Days Without Art.....

Makes Ophelia A Very Sad Girl.....

The brushes are clean and ready to go. My painting table is cleared and ready for my journal...but, sigh, things have been busy around here....I am preparing to teach a class this weekend at Gallery Shibui and getting everything ready has been fun. But not being able to play with my own paint makes me sad....I'll be back though.

I did enjoy a long weekend away with my Silpada sisters at our National Conference....WOW!!

Kansas City will never be the same....6,000 jewelry wearing, phenomenal women all in one place.....WOW!!!

I will get back to my own art making very soon.

Until next time,

Ophelia

Hidden Treasure!!

I completely let it slip by that I was participating in a little challenge with Seth over at the Altered Page. We were to find an old blog post....what a great challenge!! Just going back over the old posts was so incredible to me....I found one, that surprisingly sent chills up my spine...because it is so true for me even today....
Sunday, January 4, 2009

How Time Flies...
I can't believe that so much time has passed since my last post. Gosh, a lot has been going on with me in the studio and life....so lets see...My Big 39 was on Christmas Eve. We spent most of the day on the road...but it was nice to be surrounded by family for my birthday. I'm excited about what being 39 will bring.The holidays were a whirlwind of activity with the kiddies and cousins and such...then we returned home to a bit of quiet for a while.I have decided that my "word" for this year is Believe...Sorry the picture is not very good..... I wanted to address what I believe and of course, the power of belief....What are you believing for this coming year. Do you believe that your art is important enough to have priority in your life? Do you believe that you could go back to school? Do you believe that you could run a marathon? What is it that you belive. Writing my thoughts really helped me clarify my direction for this year, and I encourage you to do the same?Until next time,Ophelia

Experimentation....and Learning New Things

Lets just say that this summer so far has been one of experimentation and learning new things. Experimenting with the things that I already have and going into my studio with no agenda other than play. Talk about good times!!

As for learning new things....I took a class and we played around with Suminagashi (marbling) and oh my gosh!! I was in love, so I of course bought the kit of inks and and the adventure begins!! I have never played with marbling papers before, but this is soooo easy!!!

I have had such a fun time with this!! Its addictive. I just love learning new things....honestly I do, even though learning new things sends me straight to a cash register to purchase everything that I see!

I hope that you will spend some time either experimenting with things that you already have and using them in different ways than you originally learned...or learn something new...you won't be sorry.

With all of the online classes going on now, we don't even have to travel to find fun and exciting classes.

Until next time,

Ophelia

Day 3 of Kiddo at Summer Camp

So its nice and quiet around here....too quiet actually.

I have been in the studio though, but something else is calling me...

I have honestly wanted for a long time to get back in touch with my fiber art side.... I really miss my humble beginnings in fabric and thread.... I would love to get back into my quilting...REALLY. I don't know where it will take me, but this week, I'm gonna give it a try.

In the studio today, I just painted in greens and blues....don't know why, but I realized that all of the pages that I had painted were in greens and blues.

Oh well, its off for some coffee and see what new fiber art a studio dig will bring...stay tuned!

Until next time,

Ophelia

Some Lessons Learned..

Happy Monday!! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend. It is always so hectic with company over and lots of picnics to attend. But, whatever your plans, I hope you enjoyed yourself.

Thanks so much again to all of you that played along with my blog giveaway, and congrats to Seth as the winner!! As I said in an earlier post, stay tuned as I will announce a swap soon, so, we will have an opportunity hopefully in a few days for us to play some more.

On yesterday, we took my son to Camp Oak Hill for his first overnight camping experience. Want to talk about excited!! He has lived his whole life I think for that moment...a week away at camp!! I was honestly a nervous wreck....but he, oh no.... God bless that camp counselor!!

Anywho, back to my post...I did this journal page today because of a little lesson that I learned about being persistent and consistent with things....

I have found that these principals can pertain to any part of your life....for me, it goes with both my art life and my business life....as well as a ton of other things....

I have read lately over and over again how people are realizing their dreams by being consistent and persistent...which is a true stretch for me...when things get tough...I'm off to the next thing. When I hit a roadblock...well, thats it for me....so, I am making a commitment to myself to be persistent and consistent with my art as well as my business. Consistent in that I will show up and work EVERYDAY!!! Persistent---- sticking with it!! I get started on so many things only to discover that when I am not feeling it...I ditch it and move on...I understand that that happens sometimes, but for me, its more times than not, and I have closets filled with unfinished things. Also, I ditch one thing only to go out and find something else to get into creating a studio filled...and I mean filled with a variety of things that I had high hopes for getting into...but then, things got hard with that as well, so my lesson----STICK IT OUT!!! I can't become a master at something overnight....I have to give myself time to learn what it is that I want to do--don't quit on the piece because I think it won't be any good----just follow through until completion!! Same with my business---seriously work everyday at least for one hour, and stick with it even when things get rough...

So, thats my commitment...tell me, have you made any new commitments for yourself...lets do this!!

Until next time,

Ophelia

We Have A Winner!!!

Thank you all so much for the wonderful comments on my new blog makeover. The winner.....drum roll......

Seth from The Altered Page!!!!

If you have not already, I would really encourage you to visit The Altered Page. What a wonderful blog, filled to the brim with inspiration.

Anywho, Seth, send me your snail mail address and I will get off your goodies to you.

Stay tuned guys.....lets get ready to play soon....

Until next time,
Ophelia

A Day of Painting!!

I started the day with lesson 2 of my Layer Love class with Julie.....this is just the beginning of my painting, but WOW!!! I am having so much fun. I started part one of the lesson only to hear the outcries of wrestling moves gone wrong with the boys...so....pause....but, all is not lost, because here is what I did with the paint that remained on my palette from the lesson....

You guessed it....I painted papers... I now keep stacks of rice paper, or any type of paper for that matter ready to slap on some paint when I'm not feeling like journaling or doing anything else, and I love the surprise that comes when its all dry.

Headed out of the studio to calm things down with the boys and well upon return, the muse was elusive...so I changed gears and finished this journal page that I started...

Today marks a "dream" art day....full of paints and playing with my art supplies.

Don't forget to check back tomorrow where I will annouce a winner for a special surprise!! And, if you haven't already, do check out my etsy shop. I have added some collage packs, painted paper packs (yes, the stash has gotten way too large), ledger pages, and other stuff! So check it out!!

See you tomorrow!!

Ophelia