Focusing on Life: 52 Photos - Week 4 - Create ART

It's Saturday again (woo hoo) and time for Week 4 of the Photography challenge that Sally over at the Studio Sublime started for 2013:  Focusing on Life: 52 Photos.

 

 

 

This week's prompt was "Create Art".  Art is one of those words that means something different to each person. 

 

When I think of Art, I think of my sister. She's the most wonderful artist I know and the Art she creates, no matter what it is, is always amazing! Me, well, I just laugh and say I can't draw a straight line with out a ruler and she says back to me, "Good. That's what they're for!" 

 

Seriously, I suck a drawing/painting, etc. and haven't tried much in regards to other art mediums as an adult either, but I loved creating things as a child.

I would sit at my neighbor Donna's house for hours and she'd have these little pillow cases she'd make me and I'd use some sort of paints on them, or she'd let me sit and glue cool photo collages together or paint (paint by numbers!) and she always encouraged me to try something different. I was constantly wanting to go over to her house because I was so excited to 'make' something!

 

Itching to create.

 

That feeling still resides in me today. Wanting to create. Create something. Anything. I even see cooking as creating something. Anyway, when I can't create I get kinda cranky.  Like those people who get grumpy when they're hungry (my hubby comes to mind here).  Yeah, I'm one of those, only instead of food I gotta sit down and create every once in a while or I turn into a bit of a "B".

 

My medium of choice (it chose me, by the way) is creating jewelry. Jewelry is my "Art". But instead of creating a piece of my art and showing you here on my blog (cause I never do that!) I wanted to show you something that feels just as good as a finished piece of jewelry to me.

 My sketchbook.  It's a rather sad little sketchbook. Not a fancy artist's sketchbook. In fact, I've got a couple of them that date back a few years,...or so.  
 

 

My original sketchbook

 

 

See, nothing fancy,....just paper to capture what's up in my head (wish it came out on paper as beautiful as it appears in my head,...).  It's rather private - I don't share it much with anyone.  I see my 'jewelry life' as it transitions and I love looking back to see how 'spot on' I was years earlier with things happening now or how I was just 'out there' with certain designs. Growing. It's my growth chart, if you will.

 

My markers, my sketchbook and my new Art Poem! ;-)

 

My most recent (and largest) sketchbook was with me a couple of summer's ago at my sis's cabin when we were evacuated during the Wallow Fire here in Arizona.   It was in my book bag along with some of my new and/or favorite beading/jewelry books. As we tossed things into the Subaru to evacuate, the book bag was tossed in the back along with a few gallon jugs of water and other things.

 The water ended up tipping and leaking out all over.  The next morning when I opened the back of the Subaru I found the spilled water jugs. I was a bit upset, but then I reached for my book bag and it was soaked - the bottom was just drenched! My heart sank and tears welled up before anything could even really click in my brain,...my heart knew what was going on.
The heart always knows first!

The pages are dry, but not as neat as they once were!

 

 

I have one of those liners for the back of my subaru, so that wasn't the issue. The issue wasn't even our suitcases, those didn't get too saturated. The issue was my book bag. That did not have a lining,...that was cloth and paper. And inside the book bag was something that was practically priceless to me - my jewelry sketchbook. My inspiration. My ideas. My art before it becomes art in my hands. My inner me!
 

 All my books, including my precious sketchbook, were completely water logged. Soaked through and through.  I just stood there holding it, looking at it like it was something foreign to me. I was in disbelief. "No, not my sketchbook?!"  My brain said to me.  "Oh, and look at all my poor bead books - some I haven't even gotten to look through yet! Oh man!"

The hubby came to my rescue and assured me all would be okay and that it was going to dry out and we'd take care of the pages, etc.  Even though it took more than a week to carefully seperate the pages as they were drying, it did turn out fine. Some of my bead books didn't recover so nicely, but I can always get more of those,.....my sketchbook however, is definitely One-Of-A-Kind ART!

Upper Left: the beginnings of my wire wrapped "Freya" Pendant in 2010
 Upper Right: Earring Designs from 2006
Lower Left: Design from Metalsmith class in 2005 - still have not made that!
Lower Right: Amber pendant drawn out and created back in 2009.

 

So this week, I played around with some photos and more editing programs for the photo challenge. I have not however, been able to create jewelry due to smacking metal around for tons of earwire orders, so this little girl's getting a bit cranky,.....and now it's time to go CREATE ART!

 

My Poem for Week 4: Create Art

 

 

My sketchbook and I are outta here - see ya later!

 

Please hop on over to the Studio Sublime and see what all the other participants have done this week to Create Art for Week 4 of Focusing on Life!

 

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Creating Art!

Cheers,

~Shel~