And The Winner of My Birthday Giveaway is.... & What I did on my Birthday

And the winner, chosen by Random Number Generator, of these beautiful cards I made using my background papers from Week One of The Artistic Mother workshop for my birthday giveaway is Mandy of Eight is Enough. She is one of the participants of The Artistic Mother Art Group I am hosting here on my blog where we are going through the 12 projects in The Artistic Mother workshop together, blogging about it and encouraging one another. (And we are still accepting  participants if you would like to join in the fun.) She is a homeschooling mother of 8. Fun and encouraging person. She also does beautiful layouts for her scrapbook pages. Congratulations, Mandy.

I would also like to say a big thank you to everyone who wished me a happy birthday. And what did I do for my birthday weekend? The children and I did art most of the day. We made more ATC's, artist trading cards, and greeting cards from our background papers from Week One. Just more practice for making the poetry journal, our project for Week Two.

And on Sunday after church, our neighborhood was having a block party. We all met at the park at the back of the neighborhood. There were blowup slides and jumping things for the kids, hot dogs, music, frisbee, riding scooters and skateboards and face painting, etc. Another mom from the neighborhood who I haven't seen in a while brought several hula hoops, and I hula hooped. It was so much fun. I'm hooked. It's something I can do with the kids while getting in shape at the same time. I hadn't done this since I was a kid. So I was surprised when I was able to do it. The reason I was able to was because the hoops were of better quality than the ones you buy for the kids. They are bigger around in diameter. It makes a huge difference. So trust me, if you had one of these hoops, you could do it, too. She also showed me a few tricks. And she told about this website where you can take online hooping classes. Looks interesting. They have a section, I think under FAQ's, where they show you how to make your own hoops.

And here is a picture of my 9 year old daughter, Emily of Super Stitches, hula hooping with several at the same time. This was her first time she was successful with hula hooping. I told you, it's the hoop you use that makes all the difference. Emily has an awesome blog; so check it out.

I would also like to share with you that my 16 year old daughter has a blog as well called What To Wear. It's cute and fun.

And also for those of you who may not be aware, I also having sewing, fashion and style blog. So please look around and see what you think. Click here.

My Birthday & A Giveaway For You!

Hey, Everybody! Today is my birthday! I'm a young 45! I'm celebrating by giving you the present! I made two cards just this morning using my background papers from Week One of The Artistic Mother Workshop we are all going through together. I applied the technique for making mini-collages by making ATC's, artist trading cards, just a bit bigger. that I mentioned in my previous post. I made a view finder the size of my cards. These cards can be given away or can actually be used as part of another project, for example, a wall hanging. Use your imagination.

This giveaway is open to my followers only. So if you would like to be included, please sign up as a follower and then leave a comment letting me know that you are a follower. I will use Random Generator to choose a winner from those followers who leave me a comment. Please make sure that I have a way to get ahold of you. You will have one week from the time I have announced the winner to contact me to claim your prize.

So sign up as a follower and leave your comments now! You have until Sunday evening to leave your comments.

Mini-Collage Practice as a Warmup for Poetry Journal

Here are my versions of practicing doing mini-collages as a warmup before doing the poetry journal, Week Two's project in The Artistic Mother workshop. Shona of An Artful Life and author of The Artistic Mother has done a post about this with a tutorial. I really suggest you take a look at it because she goes into detail breaking it down into steps showing how to make and use a view finder in order to help you make the proper combinations. It's a very easy method and can be used on many projects.

I used my background papers from Week One to make these. The first two were made by tearing and cutting up strips of my papers and glueing them onto a playing card. The last photo is a greeting card. The same process was used. The papers were glued onto some card stock that was folded in half to make a card instead of onto a playing card.

Art Action Plan Sheet

I painted a couple of other sheets of paper with lighter colors and decided to use this one for my Art Action Plan sheets from Week One of The Artistic Mother by Shona Cole. I didn't stamp it or do the edges with the oil pastels, although it probably would have been a nice touch. Just good old paint over gessoed paper. I used the monoprinting techniques mentioned on Page 61 where you apply a couple of drops of paint, two different colors, on one half of the paper and spread it around with a rag or a brush, lay the other half of the paper over it, rub it, then open, then add a second color to the unpainted parts and blend.  I love the way it turned out.

 I then scanned it into the computer for future use as recommended on Page 71, Step 4. I also scanned in one of my other sheets to use for stationery. I'm hooked now. I don't think I can ever buy store bought stationery or To Do List sheets at the store again. I love making my own. This is very addicting.

I am so loving going through the projects in this book The Artistic Mother with all of you. There are so many great project ideas within the 12-week step-by-step workshop course and the book's message of how to bring creativity back into our lives, the weekly action plan to help us make the best use of our time and the tips on creating time and space in our lives for our art. I am getting so much out this book along with the support of this group being hosted on my blog, The Artistic Mother Art Group. You are all so encouraging, and I am really enjoying getting to know you and making new friends. Thank you for all of the wonderful comments on my previous post about my background papers that I painted.

If you are new to my blog and would like to learn more about this art group, please read my post about it here.

My Background Papers for the Artistic Mother Art Group are Done

Drum roll, please. My background papers for Week One of The Artistic Mother Workshop are done! Yea. It was fun. Wasn't it? The last picture shows my papers before they were stamped and the edges rubbed with oil pastels. Amazing what a different the stamping makes. Isn't it? I wasn't especially fond of my papers at first. But then after I had stamped them, I fell in love with them. I plan to make more papers with lighter colors. I have a few but not enough. But this will get me started. It's so nice having a stash of papers just ready to go for the future projects and not have to stop to make them later.

I still have to make my Art Action Plan Sheets, but that won't take too long. I'll just choose one of these pretty little papers to print them on.

Now on to Week Two, the poetry journal. I am so excited about this. It will make writing my own poetic words so much more fun. And we get to use bits of our papers. And after the poetry journal, we'll be making the poetry tote to carry our journal in. There will be coordinating elements within each; so they will match. What joy! What joy! Aren't you excited, too?

I need to go and read the Suggested Art Action Plan on Page 73 now so I can make sure that I'm also doing the other parts of the workshop because it's not just about doing the projects. The projects are provided to help us put into practice the concept of doing a little bit of art each day and making time for it in the midst of our busy lives. The poetry and photography assignments will be used in our future projects. So I need to make sure I'm doing those, too, so when I get to those projects, I have everything I need for them. I don't want the stress of having to rush around at the last minute trying to get it done, kind of like cramming for a test. Yuck! Who wants that stress? I want to enjoy this journey as much as possible. I think if I do a little each day in each area, I will get there in the end.

I hope you are all having fun, too. I've seen many of your papers, and they are just totally gorgeous. Remember, don't compare your papers to anyone else's and remember, too, that they are not meant to be works of art in and of themselves. We will be tearing them up and using them for our projects. So we are not going for perfection here.

 For those  of you who haven't done your papers yet or if you are just joining our group, don't fret. You still have time to do them. We are just now getting into Week 2, and we will spend two weeks on it so that everyone has a chance to catch up. I know that everyone's lives are extremely busy and that you-all have so much going on; that's why we are spending two weeks on each project, even though the book would have us do them in one. Because we will all have sick days, out-of-town company, vacations, holidays, other projects we would like to do in between these projects and just life, errands, laundry, cooking, etc., etc. So this workshop is totally doable for everyone. And it will teach us how to balance our lives and manage our time; so we need it. I know I do!

Are you taking photos of your kids, reading a little poetry each day? Week 2 will have us doing a little writing, not poetry, but words. They are short assignments. But each week's assignments will build upon the previous week's. It will take just a few minutes each day. It's really quite fun. I find that it is stretching me in a way that I haven't been stretched before and causing me to look at my world and my family in a more appreciative way. And in the end I will have made some precious keepsakes that will hold my memories.

Let me know how you're doing. How is it going for you? Are you having fun? What are you learning and getting out of The Artistic Mother's Art Group? Have you made any new friends? I know I have. You all have been great, and I feel that I am becoming friends with several of you all ready. You have been such a support to me. And that's what this group is all about, being a community and supporting and encouraging one another. A big thank you to all of you who have been visiting around. It makes such a difference. We don't want anyone to feel isolated. We are in this together.

And please note that several have joined us and I have several more that are about to be added since you've started. I keep my list updated here as well as The Artistic Mother's Art Group Blog List in my sidebar. Whoever has posted most recently moves to the top. To see all of the participants, just click the "show all." If you have made your own list of participants on your blog,  please either update yours with the new participants or come and check out my blog list each day for those who have recently posted because we want everyone to get visits. It's so important that we are here for one another. Thank you so much. I am so glad that I am doing this workshop with you and not alone. You are all amazing!

Also, Shona Cole, author of The Artistic Mother, has just done an awesome post that will be a big help to us as move into Week Two. She suggests making mini collages on playing cards to practice using our background papers before we start making our journals to train our eye to see both bad and good composition and color choices. View it as a little warmup before diving into the journal project. I am definitely going to do this. It looks like fun. She's done an excellent tutorial showing a step-by-step. I'll show you mine in a couple of days when I get it done; then I'll start working on my journal.

The Kids' Painted Papers & My Gessoed Papers

The kids have been so inspired by my being involved in The Artistic Mother's Art Group that they painted for hours a couple of days ago. They were also inspired by the work of Lance Cross, Abstract by Lance. You can see some of his work on the post I did about him. They were calling their paintings, Abstract by Martin and Abstract by Emily. It was so cute. 

The first two photos are Emily's, and the next two are Martin's. The next four photos show me putting the gesso on my papers. I gessoed colored card stock, white computer paper, junk mail, worksheets from an old Latin workbook, and some music sheets, which are not pictured. 

The last photo is a picture frame that Emily decorated with buttons. She has posted about this on her blog. She has a really cute blog with lots of fun things going on.

Also, Shona Cole of An Artful Life and Author of The Artistic Mother did a post on the rubber stamps that she uses and where she purchased them. I thought I would let you know in case you weren't sure what type of stamps to use when stamping your background papers. You can use any kind you like. This will just give you some ideas if you need them. She is also doing a giveaway on her blog. She is giving away a copy of the magazine Studios by Cloth Paper Scissors. Good luck. I hope one of you win it. 

I finished painting my papers last night, and I'll be stamping them today. I'll probably show you the pictures of them tomorrow. 

Motherhood Article & Artistic Mother Art Group Mentioned at Shutter Sisters

Shona Cole has written a beautiful article about the art of motherhood and also talks about The Artistic Mother's Art Group over at Shutter Sisters. She also mentions that she would love to see pictures of your precious children and requests that you leave a link for her to go and take a look. You will love her article. It is very inspirational and will bless your day. I encourage you to go and read it.

I am hoping to paint my papers today! They are already gessoed. After seeing all of your beautiful papers, I'm getting excited that maybe I can do this. I sure hope mine look half as good as yours. Oh, and my children already did their papers. They beat me to it. I'll try to get a picture to show you soon. The creative bug has really bitten them since I started this group. Hope everyone is having fun. I know I am. You guys make it all worth it. I've been really enjoying reading your blogs and following your progress. I'm learning so much from you!

Above picture: My two girls having a bad hair day.

Show & Tell Fridays, Calling All Artistic Mother's Art Group Participants, and Everyone Else, Too

Donna Rodgers from Comin' Home is an avid quilter, seamstress, and crafter. She is hosting a weekly Show & Tell on her blog that includes anything you are working on in any medium: sewing, painting, cooking, photography, altered art, scrapbooking, etc. She wants to encourage everyone in their creative pursuits.  Just send a picture of your latest endeavor, finished or in progress, a little blurb about your submission, and a link back to your website or blog. She will post it on the very next Friday. You can send one every week if you like.  She has a Show & Tell and an I Was Featured button that you can grab and put on your sidebar if you like. 


She said that she would really love to have submissions of people from the Artistic Mother's Art Group's progress. So if you want to show off your work, contact Donna. This show and tell is for everyone not just participants of The Artistic Mother's Art Group.


Also, don't forget that there is The Artistic Mother on Flickr that you can post your book-related work on if you like. The Flickr group is for anyone going through Shona's book, The Artistic Mother, not just participants of The Artistic Mother Art Group. The button is in my sidebar.


(The above photo is of my teenage daughter, on the right, with her cousin having fun. Sorry it's so blurry but I loved it so much I had to share it anyway. I currently have an inexpensive point-and-shoot camera. We're hoping to get a better one some day Hope you enjoy it anyway.)

A Must Read for Artsy Moms

Donna of Comin' Home has done an awesome post about the creative home. She shares about her childhood growing up with artist parents and how she has raised her own children in an artistic environment and how she has accomplished this. She shows us how we too can have creative homes, how our children and husbands can join us in our creativity, how we can put it into action. Very easy, practical, common sense advice. Living the artistic life for this family just comes naturally. It's not something they have to think about. It's just what they do, how they live. It's as natural as breathing and eating. It's a part of the everyday routine.

This is one of the most amazing posts I think I have ever read on the subject, and Donna is an amazing person. If you have not met her yet, I encourage you to look around her blog. It is by far my favorite homemaking blog. She is a wife, mother, homemaker, sewer, artist, song writer, home educator and more and probably one of the sweetest women you will ever know. I am so excited about what she shares in her post, and I can't wait to put it into practice. I want what they have for my family.

The post is rather long; so make sure you have five minutes to read it when you go. But it is worth every minute. I encourage you to read it all the way through. I truly believe that it will make a difference in your life and that of your family and help you along this journey that we are all taking together of learning how find the time for our art and making it our lifestyle, daily. I'd love to know what you think of her post after you've read it.

And hope you enjoy the above photos of my family having fun together playing frisbee in the backyard. We cherish our family time, and I love to share some of our special moments with you. They are what make my life worthwhile.

Encouragement for The Artistic Mother Art Group

I would like to encourage everyone to visit around the other participants' blogs and leave encouraging comments and really support one another as we go along on this journey together. I know many of you are doing this already, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. You've already been such an encouragement to me.  It's so easy to get discouraged from time to time and to feel like we aren't doing a good job. I would like for us to be a community of women who are there for one another, keeping the lines of communication flowing, and lifting one another up, since we will all get down from time to time.

If any of you are feeling discouraged at this time or struggling with being too critical of your work, Shona has done a wonderful post called "A Word to the Discouraged."

Also, so that I have a way to reach everyone if I have an important message to send you, if you haven't already sent me your email address, please do so at sewingwithtrudy at yahoo dot com.

Speaking of being able to reach everyone, I have not been able to reach Dani of A Sprinkle of Fairy Dust. Dani, if you are reading this, I don't have your email address; and I've tried to leave comments on your blog, but the comment box will not open when I click on "comments." So you may wish to look into that. I hope you will also send me an email.

Anyway, thanks again everyone for your participation in The Artistic Mother Art Group. I know we are all going to grow so much and develop the habit of doing a little art each day and figure out how to balance our family and our art, while at the same time, not neglecting our families or other responsibilities.

SpringFest Art Festival, Texas Wine & Art

(I would like to thank Lance Cross for providing and allowing me to use the photos of his work.)

This past weekend my husband and I got away for a few hours, just the two of us, and went to the SpringFest, Texas Wine and Art, in Old Town Spring. We had a lovely time holding hands and walking around looking at all of the art booths. There were only two that captured our attention. We saw the coolest carved cacti. I am sorry, but I didn't think to get the name of the creator of these. But they were very fascinating; so I wanted to share a few pictures of them for your enjoyment. 

Then we saw the art of Lance Cross of Abstract by Lance. Oh my!  You must see these in person to really appreciate their beauty. The texture and depth of each piece is extraordinary. He mixes things like sawdust and wood shavings in the paint to obtain the textures. Then he uses a method that he developed that he calls tuck and flow, a term which he coined. He uses acrylic paints on canvas with a high gloss enamel finish and makes his own frames. He is a fairly new artist and completely self-taught. His work comes from within and is divinely inspired. He is always coming up with new techniques and trying new things. He said that if someone says that something can't be done, he tries it; and quite often proves them otherwise. He is always on the look out for new materials to use for texture. So he is the one to bookmark and watch because I think his work is going to get better and better. I am very impressed, to say the least. The pictures on his website are a bit small, but he has them on Flickr as well, which is a little easier to see. He was so popular that he always had a crowd around him. He sold 15 of his pantings that weekend. I hope to have one of his masterpieces hanging in my home. So if you want to be inspired and amazed, pay Lance a visit. Click on my photos to enlarge them so you can see the textures and colors better.

If you are here in Texas and would like to see Lance's work in person, he will be at The Market Street Art Show in The Woodlands April 24th.

How to Keep Your Gessoed Papers From Curling

Thanks, Shona, for the photo above. 

Below is from an email I received from Shona Cole, author of The Artistic Mother. A couple of people have asked her about their paper curling as they gesso to prime. She wanted me to share her response with The Artistic Mother Art Group so that everyone can benefit from the information.

1)  THE PAPER WILL CURL UP A LITTLE AT THE SIDES THAT IS NORMAL...WHEN DRY, WHICH IS A SHORT TIME,  I PUT THE STACK UNDER A BIG BOOK OVER NIGHT.

2)  A LOT OF CURLING (IE. CURLING UP ON ITSELF LIKE A SWEDISH FISH IN LOVE) MAY BE BECAUSE YOU ARE USING TOO MUCH WATER...I USE ONLY A DAMP BRUSH AND VERY LITTLE WATER TO SPREAD THE GESSO. (IF YOU ARE GESSOING OVER WORDS ON JUNK MAIL AND YOU WANT THEM TO SHOW THROUGH, YOU WILL USE MORE WATER, BUT STILL NOT THAT MUCH... YOU WILL HAVE TO FIND THAT BALACE BY PRACTICE.)

3)  USE A WHOLE LOT OF GESSO. SPREAD THE GESSO ON THICK. IT IS NOT A WASH WHEN YOU ARE PREPARING PAPERS. YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE ANY PLAIN PAPER WHEN DONE (THE COLORED PAPER WILL TINT THE GESSO A LITTLE, BUT IT IS A SUBTLE EFFECT.)

4)  HUMIDITY CAN ALSO BE A FACTOR. IF IT IS HUMID AND YOUR PAPERS ARE CURLING, JUST STICK THE PAPERS UNDER A BOOK OVER NIGHT!

5)  THE TYPE OF PAPER SHOULDN'T MAKE MUCH DIFFERENCE, BUT THE LIGHTER THE PAPER WEIGHT THE MORE CURLING YOU SHOULD EXPECT.

6)  DON'T WORRY TOO MUCH. A LITTLE CURLING AND BUMPING IS NOT A PROBLEM. THE PROJECTS YOU WILL BE DOING ALL REQUIRE SMALL PIECES OF PAPER; SO YOU WILL BE CUTTING AND TEARING THESE SHEETS AND GLUING THEM TO THINGS. THEN THEY WILL BE FLAT!

Photo Taking Tips for the Artistic Mother Art Group

A big thank you to my husband, Marty Callan, for taking the above photo.

Presentation is everything! You've worked so hard to make your beautiful works of art; so you'll want to take some great photos to best show it off. Disney of Ruffles and Stuff has done an excellent tutorial on how to take the best photos of your work. She has examples of how your subject will look in different lighting and with different backgrounds. I recommend you pop on over and read all about it. Below I have done a quick summary of her photography tips. But if you're visual like me, you'll want to see her examples. When you go to her site, look in the archives for her post. It was done on March 2nd, 2010. For some reason I wasn't able to get the link to go directly there. Sorry.

1: Always take photos in outdoor lighting! A cloudy day is best, to avoid shadows, or look for some shade.

2: Use a good background! Use a large white mat board or a white sheet, pretty papers, or nature, so long as you can see your subject clearly.

3: Get creative with your photo. You don't want your subject to always be centered! Play around with different angles, fun backgrounds Look for interesting backgrounds.

4: Photo-editing programs. So important. You can use iPhoto and Photoshop for cropping, adjusting the exposure, and color temperature, and if you don't have access to those, try using Picnik, which is a free online photo-editing site.

Sidenote: Now check out my nine year old daughter Emily's blog. She has done a post about things she and her brother Martin made with paper mache. This post is sure to be an inspiration for your kids. Then click on "home" and "older posts" to see all of her posts and look around. She's an incredible kid.

Poetry Recommendations for The Artistic Mother Art Group

A big thank you to my husband, Marty Callan, for taking the above photo.

As part of The Artistic Mother workshop, we are encouraged to read poetry each day. See Pages 48 through 51. Much poetry is just so deep and vague that you have to really try to figure out what the meaning was behind it. As a busy momma, I don't have time to sit around thinking that hard. I need something that is easily accessible for my mind to digest, that I can still be reflecting upon as I go about my day. I want poetry that will lift my thoughts to a higher plane, that will give me beautiful thoughts to think. If our minds are filled with lovely things, they will not be as likely to wander to the negative. I want poetry that will make me smile and cause me to reflect on my life around me, that will lead me to appreciate my world a little more.
This is the list recommended by Shona Cole of An Artful Life on her blog. I have her permission to share this with you. She also has more recommendations for poetry in the index of her book The Artistic Mother on Pages 126 and 127.

1) Late Wife by Claudia Emersen – This is about a woman’s experience of a divorce. Powerful, brilliant, moving. Brilliant metaphors at every turn. 

2) Mean Time by Carol Ann Duffy 

3) The World Doesn’t End by Charles Simic – this is a brilliant, surreal, fun, devastating look at the absurd

4) The Trouble with Poetry by Billy Collins – funny, insightful, cuts through, holds up and describes the oddest things. 

5) Delights & Shadows by Ted Kooser – what a lovely world this poet lives in, concrete, real, he studies those around him and reflects their mundane lives with dignity

6) North by Seamus Heaney – This is a little dense, but the words are layered and lovely and earthy. 

7) Anne Stevenson selected poems – a delight, she is that wise older woman who is gentle and insightful. Her poems are real and well ‘seen’. 

8) The Art of The Lathe by B.H. Fairchild – This poet is a MASTER of the English language. He writes about subject matter in such a way that makes the reader compelled, riveted, amazed! 

9) Good Poems complied by Garrison Keillor – this is the perfect starter poetry book, he has complied a complete, easy to read, diverse look at modern poetry. 

10) Small Knots by Kelli Russell Agodon, She has insights and sensitive observations on life as a woman, daughter and a cancer survivor. Reading this book is like being touched by a light breeze ~ gentle and feminine, but sure. 

If you have any poetry books that you recommend, please share.

*** Disclaimer – Some of these books are like watching movies that have been awarded an R rating. I would not recommend them for children ;) ***

For poetry for children that they would love and would cause them to love poetry, I highly recommend the works of Shel Silverstein. He has writen Where the Sidewalk Ends and A Light in the Attic.
IF YOU HAVEN'T JOINED US YET AND WOULD LIKE TO PARTICIPATE in The Artistic Mother Art Group, LEAVE ME A COMMENT. I'M STILL ACCEPTING NEW MEMBERS.

The Artistic Mother on Flickr

Anyone going through the projects found in Shona Cole's book, The Artistic Mother, is welcome to post photos of their work on The Artistic Mother on Flickr, even if they are not participating in The Artistic Mother Art Group. The Flickr group is separate and not connected with The Artistic Mother Art Group. It is for everyone.


Shona Cole has started The Artistic Mother Group on Flickr. We can inspire one another as we post our artwork based on the projects in her book, The Artistic Mother. Whether you are a mother or not, you are welcome to post so long as the work is book-inspired art based on Shona's book. When you upload your photo, please add a title or description that mentions which week's project the piece was inspired by. This will help others who are looking for inspiration for a specific project. 


 I look forward to seeing all of your creations on your blogs as well as all in one place on this Flickr group. Go here to get started posting.


IF YOU HAVEN'T JOINED US YET AND WOULD LIKE TO PARTICIPATE, LEAVE ME A COMMENT. I'M STILL ACCEPTING NEW MEMBERS.

URGENT MESSAGE!! I received this from Jeannie. If you have a blog list for The Artistic Mother Art Group on your sidebar,  please remove her blog from your blog list and add her new one so no one gets this virus. Thanks so much!

The Gambill Circle said...

Hi Trudy,
It seems that my blog takingthebackroad.blogspot.com
has been hit by some sort of malware. I've talked to several of my family members who follow and it is being blocked. I am working on getting a new site up this week as it seems removing the problem is more complicated than starting over.

Can I please sign up again for the Artistic Mother Group under the new URL? It would probably be a good idea to take the old address off the list if you can in case the malware is transferable.

So sorry for the inconvenience!

New blog & URL
taking the backroad: a family's adventure
backroadfamilyadventure.blogspot. com

Thanks! Jeannie

Button for the Artistic Mother's Art Group & Other News

There have been a couple of changes in the instructions I sent you. To make things easier for everyone since our group has grown so much, instead of having to put all of the links in each post or on your sidebar, I have made a button for the group. Just grab my button and put that in your sidebar. 

The other change is that instead of having to post at the end of each week, you may post about your progress any time of the week that is best for you; but do try to post weekly. When posting your progress each week, if you could mention the group and a link to my blog in your posts, that would be great. That way people can go to my blog and see the list of the other participants and click around to see their progress as well.

Please check my blog often for tips, notes of encouragement and exciting news. Coming soon will be a post about a Flickr group for our Mothers' art group and also a giveaway.

And if you could you please send me your email address to sewingwithtrudy at yahoo dot com so that if I want to do a group email, I'll have everyone's address? Thanks so much.

IF YOU HAVEN'T JOINED US YET AND WOULD LIKE TO PARTICIPATE, LEAVE ME A COMMENT. I'M STILL ACCEPTING NEW MEMBERS.

Trudy

Tips on Background Paper Decorating

Thank you, Shona, for the above photo.

Shona's post today is about making the background papers for using with the different projects in The Artistic Mother's workshop in Shona's book, The Artistic Mother. So just hop on over to read all about it. She has some great photos with the step-step-step instructions.

Getting Started on The Artistic Mother Workshop

This post is for those who are doing or would like to do the 12-week workshop laid out in Shona Cole's book, The Artistic Mother, A Practical Guide to Fitting Creativity into Your LIfe.

IT'S NOT TOO LATE TO JOIN IN THE FUN!! I AM ACCEPTING LATE REGISTRATIONS. THE MORE THE MERRIER. JUST LEAVE ME A COMMENT.

Below is a message from Shona herself:

"One of the primary goals of my book is to give Moms, like me, like you a method of organization (time, space and mind) so that we can make space for art in our busy days.

In section one I lay out how important it is to create a vision statement, long term goals, short term goals and then a weekly schedule. In the workshop the weekly art schedule is made for you. But before you get there you need to take the time to create your vision statement (this is essential for project #4 anyhow), and to list your big and smaller art goals. These will help fuel your passion and resolve to keep at it.

So when you get the book, I recommend you read the first section thoroughly and take the time to do the mental preparation.

Next comes the physical preparation – getting your space and habits in order. Without some attention to these you may find it difficult to get going or keep it going over the course of the workshop.

You also have to start gathering the necessary supplies. I tried to use as few tools as possible in the projects, now is the time to see what you need to buy or borrow. One of the most important parts of creating the projects is having a large supply of papers, images and fabrics available to choose from as you create. So take some time to be a gatherer of stuff! I give you lots of ‘stuff’ ideas in the book.

The point is not to rush on and get the projects done, but to practice the process of slowing down, doing a little art a day and not becoming burnt out or stressed about it. Slow and steady, like the tortoise.

While I designed the workshop to be 12 weeks, in reality each ‘day’ could be 2 days or a week's work, whatever your circumstances calls for. The more realistic you are the more likely you are to stick with it.

The secondary focus of the book is to turn your artistic eye home, to your family, your kids. So be prepared to take photos and write about your world. Even if you don’t have kids, each of the projects could easily be adapted to be non-kid focused. You could focus on your spouse, parents, nieces and nephews, pets, friends, your personal items and so on, so don’t feel left out if you don’t have kids!!!

Check in tomorrow as I will be posting some recent photos of me making the background pages (Week 1) in the Artistic Mother workshop."