In my previous blog post you will see that my kitty 'Smokey' passed away on 28 August 2016. On 12 October 2016 my Mom passed away unexpectedly and since then it has been an emotional roller coaster ride and in such times I tend to withdraw into myself. Creativity went out the window, however I started writing a journal, almost like letters to my Mom. There has also been some serious health issues with some of my close family members. My creative muse took absence and sometimes when artists go through difficult times emotionally it enhances their creativity, however for some artists creativity evaporates into thin air to much frustration of the artist.
Some of the other items at I decided to revamp...
I truly missed being creative, I simply could not paint and I decided to start with small craft projects a couple of weeks after my Mom's passing to at least try and satisfy my creative soul... Like painting a pair of my Mom's favorite boots with Mandalas, butterflies and flowers. Oh how my Mom would have loved her painted boots!
Some of the other items at I decided to revamp...
"Welcome" door sign
When I bought this "Welcome" cat sign made from wood it was like a rustic brown colour with black stripes. I painted this grey (as Smokey was a Russian Blue and this is in memory of her) with some happy flowers which represents all the happiness and memories she brought into our lives and a red heart for the love we shared.
These coasters (for the coffee table) was shop bought and had a printed image on the front which got stained with marks over time from coffee mugs. They were chucked in a drawer with the idea to be revamped sometime or another.
In this time of mourning after my Mom's passing I was approached by my friend Lisa, owner of the IBD Kitties website. She asked if I would be able to make a design that can be used on various items and 100% of the profits on all the products will go directly for IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease) research. I designed the image for Lisa and donated it as part of my contribution towards the research as I am unable to contribute financially and as my Smokey passed away due to IBD that turned into lymphoma. Should you be interested in taking a look at some of the products you can click here or to find out more about IBD you can click here. Should you wish to make a donation towards the cause you can click here for more information.
Even though I painted my Mom's boots and made the design for IBD Kitties, keeping the creativity flow remained a struggle. I watched inspirational videos, creative videos, did some reading etc. but the creative muse did not show her face. I also know that for the creative muse to be present, she needs to find you 'working', thus I decided last weekend that I will do at least one drawing or painting every day even if the drawing or painting is the size of a small matchbox. Last week Monday I started with my plan in action and thrilled to say that I painted or did a drawing every day of the week. It's not paintings I will ever offer for sale or anything like that, it is just to get the creative process rolling and every piece of art being created is so much more than the visual outcome alone, it's the journey that counts and not the destination.
All the little bits of creative time spend last week had a great positive effect ranging from my emotions to ideas and more. I was inspired to start Art Journaling instead of a writing journal and thus thought it fit to make my very first hand made art journal from scratch. I used an A3 190gsm watercolour pad consisting of 20 pages plus three A3 watercolour paper sheets that was left over on another watercolour pad, to make up the pages in the journal. I placed 4 folders (pages) in a signature (this is a bundle of the pages). The Art Journal contains 13 signatures in total. Crochet cotton, doubled up, was used to sew the Art Journal together with the Coptic Stitch. What I really like about the journal is that the pages remain flat when opened, which in turn makes drawing or painting in the journal easier. On the front page design is a Mandala which is also painted by myself on a round piece of wood. The entire design with the Mandala, feathers, ribbon and beads reminds me of a dreamcatcher.
So, keep the creativity flowing to get you out of a creative block by taking baby steps with small craft projects, drawings and paintings, do them diligently every day irrelevant if you like the outcome or not...Remember, it's the process that counts!
