and the ripple continues......

Here is another contribution illustration for the ripple blog ~ it is a pen and ink, roughly 4x6. Also here is an update from the blog's creator, Kelly Light, about how helpful the site has been so far. I posted this write up as a comment on an earlier post, but I think it is important enough to have its own post! Just think ~ this site has raised over $5000. at $10 a pop!!! pretty cool, huh??

Hi Everyone at Illustration Friday! It's Kelly Light from the "Ripple" blog. I wanted to stop back and say a huge "THANKS!" to all of the Illustration Friday contributors who came to Ripple and donated their talent and time to help the Gulf Oil Spill animal victims. In one week Ripple went from having 100 cards to having 600 cards. We went from raising $1,000.00 to help clean oiled animals to more than $5,500.00 (as of 6/25). That figure keeps growing and the art keeps coming everyday. Artist from all over the globe showed up to throw their pebbles in. The messages they shared were of care and concern, anger and frustration and even hope for an end to this catastrophe. From across the United States the message was clear -- whether near a beach or not -- we need to do what we can to help. Small sketches, small donations that add up not only in dollars but in heart.
As a result of Ripple, I get personal updates from a woman cleaning birds in Florida with the IBRRC (one of the non profits Ripple helps). She said it takes 3 bottles of Dawn Dish Detergent to wash one bird. One $10 sketch card buys three bottles. So we have raised enough money to clean roughly 570 birds. I made a deal with myself to run this blog as long as the oil spills. I want the oil to stop now. But as long as it's flowing I'll be here and will welcome any new art submissions.
Thanks again to penelope and Brianna for the support, the huge hook up -- and the inspiration! ~Kelly

inspiration and trust

Besides the weekly creative challenge that Illustration Friday offers me, I love visiting the sites of the multitude of creative souls that also participate. Besides seeing how they have interpreted the topic, I am privy to their words of wisdom, their successes and their struggles. This is so nice because the world of the artist has its solitary moments~ many times we are out there slaying demons all by ourselves. But blogs, facebook and other electronic outlets has given us ways of creating communities and places of support. I mention this because last night I came across a post from a fellow illustrator that rang so true that i needed to share.

The site is Dream & Vision by Susan Sorrell Hill, an artist and illustrator living in Northern California. I have enjoyed her illustrations and her posts many times but yesterday she wrote about her "conscience .... that ubiquitous back-seat driver who is rarely content, and when she is, it’s only for the brief moment before something else is unsatisfactory" ~ WOW, I know that voice! I refer it it as my monkey and moments before reading Susan's post I had been talking with a good friend about how I am SOOOO tired of this voice ~ the guilt, the self doubt, BLAH!! For whatever reason this voice has increased in volume and intensity, seeping into all aspects of my life!! I feel like i am constantly engaged in a sumo wrestling match in my head ~ between what i feel in my heart and what my monkey says I 'should' do. I have been told it is part of the creative process, but I feel this struggle uses so much energy and strength that i would rather be putting into my art and my family.


So I was heartened to read Susan's post (I am not alone) and to hear about her approach to quiet the voices. I haven't tried flower essence therapy but want to. I am working on being more positive and trusting myself through mediation and in my studio work. Just this week I started a series of artist trading cards and my first one was a 'trust' dress!! Also, in my studio, I have been working on a series what I refer to as 'intuitive painting' ~ the same approach that I took with the walls of my installation, 'this comes from within' ~ just paint and don't think, listen to my heart and not my head. I am painting on canvases and on shaped pieces of wood ~ and I am very excited about this work!! But I have been so surprised on how mentally hard this has been?!?!? I am painting away & my monkey is basically screaming at me that I am wasting my time, this is just doodling, playing it safe... but if i try and do other work I soon find myself back at my canvas....go figure. So I recognize that the need to create this work & I want to honor that need, so I will try to quiet the monkey.

So if any one has any suggestions about how to quiet those annoying voices ...PLEASE share!! I would be love to hear them. I am feeling that itis time to shake this monkey (or at least quiet him). I was watching Ella Enchanted with my daughter this week and in this movie the main character, Ella, needs to overcome her 'gift' of obedience. I have watched this movie a bunch of times but this time I watched it with new eyes ~ I need overcome my 'gift' of self doubt, overwhelming sense of guilt and lack of confidence. wish me luck!!!

Hope all have a good weekend. & my illustration friday piece will be coming later!!! peace!!

Ripple dress in going to Montana!!

I am so happy to announce that my contribution to the Ripple Sketch site was bought and on its way to Montana. I am also happy to say that the drawing was purchased by an another ceative soul, Tammie - 'a nature photographer and writer of poetry'. She has two inspiring blogs ~
beauty flows ~ http://beautyflows.blogspot.com/

&

spirithelpers ~ http://miztlee.blogspot.com/
Today's post on spirithelpers has some beautiful photos and poems ~ check out the strawberry!!

This has been quite a rewarding experience and I hope to contribute some more to the ripple site. As of 6/22 they have raised over $5000!!

I just returned from spending a day on the New Hampshire coast, soaking up the infinite beauty of the ocean. As I put my feet into the refreshingly cool, clean ocean water the enormity of the disaster in the gulf really hit me!!!! I am totally frustrated by the situation but by donating my drawing to the ripple site I don't feel totally helpless!! what is the saying, every little bit helps?!? So thank you Kelly Light for putting this site together and thank you all who have purchased artwork!!

I just hope that one thing that can come out of this crisis is a greater respect for mother nature and how we treat her!!

Also maybe we will think about riding our bikes more.....

thx & peace

the girls are out and about...

Last Friday I had the honor of installing Provocative (the Rope Dress) in the window of Shafer O'Neil Interior Design in Wellesley, MA. Last summer Red Alert Cocktail dress and the VCR tape dress graced their window. This summer along with the earthy, organic Provocative, Judy O'Neil Labins and I have filled the window with many of the photos of the beach dresses. During the installation we decided to hang 'Beach Warrior' next to Provocative and I was amazed on how these pieces complimented each other! I am very happy with the way this window has come together.
After installing these pieces in Wellesley I returned to my oddly empty studio. It was then that I realized that many of my girls are out ~ besides Provocative, I have 7 large sculptures out in the world at this time. This will be ending tomorrow, but for now 8 of my babes are out of the nest.

Two of my girls are coming home tomorrow ~ Flower Power and In Memory of... have been residing at the Cultural Arts Alliance of Hopkinton since my lecture. I am hoping that there have been many strings of beads made so that i can continue to add to Flower Power. :)

Another dress returning home this week is the Dress of Etiquette (Emily) because the Cambridge Art Association's Northeast Prize Show is ending on June 23rd.

The Poetry Dress, the VCR tape dress and Packing Tape Party Dress have been part of Bead & Fiber's The Practical, Impractical & Artrageous: 2nd annual wearable art show which will be ending June 26nd.



Lastly Treacherous is making her window debut in downtown Natick in the windows of One80 Visual, 19 south Main St. The folks at One80 have been so generous with their windows since I left my store front studio. It is always nice to have a place to showcase different pieces & their windows are always a feast for the eyes. Besides my pieces they are featuring the wood working of Carl Staley and the work of Karin Stanley ~ definitely worth a look!!!


So it has been an exciting few months for my girls but it time to gather my brood and get them ready for the nest things to come!!!!

Happy Solstice to all & peace!!!

illustration friday ~ paisley

Ok - I am playing catch~up here ....

since I posted LAST week's topic illustration yesterday I am going to post THIS week's illustration Friday's illustration today!! This week the topic is Paisley ~ what a wonderful topic, my head is basically bursting with ideas!! However, I have noticed that whenever I make a new illustration for IF I am always racing to submit it and I remembered I made this illustration as a thank you to a friend who offered me a place to stay in NYC. So, I figured in the interest of sanity, I would post this one now & if the time gods allow, I will post another later this week ~ because paisley is such a inspiring word!!

As I said, this drawing was made as a thank you card. My friend is from India and had 'henna'ed my hand during my visit so I felt this was a good way to say thanks. I love heena ~ the idea of body painting. I have started buying heena and painting it on myself and my family - it is loads of fun. Of course this can cause some problems. Once I had painted my daughter's hands and didn't think too much about it. But then she went off to her middle school & she was questioned about it ~ they wanted to make sure she wasn't cheating on her quiz :)....

wishing all a happy weekend and a Happy Father's Day!!
especially to my DAD ~ 'thank you' for being a super dad!!!

peace

illustration friday ~ ripple special

Ok - I am a week late ~ here is my illustration for last week's topic 'ripple'. But this was a special 'assignment' and I wanted to do something special ~ this illustration will be offered for sale for $10.00 on

http://ripplesketches.blogspot.com/.

This site has been set-up to raise money to help the wildlife affected by the BP oil spill. It is a way for a group of creative people to make a difference. There are many wonderful pieces of art offered on this site & all money raised will go to two charities benefiting the wildlife ~ here is the description from the site ~

Each sketchcard on this blog is $10.00. The $10.00 is a donation to help the animal victims of the Deep Water Horizon Gulf Oil Spill. Every penny is donated. The two Non-Profits that are benefiting are The Institute for Marine Mammal Studies and The International Bird Rescue Research Center. You can purchase a card if you donate directly to one of the non-profits and email me the confirmation and your address to ripplesketches@verizon.net. The artist will mail you the signed card.
We don't have to feel helpless. We can help. Our small actions together will ripple outward.

After playing around with some different ideas I realized I wanted to make a dress out of the affected animals because many times my dresses represent for me my heart felt emotions, opinions and heart aches and this oil spill falls in the heart ache category. I love the idea of being able to contribute artwork that might raise some money to help in this disaster.

This piece is not a card but a pen and ink drawing, with watercolor accents.

It is 11 1/2 x 6 1/2 in. on smooth bristol paper.

Please go to the web site and check out all the many wonderful, creative and inspiring illustrations, and if you want maybe buy mine!!!

peace

Enough already!!!

“Remember there's no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end.” Scott Adams

a story ~ Last Friday, Illustration Friday’s topic was 'trail' (I was very excited about the topic, had many ideas but alas never executed them, but that another story). I was reviewing some of the others entries and came across an illustrator who made a trail of dead fish and wrote in her comment ‘enough already!’ ~ I could not agree more (I can’t find the link to the illustration but I will post it asap when I find it). Then the same day I saw one of those heart wrenching images of a bird covered with oil with only his open, sad eye showing through. The next day I read an editorial about how there should be criminal charges brought against BP because this disaster came from cost cutting and neglect, but once again it sounds like the real guilty are protected by the structure of big corporation. Grrrr….

For a few days this all percolated until I decided that I was pissed and wanted to make a dress about the oil spill…. That day my mind was on fire – I was sketching, pondering, playing with different materials. However the next morning I found my critic talking me out of this dress ~ ‘a cliché, what am I going to do with another large sculpture, I should focus on the projects I have going on in my studio, blah, blah’. So I put that dress idea aside, trying to ignore this quiet ache in my heart. Now it was Friday again and Illustration Friday presented a special topic ~ Ripple!! The special part is that all entries can be posted for sale on this new website which was started by a community of artists trying to make a difference and raising money for the relief efforts in the gulf!!! (Click here to get the full story) It is inspiring and wonderful and ignited my oil spill passion again!! So I am back thinking about a possible ‘oil’ dress but this also reconnected me with my installation ‘this comes from within’.

As I figured out what my donation illustration would be, my mind went back to walls of ‘this comes from within’ ~ my installation that I created last summer. This piece has been heavily on my mind!!! It was a year ago that I started working on transforming the gallery at Medicine Wheel. I miss that project!!! ~ the scope of it, the intensity, the focus, how it challenged me in so many ways and I pulled it off!!. In my studio I have started painting shaped pieces of wood in a similar style to the walls of the installation – limited color palette and that intuitive approach to the painting – 'what does my gut say to paint here'. I am excited about this work ~ creating those walls last year was a magical experience for me. So with my ‘ripple’ illustration in mind I reviewed some of my photos from ‘this comes from within’ and was surprised by how they felt timely and appropriate for a cry of outrage for this disaster. So many marine and marsh animals were represented on those walls – sea turtles, crabs, nesting birds, lizards, some much more & I am sure there was even a mermaid or two looking out. Now I am not sure what my 'ripple' illustration will be but I wanted to share some of my creatures with you today and to encourage you to check out the 'ripple' site and purchase some original art and support the cause to help the animal victims of the Deep Water Horizon Gulf Oil Spill.

it has a great sound track too!!!! peace all!!!

http://ripplesketches.blogspot.com/

illustration friday ~ slither (in under the wire)

when i saw the topic for illustration friday (last friday) I was inspired to make an illustration because I didn't have one in my portfolio that I thought would work.... hence why I am posting this on thursday night!!!! I still wantto tweak it but... tick, tick, tick.

So, here is SLITHER (what an awesome word)

peace all!!!!