sneak peek friday ~ february twenty first

Remember last week’s birds that I was less than happy with?

This is what they grew up to be…

sorry for the glare!

 Amazing what a few book pages, 

some inks, 

and some cool calendar 

pics can do!

What did you create this week in your studio**?

Please share here or over at Studio JRU.

**remember a studio is anywhere 

you find yourself creating art***

***art is what you do 

when you bring beauty into this world 

and we are all artists 

who happen to use different tools

Sneak Peek Friday

It is Friday!  

time to peek into each other's studios.

remember to visit Jennifer @ Studio JRU

(she has yet another gift for us today).  

As I was beating myself up for

an "unproductive" week others

 allowed me to recognize

the voice of the discourager.

These were the words

I shared,

the words meant for

myself:

a reminder about art...

it is not always about paint, fabric, pens, etc. 

It is about creating beauty 

wherever you are 

as you do what you do. 

My greatest lesson last year 

was that I want 

to make loving others art. 

So as you cook? 

clean? 

fold clean clothes? 

paint? 

sew? 

write? 

You are creating beauty. 

That is art. 

End of soap box. 

Will you share your art from this week?

Here or over at Studio JRU.

sneak peek friday

it's time for peeking into studios

yours, mine, and 

our friends at studio jru.

this week i found a great deal

on embellishments!

 as i wasn't feeling to creative

i added them to some

"finished" pieces...

this is a new piece that might be finished...

what happened in your studio this week?

share here or at studio jru.

sneak peek friday return

finally ready to share from the studio again and to link up with jennifer and friends over at studio jru.

i made most of my gifts for christmas and didn't want to post until they were all given.  here it is the second half of january and some still sit waiting for their home...

this week i began preparing for a retreat i will soon take.  this is the third year i will attend and each year the four day retreat held at a nearby conference center gets better.  

it is a time of prayer, meditation led by someone wiser than i, and listening.  the hardest part?

it is silent.

those of you who know me well, know that being quiet around people is hard for me.  yet it is something that has become a part of my spiritual discipline as the time allows me a new way to experience community (meals the first morning will be rushed through as silence is hard with people you don't know well, yet our final morning meal will be leisurely as we enjoy being together).  

it is also a time to be still in a way i am unable to be at home.  i find myself writing more than normal when i am there.  last year i made a journal using a Moleskin journal, this year i created one...

the front cover is made using some scrapbook paper i have loved but was saving for something special, a little fancy trim, a tiny bow, and some letters that were a gift (a whole great big pad of punch out letters!):

the inside pages were "painted" with watered down acyrlic inks:

and the back cover used the same materials as the front with a piece of the trim to "hide" a seam:

i used two of the packages of 8" x 8" Zutter pages and a set of covers and put them all together with my Zutter (my best ever ebay buy!).

excited to see what fills the pages!

how did you create this week in your studio*? 

won't you share here and over at studio jru?

* a studio is any place you find yourself creating

Sneak Peek

It is Friday Saturday

time to peek into the studio,

mine, yours, and Jennifer 

and friends at Studio JRU.

Here is a piece that has already been given:

I used my favorite  acrylic modeling paste and acrylic inks on a prepared 6x6 project board.

Will you share what you created this week?

sneak peek friday ~ november twenty third

it is friday

time to peek into the studio

yours, mine, and our friends

at studio jru

this week i finished 

my liturgical series

which was featured here back in june.

here is my Advent piece:

just in time for Advent 

which begins shortly.

will you share a peek into your studio?

sneak peek friday ~ november 9th

it is friday...

time for peeking into the studio...

yours, mine, and our friends

at Studio JRU...

this week found me sharing 

new places with old friends

and less time in the studio.

the theme of choosing joy

from Habkakuk 3.18

has been present with me 

and became this...

you may remember the background.

i added a new medium to it

that i am not real sure about

yet, then a little ribbon, and

some ink for the "choose".

how did you co-create with God

this week?

won't you share here,

over at (in)spired

or at Studio JRU?

sneak peek friday - november second

it is friday...

time for peeking into the studio...

this week was one of making gifts for others, which means i can't share until they make their way to new homes...

this piece is in the hands of those who will take it home...

friends who are living a dream in a new home in a beautiful place.

how did you create this week?

please share here or over at Studio JRU.

studio sneak peek ~ friday october twenty sixth

it is friday...

time for peeking into studios...

yours and mine...

feels good to be consistently back at work.  those backgrounds i began last week became these:

and this piece from last week?

made it home to the author who inspired it.

and i found some amazing letters and punchinella 

from skybluepink...they have some amazing things at great prices.

and my fifth favorite day of the year happened this week...

my 2013 calendar came full of new hopes, dreams, and visions.  but it was a boring black.

and now it is not...

won't you share what you have created this week either here or over at Jennifer's studio?

it's (finally) sneak peek friday!!!!

phew...sometimes life just happens and i get so overwhelmed i forget to take that time to be still and create!  after way too long away i took time to play in my studio this week!

this piece is still drying so the finish looks off.  it was inspired by posts from Haiti and the book "Come Alive" by Elora Ramirez (which is hard and holy reading)...

these are new backgrounds i started and am impatiently waiting to dry...

not sure what they will become, would like words, not sure which words yet.  know of any good lettering tutorials?

remember to link up with jennifer at studio jru to see what our friends are up to....

and share here or there your creations this week.

sneak peek friday ~ Sept 7th

it is my second favorite day of the week!

time for peeking into studios

of my friends!

head over to studio jru

to see what jennifer 

and all her friends are up to.

this is what happened in my studio this week:

this piece has  been in process for a while

(you may remember the background)

as i worked with it i knew who it belonged to

and it flowed.

remember the sunflowers?

these pieces came from their leftovers.

the idea of co-creating with God has been present

so if you look closely you will find that

the backgrounds include words

of Scripture.

won't  you share your art with us?

sneak peek friday ~ august 31st

it is friday...

time for peeking into studios

and seeing what my friends are working on.

remember to visit jennifer and all our friends at studio jru to see what everyone is up to.

this week i finished a wip that has been sitting for months...

and did a quick piece as a reminder to myself...

light was not helpful to pic taking today

this one is going on a wall where i will see it daily.

what have you been up to this week?

please share!  

remember art is anything creative you do, wherever you do it.

sneak peek friday ~august 17th

this week was about untangling knots

so i could find time in the studio

i took joshua brayden beast to the river

to find inspiration 

along the way he chased bubbles

and fishies

i chased God

until i remembered i had already been found

walking in the water

seemed like a great idea

getting out?

not so much

i'm back in the studio again

working on a multi piece work for my daughter

inspired by sunflowers

i am using a new modeling paste

and falling in love

tho' the camera doesn't like it yet

so watch for pics next week

when it has some color

share your work...

i'd love to see it 

and so would the folks at studio jru!

studio sneak peek august 10th

fridays are for peeking into the studio...

a big hurdle for me this week was actually putting some of my work on my own walls...i have never been brave enough to do this before.  i make it and give it away.  always.

it took me a couple of days to put it up and it still surprises me when i walk by.  perhaps there will soon be other pieces to join these.

this is my favorite background piece to date...

a little gesso, a lot of mod podge, a little bag onions came in, and a lot of paint.  i have a feeling this will grow up to be a piece reflecting water somehow.

this is a background i have had for a while.  i was given a bag of fabric scraps and it became a piece about blooming...

this is a long standing wip i keep playing with...

i started by putting lace on a panel, then a whole lot of mod podge and india inks.  last night i added ribbon.  not quite sure the point of it, but something inside comes untangled when i work on it.

what are you working on this week?  would love to see...remember to visit jennifer at studio jru and link to other artists.