabinet.  It had potential and I had some cute pieces of vintage wallpaper that I had found and some that I had purchased on Etsy.  So I decided that I would decoupage the little cabinet with vintage wallpapers.  First I removed the hinges and hardware from the cabinet.  Then using Mod Podge and a small sponge brush I cut pieces of wallpaper and applied them to the cabinet.

You can cut a decorative edge on the pieces that overlap.

Almost done!

Mask the glass on the doors so it stays cleaner.

Prop up the wet doors to dry so they don't stick to your work surface.

Just to make sure it was all the way dry I set it out in the sun for a bit.

All finished and loaded with trinkets and what-nots!