drab and gray
Restlessness

There are four wet painting surfaces doing their very best to dry in my tiny little studio space. It will be at least another few days until they are dry enough to go back into. I do my very best to keep envisioning a larger space where many more paintings are going at once. I’ve got the ideas and not much else. It’s driving me nuts.

When paintings are wet, I’ve got stuffed creatures to create, poetry to write, and yarn to tangle with. When a few other practical projects are out of the way, I will pull my long-neglected dulcimer out of the closet and see what kind of noise I can make from it these days. The music I hear in my head is neither quiet nor demure, so this should be interesting. I wish I liked to draw, but somewhere along the way in my education I learned to dislike the process of drawing. And anyway, it’s not calling to me.

I’m in the early stages of turning my creativity book (it’s in the column to the right somewhere) into an ebook, or at least a PDF book, and then eventually an ebook. There are a bunch of other computer-related projects, some other writing to do, things to study. Naps to take. It’s still winter. Okay, any exuse for a nap.

And it still continues to be winter. This has been a long one. I am tired of the drab city gray that surrounds me. It's not the overcast weather sort of gray that bothers me. I actually like that. Clouds are my friends. Too much sun can act as a spotlight, shining it's uncaring focus on things. It's the cement and concrete and cinderblock that pile up and get to be too much. Something new is howling out to me. I am reaching out the best I can, but I don't know exactly where. Or how. Or when.

posted February 21, 2011

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creative fun from almost nothing
What to do with all this winter

Really. There is just too much winter this winter. Welcome to the early years of climate change; more precipitation than normal, excessive mounts of unusual weather, strange weather patterns, and too much heat in the southern hemisphere this time of year.

So sign your petitions, write your letters to the editor, organize, and do something each month to help mitigate the situation. We can have mild climate change, or we can have extreme climate change. We choose.

Meanwhile, there’s artwork to be made, and you are having a creative block. That's no good. Take what is around you to get things started. Your art can make a statement, or it can be just for the pure joy of creative expression. Either way, here are some winter-inspired ideas to get those creative juices flowing. Any of these ideas can be applied to abstract or pictorial work:

• Polar Bear in a Snowstorm. That used to be the joke about fresh, unpainted canvas. But seriously folks, white on white artwork can be a lovely challenge. Think about how many shades of white there are, plus texture, form, surface, dimension, anything... This will work in almost any medium.

• Clear like ice. Think about the lack of color, or vague hint of color that is ‘clear’. Use clear materials like glass, acrylic sheets and tubes, beads and cellophane to create something that is cold and beautiful as ice.

• Use the various shapes of icicles to inspire your artwork. Again, this can work in any medium, in either two- or three-dimensions.

• Explore interesting ways to photograph snow close-up. Find little compositions in the details of the world. There is information on finding small compositions here.

• Knit, crochet, weave or sew a scarf (which is a cold weather accessory to keep yourself warm) that visually describes the cold in an abstract way. Try not to rely on just using cool colors or white, but think of shapes and textures that describe the cold.

• Want a challenge? Describe the idea of cold without using white or blue. Instead, use only warm colors. Do a collage using warm weather and tropical images, but work it to express the feeling of cold.

Creatively Unblocking Creative Blocks
Author: Alexandria Levin
ISBN: 0-9743267-1-2
Published by Painted Jay Publishing
www.paintedjay.com

posted February 10, 2011

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rabbit rabbit rabbit
Xin nian kuai le!

Another new year! I get three a year, lucky me. But except for wearing red sweater and socks I am not doing much else, as in most years. I sure would like that to change. I have family in northern New Jersey celebrating tonight, as traditionally as one can celebrate in northern New Jersey. It would be really nice to join them, but the way up there is fraught with ice, so that is not happening.

Xin Nian Kuai Le is how you say "Happy New Year" (or "new year happy") in Mandarin. My sister-in-law speaks Mandarin. I lived in San Francisco for many years, where most people speak Cantonese, so I was accustomed to hearing; "Gung Hay Fat Choy!", which means "may prosperity be with you."

It's the year of the rabbit. Rabbits and bunnies have played prominently in my work, mostly due to my commentary on another holiday. These two here; Long Ear Bunny and Lavendar Rabbit, are not holiday-related. They are just bunnies.

May prosperty be with you. May prosperity find its way back to all of us. And I hope you have a new year happy.

posted February 2, 2011

All images and content ©2009-2011 Alexandria Levin