Feeling Accomplished :)

The weeks are finally starting to move for us. Not as fast as we want it to but enough to feel like a day is over and another one starts. Our family has experienced some emotional ups and downs this last week as we heard bad news throughout the week. I know it has to be frustrating for my husband being not only is he far away, but countries away. :( We do the best we can for what we can do and just hope it all works out from there.

On the positive side of things. I am really enjoying my American Tribal Style belly dancing class. I feel worked out and it is also a time to be able to just learn something new with other women and step away from the reality of things for a little while at least. My instructor is very patient and informative and really comfortable to be around so I look forward to the classes even more. :) If you happen to be in the area she is teaching in two different places. Here is her information if you would like to learn. :) http://www.urvashidance.com/


I am so proud of myself that despite being "busy" as I always am, and besides fulfilling my to do things I have also accomplished what I enjoy to do and that is learn more about painting. I have always been creative all my life, whether its to doodle, journal, write, collage or make jewelry. And lately I am finally feeling more confident to give myself that opportunity to explore and to understand the need to create. I started with my glass jewelry because it was so hands on. I could shut the door to my studio or space and just create losing myself in my creative mode. What was a hobby is now a little more and I hope that it grows. But in the in between stages I get a creative block and have to switch gears into my mixed media art. Although I have pieces hanging in my home my confidence to actually paint was always lacking. I had an inner critic that would just destroy my hopes of learning the media better, until I found the Get Your Paint On Class.

Stumbling upon this class was a great thing to happen. I was afraid at first not knowing really what to expect not out of the class but of myself and thought what is there to lose. This last week was our first assignment and even if I had some rough moments or unmotivated days, I pushed through and enjoyed the whole process of creating. I also realized when I dedicated a whole day to painting not only for the class but for my personal projects that it was such a rewarding and therapeutic feeling. I am not an expert by any means and still a very fresh beginner but I have realized it is okay to let go and give yourself the freedom to just enjoy learning, experimenting and creating.

So with that said here is my first assignment:
Our first week assignment for our class was to be inspired by Gee's Bend Quilts. The history and the quilters behind the quilts were inspiring in its own right but seeing pictures of the geometric and gridded quilts was so inspiring. I usually just start throwing paint on a canvas but this time I did sketch it out in my sketchbook and sketched it out on my 11X14 canvas.

Images taken from the internet from different sources for inspiration:

My first assignment in progression:

The finished piece after sanding it down and spraying matte varnish on the painting.

I feel so accomplished that not only did I finish the assignment on time but I also enjoyed it and took my time to work on it. This week I picked up our second assignment which will deal with Subject Matter and Painting Style. There is a lot of information and inspiration and I know this will be more of a challenge than the first, but I am looking forward to it and this is the reason I took the class. So thank you to Mati and Lisa for challenging us and yet making the class so fun that we look forward to the new assignments. :)

Besides the painting assignments I have been working on a triptych for my living room wall. Bo already put the hooks up on the wall to remind me my canvases should be hanging there. :) I will share those with you in the near future as this painting class has given me a boost of confidence to just paint what does feel good to me and what I like. :) Bright colors to be my main palette as you can see. :)

It is snowing again and looks like a complete blizzard outside. The boys were let out of school an hour early today. Days like this give me more time to work on my projects.
So off I go....:)