Day 13 - Photography

I had plans to do a lot more on Day 13, but I woke up with a pulled muscle on my shoulder.  So I just went right out to the front yard with my camera to see what I could capture.  It's always amazing to me how much I can find right out there even when I think I know every inch of the yard by heart. 

 

This wee little butterfly was so tiny that I almost didn't see it.  It was less than half an inch in length and it finally settled down for a moment so I could get a shot... 

Soon after, it fluttered away, showing me it's beautifully colored wings... 

Day 12 - Faerie Altar

On Fridays, I host "Crafternoons" where people can come over to work on their arts and crafts in the company of friends.  My sister and another friend came over (Kismet's Web) on Day 12.  I flipped through my 365: A Daily Creativity Journal for inspiration and misread the word "alter" as "altar".  I quickly realized my mistake, but that was all the inspiration I needed.  I set out to make a wee faerie altar out of wood and stone. 

The most time consuming part was the wood burning of each tiny swirl on the wooden disks.  Each measure only 1/4 inches in diameter!  

The funny part was that I picked out all sorts of goodies to add to it and ended up only using a few of them.  Rather than force them to fit, I listened to my intuition and added only those things which truly belonged there.  This is what I ended up with.  

I love it!

Day 11 - Photography

I went with family and friends to visit the old town of Occoquan, VA on Day 11, and I took my camera with me.  I found a wee little yellow rose at the restaurant where we had lunch...

 

 It was only 2 inches around!

Along the shops, I found another wee flower still in its bud form...

This one was about 2 inches around, too!

Later, I found some spectacular snap dragons...

And finally, on our way back to the car, we stopped at some lovely Echinacea flowers that the bumble bees just loved... 

Day 10 - Illuminated Calligraphy

I finally finished it!  Yesterday's project consisted of adding flowers as the final step.  My original plan was to paint them on,  but I am not that kind of artist, so as I practiced (and my flowers continued to look like a child's attempt), I realized that idea wasn't going to work.  So while I was out running errands, I picked up that adorable grass as well as some lovely flowers.  I couldn't find the color I wanted, so I bought white flowers and spent most of Day 10 painstakingly adding coat after coat of purple paint to the tiny little things. This is what they looked like as I began the first coat of paint. 

I love how they turned out!

This is the final piece... Not what I had originally envisioned, but marvelous nonetheless.  That's what happens when you work with faerie.  They have a way of getting you to let go and follow your spirit.  

 

Love!

Day 9 - Illuminated Calligraphy

I missed a day because of a bad migraine, but I was right back at it the following day.  Despite my busy day, I managed to squeeze in a bit of time to add grass to the bottom of my piece.  Something I hadn't planned on doing until I found these adorable pieces at the craft store.  

 I love how it's turning out!

Day 8 - Illuminated Calligraphy

On Day 8, I finished the calligraphy and touched up the paint on the illuminated letter. 

Day 7 - Illuminated Calligraphy

On Saturday, I finished the green lines and began the illuminated lettering.

This was very fine detail work!  The whole painted letter measures about 2 1/2 inches!

Day 6 - Illuminated Calligraphy

I spent Day 6 painting lines on the final piece.   I took a break from the painting to write one line in the purple ink so I could start to get an idea of the color scheme. 

 

Day 5 - Illuminated Calligraphy

We hosted a two-day class here Tuesday and Wednesday, and the guest speaker was our overnight guest, so I wasn't able to do much by way of art those days.  To make up for it, I came up with a complex piece that will take me a few days to complete.

Here is a shot of my practice work, which I always do before committing ink to the final sheet.

Here is a shot of the pencil details I set down after practicing and settling on my design. 

More tomorrow!

Day 4 - Photography

On busy errand days, I like to take my camera everywhere I go so that I can catch photos as I drive around.  With all the beautiful foliage out right now, I got some wonderful shots in parking lots!  When I got home, I took more photos of the lovelies outside my house, too.  I had so much fun!

Day 3 - Collage

I found more images that wanted to be on the collage, so I spent more time cutting on Day 3.  But I'm happy to say I'm done!  I'm really happy with the way it turned out, even though it wasn't anything like I imagined.  That just goes to show that if you let go and allow your creativity to shine through, anything becomes possible. 

What do you think of the finished product?

Day 2 - Collage

Cutting tiny bits of paper off an image takes a LONG TIME!  I spent Day 2 cutting and cutting and cutting and cutting....

Day 1 - Collage

Since I had all the materials I needed already, I decided to begin with a collage.  I found (most of) the images I wanted to use and began trimming.  The detail work took a long time, so this is one of those projects that will take a few days to complete.  For now, I've attached my work in progress so far.  I'll be doing more trimming and possibly assembling today.

Art-A-Day Project

I learned about this project concept from a friend of mine (Hi, BlazeSpirit!) and I thought it was a terrific idea!  I love to create art, but I often put off doing anything creative in favor of the "have to's".  But because I really thrive on a high level of creativity, it should be on my daily list of have to do's.

So this project was the perfect way for me to get started.  I ordered the book, which arrived the next day, read it, and now I'm ready to get started... TODAY!  I am so excited!


So!

My plan is to do something creative every single day, whether I am home, on a trip or anywhere at all.  I thought about the best approach and, thanks to the "No Rules" nature of this concept, I have decided that rather than make something from start to finish every day, I will create 365 unique items.  Some may take several days to complete, based on the medium I am working with, and others may take minutes; allowing me to do more than one per day.  I'm still going to do this for a whole year, because the challenge of committing to something and sticking to it for that long is very important to me.

My theme will be, "Through Faerie's Eyes", so each of my creations will be from that perspective.  I have so many ideas swirling around in my head right now, you can't even imagine!

I'll be documenting my progress each day and posting those and the results here as well.

I've never blogged, so getting started feels odd.  But I'm sure it will get easier over time. I hope you'll stay with me throughout the year, because your support will help me stick to this.  And I always love to get feedback on what I create.

Thanks for being here with me ... Enjoy the ride!