New Year contemplations

I've been reading "Taking Flight" by Kelly Rae Roberts. It's a book about finding inspiration from your life and following through on your creative wings. It's well written, interspersed with projects and interviews with other artists.

I've enjoyed reading it. There are some wonderful quotations in it: "When you follow your bliss...doors will open where you would not have thought there would be doors, and where there wouldn't be a door for anyone else." - Joseph Campbell. That speaks volumes to me. It's all about following your bliss when being creative, isn't it? Why create to suit anyone but yourself? If it doesn't please you, who will it please?

The projects set out to help you explore various aspects of your creative self. They are well laid out and quite inspiring. I may soon be getting my paints out again! I love a book that's well presented and this one certainly is.

I'll finish with a very profound quote: " The moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never have otherwise occurred." - Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

So this New Year, don't just make resolutions. Ask yourself what it is that you really want. Is it to be more creative? To commit to one piece of art per week? What do you need to fulfill yourself? We all have such thoughts and New Year is the perfect time to begin a new journey. Embracing creativity and striding into 2011, I wish you all the happiest of New Years and my best for the coming year.

Edwina

Bear-y Christmas!

This little guy is going up on my Etsy store, Not Carved In Stone, today. I love making bears. One or two of my bears will be given as gifts this year. I needle felt them fairly firm, so they are squeezable. They are also string jointed, even the heads, which makes them pose-able. I used to attach the limbs permanently, but found people want to manipulate the limbs and head, so that didn’t work. Nothing causes more dismay than your bear’s head coming off!

I’ll be taking a Christmas break from blogging, so want to wish everyone a Merry merry Christmas or whichever holiday you celebrate.

Let’s all wish for Peace. Namaste.

Wordless Wednesday

Banking

Photo by Edwina Sutherland

Stuff I have created

Today I am creating a few ornaments using my free Bonbons pattern. I thought I'd write it up as a tutorial to share with you. You can download the free pattern on my web site.



There is so much going on lately that I want to get out there and share. I have two online classes coming up. the first is on Cloth Doll Connection. Join me as we create Dylan the Celtic Elf. This class will show you how to needle sculpt and paint a character face, as well as make simple joints to pose the doll.



The other class I am very proud of I created using new online software. . You can sign up for it on my web site. It's all about Costuming an 1812 doll. In this class, I lead you step by step through the process of making a pattern and clothing a doll, including shoes!

Wordless Wednesday

Into the Green

Photo: Denise Fletcher

Raining cats and dogs

I have one more show this holiday season, at Fisher Park School. I have created some mini cats and dogs, which I am sure will be popular. I took this picture, which I thought looked like a herd on the move.

I might set them up so that they "chase" the penguins. They are made from wool fiber and needle felted over a wire armature. I'm an animal lover, so these are favourites of mine.

Wordless Wednesday

Zentangle on a mandala print

by Edwina Sutherland