Trees are flowering. Hello February!

Soul Food Class spot Giveaway and Interview

You might know that I am one of the 39 instructors in Soul Food Workshop. It starts really soon... Each instructor recorded a lesson in which we share techniques that make our soul sing and recipes that make us happy. 

To be honest, I had more trouble choosing the recipe for the workshop than the actual art. We can't show the finished art pieces, but little snippets are allowed, so that's what I am showing here. In my videos I will show a wonderful, very versatile technique for which you need only 3 art supplies (and I am almost sure that you already have at least two of them). Then I will show three projects made using the technique. I am really pleased with how my videos turned out, and hope that you will too (if you decide to join us - more information HERE).

Here is a link for a little meet and greet interview with me:

http://sparrows-journey.blogspot.com/2013/12/soul-food-meet-and-greet-zorana.html

If you want to win a free spot in the class, please leave a comment to this post (if you already paid for the workshop, don't worry, you will get a refund). There are only two things I would ask you to do:

1. Tell me what is your favorite soul food

2. Make sure that there is a way for me to contact you if you win. Almost every time I host a giveaway, a person without an email link wins, and never shows up... which probably means that she never wanted the prize in the first place, and that makes me sad.

I will announce the winner next Wednesday (Dec. 18th)

Celebrating

Celebrating my day today (49!!!!!!!!), so only art I can showa re flowers I drew on the glass top of my table. Easy to draw, easier to clean and remove completely. Have a happy weekend!

Studio Snapshot

I'm trying to keep up with daily blogging, which is not easy when there is nothing new to show. Today was a wonderful and full day but no time for art. So I'm sharing a quick, very candid shot of one side of my tiny studio. Oh what glorious mess! Can you relate or are you very tidy and organized?

Welcome November!

Hello dear people!

I have been missing in action here on the blog for the most part of October. It was a full month, a good month, and I was keeping busy most of the time. I didn't play much in my art journal, but have kept my digital journal daily. Just glancing at the pictures makes me remember many little details of the previous month that would have been already forgotten. Tons of good food (beet burgers, anyone?), walks in the ever changing nature, dentist visits (ugh), concerts, kids, creatures, art... good stuff.  I somehow managed to be very social (by my own standards) and extremely too much in my head at the same time. I created almost daily, but for some reason didn't find the energy to share. So, I am going to try something different. November is my month, and I want to get back in action and share more. I'm afraid to say that I will post daily, as it may change tomorrow, but that is what I will try. I wrote many blog posts in my head, and would feel better if they would move from there to the blog.

To start - here are my days in October, captured in Noteshelf on my little iPad.

Happy November!

Reconnecting

It's never easy to get back into the flow of blogging after a long pause. I feel like I have been absent for months (although I posted sporadically). I think that the following weeks will be calmer, as I learn how to live in this new role of "Mom of children that are far away". Our girl is happily adjusting to her first days of college in NYC, while I am sorting through the impressions that the big city embedded in me and dealing with separation issues :-). 

After not painting for a while, I couldn't wait to pull out a 24"x36" canvas and attack it with a multitude of colors.  

I didn't have a plan while painting, and wanted to just enjoy colors and movement. And then I stopped when I realized that what I painted was my impression of the energy of NYC. The shapes, movement, action, energy... it might just be in my head, but I decided to stop and call it a NYC cityscape abstraction, because that is what I see in it.

I will be back soon with some news, but until then - I hope that you are doing well and enjoying the cooler days! I'll start visiting blogs again, I am sure that there is a lot of new art to see. Happy weekend!

Mostly blue

Blue as the ocean and the sky... not as my mood. I thought a month passed since I posted something, but it has not been that long. I really didn't do too much art, so didn't have much to share. Just getting back to my brushes. It feels like I forgot how to play, but I know I haven't, so I'm staying with it.

Is anyone reading blogs now that google reader has gone?

I'm posting my 'mostly blue' pictures to stay here as a reminder to a perfect day, and I'll be back with some art soon. Happy weekend!

Playing with clay

Looking at my digital pages reminded me that I've never shared my brief explorations of precious metal clay. I don't make jewelry, but when my friend Rae (who creates amazing jewelry - take a look at her website www.JesterSwink.com) asked me if I would take a workshop - I couldn't wait. This is my iPad journal page - I love that I can write on it with a stylus and the result looks like my handwriting (somewhat). 

We worked with silver and copper clay in different forms. The instructor guided us through many techniques... It is pretty amazing, the creative possibilities seem endless. Here are some of the things I made - some better than others. I didn't worry about the outcome, as this is completely new to me.

This is my hollow, domed copper bead. I can't decide what to do with it...

I wear these earrings all the time. Can't believe that my hands made them (and there are fingerprints in the silver that show it!!!)

I'm so grateful that I had a chance to try something new and can't wait for another workshop in a couple of months where I'll play with PMC one more time :-)

Big painting finished :-)

It is done! 73" x 43" - the biggest painting I've done so far...

This is how it began: I didn't want to use stretch bars for the canvas, as they are not well suited for the way I paint. After some thought, my oh-so-handy husband asked if it would help if we temporarily stretch it on a hard surface. So it started with a visit to Home Depot, measuring and attaching the canvas to plywood. That is temporary thing, as the canvas will be sent rolled up and framed later. 

Where do you start when so much white is staring back at you? It took me two days to make myself begin. Then I started bravely with brushstrokes of dark colors and covered the whole surface. 

After that it was easier. I just attacked it. Day after day, after day. I didn't rush to finish it. I knew that the colors were supposed to be brown/tan, the background muted, three angels as the focal, so I worked in thin glazes of color to give it depth.

You can't see it here, but there were many textural elements added at this point, and it was interesting to see how the colors interact and glide over them.

Before the faces above turned into faces below. I had to ask for help.

So many times I do something with the eyes that I don't like, and I don't know how to correct it. Luckily, my daughter sees the problem with one glance.

I asked her if she can correct it, and without hesitation - she took the paintbrush and did. I was so happy with the result that I promptly asked her to help with the angel on the right too. What will I do when she leaves for college in couple of short months?

I might stick to textures, colors and other things I know how to do.

 

I'm holding my head here because I was waiting for my husband "forever" to push the button and take the picture, and I was extremely uncomfortable. Unfortunately the colors didn't turn right and I didn't want to repeat posing, so it is what it is. At least I have a document of it.

I loved painting big a lot. I also loved the calm, almost monochrome palette  But now I'm very ready to go back to many happy colors and my journal, birds and other regular stuff. Thank you for following this painting from the beginning to the finish line and for cheering me along the way!

xoxo

Working on it...

My studio wall

Shonna recently wrote a post "Where Women REALLY create", and I thought that was really interesting. I am not brave enough to show you everything (disaster area), but this wall should do for now. While skyping with my parents this morning I noticed how cluttered and untidy it looks. I guess it might motivate me to straighten up things a bit... but only after I finish a painting I've been working on :)

Digital journaling

Can you believe that it is the last day of January? It always goes so fast... I didn't have too much time (or energy) for art this month, but that didn't stop me from doing something creative every day. I received a mini iPad last year as a birthday gift, and it instantly became my favorite toy. Not a day passes that I don't use it. If you are interested about what I like the most about it - ask - and I'll write a post about it. 

 For now, I wanted to share how I use it as a daily journal. I love the convenience - if I have minute, I will snap one picture and post it on my digital notebook page, but if I am stuck somewhere waiting for an hour - I can easily spend that time creating something (doodling, writing, even painting). I didn't miss one single day in December and January, and now it's fun to flip back through pages and see snippets of my days. And that is exactly how I call these digital notebooks - Snippets of my days.

I'd like to know if you use modern toys for art play...

Daydreaming

Test. Test. Test.
Just wondering if I can blog using my phone...