Happy Holidays!

I hope the holiday season finds you well and enjoying all the festivities! Hopefully things are stress-free and relaxing rather than overwhelming and crazy! I love this time of the year, the pretty lights, great music and wonderful smells all put me in a cozy, spend time by the fire type mood.

I wanted to share my latest painting with you. It is called Christmas Traditions and I created it for a Christmas art show that Collage, our visual arts ministry at church, is having.

The show is meant to coordinate with our Pastor's latest series, "When God was One of Us", and leads up to our Christmas Eve service. I wanted to capture some of the special traditions our family has this time of the year. I love to decorate for Christmas so I included the tree and the hearth along with the Nativity Scene. The verse is Isaiah 9:6 and hopefully helps to convey the reason we celebrate Christmas - the most wonderful gift we have received through the birth of our Savior!

It is a mixed media piece with acrylic paint and collaged paper, flowers, and buttons.

If you are in the Plano area, the show is at Chase Oaks Church and can be viewed through the middle of January.

Here are a few pictures of my process...

Sorry this last one posted sideways! Blogger keeps turning them for some reason! I'll try to get that fixed. :)

I hope you each have a very blessed holiday and sweet time with family and loved ones!

Merry Christmas,
Jennifer

Painting Faces

Last Spring I took Paulette Insall's All About Faces class. I learned all about creating a face using acrylic paint, something of which I had never tried before. I enjoyed it so much! I've always loved Paulette's work and to learn from her was such a privilege!

It has taken me a while, but I finally got the two pieces I started in her class complete and photographed so I could share them.

Here is Hope...

Here is Love...

I never dreamed I'd be able to paint a face like this. I'm so thankful for all I learned from Paulette and appreciate her willingness to share her art with others. She offers several different classes. If you are interested, check out her blog here.

Busy Creating!

Now that preschool has started I'm enjoying a little more time to work on my painting. I've been busy working on pieces for the two classes I'm taking with Wyanne. I'm enjoying them so much. She is a great teacher; very encouraging, inspiring, and full of knowledge! I'm also still trying to finish up a few paintings I began this summer. Here is one I just completed called A New Creation!

It is mixed media on canvas. At the top of the piece it says "Just as a caterpillar casts off it’s old self and transforms into a butterfly, a new creation of beauty….We also, who are in Christ become a new creation; the old is gone, the new has come!" At at the bottom, I put the verse is 2 Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"

I love how God created the caterpillar to turn into an elegant, beautiful butterfly, often with amazing colors and details. I think this is such an awesome illustration of how Christ transforms our lives!

I'll try to post more soon! Thanks for looking!!

Summer Coming to a Close

Wow, life has been keeping me busy! I can't believe the summer is coming to a close. Things are beginning to start up again for the fall and I've been preparing. My daughter starts her last year of preschool next week and my MOMS ministry as well as the LifeGroup that my hubby and I lead are all starting up again in the next few weeks. It is going to be fun to get back into the swing of things again!

I thought I'd share some more photos of my artwork! Here are a few more finished pieces.

This is titled "Beginnings of Creation" and is mixed media on canvas. I created this for a show that our visual arts ministry at church, Collage, was participating in. It was a local community event called the Live Green Expo. The theme of the show was recycling and taking care of our planet so I used recycled magazine pages to create the tree and leaves. I also wanted to convey the idea that God is the ultimate Artist, the Creator of the earth! The verse is from Genesis 1:11: "Then God said 'Let the land sprout with vegetation - every sort of seed-bearing plant, and trees that grow seed-bearing fruit. These seeds will then produce the kinds of plants and trees from which they came.' And that is what happened." Here is a close up of the verse, Genesis 1:11...

This piece I did for a dear friend who just had her first baby! It is also mixed media on canvas and the verse is Psalm 119:73, "Your hands made me and formed me; give me understanding to learn your commands."

I've got several still in the process, all in different stages. I also began Wyanne's Art Play class and am so loving it! I worked on some new watercolor pieces last night and had so much fun. It has been a while since I've used watercolor and it was nice to pick it up again. If you are looking for online classes, I highly recommend Wyanne as well as Paulette Insall. Paulette is currently taking sign ups for her fall mixed media classes. You can check them out here! I'm just so thankful to these ladies for sharing their wisdom and talent with others!

Harvesting Creativity

Here is the follow up to my last post about ways I try to nurture my creativity. It was fun exploring my environment and spending time thinking about how I try to live artistically and creatively in day to day things. These are a few I came up with; I'm sure I could think of even more!

I've always tried to create a warm and welcoming feeling in my home. I want it to be a safe haven for my family. We are all artists in my family and so being in an inviting and stimulating environment is important to us. I love to decorate and through that share my own unique style. I also love to surround us with color and art on our walls. Above is just a little snapshot of a vignette on top of my kitchen cabinets.

Of course painting is one of my creative outlets. Here are a few of my in-progress pieces waiting to be finished. I find I enjoy having several going at one time in different stages. This allows me to work on whatever part I'm feeling drawn to at a given moment. I'll post these when I finish them up!

Scrapbooking is part of my art as well and I love the idea of leaving a legacy of memories by creating pages that tell our family's stories. Of course I love the artistic and creative process involved and all the supplies, but more and more I'm enjoying the telling of simple, everyday moments that make up our story during this season of our lives!

This is my studio area. It is a studio/guest room and I really need to get in here and do some purging and organizing. I also do a lot of my painting at the kitchen table...so worried about messy spills on the carpet in here. Anyway, I look forward to someday soon painting the walls a yummy rich color, adding new window treatments and creating a space that is a bit more reflective of me and what I love. This is a good start though! And my kitties love the way the sun comes in brightly every morning!!

I decided to get creative with my hair recently and added some fun and funky highlights!

Love, love, love to read and this definitely inspires my creativity. I read everything from fiction novels, christian life books, magazines, and art/scrapbooking related books.

I enjoy music as well and feel like it helps in creating a creative atmosphere. I listen to a wide variety including rock/pop, 80's classics, musicals, praise and worship and contemporary christian.

Finally, I try to harvest creativity by nurturing other's growth and interest in the arts. That is why I became an art teacher!

I truly enjoyed exploring the everyday ways I try to harvest my creativity! It is nice to think through an idea or concept and see how you are actually living it out in your life! :) Thanks to Stacy Julian for the great idea!

8.8.08

So I didn't even realize until today that the date was 8.8.08. Wow, that's kind of cool! :) Stacy Julian posted a really neat challenge related to this on her blog. First, I was to watch this 4 min. video called The Harvest. Very interesting! Next I am to take another few minutes to think about how I'm harvesting my own creativity. What is working, what is holding me back, what do I wish I could do and why am I NOT doing it?

Hmmmm...lets see. I've been much better this year about harvesting my creativity in that I'm creating more art and creating more often than I have been for a very long time. Back in January I found Ali Edward's One Little Word challenge and my word for this year has been CREATE. I've actually made it a priority and I'm creating on a more regular basis. I wish I could say that daily I was getting in some painting, scrapbooking or other creativity, but at least it is happening much more often that it used to! I really feel God created me to be creative, to share my passion for art with others and ultimately to glorify Him with my work. He has opened so many doors for me just in the past 6 months. I can't wait to see what He has in store for me and my work in the future.

So, what is working as far as harvesting my creativity? Again, making it a priority. Scheduling time for my art, sharing it with others, not being afraid to take chances and step out there to see what will happen. The worst thing that can happen is someone says no thanks, and I move on to the next open door.

What is holding me back? Time definitely! Wouldn't it be awesome if I could paint all day and not worry about cleaning my house, doing laundry or cooking dinner. Okay, so I am thankful I have a family to do these things for, but it sure would be great to have more creative time! I am so thankful for the support and encouragement my family gives me to pursue my artistic dreams!

What do I wish I could do and why am I not doing it? I guess my wish is that my art could be my ministry. That I could create and sell my work to make a little extra income for my family. That I could teach others who want to learn more about art. That I could inspire others with my story that God has a unique plan for each of our lives, different from anyone else's. Why am I not doing it? I'm not there yet, but I am taking steps and getting closer!

Now, Stacy says to "grab your camera and take 8 pictures that are evidence of your personal creativity. Anything that is flourishing because of your unique blend of spiritual gifts, skills and talent (yes,this includes children) can be seen as the result of your creative process, so photograph these things today and use this opportunity to realize just what a difference you make. You, like today's date will NEVER happen again." Very cool! I think I'll just give this a try!

Off to take photos! I'll try to post what I come up with soon! :)

Where has the time gone?

Wow! July flew by! We stayed busy with a trip to Houston, VBS, and lots of visits to the pool trying to survive the crazy 100+ heat wave. It is hard to believe the summer is almost over. I did have some time during VBS to get some painting it! That was nice! :) I need to finish several new pieces and get them posted. I'm also so excited to begin some new online classes from one of my favorite artists, Wyanne Thompson. She is incredible and I can't wait to get started!

I've also been on a mission to get myself and my home better organized. I just finished Simplify Your Life; Get Organized and Stay That Way by Marcia Ramsland and so loved it! I have so much to do! Life just seems to go so much more smoothly and I get so much more accomplished (less wasted time) when I am more organized. I'm drowning in old paper clutter, my studio is a mess and all my supplies (both scrapbooking and painting) need much better order, I have a spare room that needs to be cleaned out, and we have a neighborhood wide garage sale coming up in Oct, so needless to say I have lots of projects to get to! Now just finding which one to start with....! Well off to bed so I'll have energy to get started tomorrow!! :)

Home Sweet Home

I love the idea of the home...not just a house, but creating a unique, safe environment for my loved ones. I love having a place that is our sanctuary, our warm, inviting place to relax and get away from the craziness of life. I love to see other people's homes too, to have a peek inside and learn about who they are and what they love! I get so many ideas this way.

Here are a few more pieces I've finished recently...

These are both mixed media on canvas and the verse is "As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord." Joshua 24:15. I love creating the little houses out of paper. They are of course all the same shape, but they have a uniqueness to them, all their own. Just like each of our own homes have! I'm looking forward to creating more of these!

Organic Backgrounds Class

Here are the two pieces I created while taking Paulette Insall's Organic Backgrounds online class. They are both mixed media acrylic paint on canvas. I learned so much from Paulette about creative ways to apply the paint in layers. I loved this class and looked forward to each lesson so much! I highly recommend Paulette as a teacher; she is wonderful!

Remain In Me
Mixed Media

The verse is John 15:4 - "Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit it if is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me."

I Am the Vine

Mixed Media

The verse is John 15:5 - "Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing."

The Path I've Taken

I've always loved and had a passion for the visual arts, for as long as I can remember. It started when I was in Elementary School and took art classes from a gal in our neighborhood for several years. She open my eyes to all the possibilities of art! My passion continued through college where I got my Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Visual Arts Studies (art education). I taught art for four years in a public school before becoming a mommy! Now I'm a stay at home mom to my 4 yr old daughter!

Jump ahead to a little over a year ago when my husband, a youth pastor, accepted a new job. It was an amazing blessing; he'd been searching for over a year for a church that was a better "fit" and God answered our prayers above and beyond what we could have hoped or imagined. So, we went through a big life change, moved, and in a way, started over. During this transition I really felt the need to search within myself and look to God to figure out what He wanted me to do as far as ministry involvement and my focus outside of my family. He really opened some incredible doors for me...I discovered the amazing world of artist's blogs and began seeing what other artists (who often were moms, wives, etc. just like me) where doing out there. I began to feel a pull back to my artistic roots which I had let go because I was "too busy" with life.

So, through visiting artist's blogs, I found YouTube and was captivated by videos of artists creating their work. I still can't get enough of watching some of my favorite artists creating! I was also led to Etsy, such an amazing place of inspiration and talent! I love seeing what other artist's have available and what a blessing to have a place dedicated to all things handmade! I LOVE it!! About this time, I also joined a book study at my church and read Pathway to Purpose, by Katie Brazelton. This book is amazing! Through it she speaks about how God has a unique and special purpose for each of us. He created us to do amazing things for His kingdom that no one else can do in the exact same way! It has become so clear to me that God has created me to create art for Him! To use the gifts He has given me to share who He is with others in a way no one else can! What an amazing honor!

So, for the first time in 10 years I've picked up a paintbrush again! I'm creating art that is inspired by God and the blessings He has placed in my life! I had the privilege of taking online painting classes from Paulette Insall, an artist whose work I just fell in love with, and learned so so much from her! (Thanks Paulette!!) Paulette's classes have been a huge impact in my journey! I never dreamed I would be taking painting classes right now! My painting focus in school/college was watercolor, so I never really felt acrylics were in my comfort zone. I have learned so much and have fallen in love with this media! I feel so content, "right where I need to be" when I am creating! This was hugely missing in my life!! I've become involved in the Visual Arts Ministry at my church, had a piece hanging in a show (so God!!) and have even had some inquires about buying my work! My hubby and I are also in the planning stages of starting a Visual Arts Ministry for the youth at our church. This is such a need that has not been available to young artists and I'm so excited to see where God is going to lead us!

So much to be excited about and thankful for! I am so humbled by the creative spirit within! I can't wait to see what is around the next bend and what the future holds! I'll post some of my work soon!! :)

New Adventures

Well, I'm finally diving in...my first blog post! For months now I've been drawn into the world of blogging, especially artful blogging! What an amazing thing to be able to see, communicate and relate with other artists! I've been so inspired by and in awe of the wonderful artwork out there. Such talent! It has been so fun to get a peak into other people's lives and so interesting to see how other's live! So, I'm jumping in! I want to play too! I'm looking forward to getting to know new friends, keeping in touch with dear ones, and sharing a bit of myself and my art as well! Let the fun begin!! :)