“B” IS FOR BUNNY

                                                
                I was in the midst of Spring cleaning when....
              These  little ATC cards hopped out onto the desk.
                                         Hippity Hop 

 The 3D bunny was quick and easy. I really enjoyed picking
                 out the contrasting papers for this project.

                         Paper is one of my creative fetishes. 
           It's  so relaxing to just cut and paste on a rainy day. 
      Sometimes I even experiment, like with fuzzy cotton balls.
                       This fluffy bunny was a snap to make .
                                   You should try it !!!

Of course, I had to make two 3D bunnies, 

just because, 

Peter Cotton -Tail is coming to town.  I do want him to stop over at my place.

I love chocolate Easter eggs.

Don't you?

" HAPPY EASTER"

"DESERT SPIRIT"

HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY .... Each summer I attend online art classes at the "Artful Gathering” .... Normally, it’s working with clay or watercolors. This year, my intent was a Pastel Portrait class, instead I signed up for a “ Spirit Doll” workshop with Griselda Tello ... 
and the rest is  ‘ HISTORY” .

 If art and dolls take on the  soul of their owners, as the Japanese believe, I wonder what this powerful spirit is trying to tell me ... I call this creation, my “ Bone Keeper” Spirit.

Normally,I create whimsical Victorian type dolls with all the frills, but this time, I was venturing out of my comfort zone into the nulla zone of my childhood.The sky was the limit!!!

Suddenly, I was hearing those creative voices in my head. Goodness, I was talking to myself
( Ha Ha) ... It was unnerving !!! I did however realize, that somehow this teacher and her spiritual techniques had re-opened the door to my " Inner Child", who was screaming  for " FREEDOM".

Funnily enough, I was totally fighting with my creative self, using colors that I had never used before. 

The voice said “red”.  I said, “beige". I heard  blue, then painted it  brown. My ying and yang were definitely at odds with one another ..... THEN, I started to put  them all together (Yikes)

 A big red “NO” sign kept blinking off and on in my head. ...  "What was I thinking?"... and ... “Where was I going with this piece?"

When creating, I often work well into the early morning hours, so finishing a 2 a.m. is no big deal. I hung a skull on the doll and went to bed. Incidently, I never use skeleton images in my work.

When I awoke , I was "pleasantly" horrified at how comfortable I felt with my creation. By now, I was marvelling and laughing at myself while filling the jar with more skulls and bones, even scattering a few around the lid... Whimsically, playing like a child is an "awesome" feeling.

Over the years, I have experienced many art workshops, but have never been wholly  inspired by an artform as Griselda Tello's, "Desert Spirit" class.

Perhaps it was time to reach out and see a bigger picture ...  I am truly thankful for the authenticity of craft that spoke and freed me to journy forward.

       You can follow or observe 
            Griselda's Artdolls at:
(http://spiritartdolls.blogspot.com)
                       or at:
(http://facebook.com/bohemiandolls)

         If you ever feel blocked 
 or need a little artistic spirit in
          your life, try some,
          " TELLO THERAPY "
        for your creative soul,

            "IT's AWESOME"

“ FINDING YOUR VOICE"

                                                     

I own and operate the " Dancing Lily Art Studio Art Studio ", 60 miles  northeast of Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. Coming from a jet setting life to the dilapitated acres of a 150 year old heritage home could have been a dismal  journey.  

I have lived in, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Vancouver, on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia, in sunny Florida, the Grand Bahaman Islands  and exotic  Japan. Go GIRL  Go...Go... Go.  ... It's been an interesting but exhausting pace of life.

Seven years ago, I was embarking into a part of Canada that I knew nothing about. ( Yikes)  It definitely meant, that I was slowing down and retiring from the bright lights of the stage, into the deep, dark  ' void ' of, " WHO AM I  ".

Have you ever found yourself lost like some boat adrift  in the sea of life? Have you ever sat in a quiet place contemplating, "WHY"  you are where you are ?

The answer is YES, we've all been to that world of OZ, where nothing makes sense. We are  just,so caught up in the self pity!!! Actually, we are sabotaging ourselves, because we can't control what is happening around us. In general, the stress of life  gets in the way, of what we think, is our happy and perfect life. Sorry ... "SOMETHINGS GOTTA GIVE".

DON'T LOSE YOURSELF !  If life gives you lemons, make  lemonade and drink it in, by going back to your earliest dreams and pastimes. Pull out your childhood pictures. Try to remember your happiest and saddest moments. Work hard at  finding a place where you can BREATHE.

When  I relocated, I knew that I had to re-invent myself, AGAIN ...  So ...  I started doodling happy faces in a memory journal. Then, I rekindled my love of photography, taking pictures of flowers, rainbows and sunsets. In a sense, I was trying to recapture  the " AH " moments  from inside my soul.

I listed all the things that I enjoyed most as a little girl, like blowing dandelions seeds, watching my father's tulips grow, swinging and marveling at the  cloud murals in the sky.

I also remember smashing small rocks into a myriad of textures, shapes and sparkling gold and silver speckles. I think that is where I discovered my  true love for glitter.( Ha Ha)

Art was central to my creative development as a child.  I delighted in painting seasonal  mural on the walls.  My working mother always came home to an exhaustive mess of paper cuttings and paper dolls. She never complained, only complimented me on my creativity.

Yes, when you tweak that inner child, " finding your voice" becomes clearer and clearer ... thus  the " Dancing Lily Art Studio  " was a dream come true ... like the Walt Disney song , "When You Wish Upon A Star ". It doesn't matter who you are. When you wish upon a star, your dreams come true."

The New Year is sure to bring a mixed bag of experiences for us all. Seek and you will find your voice, no matter how daunting your present  situation is. Art is a therapy filled with  an  never ending  circle of hope and Friends who are are always willing to see and hear you. TRY SOMETHING NEW !!!!  

START, by creating little masterpieces this year.  Dabble in mixed media, collage, paint, take a class or maybe even  sculpt with clay. Why don't you begin the New Year, by painting a picture of yourself, using a full spectrum of colours, to lighten and brighten your creative outlook. 

Change is healthy. Change is progressive. Change is a gift that enlightens and brightens the pathway ... NOW GO  and  "FIND YOUR  TRUE VOICE ".

" POWERTEX"

"WONDER of wonders... MIRACLE of miracles" ... I've been uplifted into  'POWERTEX" heaven... It is a revolutionary, water-based, liquid fabric hardener that is 100%  environmentally safe for adults, children and animals.

WHAT A VERSATILE PRODUCT !!!!!  Not only does it make most porous materials and surfaces weather resistant, it allows you and I, to create a unique piece of art that can be left outside, in the summer and the winter months ...  AMAZING !!!!

With the 2015 Christmas passing of my sweet mother-in-law, Peggy, our family needed some spiritual uplifting. I never expected it to come in the form of a fabric hardener.( ha ha) In earnest, I created and created angels and angels and more angels for the local Christmas Fair. 

I discovered that Powertex could be successfully combined with  most natural materials: cotton, fabric, paper, paper mache, silk, metal, air-dry clay, rayon backed polymer clay, concrete, pottery, fiberglass, cardboard, stone, wood, ceramics and many more. ... so bring on the "HEALING " experimentation !!!!

AH-h-h-h-h ... It was such an easy one-step process: Dip your material into the Powertex liquid and then shape, fold, drape, pleat or just basically manipulate the fabric in as many creative ways as possible. WHAT AN AEROBIC WORKOUT !!!! I must have dropped at least ten pounds per Angel( Hee Hee)

Once my creation was dry, I was amazed, at how hard and durable the figurine was ...  YES … The fact that I could display my work, indoors or outdoors, and in the SNOW, only added to the,"WOW FACTOR".

POWERTEX  is one of the leading textile and sculpting mediums in the world …. It has also  received  the non-toxic AP seal, by the Arts and Creative Materials Institute( ACMI) This environmentally friendly cream gives artists and crafters around the world, a serious new medium, to expand their creative scope.  The ONLY limit is your IMAGINATION.

Once you pop off the lid and pour the sculpting cream into the dish, a " DEJA VU " happens. Your hands, begin an annointed  process of euphoric creation, that transcends into the ultimate  artisan zone.

I can hardly believe that I turned my husband's, stinky , old t-shirts, into glorious  angels. YES,
these angelic figurines now wear the sweat and tears of a treasured t-shirt collection.  My hubby complained bitterly, however my reply was ,"Honey, after ten years of wear, it's  time for new ones ". 

As a mixed media artist ...  it is important, to creatively go, where no man/woman has dared to ventured." POWERTEX ", is one of those products that takes you just a little beyond, into the outer space of creative freedom. While other products  might be similar, I must relate, that Powertex,  is user friendly and the LEAST messy fabric hardener that I've ever used.

It is AP accredited for the environment and  all humans and animals. I am relieved, that it is also water- based and easy to clean up after a workshop session. 

You can find Powertex everywhere. It is availabale in a variety of product  sizes in green, red, blue, bronze, yellow, terra cotta, bluish grey, ivory and transparent. The added bonus is that you can buy a fabulous array of regular paint colors or metallic colortrix paints to enhance your creation. Form molds for clay modelling, creative books, videos and online classes make it an amazing  artistic experience.   

Please check out my"http://roslindca.wixsite.com/powertexnb"  site/currently under construction.

Thank for visiting me here at:(dancinglilyartstudio.blogspot.ca) Your visits and  suggestions are always welcome, my Friends.

  

" PAVERPOL "

If YOU can SING , YOU can Dance  with  Paverpol .... It's a revolutionary stiffening product that is environmentally friendly. That means it is  safe for adults, children, animals and mother nature.

Being a Mixed Media Artist means searching out new ways to express ones' self.... I'd been dabbling in sculpting with various types of clay  for  over a  decade ... but I'm not really that old ( Ha Ha)... so.. when I  get my hands into something  utterly wonderful to  create with .... 

 I  BECOME ECSTATIC !!!!!

Don't you LOVE  the way fabric drapes around her body and don't you HATE throwing away that favourite form fitting t-shirt. Well ... I discovered that Paverpol was the answer to my over developed sense of  repurposing and recycling. Mother Earth needs all the help she can get.

REMEMBER: Paverpol is environmentally friendly.

 This beautifully draped bottom is courtesy of my husbands old shredded  t-shirts dipped and layered with  the Paverpol hardening agent ...WOW, how fabulous is that!!!!

The wonderful thing is, that figurines and sculptures dipped in Paverpol can be left outside without any need of further protection.  However, you might want to Paverplast just incase of a creative mistake of not completely covering your cherished piece of art. 

"BETTER SAFE THAN NOT"

Paverpol opens a whole new world of art for you to explore... Please check back at my " Dancing Lily Studio" frequently, as I add new sculptures, workshops and special event schedules for you to attend. I look forward to  introducing you to the Paverpol 

PAVERPOL works best with 100% cotton materials... use your own or buy Paverpol cotton/stockinette here. All products are available online.