ART & CRAFT

One can have no smaller or greater mastery than mastery of oneself.

~ Leonardo da Vinci

my days have been as busy as they are long,
my life has been so full with so many details it seams as if I can not get ahead.
I have not been as creative as I could be, so much of what I have been doing has been a byproduct of what I have already done. Trying to find a way to be productive with my art and trying to handle the business aspects is proving to be a balancing act for me. I do not look at things as problems but more as challenges and I have become very quite and still within myself as I try to work everything out. I suppose that I am just trying to soak it all in...

An artist must possess Nature. He must identify himself with her rhythm, by efforts that will prepare the mastery which will later enable him to express himself in his own language.
~Henri Matisse

But here is the proof that I have been creating... I made these rings for a steep out that I am working on for A upcoming Belle Amore Jewelry... I made a few rings yesterday because the way I make something is not necessarily how I would teach it. I had to pay attention to myself as I made these rings... there are steeps that I leave out because I have control of the wire and understand how it behaves.
a perfect example of this would be the use of painters tape (better then masking tape as it removes cleanly without adhesive transfer) to help your wires from miss behaving and the use of a sharpie to help you find center.... things that you would never see me actually do, but are extremely helpful and make things so much easier!

"DO AS I SAY, NOT AS I DO!"
comes to mind :)

I have had quite a few different conversations with Art minded people about the debate of ART or CRAFT.

For me there is two parts of creating there is the CRAFT: this is a skill that any one can acquire but you must work hard on your craft to master it. It is vital that people share and pass on there knowledge so that a CRAFT does not disappear. Some may find that they must look to more masterful craft people until they start to develop there own personal style some never move past the CRAFT and fewer still move on to the ART.

"it destroys the craft not to learn it"
~Irish proverb

Now for me the ART is completely separate from the CRAFT and one can study the masters and try to make it there own but to truly find your own true voice the ART must come from with in some who are truly the ART never need to master the CRAFT because the ART is all they need to propel them into creating.

Poor is the pupil who does not surpass his master.
~ Leonardo da Vinci


For me I am very much CRAFT AND ART, I would say for me jewelry started as Craft and I worked hard at developing my skills then I went on to create and build my own style.

Creativity takes courage.
~Henri Matisse

but with my fabric ART, I have a hard time referring to myself as a "quilter" or a "sewer" as I have zero training and its just a calling for me... I can not tell you way I do what I do with fabric its just happens, for me its about the ART.
I know that ever one sees this differently but for me this is how I think it to be true.

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.
~Aristotle


I have received the "You Make My Day Award" a few times over.
one from Jules
and one from Catherine (I keep her phone number is in my cell phone need i say more?)

you are supposed to Give the award to those whose blogs bring you happiness and inspiration. Blogs that you enjoy visiting daily because they enlighten you, inspire you, put a smile on your face or in your heart. Then let them know by posting a comment on their blog so they can pass it on.

The sad hard cold fact is that as much as I love to blog and look at blogs I have not have much time if any to just "Surf" but I have found that I use my flickr contacts, once you set all your favorite people you can in a blink look at 24 different peoples newest uploaded photos at one time! this has became my one true way of keeping up with the online art world at a fast rate so I still fell some what connected! here is my list of a few of my flickr faves, and as luck has it most people here also have blogs so if you like what you see take a look at there profile to get there blog link:



samantha lambs
still life images full of beauty and purity with creative imagination that almost breaks my heart!

andrea singarella,
food for my vintage soul!

Cramzy , a fellow fiber girl that has amazing color and texture in her work!

carambatack,
I want to crawl into and live in her Mixed media illustrations!

Beate Knappe,

get a peek into her life and her fiber art!

identityseven,
Jen truly inspires me, I have had the joy of doing a few projects with her!

Dannymansmith ,
this man can sew! but when you see his work you will end up scratching your head asking "how did he do that!?"

knitsteel,
a girl right after my own heart! a blacksmith that loves to play with fiber!

lorimarsha,
takes vintage and thrift store find and creats amazing art to wear!

missjjj,
Amazing style from home decor to mixed media and a true friend the kind I call her when I need a blast of reality or just someone that understands my crazy art life!

graygoosie,
If I could choose a next store neighbour this girl would be it! Fun, colorful, unique, creative and she takes great pictures!

Sara Lechner,
No one inspires me quite like Sara, Her art touches my soul and really makes me think outside of myself!


"I would say that the thrust of my life has been initially about getting free, and then realizing that my freedom is not independent of everybody else. Then I am arriving at that circle where one works on oneself as a gift to other people so that one doesn't create more suffering. I help people as a work on myself and I work on myself to help people."
~Ram Dass