Kat Eye Studio

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A Stack of Happiness

Look at this stack! This is a stack of the happiest, most fun mail you are ever going to see. This is a stack of 112 envelopes for the Liberate Your Art postcard swap! On Saturday, things were sorted out enough in our house that I had the time and space to start going through these envelopes. It just filled me with joy! This is not work in the slightest, but exceptionally fun and inspiring.
Some of the envelopes were completely decorated. I love all of you mixed media artists who find any surface something to create art on! Just look at this one, can you guess where it’s from? You would be right!

And here’s one from closer to my new home, California. A little bit of art in the mail, anyone?

My blog friend, Kristin, created this envelope from inspiration from this photo I took in Ravenna. Funny thing, I took that photo because I was reminded of Kristin by the snail! Such a fun circle of inspiration that happens with artists sometimes. Too bad the US Postal Service covered up some of her art with their sticker.

Here’s one that I didn’t want to open, just look at that! I think the dancer stamped on the envelope is definitely Liberating her art…

The stamps were art too! I didn’t know I had anyone in Hong Kong participating, what a nice surprise.

And then, opening the packages there were lots of little treats inside. Some were prettily wrapped, like this one from TJ of Studio Mailbox.

I was surprised at how many of the participants included a little something for me. Totally unexpected! Lots of postcards and little notes. Some magnets and little bits of this or that to use for my own projects. Even some chocolate! This was fun mail at its best. Here’s a tiny sample of what was shared with me, but I don’t want to give away too much, so that you will be surprised by the art you get in the mail!

This was exactly what I needed to inspire me and reconnect me to the creative community after my move. I can’t wait for the rest of the envelopes to come in and then to get this art liberated back into the world. If nothing else, everyone liberating all of this art has had a wonderfully positive effect on me!

PS – My blog is now on Pacific Standard Time! I updated my profile location and about me page too. Sorry for the two posts in one day but I’m trying out my new schedule. So far, so good! 


PPS – Linking in to Creative Every Day and The Creative Exchange today. It’s good to be back!

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My Bags are Packed

I have a song running through my head this morning:

My bags are packed, I’m ready to go… (humming the melody)… I’m a-leavin’ on a jet plane…

My suitcase is packed full of painting supplies, and on Wednesday I head to Yorkshire, England for the Do What You Love Creative Enterprise Retreat. This retreat is a combination of art classes and creative enterprise sessions over three or so days. There are three different art class options, and I’m taking the painting class with Flora Bowley – I can’t wait!

I’ve been keeping my eye out for a painting class or art retreat in Europe for quite a while, since 2009 when I got the urge to start painting. I’ve periodically looked and nothing ever felt like it was the perfect option for me until this retreat came up. I was intrigued by the combination of both art and creative business. When I read the description of Flora’s class and saw her work, I was sold. I loved her bright, expressive style and knew this was the class for me. It’s ironic that I’m taking a painting class in Europe with an instructor who lives and works only 90 miles from my permanent home in Oregon, but there is also a synchronicity to that too.

What’s even better are the connections that I will make with the people attending from around Europe and North America. The UK, USA, Denmark, Germany, Canada, and Ireland are all represented. Many of these are artists I’ve interacted with online, meeting through Kelly Rae Robert’s Flying Lessons course last summer. It will be so much fun to meet them in person!

I could have waited to attend something like this when I move back to the USA, but this one gives me the opportunity to strengthen my connections to Europe through these wonderful, creative people who will attend. After living in Italy for two years, Europe is a part of me now just as the USA always has been. Even though I move back to Oregon in July, I will never truly leave behind my experiences here and will definitely be coming back in the future. The people I get to know will only give me more reasons to come back and visit.

Thinking about creating all of these in-person connections has made me realize just how much I already have gained through the connections I’ve made on the internet. Every time I connect with someone new in the creative world, whether it’s through a blog or a class or an online group, I come out ahead. I’ve never had a bad experience or a negative situation in this nurturing, supportive, creative environment I’ve discovered. I think this support is so important to our growth as artists and individuals. I want to help contribute to this supportive network, that’s one of the reasons I try to provide ways for others to learn, connect and share – whether it’s the Liberate Your Art Postcard Swap, Exploring with a Camera or the Find Your Eye classes. The Mortal Muses support this creative network too. Isn’t it fabulous how it all fits together?

I can’t wait to see what blossoms out of this retreat, both for me and others. I’m sure I’ll come back with even more ideas (which is kind of scary, actually, given the number I seem to be working on already). I’ll also have more wonderful connections in the world wide web of the creative community. And that, my friends, is the best thing of all.

(Linking this post in to Kim Klassen’s Texture Tuesday.)

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Our Birds have Arrived!

Remember the cute little birds my friend, ceramic artist Makiko Hastings, is making to help Japan? Ours arrived this week! We have serial numbers 51, 52 and 53 – a nice little group of three. Each one is unique and different, made with love by Maki.

At her last update, 713 of the birds have been ordered. Do you want to help her reach her goal of 1000 birds to help Japan? It may no longer be the top news everywhere but the people of Japan are still struggling to survive, every day. Visit Maki’s blog here to learn more about her project and how you can order your cute little birds to help Japan.

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Creating Art with your Whole Heart

Yesterday I read a wonderful blog post from Karen Walrond, author of The Beauty of Different. In it, she talks about heartbreak, and a philosophy that comes from another author, Brené Brown. Brené, she says, tells her she can’t be selectively numb. We have to feel both the good and the bad. We need to lead wholehearted lives.

Wholehearted.
Whole hearted.
Whole heart.

I’ve written before about following my heart. The only way I know how to truly create, is from my heart. My best work, whether it’s writing or photography, starts in the heart. It’s a feeling I’ve learned to recognize and follow. Like this morning, with this post. It came from that place of heart.

I didn’t always recognize this feeling or know how to follow it. That has come over time, as I’ve unmuffled the feelings of my heart along my creative journey. You see, in order to avoid facing any pain or darkness in my life, I had numbed myself to the good as well as the bad. It makes so much sense looking back now, that when I was willing to accept both the light and the dark in me, I was also finding and owning my voice as an artist.

We can’t have wholeness without dimension. In art, that means light and shadows on a surface, which create a three dimensional form out of two dimensional shapes. In our lives, that means light and shadows in our soul, which create the depth and dimensions of a person. For our best work, we have to come to our art with a whole heart. In order to do that, we have to come at our lives with a whole heart first. We have to unmuffle the tiny voice inside ourselves, so that we can hear both the good and the bad messages. We have to be willing to accept what we hear, no matter how uncomfortable it may be, so that we can learn from it and bring it to our art.

As I think through this, I’m realizing that living with a whole heart is an important key to claiming your artist. When you claim yourself an artist, you put yourself out in a public way, saying, “Here I am world, look what I create!” You open yourself up to the possibility of criticism or rejection. You open yourself to the bad stuff, the stuff you might want to avoid. In this way, not claiming your artist is a form of self-protection. A way to shield your heart from any pain. But in doing so, your heart is muffled and numbed. You won’t be able to hear the good messages either. Your art and your ability to create your best work will be affected.

Today, take a quick look at the status of your heart. Are you living with a whole heart? Do you allow the dimension that comes from light and shadow? Are you protecting yourself from potential hurt and pain and in the process numbing yourself to your heart’s good messages? If you’re having trouble claiming your artist, maybe this is a good place to start. It’s certainly been an important point for me to ponder, to reaffirm the desire and acceptance of living with a whole heart, because I want to hear that little voice inside that leads me to create from my heart.

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Bits and Pieces

I’m over at Mortal Muses today musing on repeating patterns, a perfect opportunity to share a couple of images of the Byzantine mosaics from Ravenna. I think my favorite mosaics are the patterns that decorate the borders and arches, like this one above. I love how these patterns continue infinitely, and how the artist used light and dark colors to give volume to an otherwise flat shape. All this with pieces of glass!

Many of the artistic principles that make a beautiful mosaic are no different than for painting or photography. It’s the execution of the mosaic, however, with its little bits and pieces combined into a larger and cohesive whole that makes it so amazing. All works of art are built up from the combination of bits and pieces, but the mosaic makes this obvious in a way that other art forms don’t. Maybe that’s what makes them special, what makes me look closer to see the details created centuries ago, with tiny bits of glass. I hope you enjoy today’s images, both here and over at Mortal Muses.

PS – Did you miss my announcement yesterday? If so, head on over here and check out what you missed!

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Claim your Artist

With everyone born human, a poet — an artist — is born,
who dies young and who is survived by an adult.
– Charles-Augustin Sainte-Beuve
This morning I came across this quote in the introduction Julia Cameron’s Vein of Gold, the sequel to her amazing book The Artist’s Way which I read early in my creative journey. I’ve had Vein of Gold on my shelf for some time, but it wasn’t until this morning that I looked at the shelf and decided to pick the book up. It’s time for me to revisit the topic of creativity in more depth.
Within the first few pages, she has already touched on something that I believe at my core: We all have an artist within us. You may not have realized or rediscovered it yet, you may not have claimed it yet, but the artist is there. It’s the same artist who approached a new box of crayons with glee when you were 4 years old. The same artist who doodled on your notebooks in junior high. Who brooded over which songs to include to create the perfect mix tapes (er, playlists) as a teenager.
We all create. And a person who creates something, brings something new into the world that wasn’t there before, is an artist. I can name you an artist, but that doesn’t matter. The only person who can truly name you as an artist is… you.
Julia writes this in the introduction of Vein of Gold: “…you will reclaim your keys to the creative gifts locked within you. You will discover that the keys have been yours all along. This means, of course, that it is not my place to name you an artist. Such power would be lovely, but it does not reside with me. You are the one who must name yourself. You are the one who must seek – and claim – your creative destiny. No one else can do that for you, but you can do it for yourself.”
Are you ready to claim your artist? I did, some time ago here, and it was an amazing, empowering experience that has changed my point of view in so many ways. You can too. Come with me as I explore the “art + creativity” part of my personal equation more here in the future. Maybe, just maybe, you’ll be able to claim your artist and find your own personal equation along the way too.

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